herbalgirl Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 I am so torn between these two curriculums! I really like how TOG is set up, but I also love the Sonlight book selections. Somewhere I heard there is a list of Sonlight books set up in the 4-year cycle, but I can't seem to find it. Also, has anyone ever used both TOG and Sonlight together, or is that just ridiculously hard to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 I don't know about doing both TOG and Sonlight, seems like alot of work. I know that some do add Sonlight books to their TOG experience. Anyways, here's the list that arranges Sonlight books into the 4-year cycle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herbalgirl Posted October 9, 2008 Author Share Posted October 9, 2008 Thank you so much for the link to the list! :) I agree, doing both sounds like a lot of work and a surefire recipe for burnout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 Thank you so much for the link to the list! :) I agree, doing both sounds like a lot of work and a surefire recipe for burnout. I will jump on that band wagon. SL has a reputation for being a full curriculum and TOG has the possibility of being even more/bigger. By the way I think it is much easier to use TOG as a base and add SL books than try to use SL as a base and add TOG mapping, discussions. Because TOG is a unit study you just have to line up the topic of the SL book with the TOG weekly topic list. For instance for the Civil War they have a week of the battles and a week that focus on the people. With SL you will follow the whole thing chronologically. So do you break up the TOG questions and cover them as they come up in SL reading? Does that mean you pre-read the books to figure out where or just wing it while you are doing it? Again with the people. You have to decide when is the best time to focus on each one and then separate out the material that week that covers that person. Not easy. If you are just looking for books for extra reading then TruthQuest would be a much better solution. It has a TON more books to offer at a fraction of the price. If you are looking for Literature Analysis then maybe you could try something like Lightning Literature instead? Just brainstorming. Really if there are multiple pieces of TOG that you want to use then the best thing is to just use it and substitute SL titles for what TOG recommends. The first thing I do with my TOG is put it in page protectors then go through and make notes of where all the books I already own would go. Then I go through the SL catalog and decide which are not to miss and mark those. By the time I get to buying books some weeks I don't need any because between what I own and the SL I want we have it covered. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kisa in CA Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 I think to use them both could only be done by SUPERWOMAN! There's certainly no way I could do it! I'd pick one and just personalize it. But then, you may wear tights, be big chested and fly everywhere!:p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamato4girls Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I think to use them both could only be done by SUPERWOMAN! There's certainly no way I could do it! I'd pick one and just personalize it. But then, you may wear tights, be big chested and fly everywhere!:p :iagree: Sonlight is A LOT of work, it is totally a full curriculum by itself, and you still have to add Math and Science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joy at Home Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I totally understand your desire to do both curriculums. They are both so wonderful it's hard to choose!! I'll let you in on my little secret. I do SL with dc, but I bought TOG and am working through it myself. Shhhhh. Please don't tell, as I'm afraid people will laugh at me:) I've used SL for years and really do love it. Right now I'm using cores 1/6, and it's going fine, but I'm using Core 1 loosely and when time is tight it's the first thing to go. I've taken a crack at TOG before, but really didn't invest the time and energy to make it work, so I reverted to my old love, SL. There's so many things I love about SL, above all being the literature selections. It seems to fit into my somewhat relaxed, quasi-Charlotte Mason take on education, figuring that if nothing else we're at least reading lots of good books. However, with high school years approaching, I am again looking seriously at TOG. I really would like to finish SL through Core 100, but just can't stop looking at TOG with admiration. Therefore, I decided that I just need to have it in my hands, even if I'm not planning on using it right away. I decided that I really need to try and master the material myself so that I can have meaningful dialogue with dc an a higher level. I've so enjoyed learning along with my children with SL, but in secret I'm educating myself with TOG alongside. Right now I'm enjoying the ride of SL while being a student of TOG in preparation for the higher grades. I'm not saying this is right for everyone, but it helps rid myself of the grass is greener syndrome and the "oooh, I maybe I should be doing that instead" by actually working with it on some level, becoming familar with it and learning so much, without the pressure of actually implementing it at this time. It also gives me lots of good ideas and talking points without feeling like if I don't plan my week around it we're not going to get anything done. I know this didn't help you at all in your decision, just thought I'd give you a slightly different take . . . Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joy at Home Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Heather, just wondering if you feel you are missing out by not using the student activity pages by switching literature selections? There are many SL titles I would like to substitue for TOG titles, but wondering how much they'll miss by not using the SAP and discussion for that selection. How have you dealt with this? How much subsituting do you do? Thanks!! Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 but I bought TOG and am working through it myself. Lisa Lisa I am VERY impressed. Way to go! I wish I were doing the same. Penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herbalgirl Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 Lisa! That is sort of what I am doing right now. I have TOG Year 1 redesigned, and am doing that with the kids, plus SL p4/5. I am also looking at the upper levels of TOG and reading stuff for myself in order to be better prepared for when the kids get to TOG upper levels. I don't find it hard to do both SL and TOG now, as we don't do all the crafts TOG has planned and SL's p4/5 is really, really simple. My older two kids are 6 and 4. Now, when they get older, I probably can't keep this up, but I am enjoying it now and you're right, it does take away the guilt of not doing one or the other! LOL ;) One woman in my homeschool co-op said that her husband mentioned they have to pare down as they have SIX bookshelves full of SL books now! We're military, so we also have to take into account the weight allowance for household goods. By using SL (actually buying cores every year and having all the books personally instead of using the library), we could go over our weight limit with all the books. Then, we'd have to pay out of pocket. Sooo, that is something to keep in mind and another reason it sweetens the deal for TOG. On the other hand, I could buy SL IGs and use the library! Ahhh! I think using TOG and adding in specific SL books that fit and doing other SL books as on the side read alouds is probably the smartest way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I have found that for us TOG has been very light in their read aloud suggestion. They have great books listed for history...but I want to read more chapter books to my dc. So I am adding in some of the read aloud books off of Sonlights list;). This is working great for our family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Heather, just wondering if you feel you are missing out by not using the student activity pages by switching literature selections? There are many SL titles I would like to substitue for TOG titles, but wondering how much they'll miss by not using the SAP and discussion for that selection. How have you dealt with this? How much subsituting do you do? Thanks!! Lisa Lisa, My oldest doesn't miss much, because she is a voracious reader I just add them on top of the TOG Literature books most of the time. There have been a few times when I just skipped a TOG book. Usually because I am using the classic and there are a few of the Literature titles that are not only OOP but really hard to find and way to expensive if you do find them. :eek: I don't think it is a big deal to miss a Literature worksheet here and there. It is a great opportunity to have them do a book report or narration instead. Heather p.s. For full disclosure, my dd hated the SAP pages, she is a big picture person who likes to see it all on one page, so she works off of the schedule I make. I just print the Literature worksheets out and she keeps them in her binder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herbalgirl Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 I have found that for us TOG has been very light in their read aloud suggestion. They have great books listed for history...but I want to read more chapter books to my dc. So I am adding in some of the read aloud books off of Sonlights list;). This is working great for our family. This is how I feel, too. My kids love to read and I feel TOG doesn't always have enough for them. Do you purchase your SL books, or just borrow them from the library? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 This is how I feel, too. My kids love to read and I feel TOG doesn't always have enough for them. Do you purchase your SL books, or just borrow them from the library? I purchased my books from Amazon:)...I have also got a few at Hastings when I didn't want to wait on shipping. So far we will be reading the Box Car Series, My Fathers Dragon, The Cricket in Time Square, Mr. Popper's Penguin's and as many more as we can in addition to TOG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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