You know I have found over the years that there is no right or wrong way to teach your children. In every homeschool there are many different methods used and many different curriculums out there that say they are the best or better then the next. What makes a curriculum work for me is the ease in which I, the teacher can understand how to teach and then whether or not my children like it. One of the methods of teaching is through unit studies. Now those of you who know me know that this type of curriculum is not my bag. However I was given the opportunity to review Tapestry of Grace Year 1 Unit 2 which is a immeasurable history unit study.
Now with this curriculum you would usually want to purchase the whole year and then take your summer to read through it and collect the information to get you started in the fall. With TOG I would highly recommend this so you can get a grasp on all the information that is in the introduction as well as get all your research done and ready.
As far as the Units, they are broken down into 9 weeks studies. Basically their thinking is that you will run through subjects about every four years. So for all intents and purposes your first grader will come back to this same study once again in about 4 years and will continue to do so all they way through High School. I have to admit I do love this idea. I was taught history in a mish mash order and I never understood how it all fit together until now as I am teaching it to my children.
The Tapestry of Grace unit study recommends excellent literature, reading books, worksheets, hands on activities like crafts etc, and of course they incorporate the Bible. This can be a great way of teaching if you have many ages to teach at the same time. The curriculum covers it for all ages, which is nice. You can be going over the information with all and then have the older one work on their own or help the younger ones. However I have to admit if I were to purchase all the books they want me to purchase I would have a small library here in my house. Some of the books I was able to find in the library other I had to forgo. However we did just fine without them.
TOG’s idea is great, and I think that their approach is wonderful. However there is a ton of teacher prep work and a lot of books to either purchase or get from the library (if you can find them) and expense because of the books, activities and the extra components that you would have to buy from them. So needles to say this just did not fit into our homeschooling. This program would be for someone who LOVES to teach using the Unit Study style of homeschooling and enjoys doing all the prep work and research a head of time. This is a huge undertaking, however they offer so much support. They have this area of their website that is called the Loom. This is for those who want a little help with project ideas recipes, etc. So there is plenty of support for you if you decide to try their program out.
I received the digital copy of Year 1 Unit 2. Well, first let me say I had no problem downloading their Lock Lizard but due to the size and complication of this study I think that having a hard copy would have made a huge difference in liability for me. Plus all the printing I had to do was very expensive. I also found going back and forth on the computer screen was a little confusing, and my eyes were getting tired, I could not take it to bed to read through the stuff and finding the pages I was reading and trying to reference back to them was getting a bit more complicated then I would have liked while I was trying to do the research. I would highly recommend that if you decide to purchase TOG you buy the hard copy instead.
Tapestry of Graces’ Download version is $45 each unit (4 per year)
The printed version may start being phased out so you may want to pick up the combination pack, which is the printed and Downloadable version. And I would just like to send you to their website for the prices because they vary depending on which one you get. Plus, they are offering a 3-week trial to sample. I highly recommended you do this to see if this colossal program works for you and your children.5 out of 10 The TOS Crew Homepage
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