Unit Studies

Recently, I wrote a post about Unit Studies.

Since that post, I have also been introduced to Tapestry of Grace. It is a history based approach to education. It includes all the subjects except math and science. The Weaver Curriculum also includes science, and the Tapestry of Grace curriculum could add it in easily in the elementary years, and it probably could be built on in the junior high years. Neither curriculum includes the phonics curriculum, so I would still be using A Beka to teach that over the next few years. However, I will be varying between the A Beka readers and the library books on the topics that we are learning. I do enjoy having more say-so in that area of my sons lives.

So, between Tapestry of Grace and Weaver, the things I like:

Weaver:
1) It is based in the Word of God
2) It slowly goes through each and every area of the Bible so the boys actually get to STUDY God's Word for themselves and get a thorough understanding of it.
3) It includes Science so I do not have to come up with that on my own
4) It has a support group and forum for those doing Weaver, so I would only be a click away from help.
5) It has a lot of info on other books to use with the curriculum
6) It has a "Day by Day" lesson plan for busy moms to use to get done faster

Tapestry of Grace:
1) It goes by group rather than by grade (ie. it is split into Lower Grammar- not reading well yet K-3, Upper Grammar- reads well, but not middle school yet, Dialetic- junior high years, and Rhetoric-senior high)
2) It is only 4 years long, so students visit each topic three times before their school career is finished.
3) The first year studies ancient civilizations, which is the Bible from the Creation til the Fall of Rome. The other three show God's handiwork in his creation since the Bible.
4) There is also a forum for Tapestry of Grace.

The things I don't like:

Weaver:
1) Four years are spent in the Old Testament and only one in the New Testament.
2) There is so much information to look through and decide on for each day.
3) Sometimes, the setup confuses me, but I want to re-print it and look over it the way I did with Tapestry of Grace. That may change my mind.

Tapestry of Grace:
1) There is only one year centered in the Bible, and I saw no real Bible curriculum in it other than the first year
2) I still have to come up with my own day-by-day plan for the younger grades (Although I did like how it teaches the children to be responsible and map out their own week. That will come in handy for when they are HS or college age.

So, these are the two I'm debating between for next year. I will still be doing BJU math, and A Beka phonics, but one of these will be for everything else. I am excited about all the boys working together and spending more time to do the same subjects. It should bring more unity and fun to our school at least, I'm hoping so.

We are doing a preview of both kinds of curriculum for the end of this school year. Both kinds of curriculum have 2 and 3 weeks of their currriculum online for you to look over. Since we are going to use both in the next five weeks, we will be able to make a intelligent decision about which will work better for our family in the next school year. 

I'm so excited!!! We get to start the preview in two weeks. I've already gotten books and movies from the library. And I have more on hold. I feel a little like a little kid in a candy store. I'll let you know how it turns out.