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Tapestry of Grace is a unit study style, classical, core curriculum for History, LA, Geography, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Bible/Church History, Government. It has both printed or digital options and covers material on a four-year cycle with four classical levels.
Website: Tapestry of Grace
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(6 Reviews)
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Contributor Reviews
Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Cons: impossible navigation and organization and too much of everything, very heavy teacher prep
Grades Used: k, 1, 3, 6
I used the original curriculum years and years ago (15 now?) and then tried the redesign about eight years later. We never made it past Week 9 either time. The sheer amount of teacher prep was overwhelming. The first time, I had one Lower Grammar (so K-1st grade), and two littles. It makes sense that all the material for upper elementary, middle school, high school would be too overwhelming for me (even if I skipped it, knowing it was there, unread, pricked at my heart and mind). Problem being, it was hard to weed through all the info for upper levels to get what I needed just for Lower Grammar. The second time I had one in 6th, one in 3rd, one in 1st and a baby (so basically the *sweet spot* for the program--many kids at multiple levels). It was even harder to manage. 4+ hours/week Just Reading All The Things, and then playing "flip book" (or scrolling) to find the pages for each level because all the Literature is in one place (Lower Grammar lit, Upper G lit, Rhetoric etc.), the geography in a diff place, history, etc. So for one Dialectic child, on LG and one UG, I had to seek-and-find 12-15 different pages/sections each and every week. This was a hassle our first time trying but at least I could put post-its where I needed them. I had the digital edition for our second time through and a printer that didn't work well. I couldn't put post-it-notes on my screen to mark what I needed. 😉 I even tried to copy/paste the info I needed into a separate file that I could then print, but the copyright-protection software wouldn't let me. I tried printing, but when I'd tell the printer to print pages 8-11, the pages 8-11 on the page were not the same 8-11 that the e-reader had. If the curriculum were laid out in a more user-friendly way (everything for LG or UG in one spot, for example, instead of by "subject"), if it had even a *hint* of a daily schedule or breakdown of what to do each day, and if all the "background info" was at the *end* of each week instead of interspersed among the 20-30 pages for each week, then it would absolutely hands down be the best and most perfect homeschool curriculum on the face of the earth. It has SO MUCH and is SO RICH and I wanted to love it SO MUCH that I tried two times. But as is, tried twice, quit twice. I still toy with the idea of trying again, and then I look at the online "sample" and remember all that scrolling and decide against it. Maybe for high school...
We tried Year 1 with just one of my 5 children.
She was in lower elementary at the time.
I am glad she wasn't older b/c the sheer amount of reading that *I* would have to do as a teacher of older children actually made me cry.
I spent so much time researching this curriculum, that I was sure it was right.
I spent so much money on this curriculum, that I felt like I was stealing from my family if I didn't use it.
So, I used it.
I liked some of the suggested books and I enjoyed the activities, but I dismissed a lot of the teacher prep required.
I was able to sell my products, thankfully.
I wish I could love this curriculum b/c the promise of having a one-room school experience for my family was so appealing.
Sadly, I need to tell you that it was not a fit for a busy mom - just too much reading - and the books weren't the quality that I was looking for.
Cons: prep, science lacking
Grades Used: lower grammer K, 2nd of Egypt freebie
TOG was on my list of possible curriculums so when one that we were trying was not working and we were at the point of history that Joseph was in Egypt, I thought it would be a good time to try TOG's free 3 week trial available from their website.
At one point I had an old version of yr 4 of TOG (in all the binders) but now it's all online or CDROMS. We did the 3 week Egypt trial you can get online with a 2nd and K child at the time (and a toddler and infant around too). It was a ton of fun, they learned a lot and enjoyed it. Some moms say the books are hard to get but our state has an interlibrary loan system so I had no troubles. The Bible was a bit over their heads and was harder for me to connect for those ages. I loved having more concrete lesson plans to follow than what we had been using and the activities were a blast! We didn't stay because I like a book in hand- the old binder version was too similar to what we were leaving and I was afraid of burn out again. But I am not techie enough for computerized TMs and such. Even the 3 week freebie- I printed it all out for paper TM in hand.
Cons: prep time needed each week
Grades Used: Lower grammar (grades 1-3), Years 1 and 2
We love Tapestry. With a strong literature focus and hands-on activities, Tapestry connects the threads between the Bible and world history really well. It provides a lot of activities so you need to pick and choose, like a buffet! It does take time to plan out each week but as children get older they should be able to help do this. It is not a workbook based program at all but I love being able to borrow many of the books through our library system (or you can buy them) and then do hands-on activities (crafts, maps, games) to help us understand history. I bought the lapbook for Year 2 Unit 1 and it has been a fun add-on. We did less of the activities for that unit and used the lapbook instead. There is a helpful introductory video where Marcia explains how to plan out each week with a minimum of work.
Cons: can be expensive; lots of parent prep work with reading;
Grades Used: Rhetoric level, Year 1
This is our first year using Tapestry of Grace. We're doing Year 1 Rhetoric. There are many virtual co-ops available and classes from TOG via Lampstand Learning Center. I think a co-op or outside teacher is needed for the Rhetoric levels. I only teach one and it's a lot of prep reading work for the parent-teacher. My son does the History and Literature (the core lessons) with a co-op. So I only have to teach 6 weeks of every 36-week year.
I love all the subjects covered and it meshes well with our other curricula. We do them all. What isn't done with the co-op we do together. Not all subjects are covered each week. It has the history & lit, church history/bible, government, philosophy, fine art, and geography. All strands tie together each week. I love how the curriculum is chronological and Christian (denomination neutral). There are great user forums and groups where the author reads and writes. It's also a great jumping off point if you want to go on rabbit trails.
Cons: expensive for my family
I again tried a free offer,but on this one,if I could afford it I would definitly buy the whole curriculum.I loved the way they laid everything out down to week by week and daily plans.It included almost all subjects and includes a church history section.Packed with book resource options,info.,activities.Also has all grade levels included.Overall good deal I just can't afford it at this time.A complete system.