This giveaway has now ended. Thanks for entering!
Thanks for joining me for this year’s back to school week! I hope this week’s posts encourage you in your school and life planning as the start of the traditional school year grows nearer.
I discovered Oak Meadow through the magic of the blogosphere, and found it to be just what I needed for my kids at the time. The curriculum and the philosophy behind it have become a steady part of our home learning experience since then.
What first drew me to Oak Meadow was the heart behind it–is it possible for a curriculum company to have heart? Yes, it totally is! And I found that Oak Meadow’s connected with much of my own–their gentle approach, their slow introduction to academics, their focus on nature, free play, and stories.
Oak Meadow began over 35 years ago. The company offers complete curriculum packages from PreK through 12th Grade, which you can purchase and use at home with your children.
They also offer an enrollment option in their accredited distance learning school. This allows students to receive full academic credit and transcripts for their work at home–as well as the support of an experienced teacher.
For this giveaway, the generous folks at Oak Meadow sent me their 3rd grade curriculum to review (pictured below). If you’re interested in finding out more about other grade levels, I have previously reviewed the Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade packages as well.
The bulk of the 3rd grade material is presented in the syllabus. Like the ones I’ve seen before, this book is easy to use and lovely in its layout and design. Printed in full color, it is divided into three trimesters of 12 weeks each. Each trimester includes introductory material for the teacher to read, which explains the skills to be covered during that time period.
Each weekly lesson plan covers assignments in depth. Subjects included in each weekly plan: circle time, language arts, math, social studies, science, art, music, crafts, and health. I have always appreciated the fact that in these early years (K-3) all subjects are here together–no multiple binders or separate curricula to keep track of and juggle.
Plenty of ideas are provided for each week, and it can appear overwhelming initially. Just remember: There’s no law saying you have to do everything in any curriculum–I have written before about the unique way we use Oak Meadow in our homeschool, and I’ve learned over time to make the material my own as we go along. Oak Meadow provides plenty of room to adapt to meet your unique needs, and emphasizes that home teachers should do so.
Here is an overview of the 3rd grade package from an Oak Meadow teacher, citing the projects and studies that many of her students enjoy the most:
Language Arts
- form drawing exercises in correlation with learning how to cursive write
Math
- creating multiplication designs in conjunction with learning the times tables
- reciting rhymes for each of the times tables and engaging in rhythmic activities associated with the times tables (catching and tossing a ball or beanbag, jump roping, etc.)
Social Studies
- making a model of a sukkah (Lesson 2)
- reading Native American creation stories and making a corn husk doll (Lesson 6) and a dream catcher (Lesson 7)
- creating a folk art scrapbook of the student’s family heritage (Lesson 9)
Science
- making Chinese, Greek and Roman water clocks (Lesson 3)
- composing a story of “The Day There Was No Gravity” (Lesson 4)
- observing the clouds and creating a cloud booklet (Lesson 10)
- illustrating the four season cycle of a plant or tree (Lesson 19)
- growing an avocado seed (Lesson 20)
- constructing a terrarium to observe the natural process of the water cycle (Lesson 24)
- making a collage of the student’s local natural resources (Lesson 28)
Art
- cooking projects (First Trimester)
- paper marbling and bookbinding (Second Trimester)
- and engaging in carpentry projects (Third Trimester)
One Simple Homeschool reader will receive a curriculum package in the grade of your choice (grades K-8) from Oak Meadow!
How to Win
Everyone has two chances to win. Here’s how:
1. Comment on this post, answering this question: Do you prefer one curriculum that covers all subjects or would you rather choose separate curricula for different subjects? (If you are reading this in an email, you must click over to enter your comment!)
2. ‘Like’ Oak Meadow and Simple Homeschool on Facebook. Then — this is important — you need to come back and leave an additional comment here, telling me you have done so.
This giveaway has now ended. Thanks for entering!
This is our first year homeschooling, so I am not sure if I will prefer separate curricula for each subject. I would love to have the chance to check out Oak Meadow. Thank you for the wonderful giveaway!
I have also Liked both pages on FB! 🙂
Right now i am piecing together curricula and having a hard time.keeping up. I have looked at oak meadow and would really like to try it out. It is the only packaged product that seems to mesh with our life/learning style!
I liked both on fb! Thanks!
I prefer to put my own pieces together for each subject from different curricula.
This year I am a newbie and am piecing together different curriculums for different subjects, but if I found the right all encompassing curriculum I would gladly use it. It seems like it would be less stressful!
I have liked both Oak Meadow and Simple Homeschool on Facebook 🙂
I liked both sites on Facebook!
I am new to homeschooling and thing an all in one curriculum would be a big help this first year!
In the past we’ve homeschooled with different curriculums for different subjects & made up a lot as we went along, but I’ve been wanting to try Oak Meadow for a while now & would welcome the chance to try an integrated curriculum for 3rd grade. Thank you for a wonderful give-away!
Just dipping my feet into homeschooling this year, but i think i would prefer to pick and choose on my own. but would love to check Oak Meadow out!
I like to have a complete curriculum but reserve the right to use it, abuse it, turn it inside out, and completely ignore it as the need arises. ^_^!
And Liked! Thanks!
C~
We are new to homeschooling so the idea of one curriculum makes the whole thing a little less overwhelming.
Bethany Vitaro’s latest post: Mommy Meltdown
Our two children are still quite young (4 & 2) so we haven’t had a chance to choose a favorite yet, but I seem to like separate curriculum, at least in theory. I have a friend who uses Oak Meadow and loves it! : )
Just “liked” both pages on Facebook too. : )
This past year I used a full-subject curriculum; enjoyed having everything planned out, but I did tend to feel guilty about not doing every single assignment. Looking forward to seeing what Oak Meadow is all about.
Sandra’s latest post: Lock and load, baby!
I “liked” both of you all on Facebook. I am starting to homeschool this year and really need some help. Kindergarten curriculum would be so incredibly helpful. I would especially prefer curricula that focuses on one subject, integrating learning through an interdisciplinary, project-based approach. Pretty please pick me. Thanks for the opportunity.
I prefer to separate curriculum for different subjects. More tailored to my kids learning styles that way.
I say simple is best. We can always head to the library to enrich our learning on any subject, but an all in one is a great jumping off point.
Like them both, thanks for the chance to win!
My daughter is homeschooling her boys, I hope she gets an all in one for the first few years. Seems like there is a lot to keep track of.
Thanks for the chance to win. I’d luv to give my grandson oak meadow for his third grade. I “liked” them both 🙂
I like having a whole curriculum that is complete and put together for me. That way its all there and organized and then I can supplement if need be or if my kids are really interested in a particular thing.
I have been looking to buy a Pre-k package from one company. In a perfect world, I could just buy the curriculum and workbooks for the lower level courses without the books. (Most of the recommended readings for the younger kids are readily available at any public library or used book store.)