I returning everything and starting from scratch

[Mosaicmind]

I had already bought what I needed for our upcoming school year, but now that we are adding 2 more dc into the mix it won't work out and I need to save some major bucks.

 

Any suggestions for how I can combine a 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 8th graders for history this coming year?

[Patricia in WA]

Story of the World.

 

Require more of course from the olders. The AG has many literature suggestions. You can create lists of essay questions, use the test provided by PHP. Susan Strauss Art has great books that you can add for the olders. They contain questions and project ideas.

 

HTHs,

[PeterPan]

So was your original plan 3 SL cores? If you could get that down to 2, that sure would be nice. Personally, I'd combine the 1st, 3rd, and 5th doing something (SOTW would be fine, just have each do writing or notebooking at their own level). The older two could do a core just to have it all prescheduled for you, no muss, no fuss.

[Quiver0f10]

TOG could work.

[Melissa in CA]

Tapestry of Grace ;)

[dragons in the flower bed]

Any suggestions for how I can combine a 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 8th graders for history this coming year?

 

WinterPromise's Sea and Sky or All American History would both work as is for those ages.

[Jackie in AR]

Tapestry of Grace ;)

 

I third this suggestion. :001_smile:

 

Using TOG would allow ALL of your dc to be studying the same topic each week.

 

What time period are you interested in studying?

[LisaCA]

STOW and with older begin teaching outlining using Kingfisher, also lots of library books or barrow books from friends; just put them all out their and let them discover the useful info.

You can also find many supplements free of the internet, it just takes lots of time to narrow it down and organize. Figure out which year you are doing and ask the board about free materials available online.

 

Good luck and many blessings.

[Kim in SouthGa]

either TOG or using SOTW w/Usborne for the little ones and SOTW/Kingfisher History Ency for the older ones, with library books to round it out.

[Sue G in PA]

I'm going to throw MFW into the mix b/c it is cheaper than TOG b/c it comes with all the books you need, except the book basket selections. You can combine all those ages w/ little adaptions. The 1st grader will likely just be along for the ride, so to speak. You could even skip history for that year and just do the Exploring Countries and Cultures instead. The 7th and 8th graders would need the supplements that MFW sells for that. We are excited about ECC for next year and I have basically the same ages as you will! Just a thought...

[Mosaicmind]

I have "heard" that TOG is time intensive, is this true? I really need something that is a pick-up-and-go type of curriculum. I like SL but can't do three cores and really need something that can incorporate everyone.

[Miss Marple]

I'd suggest Mystery of History. There are three levels of work associated with each lesson. It's so easy to implement and the lessons are interesting and seem to be retained well. I have had TOG, but, IMO, its greatest value is in the high school years. I found it to be too much for the elementary years.

[Angel]

I would second My Father's World. I just finished Rome to Reformation with a 7yo and a 13yo. I found it to be easy to pick up and go with. Of course I required less work from the 7yo but she enjoyed it just as much. Depending on which MFW you choose, Story of the World may be incorporated. About all the time MFW took was copying from the appendix for their History Notebooks. It also has science planned out for your younger ones, if you need that. My 13yo used Apologia's General Science this year. I did use the library to supplement, but it was not needed. In fact there were some weeks where we never even looked at a book basket book from the library, but I liked that the resources were there, listed at the back, if I chose to use them. If you happen to have extra time, there are plenty of hands on activities to add in. Again, we did not get to all of them and still the program was worthwhile. The price is good, too, especially if you had SL, then MFW would be very affordable. It has been a very productive year for us.

 

I would at least hop over to the website and give them a look through. Good luck in what you find!

[Jackie in AR]

TOG schedules out "weeks", and each family determines which aspects of TOG they will use and on which days the work will be performed. You can do anything from just the history and literature readings to a full-fledged program (including map work, time lines, vocabulary, art projects, etc.). You decide.

 

For the Dialectic (Jr. High) and Rhetoric (High School) levels, there are online virtual co-ops available where Moms partner with other Moms and take turns leading the weekly Discussion times for history and/or literature. Of course there are IRL co-ops, too, but I don't have any other TOGers near me who are on the same Year Plan that we are. We are participating in an on-line co-op for the first time this year, and we are looking forward to it!

 

Feel free to e-mail or PM me, Lisa. I have a DVD that I can mail to you that will give you the big picture of TOG.

 

ETA: You certainly don't "have" to participate in a co-op to use TOG; it just makes things a little easier when you have older dc as Mom's "discussion prep time" and "actual discussion time" is divided amongst several people.

[paula j]

I too think that mfw would be the next best thing to sl. I will be using mfw Creation to the Greeks with my 12 yo this year and will be using the books from the first half of sl core 6 as my bookbasket books just because I already have them and love sl book choices. You could easily pick up some of the books from the sl lists from the library to go along with a mfw year. Another good thing about mfw is that science, Bible, memory work, dictation, art, and music are all included. With Creation to the Greeks and Rome to the Reformation they also use a book on Greek and Latin root words so there is your vocabulary. I think the activities would really draw the younger ones into the program.

[Melissa in CA]

I have "heard" that TOG is time intensive, is this true? I really need something that is a pick-up-and-go type of curriculum. I like SL but can't do three cores and really need something that can incorporate everyone.

 

Well, I wouldn't say TOG is pick-up-and-go, but it IS all scheduled out for you somewhat like SL. You see, SL schedules out your each and every day, whereas TOG schedules out your week. TOG tells you what books to read and how much of each to read that week. You then take a blank schedule and fill in what you want to accomplish each day. If you know you have two chapters to read in a book that week, you can decide what days to read them and how much each day. TOG actually wants your older children to schedule this out on their own causing them to "own" their history. You then meet with them on say, Friday, and have a discussion from your Teacher's Notes. They will have thinking and discussion questions to work on throughout the week, which you can then go over with them on Fridays (or whatever day you choose to meet with them).

 

As for expense, yes TOG is expensive. But keep in mind that you are getting a curriculum that you can use for all your children, and it will cycle around again to be used at a different level with same children. Any books you purchase for your older children will eventually be used again by your younger children.

 

My best advice is to get the "Exploring Tapestry" set. It is free. I would highly recommend you get the add-ons to it though which are a CD and a DVD explaining TOG by the Somerville's. The CD was quite enjoyable. You add both for $5 but then they give you a $5 gift certificate, so in essence they are free too. Here is a link if you are interested: http://tinyurl.com/4ls5zk

 

We can tell you all about TOG, but it really helps when you discover it for yourself. There have been MANY TOG threads as well. Don't discount it just because it didn't work for someone else though. I did that for years and really, really, really regret that I didn't research it for myself.

[Carol in Cal.]

You can do a topic, and then take a breather and focus on science, and then do another topic.

 

I also think SOTW with the AG and Kingfisher/Guerber/Critical Thinking in US History for the older kids would work out great.

[asher]

I'm going to throw MFW into the mix b/c it is cheaper than TOG b/c it comes with all the books you need, except the book basket selections. You can combine all those ages w/ little adaptions. The 1st grader will likely just be along for the ride, so to speak. You could even skip history for that year and just do the Exploring Countries and Cultures instead. The 7th and 8th graders would need the supplements that MFW sells for that. We are excited about ECC for next year and I have basically the same ages as you will! Just a thought...

:iagree:

[Lisawa]

I had already bought what I needed for our upcoming school year, but now that we are adding 2 more dc into the mix it won't work out and I need to save some major bucks.

 

Any suggestions for how I can combine a 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 8th graders for history this coming year?

 

 

Tapestry of Grace... use SOTW as it is scheduled for the 1st and 3rd grader and the 5th, 7th and 8th grader can read independently and accomplish their work while you focus on the younger 2.... your 5th grader can actually use SOTW too if you want... killing 3 birds w/ one stone so to speak...

 

You could take care of History, Literature, geography, writing all in a swoop.... add church history in too if you like. It would stream line the work anyway....

 

The website offers free 3 week trials for years 1 and years 2.... here are the links...

 

Year 1

 

Year 2

 

You can even give it a trial run to see if it will work......

 

TOG is history specific.... so if you feel you cant spend $$ on books... buy books that are used multi years and core/spines used more than 1 unit or all year. Literature is a bit more strict in needing the correct book.... the 7th and 8th graders will benefit from the D level... and they can share books...

 

Its very workable... as many on the WTM use it.... and enjoy it. I hope you find a perfect fit for you and your peeps....:)

[Ann@thebeach]

Biblioplan would work for you: you can combine multiple ages, it's cheap at about $25, and it's pick up and go as far as the schedule. It's a 3 day schedule which is nice.

You could buy the spine and some of the read-aloud books and use the library for the readers and some other resources which would save more money.

[Kisa in CA]

As others have said, MFW really seems to fit your needs. Have you looked at it yet?

 

Kisa

[frogpond1]

Keep the oldest two together and do the youngers together in SOTW. If I knew what cycle I might share what I've used.

[StephanieZ]

SL Core 6 (then 7 the next year) with SOTW for the younger ones?

 

In 2009-2010, I'll be doing Core 6 with my then-7th * then-5th graders while my then-1st grader does SOTW (as we use it in Core 6, which uses the 1st two volumes) + the SOTW Activity Guide for additional literature, activities, etc. (I plan to borrow book lists from SL's Cores 1&2 as well).

[Mosaicmind]

So, TOG sounds pretty interesting, but I have several questions. How easy is it? I understand that I will need to schedule out my week, right? It isn't a day by day schedule thingy like SL...

 

What kind of time does it take to do a days worth of TOG? Does that depend on how you schedule it? I guess I am looking for a realistic days worth of work.

 

Can I get books from the library that are needed? What kind of expense am I looking at? I can't be forking down a boat load of bucks right now and need to be pretty conservative.

 

Am I going to have to "beef" it up for the olders? How does the teaching of it work? I need to know that I am not getting myself into spending all day on doing history part of school. I am a homeschool looper and am trying to keep my days to 3-4 hours a day.

[Tami]

BiblioPlan and/or TruthQuest History could work well in your situation - and these guides are only around $25.

[Melissa in CA]

What kind of time does it take to do a days worth of TOG? Does that depend on how you schedule it?

 

Yes! And it also depends on how many aspects of TOG you plan to use. For example:

 

*I have decided to only use the History Core and the History in Depth books (none of the alternative selections or textbooks).

 

*We are not craft oriented, so many of the Fine Arts and Activities selections will not be purchased or used.

 

*We will use only a few of the vocabulary words as we will also be learning Latin and working through another vocab book. I am choosing six TOG words a week that I am pretty sure he does not know and having him define them on paper every Monday morning. I will not have him do all the vocab...it would just be too much. (If you use a vocab program such as Wordly Wise then the TOG's vocab could be skipped entirely).

 

Ok, let's simplify this...here is what we will be using from TOG:

 

*History Core & Indepth (History)

*Literature (Reading)

*Worldview (Bible)

*Geography mapping (Geography :))

*Student Activity pages (History/Bible/Literature Worksheets)

*Writing Aids (Writing)

*Six vocab words a week

*Philosophy (Just The Pageant of Philosophy readings & discussions)

 

We will not do Activities or Group Activities. We will not do People. Our Timeline work will consist of placing whatever Winter Promise Timeline figure we have in our Timeline book. Period. No time consuming wall timelines, etc. And we will not, I repeat not, even consider looking at the Alternate or Extra Resources page unless absolutely necessary.

 

You can pick and choose the different parts of TOG; a little, maybe just the History Core & Bible; or a lot, the whole shebang. How full your day is depends on you. ;)

 

 

Can I get books from the library that are needed? What kind of expense am I looking at?

Yes, I am using the library for about 95% of my books. You would need to purchase the multi-year and multi-unit books though.

 

Am I going to have to "beef" it up for the olders?

 

Heaven's NO! It's quite beefy as is!

 

I am a homeschool looper and am trying to keep my days to 3-4 hours a day.

 

Again, this depends on how much you want to accomplish with TOG and how time consuming your other subjects are. Your older two will do all their daily work independently, leaving you to work with your youngers. You would then meet with your olders one day out of the week for discussion. It is THEIR responsibility to know the material for discussion day. Their Student Activity Pages are there to help them with that. Your time involved with the youngers will be minimal unless you add in a lot of activities. ;)

 

I highly, highly suggest you order or download a three week trial of TOG and try it out before you buy. Look at it all very closely before deciding because at first glance it appears overwhelming, but with closer inspection you may not find it so. :D