I have to say, I wasn't expecting this. I know Oak Meadow has done an overhaul of their curriculum. They've updated, revised and tweaked their long standing success curriculum. I admit that I wasn't as taken by the 5th grade curriculum which Oak Meadow sent to me last year to review. That curriculum is with our charter school, as it was not sent to me in exchange for my review or video or blog post. This time around, my sister purchased the first grade curriculum for her son. Feeling overwhelmed and hesitant as to whether or not this was a good curriculum, she asked me to review it and share my thoughts with her. "Of course!" I said. Better yet, I'll share my thoughts with you, too.

If you want a literature-based all inclusive curriculum, Moving Beyond The Page may be the curriculum you're looking for. This curriculum integrates language arts, science, and social studies together using literature as the 'textbooks'. An independent math curriculum, such as Right Start Math, is suggested, and the website sells that separately.

If you want a literature-based all inclusive curriculum, Moving Beyond The Page may be the curriculum you're looking for. This curriculum integrates language arts, science, and social studies together using literature as the 'textbooks'. An independent math curriculum, such as Right Start Math, is suggested, and the website sells that separately.

In a Waldorf curriculum, the day follows a rhythm as does the week and the season. Each day of the week is devoted to a grain, color and activity, for instance Monday's color is purple and the grain in rice. Washing and cleaning dominate Monday's activities, while Tuesday's color is red and the grain is oats. Tuesday's breakfast may be oatmeal topped with red strawberries.

This video covers the four season books that are included in the Waldorf Kindergarten curriculum from Live Education. We use the Live Education Waldorf curriculum as inspiration for grades K-8th. Today, I'm covering three of the seven books that come in the KG curriculum: Folk and Fairy Tales, The First Seven Years and Introduction to KG. You can find the curriculum and more pictures at Live-Education. The other four books: autumn, winter, spring, and summer are covered in another video:

First grade in a Waldorf school begins at seven years of age, after the change of teeth has begun. Other notable differences about a the first grade curriculum is the story aspect of each lesson, even when you present the child with her first recorder, you present it along with a story. Stories are an important part of the Waldorf curriculum.

Oak Meadow and Live-Education are Waldorf inspired curricula, but what's the difference between the two and which one is more authentic to the Waldorf philosophy? I'm comparing the kindergarten curriculum for both Oak Meadow and Live-Education to give you an in depth look at how each curriculum is set up, what books come with each and how user friendly they are.

It's one of the hardest things choosing a curriculum. Today, I'm sharing two boxed curricula that are Waldorf inspired. One more so than the other, yet one is more user-friendly than the other. I'm featuring the old version of the Oak Meadow 2nd grade curriculum you can only find second hand, but you can find the updated version of the curriculum at the Oak Meadow website

Taking a look at the Live-Education 2nd grade Waldorf curriculum you'll find a unique approach to the subjects typically found in most curricula for this age. I will also give you a peek at the main lesson books my son made. There are no workbooks or textbooks in this curriculum, so you're going to have to actively participate to make this curriculum work. It's definitely teacher-led and all lessons are delivered by the teacher in an oral manner.

It's probably the biggest homeschooling decision you're going to make: Choosing a curriculum. When you've finally narrowed down you want to do a Waldorf approach, next you have to sort through the Waldorf curricula that are available. Today I'm walking you through the Waldorf Essentials curriculum for first grade with a comparison to the Live-Education curriculum also for grade one.

When I first saw the third grade Waldorf curriculum, I wasn't interested in using it because there was so much content I didn't intend to use. A few years later, I realized the wisdom behind why these particular main lesson blocks are chosen for the 9-year-old student. I'll share those reflections in the video as well as give you an in-depth review of the Live Education! curriculum with tips of how to use it.

This video is the compilation of the videos for Waldorf Grade 4 including the Main Lesson Blocks for Grammar, Math, Norse Myths (and other epic poems), Man and Animal (Zoology), Geography, History and Industry and Handwork as well as an overview of the child in Grade 4 as a 10 year-old and the development and types of stories that best suit those changes and milestones.

The Live-Education 5th grade curriculum has an emphasis on ancient history, botany and geometry. But just because a formal language arts program may be absent from the curriculum, it doesn't mean it's absent all together. In fact, you'll be surprised at how much writing, dictation and copywork occur with the history and science main lesson blocks

I compared the Live Education Grade 5 curriculum, which I have used for about twenty years, with the newly updated Waldorf Essentials Class 5 curriculum created by Melissa for Waldorf Essentials. Live Education was written by Waldorf-trained classroom teachers and follows the traditional Waldorf pedagogy very closely, offering extensive teacher content and support. Waldorf Essentials is written by a homeschooling Waldorf parent and is designed to be beautiful, practical, and user-friendly, with guidance, coaching, and a digital option that makes it easier to access and apply at home.

Recently, Oak Meadow sent me the 5th grade curriculum to add to our charter school's resource center for families to use. Before making it there, I was given the opportunity to share the curriculum with you. Today's video is the unboxing, but there will be another video to follow with more details.

Having trouble choosing a curriculum? I used to think Oak Meadow was a Waldorf inspired curriculum, but looking at the 5th grade curriculum, I think it's far more traditional than Waldorfian. If you want a Waldorf curriculum, I think the Live-Education curriculum is spot on. I'll compare both curricula for 5th grade so you can get a better idea how both curricula are laid out.

Want a lively, interactive and unique curriculum option for your 6th grader? The Live-Education 6th grade curriculum may be what you're looking for. This year, the curriculum continues to be both responsive to the needs and development of the student as well as progresses with the lessons that were covered the previous year.

This is the Live-Education 7th grade Waldorf curriculum. It comes with several main lesson blocks: Perspective Drawing, Renaissance Biographies, Creative Writing, The Age of Discovery, Algebra, Physics and European Geography. The curriculum also comes with an introduction to the 7th year as well as recommendations for other main lessons blocks. This year you'll need several new supplies that were not needed before like the material for physics. Some supplies you'll need that you may have already purchased are a compass, fountain pen, main lesson books, color pencils, watercolors, drawing paper, watercolor paper and graph paper.