mystika1 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Hi. I am trying to find the perfect unit study for us to use for the long haul. I like reusable and versitile curriculum choices. I have been quite frustrated lately and really want to make sure that the next unit study that I use will get done. I have been posting alot lately in my quest. I currently use konos and I don't care for the layout. I don't mind planning if the program is organized well. I have been given weaver volume 1 and 2 and MFW Adventures. The Weaver is layed out like I prefer but as others pointed out to me, the curriculum is quite old and has never been updated. I looked at samples of TOG and it also looks good but.... Do I need to have the exact books listed? My library has several of the books but I don't want to panic and have to spend a fortune on books. My girls are very young. I have read that TOG would be better started at 4th grade on up. Is that correct? Is TOG really that hard to plan as I have read? Does TOG have hands on activities? Anyone by any slim chance ever used both weaver/TOG and can compare the two?:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I'll try to answer as best I can. We are new TOG users but my oldest is 6 so maybe my perspective will be helpful. (I blog about TOG some here) You don't "need" the books listed. However, the worksheets in TOG correspond to the books listed. You could probably sub some history and sometimes the lit books but then you might be unable to answer some of the questions or complete the worksheet. You could probably very easy sub history in depth books but the core books and the lit suggestions would be more difficult. We are enjoying TOG. On my blog you can see how we plan and what our weeks look like. My kids get a lot out of it and they LOVE the book selections. We do lots of reading, discussing, and projects. It is a little hard to plan at first until you start using it and discover how it works best for you. I have found a system that works for us so my planning is very simple. It's just a TON of info to wade through each week. I have to choose what we're going to cover since my kids are young. But I enjoy planning so that planning doesn't bother me. I plan out several weeks at a time and it doesn't take me very long anymore. I think TOG is well-organized and it fits how I think. :001_smile: There are lots of activities and art ideas. Many are from additional books that go along with the program. So, the week plan will list pages of the activity book and you will choose which project from the book you want to complete. So there are many options with that. Some activities are in the assignment pages only and not from one of the supplemental books. But many projects are taken from one of the books. Sorry, I've never used Weaver so can't compare. We are really enjoying TOG and I like that there is a lot of info and ideas in each week so that if we're very interested in something we have lots of options. But it's fairly easy to streamline for the little ones too. We enjoy reading all the books so it's been a good fit for us. We plan to continue with Year 2 next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Do I need to have the exact books listed? My library has several of the books but I don't want to panic and have to spend a fortune on books. In the LG and UG levels, it is not necessary to have the exact book. In the D and R levels, the Teacher's notes refer to specific books and specific parts of those books, so it is more important to have not only the exact book, but the exact version of the book. But books at those levels are often used for multiple weeks, making it more desirable to buy the book. My girls are very young. I have read that TOG would be better started at 4th grade on up. Is that correct? My oldest dc is almost 7, and we are in our second year. I use TOG because it fits my history-loving dd to a tee. When I get a bunch of books from the library, she almost always chooses the TOG books first, even though she doesn't know they are TOG books. Personally, I find a lot of the selections a little dry, but she loves these books. So it not necessarily true that it is better to start at the D level. However, you must remember that TOG was created first for the R level and then for the D level to go along, and then for the G levels to tag along with the older kids. While you don't have to do it that way, the fact that it was written this way definitely shows in the program. Sometimes, for example, you may not find any reference to a particular week's theme in the LG books. There has been no inclusion in the G levels of the wonderful Socratic method used at the D and R levels. In the end, if my dd weren't so history-crazy, I would just go with SOTW. Is TOG really that hard to plan as I have read? I have not found it hard to plan at the LG level. Generally, we do history reading on Mon., Mapping on Wed., Lit. reading on Thu., and a history activity most Fridays. Does TOG have hands on activities? I love the G level hands-on activities! They are so perfect for this activity-phobic mom. There are so many, we can't do them all. Anyone by any slim chance ever used both weaver/TOG and can compare the two?:D Sorry, no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystika1 Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Thank you so much. The main reason that I am looking at TOG is because my oldest loves ancient Egypt. I was so frustrated with Konos when I only found a teeny weeny few lines mentioned in volume two on ancient Egypt. She devours all of the books from the library so I figured I should feed that hunger. Thanks, Penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 I have a 10yo and a 6 yo. My 6yo loves TOG. I did not see the value in starting with my son when he was 6, but now that I have done so with my dd, I cannot see why it wouldn't be a good choice. I do find that people who use it tend to use it for a long period of time. For our purposes, I do not see us using anything else from here out. It is so rich and varied that you can keep using it and never get bored. I have not personally used Weaver, but I know someone who has. The difference is the that TOG starts with a chronological history spine and links everything to that. Weaver (IIRC) starts with a Bible base and links everything to that. I don't know that it is as linear as TOG. ETA: take a look at my blog. I write pretty extensively about TOG on there, including why we love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 ETA: take a look at my blog. I write pretty extensively about TOG on there, including why we love it! And some of us really enjoy reading it and find it very helpful! :D Thank you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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