If you decided to not use TOG, what did you use or plan to use instead?

[Quiver0f10]

If you decided to not use TOG, what would be your second choice?

[Pammy]

if I couldn't use TOG. I like the literature and history based studies, though I would adjust it to be more chronological.

[Emmy]

:lurk5:

 

I've been thinking to do TOG for our 2nd round through history and now with all their issues I'm not sure....

Edited November 17, 2008 by Emmy

[Donna A.]

MFW ;)

 

Your high schoolers can work independently (yes, it IS college-prep work, despite some claims of MFW being too light), and you can still do all the youngers together.

[Cornerstone Classical]

MFW ;)

 

Your high schoolers can work independently (yes, it IS college-prep work, despite some claims of MFW being too light), and you can still do all the youngers together.

 

We are loving MFW here!

[SBP]

I looked hard at TOG for the logic stage, but I think I've decided to go with TRISMS next year instead. There were just too many parts of TOG I didn't think we'd use.

 

SBP

[Trivium Academy]

Others I'd really consider:

- Veritas Press Omnibus

- Great Books Academy

- Trisms

Edited November 18, 2008 by Trivium Academy

[YJ in AL]

Truthquest or Sonlight.

 

Yvonne

[momee]

Tried TOG classic, ds thought it was "too hard" to answer questinos and I was tired of looking for books and shelling out big cash we didn't have.

 

Tried WEM for high school - sounded great! (too loosey goosey, not enough how to for me as - to quote Night at the Museum - dumdum when it comes to Great Books).

 

We tried SL - sorry SL users - just didn't compare to the education we were both getting with TOG.

 

So, here we are with TOG again.:lol:

[rafiki]

.

[Pongo]

So far I am liking

Truthquest for Elementary K-4 then, History Makers for 5th - 6th, 7-10 Trisims HS (or Omnibus), 11th-12th Community College.

I was thinking Omnibus but after reading the review by Exodus Books, I'll have to get my hands on an actual copy.

 

Okay, I think I decided (hee,hee, sounds undecided to me)

1,3,4- TOG 1 (this year)

2,4,5-TOG 2 (2008-09)

3 (TQ AH II) 5,6 Trisims (History Makers)

4 (TQ AH III) 6,7 Trisims (History Makers)

That's what I am looking at for now. I will most likely sell my TOG Y3 and then Y1 after March.

Edited November 18, 2008 by Pongo
added-schedule

[Melissa in CA]

Well, I couldn't go back to SL. TOG has me spoiled and as good as SL is, TOG is better. I think I would look very carefully and thoroughly at Veritas Press.

[Guest]

I had my heart set on TOG and have been waiting patiently until it's time. We are looking at trying MFW next year for K. I am thinking we'll try MFW for a year or two. If it works we may stay with them. If not, then hopefully TOG will have worked out the bugs with DE by then. I know that doesn't help those of you who need something NOW. I like that MFW seems to integrate God into everything, though. The CM method will either take some getting used to or tweaking.

[Blessedfamily]

I really wanted to try SL but some of their literature selections made me depressed just reading the synopsis sheet. DD is very sensitive about that kind of stuff.

[cajun.classical]

I looked very seriously at TOG and decided that I like a modified Omnibus best for Junior High and High School. For elementary history, I like a combo of Veritas History, Memoria Press history and Truthquest with lots of living books. For literature, I combine selections from VP and AO. One of the reasons that TOG didn't appeal to me is the lack of literature in the elementary years. There was too much historical fiction and not enough classic children's literature. I keep history and literature separate in the younger years and combine them in a Great Books study for the later years.

[Ruthie]

Can someone please fill me in on what these "bugs" and issues are with TOG? Cause I am getting ready to get it due to the advice on these boards!

Thanks,

Ruth

[Guest]

Since I mentioned bugs, I should respond. I'm sure you're following all of the threads that TOG is going digital. That's brand new. They're just trying to figure out how it's all going to work. Anything that's new always tends to have some sort of bugs. (That's just my opinion) If you visit their message boards, you can read how they're just trying to figure out how it's all going to work. If you are ready to order TOG, go for it!

[MicheleinMN]

I went from TOG back to Ambleside Online and then on to Kolbe's Literature and History plans for high school. I really like the books used in both these programs. I don't mind being a bit looser in the K-8 grades, and Kolbe is great for keeping me on track for high school. (Kolbe's no where near as intense as TOG for high school, but it's no slouch either.)

 

Oh, and I forgot that we are also using TWEM to help our Great Books Study.

 

Michele

Edited November 18, 2008 by MicheleinMN
added another resource

[Quad Shot Academy]

I am hoping the World Views of The Western World (Cornerstone Curriculum, David Quine) will come out with a better teacher's edition by the time my kids hit high school. I see on their site that they are in the process of making a new teacher's syllabus, so maybe it will be adequate next year! If not, I will consider WTM with lots of literature guide help from things like Progeny Press. But maybe by then a new curriculum will be out.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Marie in Oh]

we are starting our second cycle. I just decided it was too much money for now and that when we started oldest two in cycle three it would be justified becasue we will be shooling 6 -7 of the kids by then and all three levels of the curriculum. Right now we would only be using upper and lower grammar and maybe a little of the dialectic stuff, so it was just too much money and work to get all the books for right now.

 

Instead, we are using Mystery of History 1 with some success and they are listening to SOTW 1 on CD as a supplement. WE are using IEW SWI A to manage the older kids summary writing of the their history and that seems to be working well.

 

I am hoping that in 3 years all the bugs are out of TOG so we can reconsider it for when oldest two are in high school. We tried to incorporate VP history and it was terribly boring and dry. I am not sure if I would consider Omnibus if TOG was out. I have looked at David Quinne's Worldview course and I think it is very good, but massive. But I would consider that as well.

[Quiver0f10]

Thanks everyone for the replies. AT this moment I am planning on staying with TOG, but it's nice to know there are other options.

[pjssully]

Hi-- I have tried to use TOG several times and have also used sonlight. After searching for the "perfect" fit for i have decided on MFW and couldn't be happier!! Once i was ready to let go of the idea that MORE is BETTER, i could enjoy the well thought out layout of MFW. We are learning together and i am more relaxed than i have eve been. I am hoping, also, to use it for high school but that is a few years away. If you have any questions about MFW, i would be happy to answer them.

good luck with your decision

pam

[Lizzie in Ma]

We really love our Mystery of History with Truthquest combo.

It needs some supplementing for the older crowd but it is fairly easy to do using Annenberg Media free VOD lectures, my netflix cue, Church History in Plain Language and Speilvogel. Plus other assigned reading of course in literature and history. I love using the TQ recommendation of Shaeffer's, How Should We Then Live. We use both the books and the dvds.

If I could ever afford them, I would love to have the Omnibus handy but don't see that as happening any time soon.

[Quiver0f10]

I was looking at samples of MFW and I see they give you read alouds, but I don't see any other books for literature? I have only looked at the Rome to the Reformation samples pages, so maybe there are some independent reading suggestions elsewhere?

 

Thanks!

[MIch elle]

We're following Sonlight 6 history only this year and I'm really liking it (currently reading A.Caesar's World). We choose our own read alouds & readers from SL6 list along with other literature. The reading schedule is TOO much for use so we'll read about 1/4 of the books SL6 schedules. For $60 the SL IG history schedule works well for us.

[Donna A.]

I was looking at samples of MFW and I see they give you read alouds, but I don't see any other books for literature? I have only looked at the Rome to the Reformation samples pages, so maybe there are some independent reading suggestions elsewhere?

 

Thanks!

 

A couple of threads that might help answer this, if you haven't yet seem them:

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67562

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67555

 

The Book Basket Archive forum at MFW:

http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewforum.php?f=30

 

(P.S. a pp mentioned How Should We Then Live... this is one of the many titles in the RTR book basket list, and I think I've seen it in others, too.)

 

Just spend some time poking around on the MFW forums.... there's a lot there:

 

http://board.mfwbooks.com/index.php?sid=38b8b6220df5ab45ceace0caa4e81ff7

 

Jean, one thing I did a long time ago that helped me (and dh) to decide MFW was the path we wanted to take was to print out all the sample lessons from all the years that MFW offered, and read through them in order. They didn't have high school yet at the time, but they do now, so print that one, too. FYI, each year program is piloted by several different families for a couple of years before it goes on the market, tested and tweaked by parents and students of varying ages, so updates or changes to the program are very rare.

 

You might also be interested in getting a couple of David's conference CDs to listen to. http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?t=3234

 

Answers to the question "Will MFW be challenging?":

http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?t=475

 

I'll admit that I've waffled and second guessed at different moments since coming to MFW, but I *always* come back to it. And recently when I told the girls that we're never changing curriculum again and we're staying with MFW all the way through, all 3 of them they literally CHEERED. :hurray:

 

HTH. :)

[cbollin]

I was looking at samples of MFW and I see they give you read alouds, but I don't see any other books for literature? I have only looked at the Rome to the Reformation samples pages, so maybe there are some independent reading suggestions elsewhere?

 

Thanks!

 

Donna covered a lot of it.

 

Tagging on a bit....

 

In MFW's "5 year cycle programs" (the ones in grades 2-8), you get a huge list of "book basket" reading suggestions. It's an extensive library list of enrichment reading.

Additionally, MFW also gives a general reading list for approximate grades that are not tied to the unit study, but are just "classics" in reading for children.

 

If you look on the sample grids, you'll see a place for book basket and reading. Those are done most every day. You have a lot of flexibility in which books to use to fit for your child. I tend to pull longer books from the list and say "finish this one" and then call that "reading time". They can glance through other book basket books for fun and independent learning as if they are in a waiting room, or at a book store just browsing.

 

I also think of book basket as the regular "field trip in a book" time of day. We study the material from package books first, and those are the ones where we have time to narrate and "just talk about" in terms of discussion. Some of them have pre set questions, others we just narrate and talk. Then the book basket literature is to help give more to the material.

 

At high school level, MFW has full literature with literature guides and rhetoric level questions.

 

-crystal

[Quiver0f10]

Thank you Crystal and Donna. I didn't know MFW had boards and will be spending sometime over there later today! :D

[Jane Elliot]

I thought I would mention a few things that have worked for us since I haven't seen them listed here.

 

For grammar and logic stages, we are enjoying Biblioplan with Story of the World and Kingfisher. My college-aged daughter *again* thanked me this morning for making her outline the Kingfisher. She has said repeatedly that it was the *best* thing I had her do, so I continue to require outlining of my logic stage dc.

 

We like the history based writing lessons from IEW which have helped us incorporate more writing into our history studies.

 

For rhetoric stage we like the discussion guides from thegreatbooks.com. One could pick and choose from the discussion guides, ignoring the schedule (which some might consider torturous) altogether. These guides get into the worldview-type questions that make doing great books study worth the effort in our home.

 

A nice surprise this year has been Greenleaf Press' new guide for medieval literature. We had used the ancient literature guide and had always hoped they would write more guides. This one is just as good as the first. (Note: These are different from the famous men guides that Greenleaf is most often known for. They are literature guides specifically for high school use.) I am thrilled that they are planning to come out with two more of these in the next year or so. They are also a very inexpensive option.

 

HTH!