WE LOVE TAPESTRY OF GRACE & EVERYTHING ABOUT IT!! WOW! From a mom/teacher perspective I love being able to keep my children in the same era of time, yet challenge them equally at their different levels & still have group discussions & work together.
The book choices Tapestry of Grace offers are incredible & give the teacher/parent options & even describe your options. Ex. Text, core, read aloud, in-depth, etc. It is a K-12 curriculum so I do enjoy seeing what my kids will be reading/doing when they are at the next levels in year to come. -- It is reassuring to me that they aren't currently "missing" wonderful books. All the books used with Tapestry are "real" books & even my preschooler enjoys laying in the floor flipping through them with us. Another wonderful part of TOG is that it offers alternate or extra resources for each learning level. These resources are categorized as: "Textbooks," "History Supplement," "Literature," "Arts/Activities," "Worldview," & "Enrichment." I truly appreciate all the options TOG offers. *I do want to include that you can use Story of the World with TOG - Each weeks lesson plan show the Volume, chapter(s), & section(s) corresponding to SOTW.
Within a TOG guide you will have the opportunity to teach your children history chronologically, through literature, worldview studies, church history, geography, writing, with vocabulary, people, timelines, & lapbooking all with fabulous hands-on-activities.
My kids have not felt overwhelmed with this curriculum & look forward to what new project each week will bring.
I love how TOG takes the opportunity to reinforce each topic with Writing Aids, Evaluations, & Student Assignment Pages.
Writing Aids is a great addition to your TOG curriculum. It ties your history studies topics in with your writing projects. For example, if you are studying about Vikings then you write a paper about what it would be like if you lived with a Viking family. The writing assignments are divided into levels (1-12) as well as writing genres. It is a great way to reinforce your studies.
Evaluations are available each week for each learning level. This is another great way to record what your children are learning, as well as hold them accountable for their studies.
The student assignment pages & in the upper levels response pages. This is an area you can assign projects specifically to your child's learning level (to do with your or independently) & it includes a literature page for the recommended literature choice for that week.
POP QUIZZES: My husband (& I) have been truly grateful for the Pop Quizzes TOG offers. The Pop Quizzes have filled my husband in on what we are working on each week & given him fun ideas for him with our children - creating lasting memories. In addition to this he is able to hold our children accountable for their studies with dinner time questions! LOVE IT! I haven't been asked, "what did you do all day" since we began using Pop Quizzes. He knows now & I didn't have to give him the run down! WONDERFUL!
I could go on & on about how great TOG is, but I will say one fabulous part of TOG that I couldn't do without is the other mom's that use it. TOG has established the forum, as well as yahoo groups for moms to support & encourage one another. These women have inspired me to teach far beyond my wildest dreams. They have answered questions & explained until I got it. The support that comes with this curriculum is not offered with any other curriculum out there (to my knowledge).
By purchasing this curriculum my family has been so very blessed. I am not only feeding my kids minds with these studies but their hearts as well (and mine too).
Dislikes: First I have to say, you have to make the curriculum work for you & not you for the curriculum. This is very important for not becoming overwhelmed with TOG. There is/can be a lot of planning involved with TOG; however, you have to decide what will & won't work for your family & not worry about the rest.
I will also say to keep in mind that this is designed to be used again so don't be overwhelmed by size or page number. You will only use what applies to your learning levels.
TOG can be expensive, but again, you have to choose what is best for your family. There is no contract or rule that says you have to do it all. :) TOG also offers budget tips each weeks lesson planning. A library close by would be very helpful, but some planning in advance will be required for this. Although, you will find that most of the books you are reading are ones you will want to add to your personal library anyway. Another consideration when the prices go to rising is to remember you can use it again in a few years or resell the books when you are done with them.
Getting the hang of how it works takes time (like most things), but the support you will get will walk you right through it & soon you will think it is a walk in the park.
*If you are intimidated by the size or are overwhelmed with storing a K-12 curriculum check out the
TOG website as they have now gone digital! . . . The possibilities just keep growing with this curriculum.
It is heart-wrenching to see my first baby grow. It seems like yesterday that he was saying his first words. He has always been a Momma's Boy & held tight to my heart. Lately, he has been coming into his own & identifying more and more with Big Daddy. I know it is inevitable, but oh how a momma's heart is torn when her babies get big. This week my "baby" asked to buy his own tools with his own money. Big Daddy has been working very hard around the farm lately with a good friend of ours (pictures coming soon). Tyler has found a secret spot in one of our pastures & has began his own project. The area is full of brush & trees that need to be cleared out. I suggested he ask his daddy to cut the trees down for him, but he was adamant on cleaning it himself. "Mom, can I buy some tools - my own tools - REAL tools?" So Friday I took him to Walmart & he got a saw & a pair of "work gloves." He has been working diligently with such pride. Although I would like to keep them all little forever, it brings a smile to my face (with tears in my eyes) to see my baby grow into a little man. His grandma would be so proud!
Classical Kids' CDs are a fabulous start to any study of a composer. I love these CDs. We listen to them mostly during lunch, bedtime & while we are in the car. While you are listening to the story of the composers life, the composers music is playing as well. FANTASTIC!
Come Look With Me books are the perfect start to begin picture study with your children. I used this book during our snack time (about 15-20 minutes) each day with ALL my children (2-10yr). They were all able to participate & more than enjoyed this time of our day. Each lesson has a full page picture with the title, artist & current location. On the opposite page is a few intriguing questions to further your observation of the picture. Just to give you an example here are a few that come to mind: "What do you think the boys in the picture are doing?" "Where do you think they are?" "How many shades of red can you find?" After the questions is a short paragraph about the artist and/or artwork. I love that there is NO preparation for our picture study. With using these books I just pull the book off the shelf, grab a snack & huddle around the fireplace with my kiddos.
I have used Story of the World Vol. 2 with TOG & absolutely LOVE it!! If I didn't love TOG so much & wasn't such a curriculum junkie I would have no hesitation of using it alone. We listen to the books on audio & use the Activity Guide. I went ahead & purchased the activity pages separate as well - it is just so much easier!
First language lessons is amazing! Momma's Boy has gotten an amazing head start & has enjoyed the activities with me. This is more than just grammar, it is a complete language curriculum.
