Itās fall and change is in the air. It really is though, isnāt it? The air feels different. It smells different. I made all of my children stop on our walk this morning and just breathe in that crisp fall air. The cooler temperatures, the decreasing population of biting insects, and the beauty of the changing leaves have drawn us outdoors for hours on end. I love this time of year.
Charlotte Mason and Ambleside Online
Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.
Charlotte Mason
Iām excited to share the new things weāve been up to! When it comes to making curriculum decisions, I read, ponder, and plan for months (just ask my husband). Even so, I usually end up making some changes a few weeks into the new school year. Am I the only one? For me, it takes implementing things to see what will really work and what just looks good on paper. There is, of course, a time to persevere, but I can usually catch these helpful changes early on.
Last year, I read our literature in no particular order (other than our scheduled historical literature), and we made our way through about 30 wonderful chapter books and countless picture books. We are a book loving crew! I intended to handle literature the same way this year, but when the school year started, I wasnāt satisfied. With the demands and distractions of a new baby, I decided that following a written schedule might be simpler. (Simpler, because it would be less for me to think about, worry about, obsess about… you know, those questions we homeschool moms always plague ourselves with- āAre we reading enough?ā āDo we have enough variety?ā āAm I missing something?ā āCould I be doing this better?ā …and on and on. I tend to over analyze everything.) When considering this, I decided to take a closer look at Ambleside Online. Although Ambleside Online is a complete Charlotte Mason curriculum, I have only used it as an excellent booklist, and have only followed a part of the schedule (the artist, composer, hymn and folk songs), but not in the intended fashion. One of the first things youāll read on the Ambleside Online website, is that in order to properly and successfully use the curriculum, it is absolutely necessary to have a basic understanding of Charlotte Masonās philosophy of education.
I have been drawn to a Charlotte Mason philosophy from the beginning. I, admittedly, have only the most basic understanding of her principles, but one must start somewhere! There is so much that can be learned from her, and what Iāve learned thus far deeply resonates with me. Thankfully, Ambleside Online makes it very easy to learn more! On their website, you can find Charlotte Masonās 6 Volume Homeschool Series, including concise summaries of each. I have been reading every spare second and it has been invigorating! Is that okay to admit? I mean, educating my 5 children is sort of a big deal to me, so finding a resource like this to aid me on my way is like discovering a treasure chest. I am more refreshed and excited about what the years ahead could look like than I have been in a long while.
So here we are! Weāre 7 weeks into the Ambleside Online schedule, and really enjoying it so far. Iām so happy to have unintentionally fallen into it this year! It wasnāt what I had planned, but isnāt that how it goes? We already owned most of the required literature, because as I had mentioned, I already used Ambleside Online as an incredible booklist, and I was able to easily gather up what we still needed (thank you Amazon). So with some minor adjustments to what I already had for this year, Iāve been able to make the rest of our curriculum work for us with our move to Ambleside Online. This addition is more of a change in how we are using our books, than a change in what we are actually using. Charlotte Mason changes everything… and for the better! Hereās what it looks like for us.
The schedule includes Bible, History, Biography, Geography, Natural History, Literature/Tales (including Shakespeare), Poetry, as well as a wonderful list of free reads. Itās just so good. It makes me giddy to expose my children to such rich literature. Sincerely, giddy. Yes, we would have read many of these anyway, but having it all scheduled out for me is a huge, HUGE, help. All readings, except poetry and free reads, must be narrated. Narration is an essential aspect of a Charlotte Mason education. The girlsā narration skills have been improving weekly! Know and Tell by Karen Glass has been such a help and encouragement on the topic of narration.
Ambleside Onlineās schedule also includes skill work, which includes math, copywork, phonics and foreign language daily, and nature study, timeline, recitation, geography, drawing, handicrafts, artist picture study, composer study, folksongs and hymns weekly. We are able to use what we already have and enjoy for math, copywork, phonics, and foreign language. The rest of the list we pretty much followed anyway.
We do veer slightly from Ambleside Online. First, my Year 3 daughter is studying grammar this year, which is basically a year early. We had already started and itās going well so weāre going to keep going. I will hold off until Year 4 with my subsequent children. Here you can read more about how Charlotte Mason handles language arts. It just makes so much sense to me! Basically, in Years 1-3, language arts consists of learning to read, copywork, and oral narration. Nearly everything read is narrated. This is absolutely essential. Years 4-6 include copywork and oral narration and add in dictation and grammar. At age 10, they begin written narration, while continuing with copywork, dictation, and grammar.
Second, for geography and cultures enrichment we are continuing with Beautiful Feet Bookās Around the World with Picture Books twice each week for all of my children, and using it in as Charlotte Mason a fashion as possible. We are greatly enjoying it. Itās been really fun to do as a group and an effective way of learning about other places and cultures. It is accomplishing exactly what I wanted- they are becoming familiar with the basic geography and landmarks of the countries we are reading about as well as getting to know some basic history and understanding of the culture, including things like celebrations, food, attire, lifestyles, etc. This is happening primarily by reading the excellent picture book selections of tales, biographies, and history from each particular country. We also study the countries using the amazing Maps book and then utilize YouTube and Google to find out more. If you canāt tell, I am really enjoying going through this curriculum with my kids!
And third, I still have my 3rd grader using Veritas Pressā self paced Bible and History (yes, in addition to the Ambleside Online history… Is there such a thing as too much history?) She loves it and it was always my dream to use it. Itās going to take a little more convincing for me to let go of it. Iām not sure I will. I do actually loathe that it is online, however there is another version (called You-Teach) that isnāt. I can see how being on the computer changes my daughterās physical energy levels, her demeanor, her attention span, and it seems like such a passive way to learn. I donāt like that aspect at all, but I do absolutely love the content. The solution may be to drop it entirely or to change up how Iām using it. Itās all up in the air for now.
Interested in learning more?
I already mentioned that Ambleside Online makes that very easy to do! A few other books that have been helpful are For the Childrenās Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, A Charlotte Mason Education by Catherine Leviton, and Know and Tell by Karen Glass. I am also devouring Awakening Wonder by Sally Clarkson, and although this isnāt specifically about Charlotte Masonās philosophy, it has risen to being my all-time favorite book on parenting and education and is definitely Charlotte Mason friendly. Wow- there is so much wisdom in this book! Another good starting point is the Ambleside Online forum. The forum has a category called Patio Chats and this is a fantastic place for those just starting out. It simply and concisely breaks down what a Charlotte Mason education is.
Ambleside Online has been such a wonderful addition to our school year! It has led me to seek out a better understanding of Charlotte Masonās principles and this has breathed such life into our little school. I am so excited to continue to learn and grow!
Our Lovely Ordinary 