Gearing Up for Year 1 of Tapestry of Grace

In the midst of summer travel and fun, I am gearing up for our family's first year of Tapestry of Grace.  The upcoming school year will be completely different from previous years, and not just because of Tapestry of Grace (that's another conversation).  In some ways I'm sure I have gone beyond necessity, but I am an organizer who has gone too long without organizing.  This has been my list of things to accomplish this summer:
Set up record keeping system: I found Homeschool Tracker to keep track of grades, attendance, and other school related information.  It's simple to use and free.  That's a great combination!  
Sort books: I went through all of our school books and divided them into three categories: use this year, use in the future and sell/give away.  While doing this, I also listed all of the books for this year in Homeschool Tracker.
Order books: After reviewing our library, I ordered books that we needed for our upcoming year.  In addition to the Tapestry of Grace curriculum, I ordered math and supplemental language arts materials.
Learn Tapestry of Grace (my favorite step!): I spent a couple of days perusing my new materials and becoming familiar with how the system works.  I wrote out lesson plans and made folders for each week and put the necessary materials in each week for each child.
Assemble supplies: My girls and I made a list of everything they wanted/needed in terms of supplies.  We sorted through what we already had and then went shopping for everything else.  Each child assembled her binders and put the supplies away in her drawer.
Order books (part 2): Today I ordered all of the literature we will use for the first few weeks of TOG.  I had three browsers open - my local library, my almost local library and Amazon.  I searched the libraries first, then ordered the book at Amazon if neither library had it.
Wait: Now that I have everything together, I will enjoy a week off before we start.  We are all eager to begin!

Our New Curriculum

When we started homeschooling, it was simpler.  I only taught one of our children and we used a program through the local school district so everything was provided.  By year three, we chose to homeschool all three of our girls and new challenges came up.  I chose a thematic curriculum based on the recommendation of friends.  I loved the idea of teaching the same lesson to all of my children and having the science, social studies, Bible, music, and art all connected.  It wasn't until I was knee-deep into this particular curriculum that I realized what I didn't like about it.  My younger girls struggled when I pulled out the main science book which was written over their heads.  Conversely, my older daughter groaned when we did social studies because she knew that she would be receiving a pile of worksheets to complete in addition to what we did as a group.  I knew there had to be something better for us.  In preparing for next year, I came across a curriculum offered by the publishers whom we use for math and language arts.  From the sample I received, it seemed that someone took great pains to make the each lesson appropriate for each grade level.  I just wanted to look at it in a little more depth before committing.  When I arrived at the homeschool conference, I was disappointed that the publisher chose not to bring this program with them.  I wasn't disappointed for long.  Only a couple of booths over, we found something that I ended up liking so much more.  At first I was overwhelmed by Tapestry of Grace.  I thought it would be too much for my young children.  However, the more I looked at it, the more I liked it.  It is based in history, beginning at creation.  The main thread is God's story and the history of the church.  Social studies, history, art, music, and language arts are woven through the curriculum that is taught primarily using literature.  The CDs I mentioned in a prior post, are for the dads to listen to so they can be a part of discussions about lessons and know what is being taught each week.  I liked the idea of an intelligent curriculum that teaches kids to think things through.  I took home a sample of the curriculum and it didn't take long for me to be sold on it.  If you'd like to find out more about Tapestry of Grace, take a look here.