A Whole New World....for us!

    Nearly three years ago I attended my first homeschool convention and I learned about Tapestry of Grace.  I had a four year old at home.  My little Katie was ahead, but I knew she wasn't ready for a massive curriculum like Tapestry.  The more I read online about it the more I fell in love with it.  I hated history as a kid.  It was not relevant or interesting.  I found it boring and dull.  As an adult I have a completely different view of history.  Teaching my child history and paralleling it with the Bible is exactly what I want.  It gives history purpose and value.  It gives the Bible validity in this lost world.  Tapestry of Grace is a beautiful way to introduce history to my daughter.  I'm so excited to learn right along side her.  One day my son will join us too!

Last year my son was born.

Now having a new baby may not slow you down, but it slowed me down.  As I looked towards the fall of 2012 I just wasn't confident I could do a whole lot more than language arts, math, light social studies and science readers, and a foreign language.  Although busy, the year was successful and I started dreaming of what was next.  I started researching.  Type in homeschool curriculum in your internet search bar.... Yeah you will be looking at curriculum for hours and be even more confused by the time you finish.  Homeschool conventions are similar.  Lost in a sea of oooh's and ahhhh's.  It is truly exhausting.

    So, how do you choose curriculum? Well, think about your style, your philosophy of education for your home, and your kids.  What are their ages? How much time DO you have? If you have several kids and very little time I bet TOG would work for you!  If you have a few kids and plenty of time I think it would work for you too!  I know there are folks out there just couldn't use the program and maybe it's my newbieness (Ha, a new word!)  BUT, come on!  This curriculum is so rich and deep.  I realize that I will have to read the teacher's notes and plan out my weeks, but no matter what I use I have to plan.  Right? Right!  Why not plan an amazing year? I look at Tapestry of Grace and see the big picture.  Lord willing, my kids will go through the program 2 or 3 full rotations.  In the end, I hope to  have kids with a solid foundation in history, geography, literature and the Bible.  They will know how to accurately and competently communicate historical facts and biblical truth after going this curriculum. Will this come easy? No.  It will not be easy for them and it won't be easy for me.  My heart longs for them to be successful.  I'm fully committed.  This is a season.  A short season, where I have the honor of setting the stage and building a firm foundation for my kids.

    A friend of mine just can't get past the scary planning part of Tapestry.  I'm grateful that she has found curriculum that will work great for her family.  We've struggled with this next step in our homeschool journey as friends.  We enjoy our girls doing similar things, but at some point you really have to do what speaks to you.  There are SO many programs out there I really don't see how you could go wrong.  Unless you pick what your friend is doing and that curriculum doesn't work for you and your family.  We need to trust God to lead us as we make these choices.  Then trust that He has a plan and will accomplish it this year in your family.

    Let me assume you are on the fence about TOG and you need a push one way or the other.  I can't tell you what will work or guarantee that TOG is your perfect fit.  However, let me ease your mind.  You will get teacher's notes each week that tells you all the wonderful things you "could" do.  There are books, maps, writing assignments, lapbooks, and projects.  You get to customize what you do.  This is where the planning part comes into play.  You can't just open a book and go.  You must thoughtfully choose what you want to do and can do each week.  There is just not enough time to do it all.  Cycling through the years should ease your mind a bit too.  Your child will see this information again!

    My planning has been so exciting.  I'd like to explain what I have done so far and I pray that it will help you....

    First things first, I purchased and printed from my DE version of TOG.  I printed only the pages I needed for my teacher notes.  I started with the first 9 week unit.  I also printed the quick guides and any other helpful documents.  I put all these pages in a binder for quick reference.  When I have time I pull it out and read a few pages.  Learning along with my daughter looks like so much fun!  Seriously, you'd think I was about to start school!

    Next, I skimmed over the books for unit one at Bookshelf Central.  There are a lot of fabulous and intriguing books.  I checked the library to find out which books they did NOT have.  Then I compared online prices and bought some books.  I decided to purchase books we would use for more than 2 weeks.  I think about half of the books should be available at our library.

Recently, I printed the maps we will use.  I just purchased a ProClick Binder and soon I will be able to make a TOG notebook for my daughter and a planning book for myself.  That is my next step.

   Starting Tapestry next month has consumed me.  I am just SO excited!  Join me on this journey.  I intend to share authentically about our first year.  Perhaps like me you want to start this in a year or two.  I hope you can learn from my experiences.