I had never heard of Oak Meadow when I first learned of this review. Oak Meadow provides complete curriculum packages with an additional option of distance learning with professional teachers to assist the learning process and an option for online materials(grades K – 8). Oak Meadow covers from Kindergarten through high school and even offers guidance counseling for the high school years! Now that is impressive. Not to mention it is an Internationally Accredited College Preparatory Program with expert faculty.
The moment I opened the package of Oak Meadow’s 6th grade curriculum, my 11 year old saw the book about Greek Mythology and poof, it was gone. Later that night I caught her still reading it well after bedtime by the light of a cell phone.
When I talked to her and her 12 year old sister the next day, the 12 year old said “Oh, no, were we not supposed to read it?” I assured her that it is wonderful they are so excited about it! So we can hardly wait to get to the Ancient Greek part.
Equally exciting was my 10 year old boy’s reaction to the Robin Hood novel. He is not the most enthusiastic reader yet this curriculum has already struck interest with three different children. My seven year old daughter also sits in and listens as we read and discuss the history part. She is not doing all the assignments along with her older siblings but she is definitely soaking up some knowledge. The texts flow very nicely and have natural pauses to verify understanding. We have just begun but we are all big fans.
I love the hands on assignments right from the beginning. Day one – creating the map of Africa, Asia and Europe.
Then day two begins the wonderful photographs to go along with the reading. One thing I wish they had were captions to go along with the photographs so I could know exactly what it is.
Excellent writing assignment right off the bat which caused my girls to really use their brains and test out their paragraph writing. This is one area I have really desired more structure with, so I am delighted at the writing assignments.
It never ceases to amaze me how the “right” curriculum for a particular child can make such a huge impact. It is the end of May – the school year is winding down (all though we do light school through the summer anyway). But my 11 year old has been burnt out and uninterested for a couple months. She acts as if things are WAY too hard for her – when I know they are not. Well, Oak Meadow’s 6th grade curriculum has made a night/day change in her. Although the writing assignment at first seemed difficult to her, she did it beautifully without grumbling. In fact, she has completed all of her assignments each day and has even said “It is fun.” I am so grateful to find something that works so well for her.
Alright, it has been a few weeks and here is the breakdown on Oak Meadow‘s 6th grade currciulum. The website offers pretty extensive sample pages to get a feel for the lessons. You can also check out the overview to get a grasp of all the topics covered in the various subjects.
- Ancient Civilizations and English - we LOVE it!
- One of the best parts is that it combines, history, art, English, vocabulary, spelling and writing into one single lesson. My just starting 6th grader LOVES it! By having it all combined she does not feel as though she is doing a ton of school and it is presented in a more fun, hands on procedure.
- The plan is laid out wonderfully – with daily assignments and projects.
- The projects are fun like create a toga, make a model of a Roman village, make a recipe or do an art project. There are several options as well to accommodate for different children’s interests. But each project requires the child to apply the things they have learned.
- There is even a report in lesson 20 to be completed by lesson 24. The curriculum really gets the child to think and apply the lessons and offers additional books to read and projects to complete.
- In the back of this book is an English manual to assist with the language arts and writing assignments. It covers grammar rules, parts of speech, paragraphs, outlining, bibliographies and more. Not only does it include definitions but also examples.
- Basic Life Science – Great photos included in the lessons but again, some do not have captions.
- Each lesson has some reading, projects and test questions. But there are only five test questions so it is not at all overwhelming.
- The projects again are fun and hands on with plenty of options – for example making a jello cell model! There are also lists of additional resources for each unit for further study.
- Math – complete one lesson per week with either a review or test at the end.
- The tests and reviews cover the new material covered and previous things learned for reinforcement. Although the topics covered seem pretty standard for sixth grade (exactly what my older daughter was been doing in 6th grade virtual school) the lessons do not have a lot of practice problems.
- There are practice sheets to reiterate the lessons but it is a lot lighter work load than the other math curriculum we have been using for my fifth grader. Not that she is complaining!
- Teacher’s Manual – It is so convenient – it offers all the definitions for the vocabulary to help a busy homeschool mom, explanations for the assignments and answer keys.
Oak Meadow even offers the craft kit to go along with the curriculum so you will always have everything you need. You can also purchase the items from the craft kit and all of curriculum as individual items or the set. You can also easily download the catalog to see the items offered for each grade. And don’t forget to like them on facebook!
*Disclaimer: I was given a complimentary Oak Meadow 6th grade curriculum package for the purpose of facilitating my review. No monetary compensation was given. All opinions expressed herein are unbiased and not influenced by the developing company or its affiliates in any way.*
“Yeah!” – that’s one awesome video! =)
Fascinating newsletter. How to choose a favorite when they are all so good.
I liked the article on Kindness Makes A World Of Difference. I have found in recent years the more “stressed” people seem to be, the less kind they are. Public schools are filled with people that never seem kind. Teachers often set the wrong example. They are too often unkind to their students. I pray that everyone would practice kindness more and the impact would be a different world.
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I would love another grade level!! Definitely enter this one everyone!
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gotta love oak meadow! the tree saver bag holder is a grest craft!
Loved that student work is highlighted!
Craft: Book Binding was my favorite on the newsletter! What a great craft! Thank you so much for the giveaway!
I loved all the samples, but am most excited about the Kindergarten one, since it’s what I would like to get for my kiddo!
Love this curriculum! Such a natural way to teach a child. They don’t want to stop reading the stories and really have to think about the world around them.
I enjoyed the entire newsletter, but I think Oak Meadow Curriculum: Citizenship Through the Grades was the most informative.
I have always wanted to try Sonlight because I wouldn’t have to read the books they were reading yet I would still have the discussion aids to know the main parts of the book so we could analyze together. Does this curriculum help you ,the parent, know how to teach them about certain things they are reading that are unChristian? If someone else chooses books for me across several levels of my learners, I need to be able to trust that they have my back!
Awesome review. We’re starting Oak Meadow 5th grade for history & English in September. My son helped pick the curriculum so we are both excited about it!
I love Oak Meadow, especially how the history curriculum uses real books with it, like the Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
I liked the beyond the classroom: learning in action article.
Beyond the Classroom: Learning in Action jumped out first, but I think I’ll be reading several of the other ones, too.
I like the Beyond the Classroom: Learning in Action article.
The first grade curriculum looks fantastic. I love the way nature and fairy tales are incorporated.
I liked the Beyond the Classroom: Learning in Action article because I really believe that learning continues outside the classroom.
I would LOVE to try Oak Meadow with my kids next year…we are on the curriculum hunt currently, and they are on my shortlist!!
My favorite article was “Kindness Makes a World of Difference”; I loved the “SIMPLE STEPS TO TEACH KINDNESS” section & I plan on trying out the suggestions
What I liked best about the curriculum sample are the circle times; I think this is a great way to start the day!
I’ve been thinking about starting homeschooling for a while and just decided to do it. This would be a great start for us.
I really enjoyed the “Kindness Makes a World of Difference” article. Such an important topic and reminder.
All of the curriculum looks fantastic. I especially liked the Soap Dish project in the 2nd grade overview.
I like the Tree Saver craft idea.
Beyond the Classroom: Learning in Action
2nd grade soap dish
like the 1st grade samples.
I would love to try this curriculum!
the tree saver bag holder
Virtual Heart of Writing
I enjoyed viewing the sample lessons from second grade the best!
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