Ambleside Online: How do you use this program?

[Sue G in PA]

Do you follow it strictly or do you sort of integrate it into your current studies? Do you just use the booklists from which to choose your dc's reading? I've often visited the site for ideas but just can't wrap my brain around the concept (okay, loss of brain cells...I know...NOT difficult to understand!). I'm just looking for some suggestions. We'll be using MFW Rome to Ref. next year and I'm sure it will be plenty in terms of reading, but I'm thinking summer. Maybe well give Ambleside a try in terms of the book lists, samples weekly schedules, etc. So how does Ambleside look in your home? Thanks!

[cin]

I take their booklists, determine which ones fit into our curriculum, or that I particularly like, and then add them to our read-aloud list for the year. As an example, we are NOT doing An Island Story and one other because we are doing SOTW I & starting into II next year. We are, however reading the Holling and D'Aulaire books, because I feel that those have some valuable information. (We may do Island Story at a later date, I don't know).

I take the reading list appropriate for dd's level, and we just start reading the books. I have the chapters marked for Blue Fairy, Parables from Nature, SHakespeare and something else and during free reading we pick one and read. I LOVE the literature that they have and I don't beleive I would have EVER found, or been daring enough to try, these without AO.

[chiguirre]

If you want a nitty-gritty how-to Charlotte Mason guide, try Catherine Levison's books Charlotte Mason Education and More Charlotte Mason Education. They're not the most inspirational CM books but they were, IMHO, the most practical. On AO's site there are links to CM's books online and you can get a good feel for CM education by reading Vol. 1 or the Summaries. These are free, so maybe start there and if you need more specifics get the Levison books.

[Alana in Canada]

As I understand it, the AO curriculum in its entirety (with appropriate substitutions for your own national history) is meant for those who want to follow the CM method--which is lots and lots of short lesson in the early years following a wide variety of subjects. There's no history cycling, no going over and over material. For that purpose, I imagine it works very well.

For us, I use it like the previous poster--a wonderful source of books to read aloud and supplemental material. I have been giving very serious consideration to using the art and music programs as outlined.

[MIch elle]

Currently we're studying Shakespeare, Bulfinch's Mythology, Abraham Lincoln's World and other books that AO suggests from different years. I love many of their literature selections but I don't use the whole thing nor do I try to follow their schedule. I wish I had more time to do more of the suggested AO books. I'm reading many of their suggested titles just for myself!

[Tami]

I use it as a gauge of what is the 'best of the best' in children's literature. I rarely try to integrate it with what we are studying historically, but instead use the literature suggestions as read-alouds or book basket choices.

We use the grade level poetry and the folk song CD. From time to time we also use the composer study and picture study suggestions, but this part is more integrated into our history studies.

I want excellent children's literature to be a centerpiece in our curriculum, and Ambleside is a practical way to do that.

: )
Tami

[Testimony]

I have read some of the summaries to the CM method on AO's website.

Here is what I use in the program:

I follow the literature selections. I don't use all of them, but I don't use anything else.

My sons get up and read the Bible first thing in the morning. We follow the One Year Bible because it follows the CM approach of short lessons. I do, as our morning ceremonies, hymns, songs, and poetry. I do not do these every day. I do a hymn one day. I do a poem another day. I am teaching them a Spanish song another day. So, it is once a week.

I do not follow the history program because they do a six year cycle and I am doing a four year cycle. My oldest son loves Story of the World. He never wants to part with this curriculum. Since he has a passion for SOTW, I cannot take him away from it.

I read a story from Trial and Triumph pertaining to the time in history we are reading.

My eldest is in year 4. He reads from Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare for his Shakespeare lessons. He reads from Our Young Folks' Plutarch by Rosalie Kaufman for his Plutarch lesson.

I read the different literature aloud to both boys like Bambi, but I have listen to them on tape also. Robinson Crusoe could not have been done if it wasn't on tape.

Oh! I am using Janice Van Cleave Chemistry for Science.

I use the Handbook of Nature by Comstock for my nature study. I simply go outside look at nature and then look up the book online and read about what we found. I am cheating right now because I am watching on Netflix: the Life of Birds. It is so in depth about how the hunt, eat, and mate.

I only gave you an idea of what I am doing with my year 4 son. If you want me to type up my actual schedule, let me know.

I hope this helped. I know that I am not remembering everything. Let me know if there is more that you want to know.

Oh! This is important! I have my sons narrate back everything that they read.

Blessings!
Karen
www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[Another Lynn]

I followed it somewhat for 1st and 2nd grade. Then I began to speed us up so we could get history on a 4-yr cycle. I consider myself a failure at nature study, and I decided to put Shakespeare off for later. That said, we have LOVED everything we have read from AO (except Parables From Nature). We've loved: Island Story, CHOW, Herriot's Treasury for Children, Burgess Bird Book, Burgess Animal Book, the D'Aulaire books, the Holling books (well, I have struggled with reading Minn aloud, but other than that we've loved them), The Little Duke, Betsy Understood, Pyle's Robin Hood, others I'm forgetting. We've only done a few chapters, but I really like Science Lab in a SuperMarket.

I will say that the two years I followed their suggested schedules it was great. We were doing tons of great read alouds, but their schedule made it very manageable. We haven't followed their schedule and I find we have gotten further and further away from AO. (Also, we started SOTW this year for the first time. My ds likes it, but I miss the focus on Britain we had before and the continuing story line there.)

I still consult AO for reading suggestions. And I plan to go back to their music and art next year if not before. I think trying their weekly schedules for awhile is a great idea. It might surprise you how much you get done!

[Sue G in PA]

I don't think I can follow Amblesides schedule strictly and do everything else we're doing (obviously!). I do like the literature suggestions, Nature Study, Art and Composer studies, etc. Charlotte Mason's style intrigues me but my brain is so public-school programmed that it would take some serious de-programming to even get me started down that road. :) I think for now, we might just try some of the literature suggestions, read-alouds (We must get back into that) and art, music and Nature study. Thanks again and anymore suggestions...keep them coming. :)

[prairiegirl]

We used AO for two years--Year 1 & 2. We used the schedules for those years. My oldest is in Yr 3 now and my ds is in Yr. 1. We are not using the schedules for this year. I have finally come to the conclusion that I am not a schedule kind of girl. So we do the books on our own time, mixed in with the other curriculum that we are using.

This is what we do and not do of AO.
We do not do their history selections. AO is on a 6 yr. history schedule. I started on a 4 yr. cycle and didn't want to change things around.
We use their poetry selections.
We do picture study and composer study the AO way (one a term) but we do not use there recommendations for the term that we are in, as they usually post their resources later than when I want to start. So we use past years recommendations.
We do Shakespeare.
We do the literature and science book lists.
I am trying to do nature study but this is so painful for me. It is slow going.

Julia
mom of 3 (8,7,5)

[Sasha]

I did an accelerated year 1 with my 8 and 6 year olds, finishing up right around Christmas. I followed it relatively closely (we leave out the Bible as we're an atheist family) while also doing a lot of TWTM things. For example, we'd read the selections from "Our Island Story" but our 'real' history was from SOTW.

As we finished up year 1 and were gearing up to begin year 2 it just really stopped clicking for us. I think part of it was the selections in "This Country of Ours", which are very Christian (not that there's anything wrong with that, although it's a more than we wish to do in our household) and also pro-Columbus. I'm not a fan of Columbus and I don't want him presented as a hero to my kids.

Finally, as I was reading from the Ambleside yahoo group list, it just struck me that it's not working for us. Why was I trying so hard to make it fit? I was also, unfairly, trying to use two different curriculums--a CM one and a neo-classical one.

I dropped it all and kind of reassessed what I wanted to be doing, why, and how.

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

I love it as a book list, and just use it as such....CM is just not my 'thing'. ;)