This is my son Ryan's first year homeschooling. I have decided to start him next week rather than wait until fall. We are both very excited! We researched tons of different curriculum and settled on Saxon Math and we will be doing a four week trial in Tapestry of Grace (yr 1). We are also going to read through the Old Testement beginning with Genisis, learn the books of the bible and their origins, and do daily Bible Drills so he can learn to find scriptures quickly. Week one we will be watching The Privileged Planet, Unlocking the Mystery of Life, and The Quest for Noah's Flood. I'll give you my reviews on those films right here when we see them!

TOG is so exciting! I am only hesitant to buy it because of the cost, since Ryan is already an 8th grader and he will be my only student, it did not seem worth the investment. We are blessed to have a very nice budget for his homeschooling provided through his survivor benefits from my late husband, but I am still, and always have been a very frugal minded person. We shall try it and see how it goes for a month. This is what our library looks like so far! The ones marked ** were on the TOG reading list.

I am back to give these my rating. One * being poor and five ***** being excellent!

**The Ancient Egyptians by Lila Perl  ***

In Search of King Tut's Tomb - Discovery Toys Hide-and-Seek Puzzle Book ***

**The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw  *****

National Geographic  - Into the Great Pyramid (DVD)  *****

**How Majestic Is Thy Name by Steve Halliday *****

Secrets Of The Pyramids: National Geographic Maze Adventures ***

National Geographic - Quest for Noah's Flood (DVD)  **

Lift The Lid On Mummies - Jacqueline Dineen (comes with a mummy building kit!)  *

Ancient Mesopotamia: The Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians - Virginia Schomp **

The History Channel: Secrets of the Rosetta Stone (DVD)  ****

The Privileged Planet / Unlocking the Mystery of Life 2-DVD Set  *****WOW*****

I am sure we will add to this list when we visit the library next week! If anyone has used or is using TOG for middle school students and can give me some insight, I would so much apprecite it! For now I must say that the Saxon Teacher's Manual is my newest challenge! I am sure the first few lessons may take more time but we'll get the hang of it!