If You've Used Oak Meadow and DIDN'T Like It...

[WIS0320]

Could you tell me why?

 

It looks so appealing to me but I have no good reason to switch things up next year aside from really thinking my daughter would love it. Everything we have is working well and she isn't complaining so why I am even looking at it is a mystery to me.

 

I think I want to be talked out of purchasing such an expensive curriculum!

 

I'd love to read about more experiences, I've combed the archives here but I would love more information from users and former users.

[....]

I love OM and have wanted to buy it several times. I actually have some of the stuff here (and we used it).

 

They have very good customer service. The materials are nice. Every time I ordered stuff from them, it was here in two days.

 

I haven't been able to use their curriculum because my kids can't seem to fit into a grade level. My oldest daughter is consistently about a grade level ahead of their program. Also, we've read a lot of their book selections already. And, finally...my oldest two kids are 13 months apart and tend to be very combined. I couldn't figure out how to do this with OM.

 

I may eventually use OM for the 4th kid (who I won't be able to combine with the older kids).

[ondreeuh]

I loved OM for the content. I thought the assignments and projects were very interesting and engaging. The manual seemed to cycle between emphasizing history, science, and literature, so you were always working on a project but the focus would change. I used the history portion of OM 4, and parts of the science and literature. When you're just using some of it, it's really too expensive for what you need.

 

Unfortunately, my kiddo needs lots of skill work. LOTS. Oak Meadow really didn't provide much of that. There were some suggestions for things like labeling parts of speech, but spelling was "have your child practice your choice of spelling words" and handwriting was "have your child copy your cursive on unlined paper." If your child is a natural writer, then you may not need all of that, but my child is very dyslexic and needs lots of structure and spiraling. That can only be found in very detailed program that's more specific about what to do and how. He was not ready for the writing assignments and it was very teacher-intensive to do it with him.

 

I love a lot of things about the program, and saved my OM 4 to use with my next kiddo if it's a better fit.

[WIS0320]

I guess my big concern is that OM 2 looks far behind in the skills areas but I wondered if we could just use those portions as review and continue on with PR and Singapore/Miquon. But will the work load be outrageous?

 

I hesitate to try OM 3 with my kid even though I know "grade level" shouldn't matter but she's already on the young end of her typical grade as her birthday is in July and it seems like a lot to move her up an entire grade in a curriculum. But we were planning to start cursive next year and the science and social studies look a bit meatier and not that she needs tons of rigor in those areas right now but based on what we are doing right now OM 2 looks like a big step back.

 

I have trouble pulling together "fun" stuff and I like that this is all integrated in used in educational ways. I also like that is gives you a week's worth of content and then you can parcel it out as you see fit. I am definitely NOT a box checker.

 

I guess it is a good thing that I've got months and months to figure this out. :tongue_smilie:

[mommymilkies]

I keep wanting to like it. But it's too disjointed and not nearly as rigorous as my kids like. A lot seemed below grade level. I do like parts of it, but I've bought & sold it at least 5 times.

[NanceXToo]

I've used Oak Meadow 4 and Oak Meadow 5 in their entirety with my daughter. We are currently using Oak Meadow 6.

 

I'm also using Oak Meadow Kindergarten with my son this year.

 

I have to say, I'm a big fan. I love it for a lot of reasons and I'm committed to using it with both of them at least through 8th grade (and then I'll look into their high school stuff). I do supplement some here and there but don't go crazy with supplemental stuff.

 

I could go on and on about why I love Oak Meadow so much but it'll be easier if I just link you to the review I wrote on my blog and you can check it out if you want to. :)

 

http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/124071.html

 

P.S. It says "OM Kindergarten" when you first click on it but a little further down the page is the review for the rest of the "grade school years."

 

Aside from the review, you can also check out these links if any of them pertain to whatever grade level you'd be doing:

 

A sample Oak Meadow Kindergarten week (schedule and pics)

http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/125979.html

 

A sample Oak Meadow fourth grade week (schedule and pics)

http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/126472.html

 

A sample Oak Meadow fifth grade week (schedule and pics)

http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/126296.html

 

If you look at my most recent main livejournal entries (link in sig) you will see what OM6 is like for us these days, as well as OMK with my son.

 

Hope this helps!

[EKS]

I had thought I would use OM 5 for history last year (supplementing SOTW 3) and we used it for several weeks, but it was really not enough as written.

 

At the same time I got OM 7 earth science and after reviewing it decided that it wouldn't work for us. The syllabus (which is the main text) was simply not enough for a middle school science course. It needed some serious beefing up (which could be done) to make it meaty enough.

 

One thing I do like about Oak Meadow is that their assignments are really creative. If they were to beef things up on the input side, they would have a really good product.

[Aurelia]

I had some of the same concerns you have. Ariel is also on the young end of her grade (April birthday), and based on her age, would have been considered first grade last year. We did OM2. I had actually gotten a stellar deal on an older OM1 syllabus, but going through it, it was too far below where my daughter was academically to be worth using.

 

It is possible to use the material in OM2 as review without overburdening yourselves, since it's pretty basic and you won't be spending your time making up math worksheets or LA assignments. I supplemented math and LA because even using the syllabus for 2nd grade, I felt it was behind where my child needed to be and I don't have time to be creating more stuff.

 

The early grades of OM are deliberately very gentle, so if you have a child that is academically accelerated, you will need to supplement and/or move the child up a grade level.

 

If you want to do OM, I wouldn't buy the whole package brand new. I pieced mine together (OM Seconds on Amazon) and substituted some of the books (Among the Forest People instead of Animal Friends, for example), which saved me some frustration and disappointment, which I know I would have had if I had bought it all new, hoping it would be my dream curriculum.

 

Incidentally, and despite what they say, you don't have to buy the teacher manuals for the K-3 levels. If you've been teaching your child for awhile, you probably know how she learns best and the rest of the book is just about focusing on teaching the "whole" child and not just focusing on academics.

[FairyMom]

I guess my big concern is that OM 2 looks far behind in the skills areas but I wondered if we could just use those portions as review and continue on with PR and Singapore/Miquon. But will the work load be outrageous?

 

I hesitate to try OM 3 with my kid even though I know "grade level" shouldn't matter but she's already on the young end of her typical grade as her birthday is in July and it seems like a lot to move her up an entire grade in a curriculum. But we were planning to start cursive next year and the science and social studies look a bit meatier and not that she needs tons of rigor in those areas right now but based on what we are doing right now OM 2 looks like a big step back.

 

I have trouble pulling together "fun" stuff and I like that this is all integrated in used in educational ways. I also like that is gives you a week's worth of content and then you can parcel it out as you see fit. I am definitely NOT a box checker.

 

I guess it is a good thing that I've got months and months to figure this out. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

Okay. I took 6 months off of OM last school year because of "grade level" stuff. It was really only the way I was looking at it. OM 1 (the *current* version) has a lot of reading instruction, word blends, that kind of thing. My daughter has never needed that. She started reading at four, self taught, and we have never used a phonics, language arts, spelling program, nothing... it's just her nature. I went back to OM 1 at the end of April and continued it during the summer specifically for the critical thinking/science/crafts/arts. We used the word blends as her spelling list, and are still doing that with OM 2. I, too, had a hard time pulling fun crafts together without OM, that is one of the major reasons we went back. The amount of art work is unreal, especially in OM 2 and beyond. Very good for brain development to go from math to art to hands-on, that kind of thing.

 

:rant:

The whole "not rigorous enough" is ridiculous because it is usually coming from a mom with a kid under 10. It is a different style of learning, and if you are carrying out the Syllabus as instructed, it is very rigorous, especially if you have a current version. This is my biggest pet peeve about people saying it's not for them because their kids are sooo advanced. Most little kids (under 5th grade) are going to be all over the map in their skill level, so no all-in-one will fit anyone perfectly, especially with an early/late reader. Holistic curricula like OM is not as focused on kill and drill skill level as much as heart level in the early years. If you don't agree with that, walk away. All done ranting. :D

 

Since this is a thread about why you didn't like OM, I'm going to list reasons we weren't sure it was for us and why we left it originally.

 

~ More than one child. OM is very teacher intensive in the early years. It is difficult to do two full programs, let alone more.

~ Along the same lines is math. I will not sit down and make up problems for math for my child. This is where we supplement. We use their math when there are fun games. Their math is good, but it requires a lot from the teacher that I am not willing to do.

~ Disjointed Social Studies. The "history" in the early grades is Social Studies. We are doing ancient Celts, African and Asian folk tales for second grade, but it's not in chronological order. That can be difficult if your child likes to learn history in order. People on the OM yahoo group have tried to block out the lessons to make it less "jumpy" for them, but it's a lot of work for an open-and-go program. Right now we like it because we don't get tired of a particular region or time period too soon.

 

Honestly, OM is fun and beautiful with amazing stories that have really opened my children's minds. To see them grow with the pictures they draw, poetry she writes and her science journal is fascinating. However, it is a lot of work that can turn people off. If you want a simple open-and-go curricula, OM is not it. There is a lot of prep work for some crafts, although they are very high quality, especially in OM 2.

[Walking-Iris]

I have OM 4 and I really just consider it a nice resource! The grade levels are where I don't like it. Because it's hard to figure out which one you would want if it's ahead or behind in an area for your kid.

 

I wanted to use OM1 when my oldest was 1st grade but looking at samples it seemed like the lang. arts were way behind where he was already at---so it can be hard to make a decision, especially since it's expensive. It's not that I think my kid is advanced or anything, but if something costs quite a bit I want to really really love it.

 

I got OM4 at a good deal---but the lang. arts and math sections are really useless to us already (except as a review time)--but it has some great history and science activities.

 

 

I want to like it too---but it just seems to be all over the place. I wouldn't think to use it as a stand alone curriculum, but as supplementary material if you can find it used to save on cost.

[Walking-Iris]

I've used Oak Meadow 4 and Oak Meadow 5 in their entirety with my daughter. We are currently using Oak Meadow 6.

 

I'm also using Oak Meadow Kindergarten with my son this year.

 

I have to say, I'm a big fan. I love it for a lot of reasons and I'm committed to using it with both of them at least through 8th grade (and then I'll look into their high school stuff). I do supplement some here and there but don't go crazy with supplemental stuff.

 

I could go on and on about why I love Oak Meadow so much but it'll be easier if I just link you to the review I wrote on my blog and you can check it out if you want to. :)

 

http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/124071.html

 

P.S. It says "OM Kindergarten" when you first click on it but a little further down the page is the review for the rest of the "grade school years."

 

Aside from the review, you can also check out these links if any of them pertain to whatever grade level you'd be doing:

 

A sample Oak Meadow Kindergarten week (schedule and pics)

http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/125979.html

 

A sample Oak Meadow fourth grade week (schedule and pics)

http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/126472.html

 

A sample Oak Meadow fifth grade week (schedule and pics)

http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/126296.html

 

If you look at my most recent main livejournal entries (link in sig) you will see what OM6 is like for us these days, as well as OMK with my son.

 

Hope this helps!

 

I love your blog by the way!!!

[WIS0320]

I don't actually think my DD is "advanced" at all, I think she's on track and rather "average" as demonstrated in most other curriculums. I understand the Waldorf philosophy behind the delayed academics. I was actually very interested in Waldorf during her babyhood, early toddlerhood and read a lot of Steiner's work, but I ended up discarding it in its purest form as it is based on a philosophy (anthroposophy) that I disagree with. Of course kids are all over the map in skills and I don't think my kid is a baby genius! But it seems a waste to not challenge her and from what I see from the samples she will not be challenged in two content areas. Does that make sense?

 

I do love the crafts and the nature study! I do love the integration of topics and that it appears to be fairly child-led and discovery based. I think the best thing for me to do a this point is to find a use copy of the syllabus for 2nd grade for a good price and spend some time with it over the next few months and then see if I want to proceed. I can probably resell it pretty easily if I decide to go another route.

 

Thanks for all the advice everyone! And, Fairymom, I really appreciated all your help in the other thread too. :grouphug:

[NanceXToo]

I love your blog by the way!!!

 

Thanks!! :)

[WIS0320]

Thanks!! :)

 

I agree, what a great resource! Thanks for all those links. :)