Tapestry of Grace pros/cons?

[crazymom4]

Anyone using Tapestry of Grace in Grammar stage....I am trying to decide if it is better to just use STOW in "round one" and then in the 2nd history cycle use Tapestry of Grace to add more?? I've seen a lot of positive TOG posts...does anyone have any cons that they can share? What are your favorite things about TOG?
I will have a 3rd grader and 1st grader next year and we are looking to start something...I love SOTW...but enjoy the TOG look too...plus, I have two boys coming up later on...I love the idea of having them all studying together at their own level....any thoughts...anyone...??

Thanks!!

[KerriF]

I am currently using TOG with a 2nd grader (and preschooler :D ). I decided that if I knew I wanted to use TOG later on then I wanted to go ahead and get started.:D

What I like:

1. By starting TOG now I will be very familiar with it in the later stages.
2. I gain a better understanding of history and its "threads" by going through it with them at a lower level. That will be very valuable to me when my boys are in the upper levels and we are discussing what they have read.
3. I get to pick and choose the areas I want to cover each week. For example since we are in the lower grammar stage if it is tough week in Math or Reading then I know that I need to hold back some on TOG.
4. My boys enjoy the hands on activities.
5. The teacher notes are wonderful. I have learned so much.
6. It is all laid out for me

Cons:

I don't really have any:)

I do think in the grammar stage you have to be willing to not accomplish all that TOG offers. I have to leave some of the fun discoveries and activities for later on.:)

[schang011]

and we have been doing Y2 at half pace which is wonderful. It allows us to spend some time on US geography and go off the topics once a while. We also get some SL books as extra read aloud. What draws me to TOG is their teacher's notes. I feel I've learned so much myself! I also prefer the weekly schedule that gives me some flexibility, yet to have a sort of structure. My 10 yo can sometimes read a couple books from dialectic level, depending on the books.

I personally feel the key to use TOG successfully at grammar stage is to "not do everything on the list"! Pick and choose what interests you and your kids, and have fun!

Shirley

[Trivium Academy]

I personally feel the key to use TOG successfully at grammar stage is to "not do everything on the list"! Pick and choose what interests you and your kids, and have fun!

Yep. We're using SOTW still with TOG. My only complaint and I mean only one...is that some of the TOG weeks have 4-5 SOTW chapters to read. This is fine for those with audiobook versions of SOTW, but I read aloud. In 1 way it's a good thing, it makes me reconsider for that week what is the best way to utilize our time.

There are plenty of ways to use TOG, using SOTW as a spine is actually considered an upper grammar reading. TOG has given me the comfort zone I needed to relax and enjoy more. I figure that next go round, I can have the kids read SOTW as an independent reading if we skip it too often.

I've been using SOTW2 with TOG2 for a couple of weeks now,
http://triviumacademy.blogspot.com/2008/01/weekly-report-tog2-wk7.html
http://triviumacademy.blogspot.com/2008/01/weekly-report-tog2-week-8.html
http://triviumacademy.blogspot.com/2008/01/weekly-report-tog2-week-9.html

We didn't do week 10 this past week but we have this week off so I'm going to use the LG books as read alouds with nothing else.

Take your time figuring out if TOG is for you- join the forums, ask questions. Download the 3 week sample, live with it for a while. Consider your goals for your children. Do you see your hopes for their education in TOG? I was in a daze for two weeks after downloading the sample, I though I was too much of a tweaker to use it. I LOVE it. It's the best thing since sliced bread in my opinion, but I was trying to duplicate it before others' pointed it out to me. Use the 3 weeks, check out the books from the library, do a mock run through. I didn't GET it completely until we were using it, even with it sitting on my shelf- until we used it, I was confused and overwhelmed.

No answer is perfect for everyone, if TOG doesn't fit- that's fine. You'll be closer to finding what does fit.

Hope this helps

[Janice in NJ]

I own:

TOG 1: Classic and Redesign
TOG 2: C & R
TOG 3: C - R on order
TOG 4: C
SOTW 1-4: books, activity guide, CD's

#1 Pro for TOG: This product and the resources suggested have pushed me heavily in the direction of self-study. I have gone beyond even the TOG resources and I'm grateful for the push that I received. I've found that when I pick up the clue phone in history, literature, and philosophy I can teach. The K-Mom aspect of the program is the most valuable "pro" for me.

#1 Con that I've seen: The K-Mom aspect. :D
Really.
Not being a cheeky here.
The year of the program is a rich unit study with 36 topics and almost an incalculable number of potential paths. I think that a mom has to have some idea of HOW and WHY she wants to use the program - toward what end - toward what goals before she can shake the feeling that she isn't doing "enough" and ends up overwhelming herself and her kids.

I'm not saying that you need to be certain or incredibly knowledgeable about the path that you want to take, but I think all homeschooler eventually have to face the reality that "covering" a curriculum is not "covering" an education. I have a dear friend who used to triumphantly state at the end of the year that she had finished her hs program. Don't get me wrong! She wasn't bragging or anything. She is a wonderful, totally cool gal. But she was always psyched when they got to day 180 and she checked the last "to-do" box. They were done. Education handled! I quickly came to the realization that there was NO way I could work with that notion on any level. (Even though I secretly longed to be able to do that!!!) I couldn't though; it made me so anxious. I would LOVE a program that allowed me to feel "done." Just once. But I know (and so does my dear friend) that you just can't "cover" ancient history with a third grader. There are Ph D candidates who still feel like they couldn't possibly grasp the subject in its entirety. They don't even TRY!!!!!!!

So learning to dip in and dip out was/is the key for me. Learning to dance that dance can be a real toughie with a program like TOG though. It's a bit like clomping around in boots that are a size 22 when you are a size 6. At first you feel like a total goof-ball!!!!! If you are psyched to give it a go, then go for it! But if you feel like you would be overwhelmed then don't. We used SOTW as our main spine for FOUR GREAT YEARS!!!! It was Awesome! It is a terrific resource that leaves room for some amazing rabbit-trails and an AWESOME foundation in Western Civilization! I am using it with my younger son in 5th grade. Good stuff!

But if you feel like you really want to spread your pegs out even further and you want the guidance that TOG offers, then go for it. You can spread the pegs just as far with SOTW on your own, but because the SOTW program was designed primarily for 1-4 (with an easy tweak for 5-8) you are going to have to do more of the leg work. TOG does a lot of the administrative leg-work for me. Anything that saves me mega-time is a must around here.

All that to say this: there are no "boxes" to check with TOG. None. The publisher makes no claim that their program can EVER be "covered" by any one child or homeschool. You can educate well with it. Very well. But you'll never explore every option. If those kinds of boots feel uncomfortably large, then don't buy them. If the notion intrigues and the idea of Herman-Munster-sized boots peaking out from under your Cinderella-style ball gown doesn't bother you, then give it a whirl.

Peace,
Janice

Enjoy your little people
Enjoy your journey

[siloam]

Joy,

I have a Pre4, 1st, 2nd and 4th graders and am loving TOG. Why? Flexibility, choice, yet it does give me structure and a schedule. I used to re-write so much of SL, and to a lesser degree WP.

The danger in using it early is that you will get board and decide to use something else about the time TOG will really pay off. Or if it isn't for your personality type and you can't pick and choose but feel you need to do it all. TOG has so much you HAVE to be able to pick and choose.

Heather

[crazymom4]

Thanks SO much for all your insight....for my personallity...the picking and choosing and planning...i.e. NOT having boxes to check, I believe, will actually be a benefit...

Oh the decisions....

Joy

[WTMindy]

I am using TOG for our second rotation and loving it, but I would not have given up SOTW volumes 1-4 for anything. I credit SOTW with the activity guide to giving my kids the love of history that they have. So for me, I would not use TOG for the first round. I find that starting in 5th grade still gives me plenty of time to get the program figured out. But, either program is great. I'm just a huge SOTW fan.

[siloam]

I am using TOG for our second rotation and loving it, but I would not have given up SOTW volumes 1-4 for anything. I credit SOTW with the activity guide to giving my kids the love of history that they have. So for me, I would not use TOG for the first round. I find that starting in 5th grade still gives me plenty of time to get the program figured out. But, either program is great. I'm just a huge SOTW fan.

Mindy,

Did you know that the Redesign does schedule SOTW as an alternate history choice?

We the the SOTW audio's here. Love those!

Heather

[Trivium Academy]

I have a slightly different opinion after using SOTW and the AG- I prefer TOG so far for lower grammar, it includes everything I was trying to tweak with SOTW, more geography, church history, people of the week, vocabulary (even if oral). The only thing I'm still using from SOTW which I'm about to switch is it's maps. Even the coloring pages have lost their flavor here. There's absolutely nothing wrong with SOTW's activity guide but dd7 seems to outgrown it a little. It might be b/c she's artistic.

I wouldn't want to miss the lower grammar books with my children at all- they are wonderful!