jojomojo Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 I shouldn't have gone looking because now I want it :tongue_smilie: How parent intensive is it? Right now it's working for us to have my dd (5th) work independently on a lot of stuff. I'll have a somewhat hyperactive 4 yr old to work into the routine next year as well, so he'll probably need a lot of attention (like the littles don't already demand it :D). Would buying just the first unit of Year 1 give me a good feel for how the whole program works? I'm kind of dense when it comes to figuring out new curricula. It takes me a while to find a groove. I appreciate any input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 I shouldn't have gone looking because now I want it :tongue_smilie: How parent intensive is it? Right now it's working for us to have my dd (5th) work independently on a lot of stuff. I'll have a somewhat hyperactive 4 yr old to work into the routine next year as well, so he'll probably need a lot of attention (like the littles don't already demand it :D). Would buying just the first unit of Year 1 give me a good feel for how the whole program works? I'm kind of dense when it comes to figuring out new curricula. It takes me a while to find a groove. I appreciate any input! It is a wonderful curriculum and we love it but it is definitely a curriculum that requires some planning and organization on a parent's part. I like to plan the whole quarter and make notebooks for the kids. Buying the first unit would work, or you could also do the 3 week Egypt unit from year 1. That would give you a good feel for it, and it is free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojomojo Posted November 19, 2008 Author Share Posted November 19, 2008 Thanks! I see you have a 10 yr old and 11.5 yr old. Other than preparing ahead of time, how parent intensive is it on a daily basis? I don't mind prep time. I spend maybe 1-2 hrs a week pulling together MFW and all of the other stuff we use (and additional time every couple of weeks getting materials from the library). The independent part that I like is I can go over the days work when we first get started and just send her on her way. This also allows her to escape into another room to get away from the littles lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 It is a wonderful curriculum and we love it but it is definitely a curriculum that requires some planning and organization on a parent's part. I like to plan the whole quarter and make notebooks for the kids. Buying the first unit would work, or you could also do the 3 week Egypt unit from year 1. That would give you a good feel for it, and it is free. I also plan a whole quarter at a time, which takes me about a week with printing everything I need out. Then it is just open and go. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Langhaven Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I also print a quarter at a time into a workbook format. It makes it so easy, though the set up time is a little time consuming up front. For the younger kids it is truly open the workbook and go from there. For high school level prep, I spend between 1-2 hours reading teachers notes, perusing the weekly quiz and gathering maps etc. for the discussion. Pam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in IL Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 would you mind telling me what you put in your kids' notebooks? We are just starting TOG this year - and it has been a pretty big learning curve for me (7th gr. and3rd gr). Any suggestions would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 You betcha!! I have a blog post about it here but I learned from Karenciavo, the master. You can read about hers here. I spend quite a few hours at the beginning of the quarter making sure I have everything printed out, which writing assignments I want to include, which projects we are going to do, what notebook pages we will do. Once they are put together in the notebook, it takes me almost no prep time during the week. I don't even read all the teachers notes usually because I read some of the kids history books outloud to them, because I like to learn along with them, they like to be read to, and then we have good discussions while we are reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunnyFarmMom Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 The way I use it for my 5th grader, TOG is nearly open and go - once I've spent about 2 or 3 hours per unit (give or take, I'm doing prep for all 3) printing out notebooks and ordering books. We're blessed to be able to buy all the books, so they're just sitting there on the shelf waiting for me. I put a weekly schedule, the UG student activity pages, and any blank maps he might need for each week in the Unit notebook at the beginning of each unit. Then at the beginning of each week I spend probably 15 minutes with each UG kid going over what did and (did not) get accomplished from the last week and entering this week's assignments into the schedule. During the week, both UG's are pretty much on their own to do their TOG work, other than projects, which I only manage to get to every few weeks. :tongue_smilie: Not sure where I read this, but I'm pretty sure that the UG level is meant to be pretty self-sufficient so that mom can spend her time with the little non-readers and discussing things with the older kids. That's pretty much how it works in this house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojomojo Posted November 20, 2008 Author Share Posted November 20, 2008 Nancy..that sounds great. That's what I'm going for. :) I was going to print out the Egypt study and give it a test run, but realized I don't have any resource books. And our library is lame. What does everyone think of the books for unit 1? I was thinking that maybe I would purchase them. Whether we use TOG or not, we will cover that information at some point, so I figure it can't be a bad purchase (unless the books stink? lol). Thanks for the input everyone. Mindy - those blog links were very helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojomojo Posted November 21, 2008 Author Share Posted November 21, 2008 bump Just curious what everyone thinks of the books for the first unit. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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