You know, Rachel, I haven't read either of those yet, have you? Before I pass this curriculum on to its final destination, I'll be having my 10-year-old read them.
I loved how Oak Meadow used beautiful works of art for their curriculum covers, now it's a power point graphic and basically the same graphic for each grade. I like the curriculum, but really...why change the art to something so uninspired? When companies begin to change what makes them unique to blandness I do wonder why. I understand the look is not as important as the content, but to my little artists..... aesthetics are everything! So sad.
Deidre Lee I imagine their aim was to update, modernize and unify. Since I haven't used either the old nor new curriculum, I wasn't attached to the cover art as you are, but I can see that for you it represents a departure from its authentic roots. Having not used the older version of the 5th grade curriculum, I can't tell if other changes have been made that take it farther away from its original philosophy. What are your reasons for using Oak Meadow over other curricula?
I don't think Oak Meadow is a Waldorf school. They are only going to implement ideas from the pedagogy in my opinion. They appear to go with a classical mix in my opinion. Also, this would make sense to gain customers and teaches by staff. Most colleges will not cover the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. More than likely the cause is its estoteric/occultic nature. I'm only guessing about this.
I'm a member of the Anthrposophical Society myself. This may be something that may interest you too. You are naturally called to the ideas of Waldorf like myself. Perhaps studying the actual "spirit science" may be something to consider. My spiritual teacher says we are called to our own interests for a much greater reason. It's part of our soul 😊 Blessings
I believe similar, that our talents and skills are gifts to honor and share. We don't have to be the best at it, and with the internet, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. we can very easily come to find out we are not as good as we think! But each of us has a special quality that shines just a bit brighter than the rest and that is what can be pursued and developed. Have you always been a deep thinker? Or did you develop it over time?
That is a very interesting question...I believe that just as a child slowly awakens into a different consciousness so does he continue to awaken through different times throughout his life. So my earlier years were more about following what what great Ben to me without question . And then I would say in my late 30's I began to search for deeper truths. That is when I found Waldorf then Anthroposophy. So I began to learn about Dr. Steiner and his contribution to humanity. Then of course I question even some of his ideas. My thinking is all of it connected and we are lacking the information needed to see the whole picture. I've learned that is the most essential thing we can do is ask and continue to search for these connections. Blessings!
Yes, I've used tons of it - for many years I just loved trying out new stuff all the time. 20 years + affords quite a good amount of time to do that. :)
Hi Carmen, no, I don't use Oak Meadow, but it's pretty impressive. I'm not sure it stays fresh and inspiring throughout the year though, and for me and my kids, we'd need a bit more variety.
Love Jean Fritz! I love how it integrates with different subjects. I would love to know how math works in the Waldorf education. Cause that looks like my daughter's third grade work. I know you talked about delayed academics. How does this work?
I agree that the math looks a little bit below grade level, but having not experienced other boxed curriculum, I can't comment on this further. Though Oak Meadow has roots in the Waldorf philosophy, it's not Waldorf education. If OM delays math or grammar, it's for their own reasons. In 5th grade in the Live-Education, the math main lesson is geometry. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-T-_sZH657xQ.html
So you are sending this off to your charter school, not using it next year? I very much suspect we'll be buying grade 5 the year after this upcoming year when i have a 4th and 6th grader that i'll be homeschooling. soooo pretty... its addictive, isn't it? all the pretty curricula... LOL
It's such a beautiful curriculum!! And all the added books (historical fiction, etc.) are the finishing touch. Since I was asked often about the different curricula that are Waldorf based, I contacted Oak Meadow to see if they would lend me a couple grades to do a comparison video. Instead they donated the 5th grade curriculum to our school! So it doesn't belong to me, but I also hadn't intended on using it, though since it belongs to our school any family in the school can use it. It is lovely and appears very user-friendly AND it's complete! Plus I think the pricing is very good. I think if you just got 5th grade for both your children, then supplemented with grade level math, you'd be set!
