You might know how much we love Tapestry of Grace (TOG) here at Hodgepodge. Recently, I’ve received a few questions about using it. I asked these ladies if I could share their questions so they might help others. I’ll start today with those questions about preschool and kindergarten ages.
Melissa asked on the Hodgepodge Facebook page: “Would you recommend Tapestry of Grace in Kindergarten?”
Hi Melissa – Of course I absolutely love Tapestry of Grace for many, many reasons. But if your oldest is Kindergarten, I honestly would wait another year or two to make a big purchase. Concentrate on the three Rs and reading wonderful books together. You can click over to the Tapestry site and take a look at the recommended books for lower grammar. Reserve some of the titles at the library to enjoy. (My K and preschooler do get the benefit of some Tapestry just by being involved read aloud and hands-on activity time for the whole family. I hope that helps!
**Update: Tapestry of Grace now has a Tapestry Primer! I am looking forward to using this with my youngest children in 2014-15!.
Note: when you visit Bookshelf Central, you can choose between years 1, 2, 3, and 4. I have linked to Year 1 but choose whichever year appeals to you and your family.
Nicole also commented below my answer: “Seems like the advice of all veterans is to stick to the basics. I for one really appreciate knowing that my gut feeling on that seems to be right. It’s hard with all the great curriculums out there!”
I answered: I agree Nicole! You hear about wonderful resources, and, of course, want to bless your children. But there will be a time for it – for sure! You are wise to be seeking counsel. Blessings on your homeschool!
Melissa then commented back: “Thank you so much for your advice, we are reading many “Living Books” and doing a lot of Charlotte Masons methods. I’ve never heard of Tapestry of Grace and I looked into it a little bit today and it seemed like something to purchase if you had children in older grades and the younger ones could take advantage of it as well.”
Yes, our kindergartener and preschooler had a great time benefiting from Tapestry this year. As you might notice in this post, Italy Salt Dough Map. As a homeschool parent, you are wise to be researching your options and tools now! You will be way ahead and ready to go! Now my answer is based on my experience. I may have looked into TOG myself when my oldest was K had I known about it. You will enjoy this review by a fellow homeschooler using TOG with her eldest K age: Tapestry Review Part 1: The Lower Grammar Years
Kimberly asked something similar: “I’m planning our curriculum for next year and was interested in Tapestry of Grace but with my girls being 3 and 5 is it something I should wait on?”
In response to Kimberly, I said: We love, love Tapestry but I’d wait another year or two. Stick to the 3 Rs as your basis and enrich with Tapestry books – literature and history. What you can do is take a look at the book list and enjoy those via the library.
You can just pick whichever era of time interests you and your girls. Here’s the link to Bookshelf Central. You can choose your age range and look at just one year then one unit of a year at a time. Poke around and let me know if you have any questions. Wonderful books!! Hope that helps, Tricia
So, in summary, my advice is to continue learning about Tapestry. I took an entire summer to research and learn about how Tapestry would fit our family. If you fall in love with it like we have, you may decide to go ahead and purchase it, work some of the enriching books and activities into your day. When my eldest was four, I did not know about Tapestry, so we started homeschooling with Five in a Row (FIAR). This is another literature-rich resource and there are many free resources available to compliment it. There is a whole section at Homeschool Share for free lapbooks and other activities to match FIAR books. I still pull out those books to compliment what we are doing or to enjoy a week at a time.
- All of my Tapestry resources in one spot at Tapestry of Grace at Hodgepodge
- My comprehensive review of Tapestry of Grace
- My About TOG books
- Tapestry of Grace for the Teacher
- Fellow TOGer reviews – all different ages
Update 2014! Now available Tapestry Primer for K-5 and 1st grade students
I’ve loved Tapestry of Grace, but I don’t think I’d recommend it for Kindergarten, even though we used it successfully. Instead, we’re doing four years of The Story of the World, then we’ll get back to Tapestry in my oldest’s fifth grade year. SotW gives a good overview and has lots of good books, costs less, and lets you ease into the classical mode of education instead of jumping in head first. (This is a pretty recent decision of mine. I’d planned to do Year 2 with my 3rd grader next year with a co-op, but we’re just going to proceed with SotW. It’s easier, and we need more focus on the 3 R’s right now!)
Thanks for the reminder about SOTW Cindy! Yes, at this age we actually just listened to the SOTW cds as we drove to and fro. I was introduced to Tapestry of Grace when my eldest was going into her 4th grade year (So I had a 4th grader, 3rd, K and a baby). That was perfect for us and we’ve been blessed by Tapestry ever since. Now my children will be 9th, 8th, 5th, 1st and Pre-K and Tapestry is perfect for us.
I’m so blessed by your sharing about TOG and it has been so helpful as I’m currently exploring this curriculum. I’m just wondering how do I tell which grade level my child will fit in? my son is 9yrs and he is reading at grade 7 level. Thank you!
What a sweet comment! Tapestry is such a blessing to us. And to answer your question – the very best way to determine which level is to first take a look at the books for the year and unit you are considering. Next, reserve those at the library in that range – with maybe a couple selections at the level below and above where you think your son will fall. Try it out – I think you will be surprised! Tapestry is all about stepping out and seeing what best works for your family. Hope that helps!
I noticed grammar, math, and science is not included in this curriculum. This seems like such a good curriculum but would love to not have to supplement with anything else. What other curriculums do you use to teach those three subjects?
Exactly! Tapestry wants you to choose the resources that fits your family the best. We enjoy Rod and Staff English (and have from 2nd through 10th grades). Saxon Math through 3rd grade then Teaching Textbooks. Science we love both Answers in Genesis: God’s Design For…series and Apologia Science. You can find all our curriculum choices here: https://www.yourbesthomeschool.com/tag/curriculum-2013-2014/