Box Day! Oak Meadow Grade 4
I am so excited to announce that we’re going to continue on with Oak Meadow 4 this year. To be honest, I’m not typically one to stick with a curriculum for more than a year at a time. I thought it was just because I was a wandering soul kind of homeschooler, but now I wonder if I just hadn’t found the right fit for my family yet.
My big ole review won’t be finished for a couple more weeks, because I really want a chance to use it well enough to give you an accurate picture of what this new level is really about. Today, I just want to give you a sneak peak at what the biggest changes are between Oak Meadow 3 and 4, and why I am so excited to dig in.
This year, we received:
The Oak Meadow Grade 4 Sylabus
The Oak Meadow Grade 4 Teachers Manual
Grade 4 Math
Recorder Duets
And Bug’s reading books: Stuart Little, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, The Search for Delicious, The Sign of the Beaver, Indian Legends, The Trumpet of the Swan, Heidi, Rachel’s Journal, and James Harriot’s Treasury for Children
Grade 4 looks like a ton of fun, right? Bug will be digging in deeper with everything! I am excited for the focus on life science and animals, and Bug can’t wait to learn about space. I am also excited to learn more about American History this year as we get ready for our big move back to the states.
The biggest change I noticed this year, and the one I am most excited about is that Oak Meadow 4 is now written to the student, rather than to the parent. At this stage of Bug’s life, he’s finding his voice. He’s growing up more and more every day, and he’s ready for new responsibilities. More than that, he’s itching for independence, and Oak Meadow 4 is giving him a dose of that.
We’ve only just started using the program, but so far, I love the new set up. The curriculum is a little more detailed this year to support the child reading it independently. It covers all the information well, and clearly lays out what he needs to do.
At the same time, the teachers manual gives the extra little information I need to help him be successful with his studies. For example, for the first lesson, it talks about some of the changes kids at this age are going through, and why there is a need for more independence, and discusses how to set up a study area, and support kids in transitioning to more independent work.
The other big change is the Math book is separate instead of being a part of the syllabus. One thing I struggled with when it came to the third grade book was needing to write my own math questions each week. The math book now has about one worksheet a day (5-6 a week) to be completed, so it’s much more open and go and easy to use.
I am so excited to get started, and I will be back in a couple weeks to tell you guys all about the program, and give you a glimpse of what a week in the life looks like with Oak Meadow.
I know this is an older post, but I’m so incredibly excited I found your blog! I happened to find your grade 7 unboxing video where you shared you had the earlier grades posted on your blog. My daughter will be starting 4th this fall and I’m going back to homeschooling after public school for the previous two grades. She’s been begging me to go back ever since she started public school and I can finally make it happen. Working from home leaves me with little time to lesson plan so after doing a lot of online digging, I’ve decided to move forward with Oak Meadow for curriculum purposes and using Waldorf inspired methods to introduce the material. I have a younger one who will be 3 joining us so I’ll find fun ways to include her into her big sister’s learning adventure. After reading this and watching grade 7 video, I’m very excited to get started!
New to homeschool and considering using Oak Meadow. Thanks for the review!
New to homeschool, have 5 kids, two of them are nature lovers and hands on learners. Would love to win!
I have an up-and-coming 8th grader who would love a full OM package!
It would be so amazing and really help us out to win. This will be our first year with OM. I have a 4th and 5th grader.
So exciting! I’d love to try Oak Meadow!
We love OM! This would be a great blessing to our family! 😉
I would love to win! We love waldorf!
I just learned about Oak Meadow when I was trying to decide if we were using boxed curriculum for our first year of homeschooling. I don’t think I’m a boxed curriculum type, but I LOVE the idea behind Oak Meadow, and can’t wait to start using it this fall ( I hope I win!)