Tapestry of Grace

As I was thinking ahead to January schoolwork, it occured to me that I've never mentioned Tapestry Of Grace on the blog.

I owe you a huge apology.  It's a travesty that I haven't featured it before now.  Please don't hate me.

TOG is one of my favorite parts of our curriculum.  It covers the humanities:  history, literature, geography, fine arts, government, writing, and so on.  Many curricula cover the same areas, but TOG is special to me for two reasons:

1.  TOG is based on the idea that history is a tapestry woven by God.  We only get to see the messy underside of things, but He can see the finished beauty in Heaven.  He sees the complete masterpiece while we only see a few brushstrokes if you will.  With that as a core belief, TOG begins at creation and continues through history to modern day.

2.  The structure of TOG is fabulous!!  It is divided into four one-year plans.  When started in grade 1, if you go at the recommended speed, you will repeat the curricula 3 times by the end of high school.  It builds on itself each time through.  Also, the year plans are divided into 4 levels of study:  Lower grammar, Upper grammar, Dialectic, and Rhetoric.  Kids of all ages can study the same topics at the same time...just each at their own learning level.  You don't have to start at grade one...you can begin at any time.  You'll just work through it for as many years as you have available to spend.

We use this as our primary humanities curriculum, however we take it slower than the writers recommend.  In our family, we find that we work on TOG for a while, then take a break to focus on science or other topics.  Then we come right back and pick it up where we've left off.  My kids love all of the hands on projects that are options within the studies; I love all of the rich literature used to teach kids about different historical periods.

I also love that there are a plethora of learning activities presented.  Rarely do we ever get to all of the activity options; but that's okay...the writers wanted families to have a variety of ideas to choose from.  It helps each family pick and choose what is comfortable and successful for them.

If you homeschool or are thinking of it, I highly recommend checking TOG out.  Their website can do a much better job of describing the curriculum to you than I can and you'll get to explore all of the extra additions they offer as well.

Check them out at:
http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/