Oak Meadow Questions

[Guest momk2000]

We are trying to decide on the best curriculum for our dd for grade 4. We are Christian and at first I wanted to use a curriculum with a Christian worldview. Have gone in so many circles and just can't find one that is a good fit for our family.

We are starting to look at more secular materials to see if we can work better with those. We have looked at both Calvert and Oak Meadow. I am really drawn to Oak Meadow for I think it would be a great fit for dd learning style.

How complete is OM? Do you have to supplement in any areas? Do they teach anything in a way that might be offensive to a Christian child using their materials?

Thanks :)

[momto2Cs]

From what I saw in OM k-2nd, I don't think there is anything in there that would be offensive at all. I overlly supplemented with both kids when we used K and 2nd.

 

Next year we're planning on using 2nd and 4th. While I am substituting some of the books they will read/have read to them (and using Saxon Math in place of OM math), I don't think I will really need to supplement, especially with the 4th grade.

[Closeacademy]

You may want to supplement math and spelling but otherwise it is a good solid program.:001_smile:

[....]

We are also using two grades of OM this fall. After inspecting every little detail of this curriculum, I'm pretty darn impressed - especially 4th grade and up. The Middle School looks incredible.

 

As far as supplementing...ya' know...no matter what we use, I will always supplement. It could be the greatest curriculum in the universe, guaranteed to get you a perfect score on the SAT and I will still supplement.

 

So, for our 2nd grader using OM, here's what we're also doing:

 

Horizons 2 Math (after 3rd grade, OM math is sold separately, anyway)

BJU Spelling 2

Writing With Ease (my son is a horrible writer, so we will continue this cuz it's workin'!)

Sonlight Core 2 (this is basically a really nice booklist - we read these books together)

CLE LA 200's (this is a bunch of workbooks with LA exercises in them. It's great reinforcement and gives them practice answering questions like that)

Prima Latina

 

I think that's pretty much it. My son is taking a Science through Literature class at an educational center, but he is a science nut. I don't think there is a need to supplement OM science.

 

Oh, also...for his sister, she is starting OM 4th grade and we are not supplementing much at all. OM really beefs up in 4th/5th grade.

 

BTW, there's an OM social group - if you click Community and go to Social Groups...

[Guest Cindie2dds]

We are trying to decide on the best curriculum for our dd for grade 4. We are Christian and at first I wanted to use a curriculum with a Christian worldview. Have gone in so many circles and just can't find one that is a good fit for our family.

We are starting to look at more secular materials to see if we can work better with those. We have looked at both Calvert and Oak Meadow. I am really drawn to Oak Meadow for I think it would be a great fit for dd learning style.

How complete is OM? Do you have to supplement in any areas? Do they teach anything in a way that might be offensive to a Christian child using their materials?

Thanks :)

 

Can't answer in detail now, I'm Christian. Will answer more when I land. :)

[Guest Cindie2dds]

We are trying to decide on the best curriculum for our dd for grade 4. We are Christian and at first I wanted to use a curriculum with a Christian worldview. Have gone in so many circles and just can't find one that is a good fit for our family.

We are starting to look at more secular materials to see if we can work better with those. We have looked at both Calvert and Oak Meadow. I am really drawn to Oak Meadow for I think it would be a great fit for dd learning style.

How complete is OM? Do you have to supplement in any areas? Do they teach anything in a way that might be offensive to a Christian child using their materials?

Thanks :)

 

Hi! I had the same exact experience with other "Christian" curricula. I couldn't find one that fit our family and our faith without either saying, "Well, that's not exactly what we believe," or it felt like someone was putting words in my mouth and describing an intimate relationship of mine even though they didn't know me. I want to discuss my faith to my kids my way. It just works better for us and is much more natural since I have my own personal relationship with Christ.

 

As far as Oak Meadow being complete, yes, I think it is. I will probably always supplement (we use AO's book list now), since there isn't a perfect "box" out there. This is as close as we've gotten, so that says a lot. It is very gentle, but full in the younger years. After having done Sonlight's P4/5 for my dd's K4 year, I have truly enjoyed the lovely exploration, creativity and wonder that Oak Meadow has given us for her Kindergarten year. My 3 year old is able to participate also on her own level, which has been an additional bonus I didn't expect.

 

Is there anything offensive to a Christian? In the Syllabus, absolutely not, which is the resource you use every day with the lessons in them. If you don't mind reading fairy tales to your children, then the fairy tales in the Syllabus and the Kindergarten Book of Fairy Tales are beautiful stories with amazing virtue and character lessons. In either the Home Teacher's Process Manual or the Heart Of Learning there is some suggestion about how children "unfold" and the stages of development. Do I think they are contradictory to my faith, no; do some people object, yes. These are not discussed in the actual lesson plans, it's just like a reference book for the parent of where OM is coming from and why they do what they do. I think you have to see what you are comfortable with.

 

Oak Meadow is secular and very neutral; however, it is a spiritual program and encourages you to incorporate your own faith, or not, as you see fit, which is what we love about it. We do our own children's songs about Jesus along with the fingerplays and rhymes during circle time. We also have an opening and closing prayer to our school day. Our Bible reading is usually the first reading of the day. It flows very, very well. I like the fact that we study nature and have a reverence for it, which I use to explain how amazing the creation of our world is.

 

If you have any specific questions or concerns, please, pm me. I have quite a few posts on my blog about some of our days and what we do. We have been so, so happy with OM and have really found something that gives wonderful school memories together. I've bought and sold: WP, HOD, BFIAR, FIAR, Hewitt, SL complete programs for K and various other supplements. I know what you mean about going around and around.

 

I hope you find something you enjoy! :D

[OnTheBrink]

There is an Oak Meadow social group on this board that might be very helpful for you. I know it's been helpful for me; we're planning on using some OM materials next year for 8th grade. :001_smile:

[Guest momk2000]

I appreciate all of your responses - thanks so much! You have all been so helpful! I am absolutely dizzy from reviewing curriculum choices. I am so drawn to OM, but also looking at Calvert. Really love the look of OM though. :)

[Guest Cindie2dds]

I appreciate all of your responses - thanks so much! You have all been so helpful! I am absolutely dizzy from reviewing curriculum choices. I am so drawn to OM, but also looking at Calvert. Really love the look of OM though. :)

 

You're welcome. If you have any more questions, please feel free to fire away. We OM people love answering questions. I would highly recommend calling Oak Meadow. They have excellent customer service and will explain the grade levels with scope and sequence very well without hard selling.

 

Good luck!

[Paisley Hedgehog]

..

[8filltheheart]

I haven't seen the elementary curriculum other than what is viewable online. It looks like pretty standard level material and completely appropriate for younger kids.

 

I do own the 9th grade English, high school World Geography, and the photography course. While I am satisfied with the courses for the student I ordered them for, I am not going to rave about them, recommend them w/o qualification, etc.

 

They don't meet my personal expectations of high school level course work. However, they are for my ds who is very gifted in math and science and is very average in reading level. The courses will fit his needs b/c he is taking such intense math courses. But, if you compare OM's 9th grade lit and Kolbe's, the differences are huge. This is a case where you need to know the abilities of the student, your goals as a teacher, and then choose accordingly.

 

Here is OM's 9th grade English source list:

The Least You Should Know About English,

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin

Animal Farm by George Orwell

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Our Town by Thornton Wilder

 

Here is Kolbe's 9th grade lit:

 

The Iliad of Homer.

The Odyssey of Homer.

Aeschylus, The Oresteian Trilogy.

Sophocles, The Theban Tragedies.

Plato, Great Dialogues of Plato.

Dorsch, T.S. Trans. Classical Literary Criticism. "Poetics" of Aristotle

King, Abigail. Classics Conference: The Greeks.

 

Kolbe has a completely separate course for English while what you see for OM is their lit and English course combined. The workload between the 2 courses is vastly different. Kolbe takes serious daily commitment. OM will only require a few hrs per week.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

..

Edited June 13, 2013 by Paisley Hedgehog
:)

[AHASRADA]

I am here to 2nd the notion that, between OM and Calvert, OM is likely a better choice for so many reasons.

 

I have been considering using either OM or Calvert for years. Every year, there is a reason why neither one would be "ideal", and so I continue to pull together my own stuff. Then, about now, I start wishing I had just gone with something at least somewhat "complete".

 

This year, I was fortunate to find a good deal on a used Calvert set for Grade 7, so I went for it. It has been fine. It is nice to have everything pre-planned, and there are additional comprehension questions, writing activities, maps, etc. in the manual. It is a great program if you like the "traditional" approach, and using textbooks (we don't so much). My overall impression was that, while it is a good program, it is most definitely not worth the hefty price tag. When I checked the pricing for the textbooks alone, it seems Calvert is charging $400-500 for the lesson manual! Yes, there is a lot of effort that went into planning the curriculum, but I would rather do that work myself and save that $$ for real books! The other drawback I found, is that lessons are planned daily. Therefore, each lesson lists which topics will be covered and the texts to be used that day. This could be convenient for some, but since most of us have some long and some short days (due to activities, etc.), I find myself using the manual as a "guide", meaning copying all the assignments for 4-5 days, then plugging them into our own weekly schedule sheet where it is convenient for us. The most negative consequence of using Calvert this year, is ds beginning to say "I hate history" when he has to read his textbook. When I remind him that he actually loves history, he says, "Well, not like this, tons of boring facts and dates, bla, bla; it needs to be a story!"

 

Obviously, OM is the antithesis of this scenario. In a nutshell, OM is "lighting a fire", which Calvert is "filling a pail."

 

Needless to say, I'm considering OM5 for dd next year, and a few OM courses sprinkled through HS for ds.

 

In your case, I would get OM, and supplement if needed with library books, and anything else as the need presents itself throughout the year.

 

Best wishes for an easy decision and successful year!

[8filltheheart]

8 -- I think the OP was looking at Calvert, not Kolbe. More big differences ... ;)

 

I know. :) I was just attempting to point out that we all have our own personal definitions of what "looks great" b/c I have read numerous rave reviews about OM at the higher levels. It is all in the perspective of the reviewer. ;)

 

To be confident in choices and not become curriculum hoppers, the best advice is to define goals/objectives for each student and feel comfortable with the decisions you make accordingly. If honest assessments are made of both the strengths and weaknesses of programs, parents aren't caught off guard and left questioning decisions constantly.

 

It is sort of reminiscent of the "math wars." All math curricula are not all equal. Fact. Should all students use the same math program? Absolutely not. Is it correct to insist that all math curriculum lead to the same outcome? No, b/c they simply don't. Does it matter? It depends.

 

Every curriculum decision for the most part is the same way. I short-change my kids in one area in order to stretch them in another. I have to be willing to acknowledge that I am doing that mentally b/c I do know there are better options/approaches than the one I am taking.

 

Not that any of that applies to 4th grade level material! :tongue_smilie: Sorry.....ignore me. I have gone wayyyyyy of track of the OP! OM is fine for any average 4th grader!!

Edited April 27, 2010 by 8FillTheHeart

[Kate in VA]

:iagree: Calvert and Om are about as different and black and white..... Calvert has a Drill em' and kill em' type approach and Om is more about progressing the whole child. It focuses on nature and just a more art feel to it... the lesson manual in scheduled for the week and Calvert is down per day.... Om allows for more freedom (which is good if you need that)

 

My SIL used Calvert from 2nd to 7th and it has burned her out.... She was not confident in her ability to teach as she didn't graduate from HS but has a GED.... Calvert gave her the confidence but also a headache... It really has frustrated my nephew and at the beginning she felt like she needed to do everything.... now she has learned to relax a bit....

 

We are going to be using OM4 and it looks awesome.... It really gets the child to think and get involved in his studies.... We can't wait.....

 

print out both samples and look them over... see which one fits your style.... Have your child looks at them too and she what they think....

 

just my 2cents,

Kate

 

MomK2000, I just wanted to pop my head up and say, while Oak Meadow has users who rave about it, you'll find few (at least around here) that feel the same about Calvert. I was researching Calvert a while back for their partnership program with Verticy Learning. The best I got from users was a wrinkled-nose 'eh ... it's ok.' lol

 

There is a big philosophical difference between the two programs, especially evident at the elementary level. Oak Meadow seems to be less focused on traditional school-ish stuff in the early years. There is a sense of wonder, exploration, artsy-ness. OM is also more gentle, meaning that you are not going to have a big stack of workbooks, a pre-made schedule, or test papers with a big A+ for the refrigerator (although your refrigerator may disappear under the art projects). For some people, this lack of traditional scope and rigor will translate to an inferior program. Calvert is no-bones-about-it school in a box. You'll get schedules and textbooks and a very academic focus.

 

Neither approach is necessarily bad or better than the other. It just depends on what sort of program you are looking for and matching up your overall educational goals. OM and Calvert are about as different as you can get for K-8. I will say, though, that Calvert has the best marketing department EVER. Their catalogs are *very* slick, but I found few real people in my research who have stuck with Calvert for the long haul.

 

Best wishes as you make your decision.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

I cannot look at another slick catalog. :svengo:

 

I will say, though, that Calvert has the best marketing department EVER. Their catalogs are *very* slick ....<snip>

 

I humbly disagree. I think WP's catalogs are the best. They still look absolutely amazing to me. :lol:

Edited April 27, 2010 by Cindie2dds

[lovemykids]

OM is well put together. I would think of OM as a spine, like a springboard to dig deeper in areas if needed, if not needed, OM could stand alone. But that does depend on so many things, as was mentioned; your child, learning/teaching styles, goals, homeschool philosophy, and so on.

Does it need to be supplemented? That depends on you and your child, your goals, and so forth, as mentioned above. I would say yes, it does need to be ramped up a bit for the average child. I do not agree with OMs philosophy of better late than early, but I still see the value of having certain developmental activities for the child and I love the way they integrate the while child; lighting a fire, instead of filling a pail. I very much believe OM’s way of using hands on activities in the early years is extremely valuable. However, I also think that learning to read early can light a fire. And let’s face it, the sooner a child is reading and writing legibly, the easier is on everyone. A whole world is opened up to them- living books they can read themselves.:D

I haven’t had but a glimpse of the high school materials. I tentatively plan to use them (the history and English), but I also plan to add to them. The nice thing about OM is that I can still give my children the ability to choose their well thought out, critical thinking, creative assignments, (which is what I am seeing so far with OM) and also have plenty of time to add to the workload, if I see fit. Do you like Kolbe? They have awesome sounding literature guides that can be added to your OM high school courses and without a lot of extra cost..we may do some of those. Or we may switch entirely to something else by high school. In any event, while my children are still young and while going through the logic stage, I plan to use OM as our guiding light, while folding in classical elements, like Latin, early grammar, early reading, phonics, copywork, outlining, additional foreign language, CM style, etc. To me, a four year history rotation is not of the utmost importance in a classical education, nor does it define classical education.

I think OM is worth the money, (although I buy second hand if given the chance) because even though I like putting together my own resources, I was growing tired of it. And trying to keep everyone together in the same stream of history was also getting tiresome. I love so many aspects of OM and I love the fact that I am able to add to it as I deem necessary, without overwhelming my students.

I hope this makes sense, I am dead tired, sorry it got a little long (ya think?!).;)

[Guest momk2000]

I love the look of OM, but I think we are now leaning more toward Calvert. It just appears to be a much better fit for dd. I need to remember this is for her and not me. I f it were for me I'd definitely be going with OM - boo hoo :( On the other hand, if dd is happy, I'm definitely happy. That is the most important thing. :)