LG: 6 yo & 4 yo

[partyof5]

My son will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall. I have a daughter who is 4. I've read almost all the info on starting "littles" on TOG and the advantages of it. I'm almost ready and "hooked" so to speak and actually think it would be great for both of them in the Fall. Would you recommend beginning this year with my K'er or wait until my daughter is a K'er {not this Fall but next} and my son is in 1st grade before really diving in? Like I said, I'm leaning toward doing it this Fall with the lovely hands on ideas, very lightly, and also to get a really good grasp on how TOG even works {for later years}. If starting the year after next is a smarter recommendation {when they're both officially school-aged}, what would you recommend doing with my oldest for next year? I already have Math & Phonics picked out and have Child's History of the World to read through as well as lots of read aloud ideas, etc. They are 18 months apart.
THANKS!!

[Sharon Land]

You can start this coming fall with your K student and if your Pre-K student would like to join in with the hands-on activities and listening to read-aloud books by all means let her do so. They don't have to be "formally" school age to participate and learn.

Starting out with a K student can be done easily with TOG. I would suggest starting slowly and don't delve to deep into any of the material at this point. Just the main history idea, some hands-on activities, and read-aloud books should be your goal at this stage. You will focus more heavily on phonics, handwriting, ABC's, numbers, colors, basic math, etc. It sounds like you are already thinking in the right direction, you just needed some clarification! :-) Be sure to check our reviews page on the TOG website. There are a many blog links here that will describe how moms do TOG with younger students. You will love the information you find!

Most of all this is such a precious time in your homeschool journey. Their minds are so ready to learn and they absorb information like little sponges. Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy! I hope this information helps! Have a great day!

[partyof5]

Thanks Sharon! Do you think that if I did indeed start this Fall (very lightly) that I would then proceed with Y2 with both of them the following fall..... OR sort of "redo" Y1 when the Pre-K'er became a K'er??

[Sharon Land]

I would start them both in Year 2 the following fall. With Tapestry's cyclical learning you will rotate through all four year-plans several times during their school years, each time at a higher learning level! Remember Tapestry was created to teach all of your children from the same year-plan each year. Doing Year 1 and Year 2 would just be making more work for you as the teacher and it is not necessary!

Hope this helps!

[Beth Walker]

I started with just "littles" and we took it at half-pace, two years to do each year plan. This was a great way to just enjoy the journey without any pressure on our time. We did school four days a week and focused on reading the history and literature books the first week and projects the second week. It was so much fun and allowed me to really get to know the curriculum. I am so glad I took the time then to really familiarize myself with it becasue I am much busier now! I also read many of the high school books myself so that when we get there I will already be familiar with the books I am asking my children to read.

[Pat]

Let me recommend that you try to do some of the Mommy challenge reading as you go along. Start with R literature and if you can't do it all, pick the works you've heard of and always wanted to read.

[partyof5]

Sharon - Yeah, I definitely would not do 2 different years with 2 different kids. That would defeat the purpose, eh? I meant should I delay beginning either of them until the Pre-K'er was in Kindergarten, thus having both 'school aged' kids beginning with Y1. I see the wisdom in starting this fall, though, with my K'er and allowing my daughter to listen in and absorb as she is able. She is "chomping at the bit" so to speak; maybe typical of 2nd borns? I do definitely want to be reading on my own and absorb as much info along the way as possible.

[SandraK]

I have a 6 yo son and a 5 year old daughter. We started TOG Year 1 about 2 months ago. So far both kids love it! I skim through the "textbooks" and read aloud what interests them and point out pictures and describe what they are, I have them listen to Story of the World on CD while they color pictures that relate to what we are studying that week, we check out books from the library that relate to what we are studying and I read them to them for fun reading, I have my son play free online games about Ancient Egypt while I work with my daughter on phonics. There are a lot of fun activities for both kids to do. I figure that whatever they don't understand now, they will get when we cover the same year again in the future. For now, my focus is getting them to have fun while learning and to cover the Three "R's" (reading, writing and arithmatic). I will say that I have learned a lot about this period of time in ancient history from all the reading and activities that I am doing with them .

[Marcia]

Sandra: I really think this account would help new moms. May I add the above post to our Reviews page for moms of littles?