Tapestry of Grace

[Just Jane]

Why haven't I looked at this closer until now? :glare: I remember the website but was confused and never looked into it. I've been scattering for history - I want something with literature, projects and keeps everyone on the same topics (I've got 5 school age 6-15yo). I've been trying to plan on my own this year and it's okay but feels disjointed and I'm never endlessly planning and have a hard time deciding on books because there is so many. :tongue_smilie: It seems to be perfect for us, I want to press buy. We'd start on Year 2 unit 2. I'm a little worried about the "fog" I read in past threads but I think I get how it works and we'll just dive in (kind of have to so we don't get to behind). Tomorrow I'm going to look at the book lists and our shelves because I'm sure we have a lot of them anyways.

 

Anyone want to talk me into or out of it? I don't want to spend the money and have another thing on my shelf not being used. :bigear:

Edited October 25, 2012 by Just Jane

[jenni33]

Why don't you go for the free sample first? You can get the first few weeks of Year 1 Unit 1 for free. That way you are not invested in it financially and you can really use it and see how it works for your family. I know you said you'd be using Year 2 Unit 2, but this might be a good option for you.

[kaymom]

I think it would be ideal for a multi-level family of learners. Yes, the information can seem overwhelming at first until you sort out what you want to use/get out of it. Once you get into a rhythm with it, it really isn't that bad. Just don't try to do everything with everyone, there's way too much material! I think it would be awesome if they would lesson plan it for you so it would be more of an open and go curriculum, but I think it is a very rich program and worth the effort since it covers so many subjects. I also would consider either borrowing it from someone (I did this via homeschool group) or using the free 3 weeks to see if you can make it work. You could also just buy one unit versus buying the whole kit and caboodle.

[coffeegal]

TOG has been a lifesaver for me. It's increased the quality of our homeschool while decreasing my stress load. Win-Win! I love having everyone on the same topic, being able to bounce kids up a level or down a level as needed, and having one curriculum cover most subjects. I also enjoy being able to tweak and plan but need a plan laid out for myself to work from. TOG gives me enough flexibility to tweak yet enough structure to keep us on task. :D

 

I did listen to many of the video lectures and audio lectures that TOG offers over the last year and rearranged my homeschool accordingly. The older 3 children work toward class times rather that trying to meet with every child on every subject every day. I also post the yellow reading sheet in the kitchen. It's easier than printing a separate copy for each child, and they can't lose their copy. :glare:

 

Have fun! :001_smile:

[Hedgehogs4]

It sounds like it would be perfect for your family. To avoid the "fog," just don't do everything at once. Stick with your history core and literature and start there, then add in things as you go.

 

Also, give yourself a good week to really plan out what you want to do. Sit down with a calendar, the book lists and a very realistic outlook of what you can expect from your kids and yourself and write it all down. It also helps for you to actually define for yourself what you want out of the program and your goals for your kids, both short term and long term. I found that when I did that, TOG really was a logical choice for us.

 

Last year was great. We started in Y3, and we covered more material than we have ever covered before. The kids loved it, and so we carried on this year. I was, however, completely burnt out at the end of the year because I tried to do it all. This year I have allowed myself more time--I don't care if we cover every. single. week. and I am not attempting to run a co-op on top of it. We do meet every other week with some families to discuss the literature selections, and this has been fabulous! It is just enough. On the off weeks we get together for other things or take field trips.

 

Good luck. I think it is a great curriculum--it seems expensive at first but you only have to buy each year once, then you have it for the rest of your "career."

[Amy M]

If you have the finances and could commit to using it for your other kids when they reach the upper levels, go for it! It's a great program! You would have a lot of book lists to get at first though, with all of your different ages. Do you have a good library or a good budget? :)

[Just Jane]

Thanks for the replies! :001_smile:

 

The library and I aren't friends, so I would have to buy the books we don't have, but it's not really problem if we actually use it. :D I showed it to my dh and he thinks it looks great too.

 

If anyone can explain to me a typical week is, how it works in your house and how much time each of your kids take each week that would really help me decide! :001_smile:

[coffeegal]

Thanks for the replies! :001_smile:

 

The library and I aren't friends, so I would have to buy the books we don't have, but it's not really problem if we actually use it. :D I showed it to my dh and he thinks it looks great too.

 

If anyone can explain to me a typical week is, how it works in your house and how much time each of your kids take each week that would really help me decide! :001_smile:

 

In my house with 10th, 9th, 7th, and 4th graders:

 

Friday - I post the assignment sheet and hand out the papers for the week. SAP, maps, etc. My 4th grader and I plan the next week together. I often run him through the vocabulary works to see what he knows and can spell. Any word he doesn't know gets looked up in the dictionary over the week. The older children plan their own work.

 

Over the weekend I read through the TOG material for the week.

 

We started adding in the read alouds this week. I'm reading to the children over lunch everyday. So far, so good!

 

Monday - Science experiments, kids read TOG material on their own.

 

Tuesday - Grammar & writing, I ensure everyone understands their grammar and writing assignments for the week. Kids continue to work through the TOG material on their own

 

Wednesday - Science discussion (works better than history on Wednesdays) Kids continue to work through the TOG material on their own.

 

Thursday - History discussion - Maps & thinking questions are due. My oldest 3 children and I sit down and work through the dialectic discussion. My oldest and I then continue on to the rhetoric discussion together, while the younger 2 take off. This is also when I was planning on working on the timeline, but we ran into system error. The toddlers kept destroying it. :glare:

 

Friday - Literature discussions - Literature worksheets are due. Tests are taken. Writing assignments are due. My 4th grader and I sit down to complete his lapbook for the week. I check his vocabulary work and give a spelling test.

 

Then I post the next week's reading assignment and hand out next week's papers. :001_smile:

 

ETA: The kids are reporting that the time varies per week and per child, but it sounds like 10 hours a week for history and literature/English. We tend to skip the government, philosophy, and church history assignments.

Edited October 25, 2012 by coffeegal

[Just Jane]

Thank you so much! It sounds perfect for us. I'm going to be ordering tonight. :)

[Georgiana Daniels]

Thanks for the replies! :001_smile:

 

The library and I aren't friends, so I would have to buy the books we don't have, but it's not really problem if we actually use it. :D I showed it to my dh and he thinks it looks great too.

 

If anyone can explain to me a typical week is, how it works in your house and how much time each of your kids take each week that would really help me decide! :001_smile:

 

No such thing as typical around here :D

 

We love ToG! We don't come close to doing everything, but our homeschool has been enriched immensely. History has even become a favorite subject! Unfortunately, there's never enough time.

[Georgiana Daniels]

In my house with 10th, 9th, 7th, and 4th graders:

 

Friday - I post the assignment sheet and hand out the papers for the week. SAP, maps, etc. My 4th grader and I plan the next week together. I often run him through the vocabulary works to see what he knows and can spell. Any word he doesn't know gets looked up in the dictionary over the week. The older children plan their own work.

 

Over the weekend I read through the TOG material for the week.

 

We started adding in the read alouds this week. I'm reading to the children over lunch everyday. So far, so good!

 

Monday - Science experiments, kids read TOG material on their own.

 

Tuesday - Grammar & writing, I ensure everyone understands their grammar and writing assignments for the week. Kids continue to work through the TOG material on their own

 

Wednesday - Science discussion (works better than history on Wednesdays) Kids continue to work through the TOG material on their own.

 

Thursday - History discussion - Maps & thinking questions are due. My oldest 3 children and I sit down and work through the dialectic discussion. My oldest and I then continue on to the rhetoric discussion together, while the younger 2 take off. This is also when I was planning on working on the timeline, but we ran into system error. The toddlers kept destroying it. :glare:

 

Friday - Literature discussions - Literature worksheets are due. Tests are taken. Writing assignments are due. My 4th grader and I sit down to complete his lapbook for the week. I check his vocabulary work and give a spelling test.

 

Then I post the next week's reading assignment and hand out next week's papers. :001_smile:

 

ETA: The kids are reporting that the time varies per week and per child, but it sounds like 10 hours a week for history and literature/English. We tend to skip the government, philosophy, and church history assignments.

 

Great schedule! I aspire to be this organized going forward. Fortunately, my kids are still young so I have time to get there.

[Just Jane]

When I went to order there are options for Digital and/or Print editions so I decided to wait. I'm a paper kind of person but wondering if there's anything I'll miss without the Digital edition? :bigear:

[Hedgehogs4]

No such thing as typical around here :D

 

We love ToG! We don't come close to doing everything, but our homeschool has been enriched immensely. History has even become a favorite subject! Unfortunately, there's never enough time.

 

:iagree:and you can beat yourself up over this or let it go. Do what can get done, especially at first.

[Jeeves]

When I went to order there are options for Digital and/or Print editions so I decided to wait. I'm a paper kind of person but wondering if there's anything I'll miss without the Digital edition? :bigear:

 

If you like paper (like I do!), I'd order the print edition. That's what we get and I just like being able to flip through the pages and not having print it out.

 

But if you don't mind printing out your pages, you may like the DE better.

 

Just my two cents!

[Jeeves]

In my house with 10th, 9th, 7th, and 4th graders:

 

Friday - I post the assignment sheet and hand out the papers for the week. SAP, maps, etc. My 4th grader and I plan the next week together. I often run him through the vocabulary works to see what he knows and can spell. Any word he doesn't know gets looked up in the dictionary over the week. The older children plan their own work.

 

Over the weekend I read through the TOG material for the week.

 

We started adding in the read alouds this week. I'm reading to the children over lunch everyday. So far, so good!

 

Monday - Science experiments, kids read TOG material on their own.

 

Tuesday - Grammar & writing, I ensure everyone understands their grammar and writing assignments for the week. Kids continue to work through the TOG material on their own

 

Wednesday - Science discussion (works better than history on Wednesdays) Kids continue to work through the TOG material on their own.

 

Thursday - History discussion - Maps & thinking questions are due. My oldest 3 children and I sit down and work through the dialectic discussion. My oldest and I then continue on to the rhetoric discussion together, while the younger 2 take off. This is also when I was planning on working on the timeline, but we ran into system error. The toddlers kept destroying it. :glare:

 

Friday - Literature discussions - Literature worksheets are due. Tests are taken. Writing assignments are due. My 4th grader and I sit down to complete his lapbook for the week. I check his vocabulary work and give a spelling test.

 

Then I post the next week's reading assignment and hand out next week's papers. :001_smile:

 

ETA: The kids are reporting that the time varies per week and per child, but it sounds like 10 hours a week for history and literature/English. We tend to skip the government, philosophy, and church history assignments.

 

Btw, we love TOG, too! And this is similar to our schedule, except that we don't do all the worksheets and test--just discussion on Thursday!

[shanvan]

TOG has been a lifesaver for me. It's increased the quality of our homeschool while decreasing my stress load. Win-Win! I love having everyone on the same topic, being able to bounce kids up a level or down a level as needed, and having one curriculum cover most subjects. I also enjoy being able to tweak and plan but need a plan laid out for myself to work from. TOG gives me enough flexibility to tweak yet enough structure to keep us on task. :D

 

I did listen to many of the video lectures and audio lectures that TOG offers over the last year and rearranged my homeschool accordingly. The older 3 children work toward class times rather that trying to meet with every child on every subject every day. I also post the yellow reading sheet in the kitchen. It's easier than printing a separate copy for each child, and they can't lose their copy. :glare:

 

Have fun! :001_smile:

 

Can you explain the bold above more? I'm curious which lectures you watched/listened to and what you mean by 'work toward class times'. I'm struggling this year to fit in subjects for each child consistently and haven't come up with a good schedule/approach yet. We all kind of feel like we are scattered. It's not b/c of TOG. It's more a combination of factors, including Ds working so much more independently and me having to adjust to that, demanding extracurrliculars, etc. Anyway, your comment intrigued me.

 

OP, TOG has been amazing for my Dc. They love discussing their reading and will not even consider any other approach to history/literature.

[Just Jane]

:party: Well I just ordered it! Including the books we don't have, which is more then I expected but we haven't studied this time period very much and I was buying books as I was planning my own. :001_smile:

[TracyP]

When I went to order there are options for Digital and/or Print editions so I decided to wait. I'm a paper kind of person but wondering if there's anything I'll miss without the Digital edition? :bigear:

 

You will miss updates when they occur. I don't think that is a bad thing because once you have bought books an update can make your books obsolete. Of course, in ten years you might really be wanting an update.

 

TOG sounds perfect for your family. It could be because I started with young kids, but I never experienced the dreaded "TOG fog". I think it just kinda "clicked" with me. Hopefully you have the same experience.

[TracyP]

:party: Well I just ordered it! Including the books we don't have, which is more then I expected but we haven't studied this time period very much and I was buying books as I was planning my own. :001_smile:

:hurray: Apparently I'm just a tad bit too slow.:D

[Just Jane]

You will miss updates when they occur. I don't think that is a bad thing because once you have bought books an update can make your books obsolete. Of course, in ten years you might really be wanting an update.

 

TOG sounds perfect for your family. It could be because I started with young kids, but I never experienced the dreaded "TOG fog". I think it just kinda "clicked" with me. Hopefully you have the same experience.

That's a good thing though because I bought the books, I don't want them to change. I also feel like it's clicking with me too after watching a planning video on the website, it just makes sense and seems like exactly what I've been trying to do myself. :001_smile:

[Georgiana Daniels]

When I went to order there are options for Digital and/or Print editions so I decided to wait. I'm a paper kind of person but wondering if there's anything I'll miss without the Digital edition? :bigear:

 

I prefer paper too. For year 1 we had paper only, but this time I ordered paper + DE. I guess I'm wanting updates as they come along, knowing that our kids are young and we'll be at this for a long time. If they were older and on their last round of history, I probably would have stuck to paper only.

[coffeegal]

Can you explain the bold above more? I'm curious which lectures you watched/listened to and what you mean by 'work toward class times'. I'm struggling this year to fit in subjects for each child consistently and haven't come up with a good schedule/approach yet. We all kind of feel like we are scattered. It's not b/c of TOG. It's more a combination of factors, including Ds working so much more independently and me having to adjust to that, demanding extracurrliculars, etc. Anyway, your comment intrigued me.

 

OP, TOG has been amazing for my Dc. They love discussing their reading and will not even consider any other approach to history/literature.

 

Let's see, I watched Lesson Planning 101, and it was somewhat helpful. I then watched Out of the Shrinkwrap and discovered several areas I was messing up with our homeschool organization. Let's just say I ran out, purchased a file box, and spent a weekend setting up a filing system for myself that's based off her filing system. I have 1 box for everyone, rather than a separate box for each student. We've been able to stay on track ever since. :D

 

Tips for Teaching a Houseful, and Teaching with Tapestry of Grace were probably the most helpful of the audio lectures. A few points that stuck out to me were

 

1. Older children (middle school/high school) are able to work towards a class time on a weekly or biweekly basis. You don't have to cover every subject every day with them. They do need to learn how to plan a week's worth of material and complete their planned work each day. This age group needs weekly discussions to help them make connections and reflect upon what they're learning and how it applies to themselves.

 

2. The upper grammar kids are the golden years. They're able to read well and learn from their reading but are too young for detailed discussions. Give them lots to read. :001_smile:

 

3. The lower grammar, and younger, kids are the ones who need the bulk of your time to learn to read, write, and do their math. Don't shirk the babies.

 

I then spent the summer evaluating our school schedule and expectations. I thought about what each child, or group of children, needed and planned accordingly. Class time is a specific time (10:30-11:30 right now) when we sit down to discuss the subject of the day.

 

My 7th, 9th, and 10th graders no longer need me to have over them monitering their work constantly. Lol, the days of sitting them down at a table and walking around the table supervising are long gone. Instead I ensure they know what is required for the week, have a plan for getting it done, and a due date for handing in the material. It helps me to have a subject to focus on each day. For example on Tuesdays I grab the Rod and Staff TMs and touch base with each child. I teach the concepts they're learning over the week, ensure they're doing their work, and they're understanding their lessons. I then give them their assignment for the week, due the next Tuesday. I also check the writing assignment that's due on Friday. Do they understand what's expected? Any questions? I haven't assigned a specific day to math, but once or twice a week I check in with the kids on how math is going and grade their weekly test. So far everyone is doing well. :D

 

My 4th grader needs daily attention for his math and English assignments. He's capable of reading his science and history material on his own though. On Fridays we sit down together and work on his lapbooks. I've found it's a great method of discussing what he's learned over the week. There's nothing like an excited child filing out his blurb on the War of 1812 while chattering about the highlights of some of the battles, lol.

 

This leaves me able to spend the bulk of my time running the house and chasing the babies. The babies and I will be transitioning to formal schoolwork over the next few years.

 

Does that help a bit? :001_smile:

[shanvan]

Let's see, I watched Lesson Planning 101, and it was somewhat helpful. I then watched Out of the Shrinkwrap and discovered several areas I was messing up with our homeschool organization. Let's just say I ran out, purchased a file box, and spent a weekend setting up a filing system for myself that's based off her filing system. I have 1 box for everyone, rather than a separate box for each student. We've been able to stay on track ever since. :D

 

Tips for Teaching a Houseful, and Teaching with Tapestry of Grace were probably the most helpful of the audio lectures. A few points that stuck out to me were

 

1. Older children (middle school/high school) are able to work towards a class time on a weekly or biweekly basis. You don't have to cover every subject every day with them. They do need to learn how to plan a week's worth of material and complete their planned work each day. This age group needs weekly discussions to help them make connections and reflect upon what they're learning and how it applies to themselves.

 

2. The upper grammar kids are the golden years. They're able to read well and learn from their reading but are too young for detailed discussions. Give them lots to read. :001_smile:

 

3. The lower grammar, and younger, kids are the ones who need the bulk of your time to learn to read, write, and do their math. Don't shirk the babies.

 

I then spent the summer evaluating our school schedule and expectations. I thought about what each child, or group of children, needed and planned accordingly. Class time is a specific time (10:30-11:30 right now) when we sit down to discuss the subject of the day.

 

My 7th, 9th, and 10th graders no longer need me to have over them monitering their work constantly. Lol, the days of sitting them down at a table and walking around the table supervising are long gone. Instead I ensure they know what is required for the week, have a plan for getting it done, and a due date for handing in the material. It helps me to have a subject to focus on each day. For example on Tuesdays I grab the Rod and Staff TMs and touch base with each child. I teach the concepts they're learning over the week, ensure they're doing their work, and they're understanding their lessons. I then give them their assignment for the week, due the next Tuesday. I also check the writing assignment that's due on Friday. Do they understand what's expected? Any questions? I haven't assigned a specific day to math, but once or twice a week I check in with the kids on how math is going and grade their weekly test. So far everyone is doing well. :D

 

My 4th grader needs daily attention for his math and English assignments. He's capable of reading his science and history material on his own though. On Fridays we sit down together and work on his lapbooks. I've found it's a great method of discussing what he's learned over the week. There's nothing like an excited child filing out his blurb on the War of 1812 while chattering about the highlights of some of the battles, lol.

 

This leaves me able to spend the bulk of my time running the house and chasing the babies. The babies and I will be transitioning to formal schoolwork over the next few years.

 

Does that help a bit? :001_smile:

 

Yes and no. I need you to come here and organize my time for me. :lol: JK

 

Actually, it is a help. I need to do some re-evaluating and portion out my time better, and you've given me ideas. Drat! Looks like I really have to knuckle down and make decisions. I wish I had my magic wand. It seems to have disappeared.

[AngelBee]

In my house with 10th, 9th, 7th, and 4th graders:

 

Friday - I post the assignment sheet and hand out the papers for the week. SAP, maps, etc. My 4th grader and I plan the next week together. I often run him through the vocabulary works to see what he knows and can spell. Any word he doesn't know gets looked up in the dictionary over the week. The older children plan their own work.

 

Over the weekend I read through the TOG material for the week.

 

We started adding in the read alouds this week. I'm reading to the children over lunch everyday. So far, so good!

 

Monday - Science experiments, kids read TOG material on their own.

 

Tuesday - Grammar & writing, I ensure everyone understands their grammar and writing assignments for the week. Kids continue to work through the TOG material on their own

 

Wednesday - Science discussion (works better than history on Wednesdays) Kids continue to work through the TOG material on their own.

 

Thursday - History discussion - Maps & thinking questions are due. My oldest 3 children and I sit down and work through the dialectic discussion. My oldest and I then continue on to the rhetoric discussion together, while the younger 2 take off. This is also when I was planning on working on the timeline, but we ran into system error. The toddlers kept destroying it. :glare:

 

Friday - Literature discussions - Literature worksheets are due. Tests are taken. Writing assignments are due. My 4th grader and I sit down to complete his lapbook for the week. I check his vocabulary work and give a spelling test.

 

Then I post the next week's reading assignment and hand out next week's papers. :001_smile:

 

ETA: The kids are reporting that the time varies per week and per child, but it sounds like 10 hours a week for history and literature/English. We tend to skip the government, philosophy, and church history assignments.

 

Thank you for writing that out!!! Very helpful :)