Oak Meadow kindergarten - is it really this simple?

[meandk0610]

i think i'm missing something. we read a book(s) the night before, then draw a picture(s) about it the next day, draw pictures about words that have the letter of the week, and use crafty ways other than writing to create each letter? is that really it? i feel like i must be missing something because it's so easy.

how are you doing math/other subjects? i have math-u-see primer but no blocks yet (am buying this week) so i haven't started that. how much detail and how do you document for social studies?

[mom2ponygirl]

I have heard that Oak Meadow is extremely 'light' in the early years.  So, you are probably not missing anything.

[meandk0610]

thanks! maybe i'll supplement a little and kind of make up my own just using Oak Meadow as a framework (and something to show the county).

[Mittsy]

I think Kindy should be that simple, personally, unless your child says otherwise. I don't like to push academics at all, that's what can cause the love of learning to ebb away, imho.

[tammyw]

Can anyone give me an overview of Oak Meadow kindergarten? I've actually gone to their site and received a catalog and still I'm not quite sure what it would look like.

With my dd (now almost 8) I did NOT have a curriculum for her - we flew by the seat of our pants, but with me being busy with her, I think it could be nice to have something for him that's "pick up and do" kind of thing. I'm just not sure if Oak Meadow is that thing. I'd love some personal insight if anyone is up for it.

[meandk0610]

we've been sort of unschooling anyway (hence me not getting around to even looking at the curriculum until the middle of november). it is definitely not something you could just hand to a child to do while you're doing something else. i'm thinking that we'll just continue on our sort of unschoolyness (making up words) and just use the oak meadow as backup/show-the-county.

[Mittsy]

tammyw: I will give you a example of 1 lesson, which you use throughout the week, using OM K. This will be a very abbreviated version;)

Lesson 1:

*Circle time: light candle, say opening verse, do a few song/poems/fingerplays, say closing verse, blow out candle.

*AM Main Lesson: This should last 45-60min, alternate different subjects for different days. Present letter A(1 letter/wk for 3wks plus 1 wk review). As a bedtime story read "The tale of Peter Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter. Ask the child to recall story in the morning, ask about the incidents and in what order they occurred.Tell child they will learn about A, like in gate. Show your child how to draw A, then ask them to draw a garden gate and letter A in it. On another day bake bread, and roll out A's. Gather sticks and make A's. Tell them a tongue twister, and have them listen for the A's.

*Math: Do puzzles and mazes with child. Next wk will begin the formal introduction of numbers 1-10.

*Creative play: Self-explanatory I would say.

*PM Hour:Science 2x/wk, Art/Crafts/Music 3x/wk.

*Science: Help child recall summer. Ask about sounds/smells/beauty/best experiences of their summer. Share some of your own. Help them draw a picture of summer for science scrapbook.

*Crafts: Make autumn seasonal table. Refer to First Book of Crafts.

*Music & Movement: Choose fingerplay/song and learn it with child.

[tammyw]

Thank you Mittsy! Based on that, I don't think it's for us, not because it doesn't look good or interesting, but because it reminds me how I like to be 100% in charge of what we're doing (based on what their current interest/level is at the time) which is why I never bought a boxed curriculum for dd. I guess some things never change, lol! I do tend to be a bit of a control freak anyway, hehe!

[Mittsy]

tammy: Have you checked into Christopherus or A Little Garden Flower? We're just starting with OM, but those are my back-ups I'll check into if we find OM isn't the greatest fit after a while. Best of luck to you!!

[tammyw]

I haven't looked into those - thank you though, I will definitely check them out :)

[onyxravnos]

NAK

it is thast easy :) and don't forget the story / activity that is in the teacher book for science and math each week but thats it. I 'fill out' the week some using munipulatives or school-y toys/games  but that's all you need for K + a lot of good family time and cleaning/cooking/reading/playing :)