When it comes to our little ones, it’s important to share with them the joys that come with learning. Little ones need to be encouraged and inspired; we want them to keep that wide-eyed curiosity and excitement as they get older. Not just any program will do that though. As I have been learning Tapestry of Grace and their Primer program, will do that and then so much more.

I was amazed at all the materials which I received for this review. And I must say too, I have been in that place lately where I have been burned out. Ready to just throw my hands up in the air and call it quits. But these lovely and gentle books have really begun to revive this momma and her heart for home learning once again.

I first began to read Love the Journey. As I said before, the timing for this was just such a God thing. He makes all things work together for our good and certainly this program coming into my hands was one of those things. If you have been home educating for any number of years, it truly is a road less travelled. It can be quite lonely at times; it can be a difficult journey and if we aren’t careful it can really break us. In fact, I think when it breaks us, we see the beauty and the value and the power of this thing so much more!

As I read these pages, I cried. Quite a bit. Because as I read, I remembered, I looked back, to remind myself why we are home learners. I looked up again to find that guiding star; I pondered and prayed over the end in mind for each of my children, and I went back to develop anew, a pedagogy, for our family.  At a time when I was so very weary, it was so helpful to read these pages. To “hear” Marcia Somerville speaking, as though directly to me, a wisdom which was forgotten for a time. We cannot do this alone. We need one another. Especially for those new to this home education thing, it’s so important for us to know that we are not alone and that where we are going, others have been there before.

The Primer Handbook contains all the assignments which are broken up into history, literature, geography, art/activities and memory work. This comes as loose leaf; 3-hole punched pages. This is your teacher’s guide and contains all the lesson plans for the 12 units of study included (three topics per unit). Your studies with your children will begin at creation and continue through modern times.

There are 12 Primer Activity Books that go along with the handbook. These include lots of fun activities for our little ones to do as we learn. There are mazes to do, coloring pages, connect the dots, and so much more. We had the chance to create our own creation book, travel to Athens and learn all kinds of neat facts about castles. Since I have two children who plan to live in a castle one day, this was a much-needed lesson for them both. Certainly, these activity books are just full of fun things for our little ones to do.  It really is a gentle approach to learning; these are also great for keeping little hands busy while having read aloud time.

The Primer Guidebook is a very helpful tool to help us understand why we ought to care about stories and the storyline we are following. This book is organized into twelve sections; one for each of the mini units within the Tapestry Primer. Each section offers a summary of the unit for us teachers, introducing us to events and ideas within the topic.  In every section, I love how this shows God’s hand in every historical event. While this is not something specifically to read to our children, I did enjoy sharing details from the pages of this guidebook, specifically with my oldest son. I cannot say enough about how much I appreciate this book! What amazing things we have all learned within the pages of this book.  

I cannot say enough about this program! It is wonderful, fun, amazing, beautiful! My daughter, who is 5, is so happy having her own little books to work in. I love that this is such a gentle, classical, Biblically-based program for my little ones. “Together” this was created and “together” we learn and enjoy this multi-level resource. Even my oldest son (11) enjoys being a part of lessons each day. And how wonderful it is for our children to begin their learning at the very beginning, seeing things with Jesus at the center of it all.

-Product review by Jennifer King, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, April, 2017