New TOG question (kid approved?)

[MunRoLy]

I've read all about the TOG fog and can tell by looking at the samples how overwhelming it can be and how much work it is for mom to implement.

 

What I want to know is this: If you have successfully used TOG in your homeschool, what are your kids' reactions? Do they enjoy it? As you can tell from my little bio at the bottom, I have kids in all stages so I'd love to hear about younger kids and olders. Do the kids think it is too much?

 

I need to know if all the mom planning time is worth is. I have a hard time keeping up with anything that the kids hate. It kills all my motivation.

[coffeegal]

I asked my kids what they thought. General response, "It's okay. It works."

 

My son who dislikes reading, "It's a lot of work." His reading has improved dramatically this year, so Mom is happy even if son isn't. ;)

 

None of the kids are terribly enthusiastic about schoolwork, but TOG isn't something they fight me over either. :001_smile:

 

ETA: I've found, once I got in the swing of TOG, it's actually reduced my planning time and increased the quality of our homeschool.

My rhetoric student is doing: History, Literature, Writing, Fine Art History, and the map work

My dialectic and upper grammar students are doing: History, Literature, Writing, and the map work. We'll check out the arts and crafts book and do a few of the projects, and then call it good. ;)

Edited April 3, 2012 by coffeegal

[MunRoLy]

Thank you. That's just the kind of answer I'm looking for.

[bluemongoose]

I only have the younger group. DD loves the reading, art and geography. She would love to skip the vocabulary and the worksheets that go with the lit books. That is not really about Tapestry though. She would dislike vocabulary and worksheets in any program.

[freesia]

I have a D, and lg and a lg/ug.

 

My D said the other day that he thinks he likes TOG "better" than SL. This is saying a lot bc he loved SL (as we all did.) He loves projects, though, and the way tog is set up helps us get them done. He is also a strong reader.

 

The youngers haven't complained and seem into what we do so I think they like it, too.

[Kathryn]

We haven't started yet, but I thought I'd address the planning thing. I spent last week planning our entire year: books, activities, maps, evaluations, extra books from Sonlight and SOTW, everything. I have everything printed out and planned out that I'll need for the whole year, including a list by week of what I'll need from the library and supplies I'll need for activities. I love how flexible TOG is, yet gives an excellent framework and support.

[MunRoLy]

We haven't started yet, but I thought I'd address the planning thing. I spent last week planning our entire year: books, activities, maps, evaluations, extra books from Sonlight and SOTW, everything. I have everything printed out and planned out that I'll need for the whole year, including a list by week of what I'll need from the library and supplies I'll need for activities. I love how flexible TOG is, yet gives an excellent framework and support.

 

Wow! That's exactly what I would need to do. I have no time during the year for lesson planning.

 

Do you keep everything in a binder? Or how do you keep all your plans organized?

[Kathryn]

Wow! That's exactly what I would need to do. I have no time during the year for lesson planning.

 

Do you keep everything in a binder? Or how do you keep all your plans organized?

 

Yes, I have no time during the year for planning either. Here's what I did.

 

I went through the reading assignment charts and made a list of each book and which weeks it was used, primary and alternate (once their resource list is back up, this step won't be necessary). Then I checked whether I had it or either of the two library systems near me did and decided what to use. If it was used for multiple weeks (4 or more) in a row and i didnt have it, I decided to buy it. I ended up spending about $100 total on books (LG and UG). The books I didn't buy, but will need from one of the libraries, I transferred to a list, by week, and noted which library (or both) at which they are located.

 

Then I went through the SOTW activity book, added additional books that we might want to look at, and noted page numbers from there on the TOG reading list and decided which activities from there I liked. Once the art/activity books I ordered came in, I went through them by week according to TOG and picked out of all of them I was interested in and then chose what I thought would be best for each week and then noted that on the schedule and wrote down what I'd need for supplies to my weekly list.

 

I went through and printed the student activity pages I wanted, the weekly overview, and the maps. I'm going to do evaluations orally, so I noted down which ones I wanted to do. I'm coming from Sonlight, so I'm used to the idea of a big binder, though I know others do better with a filing system. I have a 3-inch binder and 36 tabs. Behind each tab I put everything I'll need for that week: my inclusive weekly schedule for all subjects, the TOG reading assignments page (notated by me), the TOG weekly overview, TOG activity sheets and maps, and other loose sheets for the week, like WWE and a Bible narration page.

 

I pull out three weeks at a time into a smaller "working binder," at the front of which is my list of supplies needed by week.

 

It's a lot of work for a week, but it means that the only planning I'll do during the year is glancing at my supplies list, ordering the books online and picking them up at the desk.

[MunRoLy]

Thank you! That's exactly the kind of plan that I can see myself using. I love the 36 tabs in the binder for organization by weeks. Perfect! If I decided to go ahead with TOG that's exactly what I'll do.

 

In fact I can see that system working in other subjects as well. Need to get more organized!

[Kathryn]

I'm so glad it was helpful!

[lea1]

This helped me a lot too. Thanks!

[FlyingMOm]

What I want to know is this: If you have successfully used TOG in your homeschool, what are your kids' reactions? Do they enjoy it? As you can tell from my little bio at the bottom, I have kids in all stages so I'd love to hear about younger kids and olders. Do the kids think it is too much?

 

 

My kids love it. Right now we are wrapping up the Civil War. Today my 8yo, 7yo & 4yo spent about an hour in the woods reenacting the Battle for Little Round Top (one of the Gettysburg battles). We've read piles of good books on the Civil War, visited a local exhibit on Confederate Arms and next week we are planning on going to an exhibit on Abraham Lincoln that is on loan to our local museum from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. We'll make gingerbread cake ( a popular dessert during Civil War era) and choose a craft from our Civil War Craft book.

 

In her book "The Charlotte Mason Companion", Karen Andreola writes that kids need "something to think, something to do and something to love". Tapestry provides my kids with "something to think" and "something to do". They spend almost every afternoon outside "doing our show" (i.e. acting out what we've been reading about in history) and there are as many or as little hands on projects as you want to do.

 

We are very happy with Tapestry.

[Professormom]

The rundown of your planning process was SO helpful. I am combining my Sonlight and ToG this year, coming from strictly Sonlight, and I was missing on my binder:-). I love the way you incorporated that!

[Kathryn]

The rundown of your planning process was SO helpful. I am combining my Sonlight and ToG this year, coming from strictly Sonlight, and I was missing on my binder:-). I love the way you incorporated that!

 

Oh yeah! I forgot to say that I added in a few Sonlight books also. On the TOG Loose Threads Yahoo message board*, there are documents showing which Sonlight books line up with which weeks in TOG. This is a helpful site too that lines up Sonlight with the WTM sequence.

 

*ETA: It took me a while to find it, even though I knew it was there. They're in Files>Planning, Scheduling, Record-keeping>Books & Booklists

Edited April 3, 2012 by kebg11

[MunRoLy]

My kids love it. Right now we are wrapping up the Civil War. Today my 8yo, 7yo & 4yo spent about an hour in the woods reenacting the Battle for Little Round Top (one of the Gettysburg battles). We've read piles of good books on the Civil War, visited a local exhibit on Confederate Arms and next week we are planning on going to an exhibit on Abraham Lincoln that is on loan to our local museum from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. We'll make gingerbread cake ( a popular dessert during Civil War era) and choose a craft from our Civil War Craft book.

 

 

That's awesome! A question for you...how many weeks does TOG devote to the Civil War and how many weeks did you spend on it? It sounds like you did a lot and am wondering if you extended it beyond what TOG calls for. I hate being rushed through history!

[abrightmom]

We haven't started yet, but I thought I'd address the planning thing. I spent last week planning our entire year: books, activities, maps, evaluations, extra books from Sonlight and SOTW, everything. I have everything printed out and planned out that I'll need for the whole year, including a list by week of what I'll need from the library and supplies I'll need for activities. I love how flexible TOG is, yet gives an excellent framework and support.

 

Thanks for sharing how you planned. I am inspired. :)

[Susan in TN]

I asked my kids what they thought. General response, "It's okay. It works."

 

My son who dislikes reading, "It's a lot of work." His reading has improved dramatically this year, so Mom is happy even if son isn't. ;)

 

None of the kids are terribly enthusiastic about schoolwork, but TOG isn't something they fight me over either. :001_smile:

 

ETA: I've found, once I got in the swing of TOG, it's actually reduced my planning time and increased the quality of our homeschool.

My rhetoric student is doing: History, Literature, Writing, Fine Art History, and the map work

My dialectic and upper grammar students are doing: History, Literature, Writing, and the map work. We'll check out the arts and crafts book and do a few of the projects, and then call it good. ;)

 

:iagree: I'm actually able to have "intelligent" discussions w/my R and D students (we do both history discussions at once - covering a sampling of the D and R)

 

In general, my kids like the literature selections. Some of the R selections are tough, but I think ds appreciates it. My LG, UG, and D students seems to love theirs. The history reading is pretty good, although I do a lot of substitutions depending on what's available and how busy my R student is going to be that week.

 

I do planning by the unit. But before the year begins, I print out the weekly reading assignment pages and go through them to figure out what we already own, can get at the library, or need to purchase. I make notes on them and then these pages then go into my unit teacher binders (I use page protectors.)

 

Then each of my kids has a binder that includes all the needed reading assignments, overviews, SAPs, maps, writing, suppliments, etc. for that unit. They only have 1 binder each that covers everything they do with TOG. I used to have separate binders for writing and things but found it easier to keep everything together in 1" binders. My R student needs a thicker binder, but he's got the muscles to handle it. :D Now that I have my system down for printing/making the unit binders, I can get them done in just a few hours over the course of a week or weekend (or school break).

 

We have a TOG meeting on Friday afternoons. First my kids get to read any writing assignments or other projects they've completed for their siblings. Then we read the "general info for all students" page, and then go over the various reading/vocabulary/mapwork/writing assignments for each student. This way, my older students can get a head start on reading over the weekend if necessary.

[MunRoLy]

:iagree:

We have a TOG meeting on Friday afternoons. First my kids get to read any writing assignments or other projects they've completed for their siblings. Then we read the "general info for all students" page, and then go over the various reading/vocabulary/mapwork/writing assignments for each student. This way, my older students can get a head start on reading over the weekend if necessary.

 

I like this. So to clarify, on Friday you end the week by letting the kids show off their assignments/projects and then you begin/prep for the following week by reading the "general info..." page to everyone and going over the next weeks assignemtns? I like that plan!

[Susan in TN]

I like this. So to clarify, on Friday you end the week by letting the kids show off their assignments/projects and then you begin/prep for the following week by reading the "general info..." page to everyone and going over the next weeks assignemtns? I like that plan!

 

Yep, that's exactly it. We have Pop Quiz also, which we'd ideally do after Friday dinner. That's pretty sporadic, so I may incorporate a little of that in our TOG meeting. I try to keep the meeting under 45 minutes, though, so we'll have to see. :)

[1bassoon]

I'll chime in. . . . . .

 

I've got a pile of TOG posts in my blog (link in siggie). But as to "kid approved", here's my .02 -

 

A couple of direct quotes: Son, 15: "Awesome! Helps me understand history from a biblical point of view."

 

Daughter, 19: "Fabulous! Prepared me for college - I loved it and couldn't pick anything better."

 

Daughter, 13: "It's fine. Do we have to keep reading about wars?" (flips hair, walks away)

 

Daughter, 11: "I love it, it's great!!!" (that's just b/c this week, she actually was PREPARED for discussion)

 

Daughter, 7: "Moooooom. Why can't we do more PROJECTS?" (I'm a little wimpy on projects this year)

 

I think if I was able to do more hands-on with the younger two, I'd be a total winner! (I don't, due to my own wacky schedule) But overall my kids enjoy it.

 

I'm going to do a blog post about how I plan later on, but hope this little bit will help!

[MunRoLy]

I'll chime in. . . . . .

 

I've got a pile of TOG posts in my blog (link in siggie). But as to "kid approved", here's my .02 -

 

A couple of direct quotes: Son, 15: "Awesome! Helps me understand history from a biblical point of view."

 

Daughter, 19: "Fabulous! Prepared me for college - I loved it and couldn't pick anything better."

 

Daughter, 13: "It's fine. Do we have to keep reading about wars?" (flips hair, walks away)

 

Daughter, 11: "I love it, it's great!!!" (that's just b/c this week, she actually was PREPARED for discussion)

 

Daughter, 7: "Moooooom. Why can't we do more PROJECTS?" (I'm a little wimpy on projects this year)

 

I think if I was able to do more hands-on with the younger two, I'd be a total winner! (I don't, due to my own wacky schedule) But overall my kids enjoy it.

 

I'm going to do a blog post about how I plan later on, but hope this little bit will help!

 

I love the quotes! (Especially the 13 year old). :D

 

I'm looking forward to checking out your blog. Glad to hear it's working with so many ages.

[Karenciavo]

Depends on the kid. It prepared my oldest, a history major, really well for college. If you don't mind a little mama brag he received the history major scholarship at his college - he had to write a paper on an event from history or something like that. Every college he applied to loved his reading list, but in fairness part of the admiration belongs to Memoria Press's 12th grade online English course he did in 11th grade.

 

Ds17 is meh about it, but he's meh about everything but sports these days. And video games - he's good there too. :001_rolleyes:

 

Ds9 enjoys it and has learned a lot but I have put a lot of effort into fleshing out the grammar stage for him. I'm looking forward to dialectic next year so that can slow down a bit.

[MunRoLy]

I'll chime in. . . . . .

 

I've got a pile of TOG posts in my blog (link in siggie).

 

I love your TOG posts! I was reading the one about doing TOG with the olders and it sounds so like my family. My dd14 (8th grade now) totally gets lost in the shuffle. I want to have those discussion times but #1: can't find the time, #2 I'm not good at it.

 

Here's my dilemma: I'm now seriously considering TOG for my 3 youngers. I have NEVER done a good job teaching my kids history. I am great with math, love our program and am very consistent. (I was a math major).

 

Total opposite with history. I was never taught it well, have never stuck with a program, and am not consistent. :tongue_smilie:

 

I would love to just decide on TOG and actually stick with it. I just don't know if it would be too much to try to do it with the younger 3 as well as trying to figure out the rhetoric part with my poor history-deprived soon-to-be 9th grader. Seriously, she knows almost nothing about history because I haven't done a good job teaching it.

 

My other option with her (something we started a couple months ago) is to do history using the High School Great Courses from The Teaching Company. We are working through Early American History now and would do World History next year. Basically she watches the DVD, reads from a textbook, answers comprehension questions, writes an essay and that's about it.

 

Advice? Just do TOG with the younger 3 and let older dd work through the Great Courses? Or just jump in and do it with all?

[coffeegal]

My other option with her (something we started a couple months ago) is to do history using the High School Great Courses from The Teaching Company. We are working through Early American History now and would do World History next year. Basically she watches the DVD, reads from a textbook, answers comprehension questions, writes an essay and that's about it.

 

Advice? Just do TOG with the younger 3 and let older dd work through the Great Courses? Or just jump in and do it with all?

 

Do you want to do the discussions with her? For myself, I made the decision to switch to TOG for my younger 3 students and then decided just to add my oldest into the equation. I'm glad I did.

 

I purchased most of the rhetoric books to make it easier on myself. On Thursday I print up the necessary sheets for my son, then on Friday I hand him the reading list, writing assignment, student pages, and maps. He spends the week working and hands in his written assignments on Friday. We all sit down Friday morning to go through the dialectic discussion. The younger 3 children disappear while my oldest and I continue on the the rhetoric history discussion and literature discussion. He completes the TOG weekly quiz Friday afternoon. TOG's been a boon. It's easier on me than what we were doing, but we're also able to have quality discussions now. :001_smile:

[MunRoLy]

Do you want to do the discussions with her? For myself, I made the decision to switch to TOG for my younger 3 students and then decided just to add my oldest into the equation. I'm glad I did.

 

I purchased most of the rhetoric books to make it easier on myself. On Thursday I print up the necessary sheets for my son, then on Friday I hand him the reading list, writing assignment, student pages, and maps. He spends the week working and hands in his written assignments on Friday. We all sit down Friday morning to go through the dialectic discussion. The younger 3 children disappear while my oldest and I continue on the the rhetoric history discussion and literature discussion. He completes the TOG weekly quiz Friday afternoon. TOG's been a boon. It's easier on me than what we were doing, but we're also able to have quality discussions now. :001_smile:

 

Yes, I want to have these discussions with her. Definitely! But here's the thing, neither of us are good at discussing. :glare: ds12 and dd9 are great at discussions. But dd14 and I really struggle. Not that we don't love talking to each other...we just both struggle with discussing things...if that makes any sense.

 

You make it sound so doable. Thanks so much for sharing a bit of your weekly schedule and how the discussion time goes. That is so helpful!

[FlyingMOm]

That's awesome! A question for you...how many weeks does TOG devote to the Civil War and how many weeks did you spend on it? It sounds like you did a lot and am wondering if you extended it beyond what TOG calls for. I hate being rushed through history!

 

TOG devoted 3 weeks to the Civil War. I did not fee rushed at all. I did add some to TOG with the extra field trips- they just happened to be nearby & it seemed a shame not to take advantage of them! The gingerbread cake & craft were among the fine arts options for TOG. The "doing our show" is something they do pretty much every day. They'll spend hours each day acting out whatever it is we've been reading about with Tapestry. So that isn't really a part of Tapestry as much as it is just their free play time.

[Tracy]

I am doing TOG with one LG student, and if she didn't love it, we probably wouldn't do it. She is excited about the reading, even when I am not. She likes to do the mapping, but doesn't always have the stamina for it. I am really glad that she loves this program, because I really want to use it in the D and R levels. It is not as good for LG, but I like that I will be fluent with the program when we get to the upper levels. (Now that is not to say that it is not good for LG--just that it doesn't shine in the LG level like it does in those upper levels.) Since you have multiple ages, I would highly recommend it.

[Hedgehogs4]

My kids love TOG. My ds 10 started out in UG this year and liked it so much he asked for more reading. He loves history! I obliged him and moved him into the Dialectic reading, though I didn't always have him answering all the questions or worksheets. It was heavy, but he always finished and enjoyed what he read for the most part.

 

DD loves the time we spend snuggling and reading books that are geared specifically for her age group (she is not an independent reader, yet).

 

I asked them if they wanted to do something different, and they vehemently said, "NO!"

 

The planning??? I love planning, and I love planning TOG. I would say absolutely it is worth it.

 

you asked about how long the Civil War is done... That portion is 3 weeks. By the end of it we are all ready to move on, but we thoroughly enjoyed it.

[MunRoLy]

 

The planning??? I love planning, and I love planning TOG. I would say absolutely it is worth it.

 

 

Care to share your planning system? Do you plan it weekly? Or all at once? So awesome to hear that your kids enjoy it so much!

[HLDoll]

I have two kids, one doing LG and one doing UG reading. Thy both enjoy the reading , the map work and the activities. We did VP history last year and Classical Conversations before that. The kids prefer TOG and want to stick with it. I bought the program by units this past year and planned a unit at a time. I made notes of what our library had, along with alternates if they didn't carry TOG's recommendations, and made up weekly reserve lists in advance. I get on the library web site each week and go to my saved lists and reserve everything for the coming week. I buy anything that we will use for more than a few weeks or that we will really enjoy and read again. I don't think the planning has been complicated, but I enjoy that kind of thing. We will be doing TOG for the foreseeable future. My kids were asking just yesterday what it would be like when we came around to this time period again and if they would be reading the same books. I explained that they'd be reading new books and doing new activities because they'll be older next time around. I love that they're already thinking about TOG in 4 years!

[Hedgehogs4]

Care to share your planning system? Do you plan it weekly? Or all at once? So awesome to hear that your kids enjoy it so much!

 

1. Sit down with the calendar and figure out which days we need off, which we have co-op, and when the unit celebration will be.

2. Discuss with other co-op moms which literature selections will be covered.

3. Order books, make online lists at the library

4. Write out a chart of reading assignments for the whole quarter onto one page, including read-alouds. I need to see it all on one page--this is just me.

5. This quarter I am trying something new. I bound a notebook with all the reading assignments, accountability questions, maps and activity pages week-by-week for my dialectic student. That way he knows exactly what he is responsible for each week.

 

Once you do the process once or twice you get the hang of it. I'm becoming quite efficient at handling TOG and planning is taking less time.

[MunRoLy]

1. Sit down with the calendar and figure out which days we need off, which we have co-op, and when the unit celebration will be.

2. Discuss with other co-op moms which literature selections will be covered.

3. Order books, make online lists at the library

4. Write out a chart of reading assignments for the whole quarter onto one page, including read-alouds. I need to see it all on one page--this is just me.

5. This quarter I am trying something new. I bound a notebook with all the reading assignments, accountability questions, maps and activity pages week-by-week for my dialectic student. That way he knows exactly what he is responsible for each week.

 

Once you do the process once or twice you get the hang of it. I'm becoming quite efficient at handling TOG and planning is taking less time.

 

Thank you!

[MunRoLy]

Depends on the kid. It prepared my oldest, a history major, really well for college. If you don't mind a little mama brag he received the history major scholarship at his college - he had to write a paper on an event from history or something like that. Every college he applied to loved his reading list, but in fairness part of the admiration belongs to Memoria Press's 12th grade online English course he did in 11th grade.

 

Love the mama brag! Love also hearing that it prepares well for college. I hope this is true for mom's who are not that great at leading discussions. Hopefully TOG will help me improve.

[abrightmom]

:bigear: TOG is at the top of my list because of the discussion platform and the emphasis on reading. :bigear: Listening in.