More is not always better

What I want in a history curriculum:

Christian

Easy to use for multiple ages and makes history a family activity

Classical education approach

Easy to do activities

Flexible

Map work

Colouring pages

Makes history fun for everyone

Plays a central role in our schooling

Offers book suggestions but can be supplemented with other books

Reading is the main focus

Readable for parents and children



I'm pretty picky!:D

So back in January I decided that TOG would be the best choice for us. That was before our family grew considerably larger and recently I was thinking "I'm so glad I bought TOG. It's perfect for a large family." .

Today I sat down for a few hours and looked through every bit of TOG. What I'm thinking now is "More is not always better.".

We loved SOTW (Story of the World) volumes 1-3. Sure, SOTW 4 wasn't a hit but we won't be using it again for years and by then the kiddos will be older. The only reason I wanted to change to TOG was because Chelsea was getting older and I thought she would benefit from TOG. I'd heard great things about it, I'd looked at it on the web and thought it looked great. So, it must be great!

*Sigh*

I can see why people like TOG, it's got church history, philosophy, geography, writing, map work, activities...you name it. But it's all this stuff that's there that is driving me CRAZY!! I like to pick and choose from a variety of resources and curricula so I won't be using lots of stuff TOG has to offer. I then have to filter through and find what I do want and organize that, for six kids! Due to the fact of the various age and reading levels of my kids I'll have at least one child on each level. Lower Grammar, Upper Grammar, Dialect and Rhetoric. I find the thought exhausting.

The other thing I've been doing today is creating lesson plans for this week. Laura (7), David (10) and Mariah (12) are studying the American revolution using SOTW 3. Here's what's planned:
Monday:
Read Chapter 22 of SOTW: Revolution! Discontent in the British Colonies - All
Read about Boston Tea Party in supplementary books - All
Colour while listening to read alouds - Laura
Narration - All
Essay on origins of Boston Tea Party - Mariah
Mapwork - All
Have tea (if wanted) and homemade scones with homemade butter - Whole family
Copywork -All

Wednesday:
Finish Chapter 22 of SOTW - All
Supplementary reading - All
Colouring -Laura
Narration - All
Mapwork - All
Make original American flag with paper -All
Add paper feathers to our pens/pencils and write with a "quill pen" - All
Copywork - All

Friday:
Supplementary reading - All
Colouring - Laura
Essay on American revolution - Mariah
Ethics of war - Mariah and David (?)
Mapwork
Dress in clothing of the day - All
Poetry/Memorywork/Copywork: Paul Revere's Ride - Laura, listening and copywork, Mariah and David, copywork and memorywork
Review on lesson - All

I think it'll be great and I think Mariah and David will both receive an excellent history education without TOG.

So, is TOG for sale?
No way! There are lots of great ideas in TOG and I'm sure that if we don't use it as our main curriculum it will guide us when needed.