Tapestry of Grace
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Product tags:
Christian
Publisher: Lampstand Press
User Level: 1-5, 6-8, 9-12, Pre-K/Kindergarten
Subject Area: History
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Ratings Summary:
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Category
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Average
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Count
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| Effectiveness |
4 |
4 |
| Usability |
2.75 |
4 |
| Price/Value |
2.75 |
4 |
| Overall Average |
3.17 |
4 |
Tapestry of Grace is a complete and chronological study of the history of the world. This curriculum can be used from Kindergarten through high school, and uses whole books and the Good books to teach through the Christian faith.
http://www.tapestryofgrace.com
User Reviews
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| Reviewed by coffeebean1964 |
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Created at
8:46 PM EDT on
September 22, 2009
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Category
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Score
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| Effectiveness |
4 |
| Usability |
2 |
| Price/Value |
2 |
| Overall Average |
2.67 |
While TOG is marketed as a Christian curricula, I have yet to see how this is true. Most of the history books used are dry as crackers secular textbooks. We are almost through Unit 1 which equals nine weeks and I've only seen G-d mentioned in the Worldview section.
The Dialectic and Rhetoric levels have Thinking & Accountability Questions to guide them as they read. Upper Grammar level has nothing. This requires much more time for the parent to search for supplements with additional outside sources.
TOG's sister company, BookShelf Central sells the books used with Tapestry. However, they are very expensive. For Year 3, the cost would have been approximately $2000 in addition to the curriculum cost of $200! Several of the books used with Year 3 are OOP [out of print]. Next to impossible to find copies through the local library, I've had to spend more time looking for alternatives. That would be fine except the Student Worksheets and Accountability/Thinking Questions are oriented around specific books. At the time of this review, no alternatives have been suggested. Also, several digital supplements (lit, gov't, maps) are actually necessary to the curriculum. Add $25 each product.
Even though I am definitely a computer nerd, I absolutely hate the digital edition [DE] of Tapestry. It took hours to figure out how to access the information. Part of the time factor was the amount of time to load a page. Each time it is opened, the page must be verified through LockLizard. Unfortunately, the company is updating all their curricula to be available in this format only. One can purchase the additional print copy for $40 more. Pretty pricey considering each unit is $40 already. The DE cannot be resold.
TOG is definitely geared for use in a co-op setting and many of the activities are not practical or conducive to the home setting.
All in all, TOG is very expensive and time consuming. One must also take into account the "fuddle factor" which is expected for new TOG users. I spent my whole summer tracking down books with minimal success. Then spent more time trying to decipher the DE and more time implementing the program. Had I not joined a co-op that uses TOG, I would have stopped three weeks ago. We will not be using it again next year. I'll go back to Sonlight.
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| Reviewed by drew1064 |
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Created at
10:17 PM EDT on
August 29, 2008
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Category
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Score
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| Effectiveness |
5 |
| Usability |
3 |
| Price/Value |
3 |
| Overall Average |
3.67 |
This is my 13-yr-old's first year homeschooling. I wanted him to get a very firm understanding of the Bible and Creation since he has never had that. I am delighted and he is very excited about what he is learning! I do have to spend one day a week planning the lessons for the week and it does get costly since we buy our books, BUT it has been worth every dollar and worth the late nights of poring over the lesson plans. The most important thing is IT WORKS! I don't know if we will go on to use Year Two but the Year One is everything we hoped and needed for our son! I would highly recommend it for kids who are coming out of public school, or who have not had Bible teaching. Oh, and we bought it used!
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| Reviewed by rebwebb |
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Created at
2:01 PM EDT on
August 6, 2008
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Category
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Score
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| Effectiveness |
4 |
| Usability |
4 |
| Price/Value |
4 |
| Overall Average |
4 |
True, there is a lot of work that comes with using Tapestry of Grace, but it's worth it. Some of the teacher-prep work can be decreased by purchasing their supplementary products such as Map Aids (a CD with all needed maps for the year filled in for the teacher and blank maps ready for printing for students), Evaluations, or Writing Aids which are all wonderful.
My children are 7 and 5-1/2 and this is our second year using Tapestry. Last year we didn't put much into it and consequently didn't get much out of it. This year, we are much more intentional about addressing the many components of the curriculum, some of which are: Geography, Vocabulary, Literature, History, Writing, Arts and Activities, Bible and Church History, and more.
One thing I particularly like about Tapestry is the weekly assignment chart. I use it to plan out my lessons and know whether I'm on track for the week. This chart doesn't come with a list of "must do" items; it's up to the individual teacher to decide what and how much to cover. The assignments are labeled in such a way that a teacher could easily see what's most important to focus on, though. The recommended resources are sometimes pricey, but any books which are recommended for more than two or three weeks I have found to be useful, informative, and also geared toward the ages of my children. The library and sharing with friends can, of course, cut down on the overall expense.
Tapestry also has a great product called "Pop Quiz" that goes along with their curriculum (you have to purchase this separately). The Pop Quiz is basically a conversation starter for dads and their children. There is a CD that Dad listens to on the way home from work, maybe on Fridays, to know what the main points of the weeks' lessons were. The other component is an index card with three questions per "level" (Grammar, Dialectic, or Rhetoric) that Dad can ask/quiz his children about at the dinner table. The concept is great – it keeps Dad involved and helps the children review what they've learned at the same time.
The online community of Tapestry users ("Forum") is a helpful resource for any newcomer as well.
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| Reviewed by codapop |
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Created at
9:14 PM EDT on
March 12, 2008
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Category
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Score
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| Effectiveness |
3 |
| Usability |
2 |
| Price/Value |
2 |
| Overall Average |
2.33 |
I began using Tapestry of Grace because I was frustrated with the history curriculum I was using at the time and this was recommended by a friend. She thought this would work out well for us because I have kids in 4th, 2nd, and Kindergarten that I am currently teaching. It did not work for us.
Tapestry of Grace offers lots of information for all different levels. It is broken down into the classical model's levels – lower grammar, upper grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric. Each chapter includes information on history, recommended literature, fine arts and activities, bible/church history for world view, vocabulary/time line dates, people, geography, and additional activities. There are writing assignments, student activities, teachers notes, and so much more.
I think I was simply overwhelmed by all the information. It took me a while to navigate all the pages of information and to figure out what we needed to do. If you are good at navigating this sort of thing and only using what you feel is necessary then this may work for you. I simply found it to be too much. I found myself reading pages and pages of information trying to figure out what we needed to focus on and how I was going to teach it. To do the projects you often need to go online to get added information and instructions. It just simply required more time than I had to give it. I was also turned off by the very high cost of the curriculum and added materials necessary to purchase.
I feel I am learning history along with my kids. So, when I realized that neither of us was enjoying learning history and retaining the information as we should, I knew that we were just too overwhelmed and needed a change.
Overall, I did not feel this was a good match for our family and will not use it with my younger children in the future. I have held onto the unit we have and may consider consulting it in the future for added ideas to the curriculum we are currently using.
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