TXMomof4 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I've never heard of this before and I can't get a good feel from the website. Our whole next year is up in the air because we may/may not be moving depending on DH and the army. I was considering Heart of Dakota for the older girls. Now, I wonder, if Oak Meadow may be an option as well. Something that is laid out for me daily, all in one package, that sounds like a heavenly prospect. Any opinions one way or the other? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 We're going to use Oak Meadow with our 1st & 6th graders next year and suppliment math, grammar and history from WTM recommendations. Literature and science from OM seems to flow well with WTM, and some of the reading is actually the same for both. I don't think we'll use OM for the 7th grader (possibly just for science, although I'm very interested in Apologia) because it doesn't fit the WTM recommendations as well. (Oddly, grade 8 looks really nice! LOL) He's fairly far behind and since we haven't yet decided if he's staying home or going back to public school for high school we want to push him a little faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmen_and_Company Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Oak Meadow 6 & up works well with TWTM, and the younger years with LCC (Latin Centered Curriculum). The math in OM flows differently than most programs, but by 7th or 8th grade, OM transitions to Saxon. A child who completes OM's 6th grade math could easily jump to Chalkdust or Lial's Basic Mathematics texts. OM exposes the children to how history affected various groups of people, and exposes the children to the cultural parts. Beginning in 6th grade, the required writing assignments begin to increase in difficulty, and the student is required to complete 2 research papers. OM 7 exposes dc to essay writing, and OM 8 to more analysis type work. I find that OM leans towards the light side when literature is concerned; thus, I slotted in additional selections for the cultures dd wanted to study in dept. OM provides many ways for a child to show comprehension of the presented material. At the lower levels, there is narration & copywork, even in math. In the middle grade programs students have choices of creative writing, essays, research, poetry writing, acting, painting, drawing, and so on with all lessons written directly to the student. Also, CM exposes the dc to art methods, and foods. We adore OM science, and will continue to utilize it through 8th grade. The students really must think and analyze the material at hand I love OM, as it was a perfect, gentle means of getting history because it messed well with LCC, and fit my dd's artsy personality. I would continue with OM, but was given a set of Live-Education materials, and will use those to supplement History Odyssey. For those that follow LCC, OM in the lower grades would expose the dc to lots of fairy tales, legends, Saints, and so much more. All one would need to add, is Latin & a formal math program. OM even covers music via the recorder. OM offers Latin, French, Spanish, and German during the high school years, along with art, and many other elective courses. I only wish I was not so afraid in the past that OM would not provide my dc a solid education, as the program would and has done so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Just to clarify (though you probably already know this), Oak Meadow isn't laid out day-byy-day. It gives you a week's worth of lessons and you schedule them. Having said that, I shyed away from OM to begin with because it looked too easy, too simple, in the lower grades. Then, this year I decided to just give it a go, and my kids love it! We are currently using 2nd grade and kindergarten. At this age, it is pretty gentle, though I can definately see the difference in approach/work load between the two grades. It progressively gets more challenging! Looking ahead, I can see that my kids will be learning a lot and will be getting a good solid education if we stick with it. One thing I like about the upper grades is that they offer the student choices in assignments - for example, in language arts the student will be asked to write an essay, or a play, or a series of "letters", so the program is flexible and easily tailored to individual needs. There are some samples on my blog (see sig below) of some recent work done by my kids if you want to peruse it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I only wish I was not so afraid in the past that OM would not provide my dc a solid education, as the program would and has done so. That was really one of my concerns with it for my older two - thanks for the thorough review of the upper grade levels! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Oak Meadow is not laid out daily. It is laid out weekly. You schedule your days yourself. Did you find the sample pages? They give a good feel for the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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