CURRICULUM

We have partnered with Oak Meadow, based in Putney, Vermont, to create the curriculum for Wildwood Farm & Forest School. Founded in 1975, Oak Meadow provides a flexible, Waldorf-inspired education for independent learners in preschool to grade 12. Oak Meadow’s approach to schooling is compassionate and student-centered because like us, they believe that children are sensitive and intelligent and that learning can be joyfully integrated into life.

Oak Meadow’s curriculum also aligns with rigorous academic standards, and it can be customized to meet students’ interests, skills, and learning styles. It is accredited by New England Association for Schools and Colleges, one of the most esteemed accrediting agencies in the United States.

Pre-K through Grade 6

Because young children learn naturally through imitation and action, our elementary, or preschool through grade 4, curriculum features lots of healthy activity and movement. We provide lessons rich in experiential learning, actively engaging the student’s mind, body, and imagination. Your children will experience a multi-sensory education as they explore letters, numbers, color, song, rhythm, and verse while learning about themselves and the world around them. As students approach adolescence in grades 5 and 6, they experience a growing sense of independence. Our chosen curriculum supports this developmental stage by encouraging students to look inward while also exploring the outer world in greater depth. They are asked to develop skills in critical thinking and creative problem solving, to analyze and synthesize. In this way, students cultivate an ability to think for themselves that will serve them well in high school and beyond.

Pre-K

Preschool is a play-based curriculum that follows the seasons of the year. Stories for each month are combined with songs, poems, games, recipes, and activities that relate to the season or the story’s theme. The activities inspire an understanding of others’ feelings, provide an opportunity for creative problem-solving, and teach young children how to share responsibilities and develop cognitive skills. Throughout the year, there is an expression of loving kindness and appreciation for each individual’s unique gifts, which will help children build their confidence and self-esteem.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten curriculum reflects the openhearted and imaginative way that young children meet the world.

  • Uppercase letters A-I

    Letter sounds and shapes

    Stories, poetry, and songs

    Uppercase letter J-R

    Letter sounds and shapes

    Uppercase letters S-Z

    Stories, poetry, and songs

    Family history

    Letter sounds and shapes

    Emotions

    Local community

  • Nature through the five senses

    Falling leaves and special trees

    Animals: similarities and differences

    Plant growth: seeds and sprouts

    Weather: seasonal changes

    Stars and constellations

    Animal behavior

    Pet/animal care

    Plant growth

    Weather: seasonal activities

  • Numbers 1-6

    Geometric shapes

    Pattern recognition

    Opposites

    Comparing quantities

    Numbers 7-10

    Sorting and grouping

    Sequencing and counting

    Geometric shapes

    Comparisons and patterns

  • Throughout the year, students engage in a multitude of art and craft activities including crayon drawing, watercolor painting, sewing, baking, nature crafts, collage, crafts from recycled materials, carpentry, model building, and working with clay.

  • Over the course of the year, students participate in activities that help develop musical ability, bilateral awareness, rhythm, hand-eye coordination, and dexterity. Sample activities include making and playing homemade instruments, reciting poetry, singing and finger plays, dancing, and playing catch and other kinesthetic games.

First Grade

The lively and engaging First Grade curriculum guides students toward solid reading and math skills while encouraging an active, inquisitive mind.

  • Upper- and lowercase letters A-Z

    Long and short vowels

    Fairy tales and poetry

    Word families

    Printing words

    Phonics

    Fairy tales

    Form drawing

    Printing words

    Independent reading

    Writing out sentences

    Consonant blends

    Word games

  • History

    - Classic fairy tales

    - Daily and monthly cycles

    - Yearly calendar

    Geography

    - Navigating with a compass

    - Mapmaking and reading maps

    - Using a globe

    Economics

    - Goods and services

    - Marketplace exchanges

    - Saving and spending

    Civics

    - Rules and playing fair

    - Family jobs

    - Respect

    - Diversity

  • Phases of the moon

    Constellations

    Life cycle of the seed

    Cloud formations

    Animal observations

    Weather and cloud formations

    Seasonal animal behavior, tracks, and hibernation

    Deciduous and coniferous trees

    Diurnal and nocturnal animals

    Forms of matter

    Pond and forest life

    Seed dispersal

    Pollination and bees

    Planting and charting plant growth

    Scientific inquiry

    Life cycle of a butterfly

  • Four processes

    Ordinal numbers

    2, 5, 10 times tables

    Translating story problems into equations

    Missing numbers

    Mental math

    Counting and sorting

    Form drawing

    Odd and even

    Number bonds

    Multistep problems

    3 times table

    Explaining math processes

    Mental math

    Relationships between math processes

    Equations in vertical format

    Cumulative property of addition

  • Throughout the year, students engage in a variety of arts and crafts activities. Fine-motor dexterity and focus are developed through learning to knit, which benefits the child’s developing writing skills. Highlights include making a bird feeder and nesting supply box, maintaining a seasonal display, wet paper watercolor painting, nature crafts, and creative sand and water play.

  • In addition to singing exercises, students learn how to play instruments like the recorder. Movement activities focus on balance, coordination, directional awareness, and rhythmic movements such as jumping rope.

Second Grade

Second Grade curriculum expands on your child’s natural intelligence and growing confidence as a reader and writer.

  • Independent reading

    Writing short paragraphs

    Consonant blends and word families

    Poetry

    Fables and other classic stories

    Summarizing stories

    Descriptive writing

    Memorization and recitation

    Sight words

    Animal stories and fables

    Dramatic storytelling

    Independent reading

    Summarizing stories

    Vowel combinations

    Vowel/consonant combinations

    Creative writing

    Comparison writing

  • History

    - Folklore of Ancient China

    - Ancient Mali and Sundiata

    - Ancient Celts

    - Family customs and traditions

    Geography

    - Cardinal and ordinal directions

    - Map reading and using a globe

    - Climate regions

    - Continents and oceans

    Economics

    - Natural, human, and capital resources

    - Money and economic transactions

    - Scarcity and abundance

    Civics

    - Kindness and reciprocity

    - Honesty and tall tales

    - Qualities of good leadership

  • Animal observations and research

    Charting data

    Interdependence in nature

    Sorting and classifying

    Animal habits and habitats

    Vertebrates and invertebrates

    Warm- and cold-blooded animals

    Food chain

    Carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores

    Animal behavior and communication

    Animal classification

    Life of a frog

  • Four processes

    Vertical and horizontal equations

    Missing numbers

    Writing numbers in expanded forms

    Carrying in addition

    Place value

    Number patterns

    Form drawing

    Mental math

    Times tables up to 12

    Borrowing in subtraction

    Greater than/less than

    Number bonds up to 20

    Multistep problems

    Multistep mental math

  • Students explore color through watercolor painting and crayon drawings as they illustrate the many stories and poems presented in language arts. They engage in various hands-on activities that help develop fine-motor coordination and focus. Highlights include crocheting a scarf, and working with clay.

  • Students continue to develop their instrument skills by learning several new notes and mastering simple songs. Focus on breath control, tonality, and technique help enhance the student’s musical ability.

Third Grade

The challenging and practical tasks of Third Grade’s curriculum encourage new skills and awareness through observation, precision, imagination, and creativity.

  • Sentence composition

    Paragraph composition

    Memorization and recitation

    Suffixes

    Parts of speech

    Punctuation and capitalization

    Spelling rules

    Folk tales and classic literature

    Cursive handwriting

    Read aloud with fluency

    Syllabication

    Poetry and classic literature

    Cursive handwriting

    Read aloud with fluency

    Story summaries

    Vowel-consonant combinations

    Journaling

    Correcting faulty sentences

    Parts of speech

    Poetry, folk tales, and classic literature

  • History

    - Ancient cultures

    - Ancient writing systems

    - Native American creation stories

    - American Frontier

    Geography

    - Latitude and longitude

    - Mapping skills

    - Continents and oceans

    - Ancestry

    Economics

    - Interdependence of resources

    - Traditional jobs

    - Specialization and trade

    Civics

    - Forms of government

    - Laws and community rules

  • Movements of Earth and moon

    Gravity

    Decomposition

    Photosynthesis

    The water cycle

    Weather patterns and phenomena

    Seasonal changes

    Global climate zones

    Seasonal weather cycles

    Biomes

    Earthquakes and volcanoes

    Erosion and weathering

    Rock cycle

    Geology

    Extinct and endangered species

  • Commutative and associative properties

    Borrowing and carrying

    Ordinal numbers

    Telling time

    Weights and measures

    Money math

    Zeros in multiplication

    Form drawing

    Geometry

    Division with remainders

    Roman numerals

    Multistep mental math

    Temperature measurements

  • Students explore color through watercolor painting and crayon drawing as they illustrate the many stories and poems presented in language arts. They engage in various hands-on activities that help develop fine-motor coordination and focus. Highlights include crocheting a scarf, working with clay, and completing crafts

  • Students continue to develop their musical skills by learning several new notes and mastering simple songs.

Fourth Grade

The Fourth Grade curriculum reflects the awakening intellect and independence of fourth graders.

  • Parts of speech

    Journal writing

    Paragraphing skills

    Revision skills

    Sentence variety

    Poetry

    Memorization and recitation

    Dialogue punctuation

    Short story writing

    Plurals and possessives

    Editing and proofreading

    Grammar rules

  • Topography observation and model

    Permanent and migrating animals

    Native American research paper

    Model of Native American village

    State geography and landforms

    State symbol, flag, and bird

    State history

    Colonial America

    Mapping skills

    Native American leaders

    Material culture of pioneers

    Model of pioneer settlement

    California Gold Rush

    The Pony Express

    Transcontinental Railroad

  • Geometry and patterns in nature

    Relationship between form and function

    Charting data

    Seed dispersal

    animal species and breeds

    Nutrition

    Basic cell structure

    Nature observations

    Constellations

    Moon and gravity

    Solar system

    Planet research project

    Measuring altitude

    Longitude and latitude

    Cardinal directions and compass navigation

  • Carrying and borrowing

    Division with remainders

    Multistep word problems

    Weights and measures

    Two-digit multiplication

    Roman numerals

    Adding and subtracting fractions

    Money math

    Rounding and estimating

    Long division

    Mixed numbers and improper fractions

    Equivalent fractions

    Common denominator

  • Students learn the seven laws of drawing perspective. Each law is explored in depth and students gain ample practice in using the various techniques including tonal drawing, foreshortening, overlapping, and shading.

  • Students continue learning to play an instrument.

Fifth Grade

The Fifth Grade curriculum awakens the student’s intellect and introspection through the lives of great people in history.

  • Dependent and independent clauses

    Compound and complex sentences

    Capitalization and punctuation

    Sentence types

    Direct quotations and in-text citations

    Prefixes and suffixes

    Verb tenses

    Plurals and possessives

    Five-paragraph essay

    Citing sources

    Homophones

    Creative writing

    Descriptive writing

    Antonyms and synonyms

    Biography

  • Early navigation and exploration

    Mayflower Compact

    Map making

    Colonial life in North America

    Taxation without representation

    American Revolution

    U.S. Constitution

    Westward expansion

    Indian Removal Act

    Native American leaders

    U.S Civil War

    Abolition and the Underground Railroad

    Women in U.S. history

  • Basic Environmental Science

    - Scientific inquiry

    - Indicator species

    - Wetlands models

    - Metric conversions

    - Ecosystem diversity

    - Biomes

    - Water cycle

    - Astronomy

    - Renewable and nonrenewable sources

    - Energy conservation

    Basic Life Science and Physical Science

    - Weather patterns

    - Classification systems

    - Human body structures and systems

    - States of matter

    - Types of energy

    - Principles of physics

  • Place value and rounding

    Measuring time, adding and subtracting time

    Borrowing across zero

    Borrowing from a borrowed digit

    Bar and line graphs

    Roman numerals

    Squares and square roots

    Perimeter and area

    Two-digit divisors

    Expanding and reducing fractions

    Rate and distance

    Lowest common denominator

    Multiplying fractions and mixed numbers

    Dividing fractions and mixed numbers

    Adding and subtracting decimals

Sixth Grade

The Sixth Grade curriculum engages the emerging adolescent with dramatic stories of struggle and exploration.

  • Note-taking and citations

    The writing process

    Direct and indirect quotations

    Writing a research report

    Short story writing

    Expository essay

    Comparative essay

    Persuasive essay

    Using supporting details

    Creative writing

    Writing dialogue

    Verb tenses

    Prefixes, suffixes, and base words

    Parts of speech

  • Early human culture

    Ancient cultures of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East

    Ancient Greece and Roman Empire

    Ancient systems of government, religion, and philosophy

    Celtic and Germanic Tribes

    Europe and the Middle Ages

    Innovations and art of the Renaissance

    Early cultures of North America

    Ancient civilization of the Aztec, Maya, and Inca

    Early navigation and exploration

  • Scientific method and experimentation

    Cell structure and cell division

    Plant structure and reproduction

    Photosynthesis

    Soil and nutrients

    Classification of living things

    Plant and animal kingdoms

    Animal life cycles

    Food chains and food webs

    Ecology and ecosystems

    Global climate change

    Human nutrition

    Human body structures and systems

  • Two-digit divisors

    Reducing fractions to lowest terms

    Lowest common denominator

    Multiplying and dividing fractions and mixed numbers

    Multiplying and dividing decimals

    Dividends of less than one

    Measurements of distance, weight, and volume

    Calculating percentages

    Converting between fractions, decimals, and percentages

    Ratios and probability

    Perimeter, ration, and diameter

    Area of irregular shapes

    Equations with missing numbers

    Exponents

    Order of operations