We used the Oak Meadow Kindergarten last year for our daughter and today I want to share a holistic review of the Oak Meadow Kindergarten curriculum.
We have officially wrapped up the kindergarten year with Oak Meadow, so i’ts a perfect time for a review. . I wanted a Waldorf inspired curriculum that was all-inclusive, so Oak Meadow ticked all the boxes.
Kids Perspective of Oak Meadow Kindergarten Curriculum
First and foremost, my daughter loved her year with Oak Meadow. I can honestly say she enjoyed each lesson + activity. She was eager to learn and it was a gentle approach to learning that got her enthusiastic and eager. Throughout the year she learned her alphabet, numbers, observation of seasonable changes, how to finger knit, and more!
At first, we both struggled with Main Lesson Book (MLB) drawings because honestly, my expectations were too high. Reference this post on tips to MLB drawings, but as we both got more comfortable with the process everyone’s confidence improved.
When we discussed what she liked about her kindergarten year, she said she liked “all the stories”. Oak Meadow introduces each and every alphabet letter + number through a beautiful story. Reference this post to know how we set up our school week.
Parent Perspective of Oak Meadow Kindergarten Curriculum
I was very anxious about using a Waldorf curriculum. I knew I wanted to take a Waldorf approach to learning, but I was nervous about my own artistic abilities, or lack thereof. Oak Meadow’s lessons are fantastic for reluctant parents because it breaks everything down for you. It is truly an open and go curriculum. You do not have to do a lot of prep work or contemplation on how to present each week’s lessons, I also recommend buying the enrichment kit because it gives new parents a complete overview on how to teach each and every subject for the first four years (grade k-3).
One thing to consider is it requires the parent to be very involved. It is not a workbook based curriculum. It is a parent led curriculum. So for each lesson, I demonstrated how to draw each MLB drawing; discussed seasonal changes and natural world observations; and practice numeracy. If you are looking for a workbook based curriculum this isn’t going to be a good fit.
Since it isn’t workbook based you can reuse if multiple times if you have more than one child. So, it’s a great option if you are homeschooling multiple children. I haven’t written in your kindergarten book at all and plan to resell it on eBay when I finish using it with my children.
Lastly, we spent 5-7 hours a week completing the lessons. So it isn’t time intensive.
Final thoughts
We went ahead and purchased Oak Meadow Grade 1 curriculum because we all enjoyed kindergarten so much. I personally want my children to love learning and believe learning should foster creative thinking. Oak Meadow’s lessons foster creative thinking and take a more hands-on approach to learning, which I and my children LOVE.
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