Using Tapestry for 4 years and loving it !

by Guinever
(Lexington, KY)

Product: Tapestry of Grace, Redesigned years 1, 2, and 3

Subject: History, Literature, Church history, worldview, Bible in year 1, Writing, Fine arts and activities too, and Geography.

Levels Used:lower grammar, upper grammar and some dialectic, K-4th grades

Dates Used: 2004 to present

What it is: If you're not familiar with Tapestry of Grace, it is a classical curriculum meaning there are learning levels rather than specific grade levels. It is a chronological history study that is literature based, integrating other subjects along with the study of history. (no textbooks) For example, the literature selections are either written in the time period you are studying or set in the same time period.

Each 36 week year plan has four units which are 9 or 10 weeks long. Each year plan has everything you need for all your children at every level, every grade. This is so cost beneficial if you think about that once you buy a year plan, it's good for all your children throughout all of school and there are only 4 year plans to buy.

Likes: The teacher notes are amazing, bringing out a biblical worldview, as you see God's hand throughout all of history. There are questions for leading discussions with older kids.

I like the student activity pages for the literature books. I like the reading assignment pages in the teacher's manual because all the assignments for all grade levels are on a 2 page spread. This is handy if you have a child working on 2 different levels. For example, my 4th grader is technically upper grammar, but I do pull in a few dialectic assignments just because he is such an advanced reader. I like this flexibility and it's so easy since everything is on one page.

One good thing about Tapestry is all the main book selections are in print so parents can easily find the books. Once a book goes out of print, they find a replacement and offer new SAPs on their website. In addition to their reading list of always in print books, they also have alternate selections (where some are out of print).

The main reason I went with Tapestry over other literature based, classical studies (the 2 main things I really wanted in a curriculum) is because all children are studying the same thing. This was really appealing to me with my growing family. With some curricula, a big family could be doing 2,3,4 or more different time periods in history which can get time consuming and confusing for moms.

I have written a few reviews on my blog about Tapestry including using it with young children at Homeschooling with Guinever.

Dislikes: In history, we study scientists of a particular time period, but I wish it integrated an actual Science curriculum like it does for other subjects.

All in all, I love Tapestry and I plan to use it for all my children throughout all their schooling. I highly recommend it but one must realize that this is not a check the box where everything is laid out for you. You do have to pick and choose; there is so much to choose from; no one can do everything. I love this as I can tailor Tapestry to fit my own family.