Choose Sonlight, not Tapestry of Grace

Product: Tapestry of Grace, Year 3
Subject: Complete
Levels Used: Upper Grammar, Dialectic, Rhetoric
Dates Used: 2009, This is our first and last year.

Likes: My oldest student enjoys the structure.

Dislikes: While TOG is marketed as a Christian curricula, I have yet to see how this is so. 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 referred to in the Worldview section. While the D and R levels have Thinking & Accountability Questions to guide them as they read, the Upper Grammar level is in the dark. This requires much time for the parent to search for supplements with additional outside sources.

Even though I am definitely a computer nerd, I absolutely hate the digital edition of Tapestry. Unfortunately, the company is updating all the 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.

DE cannot be resold. Furthermore, several of the books used with Year 3 are out of print. Next to impossible to find copies through the local library, I've had to spend too much time looking for alternatives. Frustrating because the Student Worksheets and Thinking/Accountability questions are oriented around specific books. At the time of this review, no alternatives had been suggested.

One more thought about Tapestry of Grace. It 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. I spent my entire summer tracking down books with minimal success. 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.