I was relating an abbreviated version of this story to Mel at the conference this weekend. Today it occured to me that I should write it down and share the complete journey of how I came to use TOG. I think this blog reminded me of how it all began (I know, how does ElijahCo's now defunct catalog lead to choosing TOG; but I hope to clearly trace out the connection).

Jim and I first decided to homeschool our future blessings (we had none yet) when we ended up in a new church plant with several homeschoolers (Hi Cindy!). The children we got to know were just so amazing, interesting, and unassuming and we knew that this was what we wanted for our own family. I even went to my first curriculum fair when my oldest was a small baby.

Of course, entering a curriculum fair unprepared was the worst thing to do. I left with a major headache, not helped by my screaming baby. There were so many choices, how could I ever decide? I never stepped into another fair or conference until the year I decided to start kindergarten. Fortunately, somewhere along the way someone had recommended an awesome preschool curriculum, the Rod & Staff workbook set. But, now we had to move past that. I headed off to the local conference.

But, once again, I found myself completely overwhelmed by the choices. The workshops didn't really help much with the details. I wandered through the hall on both days, looking through all the booths and askings lots of questions. It seemed to me that many of these conversations didn't help me clarify anything. With the end of the conference approaching, I walked over to the Christian Liberty Press booth and picked up the complete kindergarten package. It seemed like a cop-out, but at least I had something to start with.

Once I got it home, my troubles began. I chucked the "art" book right away - I wanted a real art book, not a glorified children's craft book. The writing workbook, with no instructions, didn't work for me, either. I ended up only using a couple of the books in that package. Fortunately an online homeschooling group helped me pick Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for an excellent phonics program, and introduced me to Barry Stebbing's art books.

Now here enters Elijah Company's connection - at that conference I collected all the catalogs and other freebies and began to collect and review them. Eventually I came across an issue of their catalog that contained their now famous resource articles. When I read about educational methods, I became very excited. Could this help me clarify what I was looking for? I read the section again, then turned to the pages where they described the different methods.

It was very interesting; some sounded very strange to me, others too difficult or too regimented. However, when I read the description of classical education, I became very excited. This was exactly what I wanted for my children! EC also included a list of books that help describe each method. Begin of an intellectual bent, I immediately began researching all I could find on classical education (I now own just about everything written on the subject, but that's another story).

Some years later, I heard about a new, comprehensive classical curriculum that was coming out; Tapestry of Grace. I read about it, looked it up online, talked it over with my husband, and ordered Year 2 (the only complete year available then). I received it, put it in binders, looked at it a few times, and put it away. With two toddlers, and a difficult 2nd grader, I found it overwhelming (I still have it in a closet, BTW).

Anyway, I've spent the years since crafting my own eclectic attempt at a classical curriculum. When my co-op decided before last year to switch to TOG, I was disappointed; but eventually I decided that 7th grade would be a good place to try it out. It certainly helped that I now knew someone who actually used it successfully (Mel). I plunged whole-heartedly into this trial year.

I've since come to discover that it fits us very well. As I've used it, I've begun to clarify in my mind what is it that makes it work for us. The bottom line is, this is the curriculum that I would craft - IF I had all the time and resources in the world, access to all the best books, the best minds in each subject at my disposal, and the patience to put it all together. TOG is just the culmination of all the ideas I would love to include in my own family, but never could. And I get to take advantage of it!

Isn't that such a blessing?