Oak Meadow WITHOUT the online support

[Solange]

I hope this is OK to stand alone..I just wanted to share our experience with Oak Meadow without the online support.

I am sorry the online experience was so awful for HelloKitty, but I feel the curriculum can stand alone and is very good for those who do not want the online support.


Product/Service name:
Oak Meadow

Brief description of product/service:
Books and supplies

Store/Site of purchase:
http://www.oakmeadow.com/

Price:
varies according to grade

How long have you used this product/service?
3 years intermixed with unschooling and Barbara Dewey's services

Performance:

Quality:
great

Customer Service/Communication:
did not use

Would you purchase this product/service again?
yes

Have you made a complaint to the company about the product/service? If yes, please provide details of any resolution or lack thereof.

none

Additional Comments:
We love Oak Meadow and find the curriculum a nice way to supplement unschooling at home for those days when I freak out and worry that we are not learning.

The Heart of Learning and the Home Teachers Process Manual are really great for the younger grades of K-3. I highly recommend them.

You can buy just the Syllabus for your grade that goes over everything..is very well written and gives weekly lessons for each of the quarters. The 3rd grade that we are using now has verses, poems, and everything right in the syllabus. It also has great multiplication table verses in it to help remember the tables. I wish someone had done this for me!

You can pick and choose books for the grade you need or buy the pre-made packages.

Some of the readers that are introduced you can get at the library and do into need to buy.

Speaking of purchasing Oak Meadow(OM), OM is high on the list of wanted curriculum, re-sale value is great and can be found on Ebay but not for long. The stuff goes quick!


I give it (How many thumbs up out of five?): 5/5

[Linda on the move]

One of my DDs is using Oak Meadow 7th grade and really enjoying it. The emphasis is world history and the program is heavy on literature and writing, which really suit her learning style. She finds the work interesting and the units leave her wanting to learn more about the period she has been studying.

At this stage, the curriculum is directed to the child and she can complete a great deal of the work herself. My role is similar to the one I play with my DD who attends school. I talk to her about what she is doing, offer help, and look over her work. She is self directed and finds the curriculum interesting enough to easily stay motivated.

[medusaatemydog]

i thought Oak Meadow was slow, mundane, and not very well thought out. I think the only time they will go out of thier way to help you is when they are getting a check...

i can't understand why every lesson is beatrix potter and a story of kingdom and kings and queens and hiking through the forest... not very creative, seems as though there was not alot of thought put into this and it was thrown together...

they had me cutting a yam in the begining of january to show my child how plants and seeds grow.... what are they thinking?.... there was little other options for that week... they also tell parents to grow sprouts in a small jar with blotter paper and cotton in the middle....and they go on to tell you what a great snack it is.... not a good idea...the blotter paper and cotton can breed bacteria that can make you potentially ill...not a well thought out activity and again...out of season


then they want me to give my child iron filings found at the hardware store??
to put them in a box and place a magnet underneath...this is kindergarten?? the potential for eye injury with or without supervision is very real... like i said i feel there is little thought put into it...for the cost of online plus the teacher, which did so very little...i feel it was a waste of money and time... my son is already way past much of this cirriculum and so is most of the world so if your worried about being 'tested' by the public schools your child will be lightyears behind...

they conviently leave out thier growing strong cirruculm...you have to buy that book on top of thier cirriculum package.... again...they don't respond well to you unless the checks keep coming, when i called and inquired about registration and payments they took the time to talk....when it was for other concerns i was told to call back...repeatedly.

i'm going it on my own for now and have found a much better long distance program..one that is more advanced...we will be starting that next year

i would not recommend this course for anyone unless your child is a slow learner...i could NOT read another story about beatrix potter or the king and queen again... it gets really repetitive, i didn't find this at all stimulating...not in the least.

[OhMeOhMy]

We use OM and love it (2 years now). Currently we are using the 6th, 7th and 8th grade curriculum. My kids love that they can work on their own when they feel like it (it really spells everything out!). I like that everything is laid out for us in a concise manner and they have lots of fun experiments for us to do.
I am also VERY happy with their customer service. I emailed them this morning and told them how I had lost all of my math answer keys in a move and the PDFs for each of them were emailed to me within an hour.
I am really glad we found this after all of the programs we tried and did not like.