Curriculum Review -Tapestry of Grace

We switched to Tapestry of Grace about five weeks ago.  I absolutely love it!!  As a history major, I've never found a history program that I love enough to get.  History needs to be studied chronologically and this is the one I would definitely choose!!

First, you decide the year.  This is a four year program that includes a lower grammer, upper grammer, rhetoric, and dialetic level for each year.  The year is broken down into four nine week units.  Each week has about seventy pages of information.

The first pages are the threads pages.  This goes over all the objectives for each level for history, writing, literature, geography, fine arts and activities, church history, government, and philosophy.  Yes, it really covers all of these subjects.

The reading assignments pages are next.  Each level is broken down with book recommendations for each subject.  I love the flexibility.  You can grab a book from another level or find a different one if you have it.  The weekly overview is next, divided up the same way.  It lists important people, timeline, vocab words, and basic topics to hit on.

Writing assignments is next.  This is broken up into 12 different levels.  You can put your child in whichever level you prefer them to be in.  Move up one week and down the next.  ITs all up to you. 

Student activity pages are next.  This breaks down by level the activities and discussion questions that you should go over.  It also has the activity pages for you to do with your child.

The last section is the teacher's notes.  What a fantastic source this is!!  Its about five pages of reading a week with all the background information that you need to teach you children.  This section also breaks out the dialetic and rhetoric discussion questions with answers and additional information.

There are several different things you can purchase along with the program.  I recommend the map aids because all the maps are set for each level and ready to go for you.  I could probably do that on my own, but I'm strapped for time and just can't do it.  The other part that I purchased was the writing assignments.  This goes over in much greater detail and has the assignments all ready for the kids. 

We follow some of the literature portion.  Right now, TL is supposed to be reading Les Miserables, but I though Swiss Family Robinson would be more fun.  He'll be following their reading schedule  more next year when we hit the 1900s.

Like I said, this program is very flexible.  There is no need to cover absolutely everthing, its up to you to decide what to do.  The cost can be an issue, it is a little expensive to get the books and the program.  You have two options with the program.  You can get the download file or get it in print, or actually a third option is to get both.  I've been lucky to have a bunch of books that I could use instead of the ones listed or have found books on Heritage History's website to use.   The cost for books then has been low for me.  You can also use the library to obtain the books for the program.  I recommend keeping a library list though so the next time you go through the program, you have the library list handy.

This program is easy to use and I just love it. 

One of the things that I really love, is that its definitely a project based learning approach, which makes learning more fun!!  The kids are really enjoying the projects and learning so much more!

Have a wonderful week!