Tell me about Oak Meadow K

[ExcitedMama]

My ES gave us OM K when it was returned. I think I now have all of the books that go with it. I've looked through them and while I find all of the books annoying I'm intrigued by it. It's not a curriculum I would have ordered but since it's free I am willing to give it a try. I'm not CM or artsy at all which is why this could be good to do something different with DD. How many important is the nature table? I doubt it's something I would do. We pretty much only have oak trees around here so going and getting a pinecone isn't going to happen. But is it worth ordering stuff to do? I was great about doing sensory bins for DS but I haven't done stuff like that for DD. How much did your kids enjoy it?

[ExcitedMama]

Anyone?

[Guest]

I will bite. I used it years ago loosely for PreK when my 13 and 12 yr old could not speak. While gentle, and appealing, it was not a good fit for us- none of us can draw! 

 

Generally speaking, most people use Kinder for Pre-K.

 

It is not an "academic" Kinder. If that is what you want, you should look elsewhere. BUT it is perfect if you are wanting a more laid back, old-time year.

 

You can skip anything you like or add anything you like. Five in a Row (without reading the book 5 times) is a good add-in.

 

Neither of these programs will cover phonics so if you are wanting to start reading instruction, you will need to add it in.

 

My advice is if you can't stand it before you have even begun--keep on looking.

Edited June 29, 2017 by Paradox5

[bensonduck]

I used it last year for preK DS. He is a kid who 1) loves being outside and 2) learns by doing. It was very sweet and fun. We did a lot of projects I never would have thought of myself and that he really enjoyed. Particularly making leaf and flower prints with a hammer, walnut shell boats and wet paper watercolors were fun.

 

I have grade 1 for this year but will be adding a lot to it. Basically I use it as a way to add some hands on experiential learning for my kid who really really needs it.

[ExcitedMama]

Thanks! It would be for DD 4.5. I definitely lean to more classical so she is slowly working on reading and writing and math. She tags along when she's interested in science and history and art. We are doing MP Jr. K and AAR. OM definitely seems behind on letter introduction and math but I was hoping to incorporate the projects and artsy stuff that doesn't come naturally to me. Which is why I'm wondering if the nature table really is a must? I want to include more of what I wouldn't really do, so I'm inclined to skip it but is it something I should make the effort to do?

[bensonduck]

I don't think you have to do a nature table if you don't think your kid would be into it or if it doesn't work for your family. Maybe you could make a nature shoebox and let DD put any seasonal natural treasures in the box and have that available for her to play with if she seems interested. We tended to collect stuff for our nature table on walks in our neighborhood.

 

DS really got into the nature table. He had a couple small pumpkins and gourds we got at the supermarket in the fall, a mess of acorns and leaves, red berries and evergreens in the winter, etc. For us the issue was that he resisted any effort to "edit" the nature table - son, why do you need all 47 of these brown leaves? :)

 

What I liked about the OM year was that it is so flexible- definitely you can add/change/omit projects to suit your family.

[EKT]

I first tried it when my oldest daughter was in kindergarten; I bought the entire Oak Meadow curriculum for Kindergarten. (Note: that daughter is now 10, so I don't know how much their materials might have changed since then). So...my thoughts: I think so much of the Waldorf philosophy is beautiful. I love the focus on "head/hands/heart" (the whole child), the focus on nature, the focus on high-quality natural materials, the avoidance of electronics and video games and all that. Love those elements. Love the emphasis on fairy tales and stories and I am definitely a sucker for the aesthetics and all the watercolor rainbows, lol. But academically, it turned out to be a terrible fit for us. In her kindergarten year, my daughter soared into reading, so the idea of trying to delay certain things until she was 7 became absurd. (Spending one entire language arts lesson coloring a giant letter A and a corresponding illustration of a gate--to apparently illustrate the long A sound??--became ridiculous, and, I think, needlessly confusing. (Like...just tell the child what sound the letter makes. If she is ready to read, she will understand. I didn't see the need to couch every last thing in a crayon drawing.) So, just for our particular situation and my particular children it was not a good fit at all academically. (Though, I do think lots of the kindergarten materials would have made nice preschool materials in my house. All the crafty stuff is lovely.) That said, I can definitely imagine OM would be a good fit perhaps for boys or children who are just later bloomers when it comes to academics.

 

Long story short, I quickly realized that it Oak Meadow wasn't going to work for us and I went searching for alternatives and that's when I stumbled onto TWTM, which was such a better fit. (We don't follow TWTM exactly, but the overall framework of classical education was such a revelation to me.) Mostly, I realized that I could keep the elements of Waldorf education that appealed to me, but base our actual academics at the level of rigor that my children needed to grow. Today, it's mostly the environmental elements of the Waldorf philosophy that we've held onto--routines and rhythms and home life stuff (Heaven on Earth is still my favorite parenting book for young children!). 

 

In a nutshell: I think if you are really invested in strict Waldorf philosophy, Oak Meadow is a great choice. The materials were beautiful and thoughtful. There were definitely a ton of crafts and baking, etc., and, like I said, all that is lovely and my kids loved that stuff. You could also definitely use the materials just as a supplement to other things you might be doing. Maybe cherry-pick some of the activities and lessons over the summer and see how they fit? Good luck!