Starting TOG, how do you use your time...

[Pine Ledge Academy]

:bigear:How do you split up your day to get it all in, do you do it throughout the day or just one part of the day, how do you work other subjects in too....seems like one could spend all day on just this. Maybe it will become clearer as we start, I just opened the box yesterday. I would like to hear how others use this and how not to feel overwhelmed at something so great, but sooo comprehensive.

[happygrrl]

I am using TOG with an LG and two UG. We try to do all our other subjects before a late lunch. After lunch, we do TOG.

I spend Sunday planning the week, so that I have the topics I want to emphasize spread out through out the week. We start Monday's session with Geography, so that we have a framework to 'see' what is happening. Then I read out loud...a lot! We read a non-fiction type selection about our topic for the day, and then read our literature. After the reading is done for the day, we do lapbooks or projects, depending on the reigning mood. I admit to being pretty loose with my schedule... the thing (in my situation) is for the kids to enjoy history, not feel pressured by it. Some weeks we stretch into two, some weeks we compress. I am comforted by the fact that we will hit this area of history again in greater depth. I do the vocabulary and people in the context of our reading and conversation about our reading, not as separate subjects. We have not done the writing portion yet, so I am not sure if we will do that before lunch or in the TOG time.

I don't know if that helps any... I am always happy to talk about what we do! We *love* TOG here, and am amazed about the great things that implementing it has done for our school time.

[Elinor Everywhere]

:bigear:How do you split up your day to get it all in, do you do it throughout the day or just one part of the day, how do you work other subjects in too....seems like one could spend all day on just this. Maybe it will become clearer as we start, I just opened the box yesterday. I would like to hear how others use this and how not to feel overwhelmed at something so great, but sooo comprehensive.

I am new to TOG, but it is working well for us as we prepare to finish Unit 1 in the next few weeks.

The best thing I've done is have our planning session for the following week on either Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. This gives the kids a head-start on their reading.

Then, I have their schedules set so that we do core work (math, spelling, grammar, memory, Latin, French (or Greek) ) in the morning. We meet at 11:00 for TOG history, which includes geography, vocabulary, and discussions about their reading. They take an hour for lunch and outdoor play, and at 1:00 we're back for TOG writing assignments. After that they are free to work on homework for the rest of the day, and my personal teaching time is finished.

Although they are 10, I do choose a book to read aloud, and either read it during breakfast or lunch. My read-aloud choices are normally Dialectic books that complement their own history reading.

I hope this is helpful; I can break our schedule down further if needed.

[Lisawa]

It really depends on the day, but we do all TOG things later in the day. Basics and science come first....

I just posted a download on my blog for how I am breaking thinsg up over the week... not sure if it will help, but here is the link

Tapestry of Grace Weekly Procedure (http://koinoniaacademy.blogspot.com/2008/04/tapestry-of-grace-weekly-procedures.html)

I read over my teachers notes over the weekend, and then again thorugh the week. Things dont always stick in my head...

HTH~

[Reeseepc]

That was a nice weekly plan sheet -- thank you for sharing that!! We are also new to TOG, and I have found it's much better to get the basics (Lang Arts/Math/Etc.) overwith FIRST, and save the reading for afternoon and bedtime reading. That way, the afternoons are not as stressful, and if we have appointments, they can bring their books in the car with them.

:)