I’m so happy the video was helpful! I felt the same way initially when I looked at ASO, which is why I wanted to make this video so people could look at the website with fresh (and not overwhelmed 😂) perspective! 🥰
I've looked into the group, but had a hard time wrapping my brain around how they would work? It looked like they wouldn't be in the same history, correct? And that's one of the subjects I want to do as a group. Maybe I'm not understanding it or looking at it correctly? Any insight you could provide would be super helpful! :)
Excited to hear your thoughts on AO, we have used it for four years. It is such a rich feast, and can overwhelm people when you’re brand new. We started small, with the readings and math. We added in all the little “riches” as I got my bearings. It’s been so incredibly lovely.
Also, it might really benefit your kids to do a small portion of the Bible readings just so they are familiar with some of the more famous portions. The Bible influenced history of western civilization more than any other document, so you could caveat that even though you don’t believe it is actually a history of true events, it is essential for understanding so much of the culture that produced us.
I love how you edited the schedule for your family! I didn’t even think about doing that, or just adding in more detail. (Sorry I’m commenting as I am watching 😂)
I definitely felt overwhelmed initially when I first took at look at ASO, but once I looked past the massive book list and started to take it in tiny bites, I realized that it could actually be very simple and smooth to implement! Since we already had the bulk of our curriculum picked out for this upcoming year, I was only able to implement some of the riches, free reads, and Literature from ASO year 1 this school year. I think, to your point, that will be a blessing that I was able to start slow this year. So that when I implement more from Year 2 next year, it won’t feel like it’s so much! 🥰 I have For the Children’s Sake on my TBR list! I’ve heard it’s the “gateway book” for a lot of parents into the Charlotte Mason philosophy lol. And I’m most likely going to do some readings from the Bible especially for historical context! Actually Story of the World Vol 1 (Ancients) recommends reading portions of the Bible as a supporting document for some of their chapters for Ancient times. 🥰
We use AmbleSide too! I also use the Original McGuffy readers and Math With Confidence! 😂 we have the same tastes. I do AO as written but we kept doing Story Of The World 2/3 times a week since my kids don’t care for the AO history books. We are still doing both for now to see long term what we like. We are more classical since I want my kids to get a four year history rotation and I think kids need more science than nature study. I’m also not a handicraft mom
Oh wow! It does sound like you and I have similar tastes in our homeschooling! 😂😂 what do you use for your 4 year science rotation? We are thinking about elemental science next year (Biology for the Grammar years to be specific).
Right now I just follow the Well Trained mind of reading science books and doing a narration page, but I’m actually about to order Elemental Science Biology For The Grammar Stage! 🤣 I think we are homeschool curriculum twins
@@MaryBarfieldwe started elemental biology this year! We are liking it but I'm adding books from the library to fill it in a little more! I love the demonstrations and we are doing some of the lap booking activities but putting them in a notebook.
That’s wonderful! I took a look at the sample and I’m torn on if we are going to do the lap book or just the student workbook. I’ve got some time to decide but any input you have using both would be wonderful 🥰
Theres also a website wildwood curriculum that is pretty much a secular version of ambleside 😊. The only downfall for some is that there is no pdf or doc chart already premade the way that ambleside offers.
What made me think about mentioning it was your mention of not being sure if you were going to use TCOO or America First! America first is the book they have listed to read 😊
Yes! That’s actually where I got the idea of using America First! 😊 I think I’ll pull in more secular resources from their curriculum. I love splicing curriculums to make them my own lol.
@@MaryBarfieldWe do as well😊. We started off using build your library with my first and later on we moved into ambleside. Build your library is great, but so is being able to school at a lower cost! I prefer to keep things as secular as possible and discovered Wildwood out of pure luck one day. The books they recommend have been enjoyable for us but I still pick up a few books from Amblesides schedule as well.
This was great! I’ve always been curious about Ambleside Online. Question- are there teachers guides or study guides with the curriculum or is it just broken down into books and a reading schedule? I know you mentioned lots of recommended resources but just curious if there is an actual curriculum. Thanks!
There are some helpful notes for certain books on the website but not a lot. It’s mostly just reading and learning together. We love it! Starting our fifth year (already!) 😊
So ASO doesn’t have a step by step parents guide (like Blossom and Root for example), which is why the founders emphasize the importance of understanding the Charlotte Mason philosophy of teaching before using the curriculum. They do have a ton of resources and information in the footnotes that I showed briefly, but you have to go seek it out, which I know can be a lot for some families. However, once I read “A Charlotte Mason Education” by Catherine Levison I had a clear picture of how to implement the ASO curriculum and it actually seemed a lot easier than some open and go curriculums I’ve looked at lol. That book is seriously the best (like sparknotes for “a how to implement CM” 😂). I talk about that book in my last video! 🥰
I have a question! I have been seeing Ambleside, and I love the literature that it chooses! I looked into Willwood as a secular mom but it seems so dry to me 😅 I have a year 3 and year 1 who I would be starting up with, but having separate readings is what is really killing me. I am looking for something that I can do family style because with four kids I really don’t see myself having a lot of time to split between all my kids! Was wondering your take on doing AO with multiple ages so far? Is it more challenging splitting up their readings? Or is that quality time made up when you do science and history as a family subject?
I felt similarly about Willwood! AO was just so much fuller, and richer in its literature choices, The Cultural "Riches," and the AO Community has been super helpful and supportive! I was also nervous about doing split years with my girls (initially I was going to keep them in the same year - the AO year between both of their grades: i.e. for 1st and 3rd grade, I would have had them do AO Year 2). However, I really delved in to understand what our schedule would look like having them in 2 separate levels (and the benefits are separating them for some of the subjects) - I even went as far as writing out a sample of the first year next year and I realized that it would probably be less work than what I am doing right now splicing curriculums together lol. I go into depth about it, in this recent video, which can give you more insight into how we will schedule everything (note: that I have decided to add back in Parables From Nature and Little Pilgrims Progress after talking with other moms). Let me know if you have any more questions after watching this video: ua-cam.com/video/pGMs3GzhSKU/v-deo.html
Wondering how it’s going? I keep finding myself looking at AO. I try to do secular but I am Christian so it’s not the end of the world. I’m just not religious. I printed their picture study to try next week. It’s what I feel we are missing this year. What are your favorite parts so far?
We are 7 weeks in and still loving everything we pulled in from AO Yr 1 for this year! 🥰 we actually just started Shakespeare this week and it was surprisingly a huge hit! Another favorite of ours has been Paddle to the Sea and the Blue Fairy Book! The only thing I would say we haven’t been the most consistent with is handicrafts (not because we don’t like it, but just because if time is a factor we drop that first 🥴). I plan to talk more about all of that in my September school update in 2 weeks so stay tuned! 🥰
I've got 2 boys in Groups 1A. My boys are 2 years apart as well. Have you read the "Sample Roster" on the Groups page? That really helps explain how Groups work over the years. We have enjoyed groups but are going to break out into Year 2 & Year 4 cycles next year instead, with a few changes. Namely we are doing Berean Builders for science plus some of the Year 4 readers and doing Geography together. I haven't decided if I'm going to put the kids into the same History cycle together yet. I'm trying to not bite off more than I can chew with changes as I really enjoy AO as it's written. It's a wide and beautiful feast and we have enjoyed all but 1 of the books suggested so far. I really hope you enjoy the AO selections you’ve made for your kids ❤
Thank you for bringing groups up! So I took a look at the Sample Rosters back in the summer and if I were to do Groups starting next year, my girls would both be in Form 1A (6&8 years old next year). Meaning they would be doing the same curriculum/booklist, correct? But then the thing that threw me off, is that the following 2 years they would be in 2 separate Forms (1B/2B and then 1C/2C) doing different readings. Then come back together in Form 2A on the 3rd year, before my oldest ages into 3B the following year. 😅 Am I looking at this right? Or am I over complicating it? I 100% see the benefit of Forms if you have a large family so that the parent is running no more than 3 different Forms amongst their children. But since I only have my 2 girls I thought (at least for elementary and most likely middle school) I would just do the year between their grades and bring in additional books for my girls to meet them at their levels if necessary? Does that make sense? 🫠 I’m also toying with having my youngest do year 3.5 after year 3, while my oldest continues on to year 4, then have my oldest do the combined highschool years later on to “catch up,” if we stick with AO long term. I’m still fairly new to AO so let me know if you have any advice! 🥰
Wow I can't believe how much is here FOR FREE! I know you don't *only* use Ambleside Online, and I see that in the notes areas and whatnot it says you don't *need* a formal program for things like copywork or phonics/reading but do they break apart any of that or just kind of assume you'll fill in with your own plan? This probably was answered but I missed it, lol
It really is a great resource and it’s incredible that it’s all free! You don’t need a formal program for copywork (we take our daily copywork from our McGuffey Readers and other literature we are reading in our curriculum). However there are plenty of copywork workbooks out there that you can use if you don’t want to come up with it yourself. Also we use separate phonics program in addition to the curriculum - it’s a blend between Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reader, Elemental Phonics and McGuffey Readers.
This video inspired me to look at ambleside online again! I was overwhelmed before but this video was very helpful!
I’m so happy the video was helpful! I felt the same way initially when I looked at ASO, which is why I wanted to make this video so people could look at the website with fresh (and not overwhelmed 😂) perspective! 🥰
You should look into AO for Groyps. It’s combined years but you add a few readings for the older child.
I've looked into the group, but had a hard time wrapping my brain around how they would work? It looked like they wouldn't be in the same history, correct? And that's one of the subjects I want to do as a group. Maybe I'm not understanding it or looking at it correctly? Any insight you could provide would be super helpful! :)
Excited to hear your thoughts on AO, we have used it for four years. It is such a rich feast, and can overwhelm people when you’re brand new.
We started small, with the readings and math. We added in all the little “riches” as I got my bearings. It’s been so incredibly lovely.
A wonderful book that really casts the vision is For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaffer McCauley
Also, it might really benefit your kids to do a small portion of the Bible readings just so they are familiar with some of the more famous portions. The Bible influenced history of western civilization more than any other document, so you could caveat that even though you don’t believe it is actually a history of true events, it is essential for understanding so much of the culture that produced us.
I love how you edited the schedule for your family! I didn’t even think about doing that, or just adding in more detail.
(Sorry I’m commenting as I am watching 😂)
😂😂😂 this cracked me up lol
I definitely felt overwhelmed initially when I first took at look at ASO, but once I looked past the massive book list and started to take it in tiny bites, I realized that it could actually be very simple and smooth to implement!
Since we already had the bulk of our curriculum picked out for this upcoming year, I was only able to implement some of the riches, free reads, and Literature from ASO year 1 this school year. I think, to your point, that will be a blessing that I was able to start slow this year. So that when I implement more from Year 2 next year, it won’t feel like it’s so much! 🥰
I have For the Children’s Sake on my TBR list! I’ve heard it’s the “gateway book” for a lot of parents into the Charlotte Mason philosophy lol. And I’m most likely going to do some readings from the Bible especially for historical context! Actually Story of the World Vol 1 (Ancients) recommends reading portions of the Bible as a supporting document for some of their chapters for Ancient times. 🥰
We use AmbleSide too! I also use the Original McGuffy readers and Math With Confidence! 😂 we have the same tastes. I do AO as written but we kept doing Story Of The World 2/3 times a week since my kids don’t care for the AO history books. We are still doing both for now to see long term what we like.
We are more classical since I want my kids to get a four year history rotation and I think kids need more science than nature study. I’m also not a handicraft mom
Oh wow! It does sound like you and I have similar tastes in our homeschooling! 😂😂 what do you use for your 4 year science rotation? We are thinking about elemental science next year (Biology for the Grammar years to be specific).
Right now I just follow the Well Trained mind of reading science books and doing a narration page, but I’m actually about to order Elemental Science Biology For The Grammar Stage! 🤣 I think we are homeschool curriculum twins
@@captain7471 😂😂 omg we are!
@@MaryBarfieldwe started elemental biology this year! We are liking it but I'm adding books from the library to fill it in a little more! I love the demonstrations and we are doing some of the lap booking activities but putting them in a notebook.
That’s wonderful! I took a look at the sample and I’m torn on if we are going to do the lap book or just the student workbook. I’ve got some time to decide but any input you have using both would be wonderful 🥰
Informative Video
Glad it was helpful!
Theres also a website wildwood curriculum that is pretty much a secular version of ambleside 😊. The only downfall for some is that there is no pdf or doc chart already premade the way that ambleside offers.
What made me think about mentioning it was your mention of not being sure if you were going to use TCOO or America First! America first is the book they have listed to read 😊
Yes! That’s actually where I got the idea of using America First! 😊 I think I’ll pull in more secular resources from their curriculum. I love splicing curriculums to make them my own lol.
@@MaryBarfieldWe do as well😊. We started off using build your library with my first and later on we moved into ambleside. Build your library is great, but so is being able to school at a lower cost! I prefer to keep things as secular as possible and discovered Wildwood out of pure luck one day. The books they recommend have been enjoyable for us but I still pick up a few books from Amblesides schedule as well.
This was great! I’ve always been curious about Ambleside Online. Question- are there teachers guides or study guides with the curriculum or is it just broken down into books and a reading schedule? I know you mentioned lots of recommended resources but just curious if there is an actual curriculum. Thanks!
There are some helpful notes for certain books on the website but not a lot. It’s mostly just reading and learning together. We love it! Starting our fifth year (already!) 😊
So ASO doesn’t have a step by step parents guide (like Blossom and Root for example), which is why the founders emphasize the importance of understanding the Charlotte Mason philosophy of teaching before using the curriculum. They do have a ton of resources and information in the footnotes that I showed briefly, but you have to go seek it out, which I know can be a lot for some families. However, once I read “A Charlotte Mason Education” by Catherine Levison I had a clear picture of how to implement the ASO curriculum and it actually seemed a lot easier than some open and go curriculums I’ve looked at lol. That book is seriously the best (like sparknotes for “a how to implement CM” 😂). I talk about that book in my last video! 🥰
I have a question! I have been seeing Ambleside, and I love the literature that it chooses! I looked into Willwood as a secular mom but it seems so dry to me 😅
I have a year 3 and year 1 who I would be starting up with, but having separate readings is what is really killing me. I am looking for something that I can do family style because with four kids I really don’t see myself having a lot of time to split between all my kids! Was wondering your take on doing AO with multiple ages so far? Is it more challenging splitting up their readings? Or is that quality time made up when you do science and history as a family subject?
I felt similarly about Willwood! AO was just so much fuller, and richer in its literature choices, The Cultural "Riches," and the AO Community has been super helpful and supportive! I was also nervous about doing split years with my girls (initially I was going to keep them in the same year - the AO year between both of their grades: i.e. for 1st and 3rd grade, I would have had them do AO Year 2). However, I really delved in to understand what our schedule would look like having them in 2 separate levels (and the benefits are separating them for some of the subjects) - I even went as far as writing out a sample of the first year next year and I realized that it would probably be less work than what I am doing right now splicing curriculums together lol. I go into depth about it, in this recent video, which can give you more insight into how we will schedule everything (note: that I have decided to add back in Parables From Nature and Little Pilgrims Progress after talking with other moms). Let me know if you have any more questions after watching this video: ua-cam.com/video/pGMs3GzhSKU/v-deo.html
Wondering how it’s going? I keep finding myself looking at AO. I try to do secular but I am Christian so it’s not the end of the world. I’m just not religious. I printed their picture study to try next week. It’s what I feel we are missing this year. What are your favorite parts so far?
We are 7 weeks in and still loving everything we pulled in from AO Yr 1 for this year! 🥰 we actually just started Shakespeare this week and it was surprisingly a huge hit! Another favorite of ours has been Paddle to the Sea and the Blue Fairy Book! The only thing I would say we haven’t been the most consistent with is handicrafts (not because we don’t like it, but just because if time is a factor we drop that first 🥴). I plan to talk more about all of that in my September school update in 2 weeks so stay tuned! 🥰
@MaryBarfield thank you! I ordered the Paddle to the Sea Book! Can’t wait to hear your update!
@@MaryBarfieldwhat’s the name of the Facebook group for Ambleside? I haven’t been on Facebook in ages so I’m not sure I’m looking it up correctly 😂
I've got 2 boys in Groups 1A. My boys are 2 years apart as well. Have you read the "Sample Roster" on the Groups page? That really helps explain how Groups work over the years.
We have enjoyed groups but are going to break out into Year 2 & Year 4 cycles next year instead, with a few changes.
Namely we are doing Berean Builders for science plus some of the Year 4 readers and doing Geography together.
I haven't decided if I'm going to put the kids into the same History cycle together yet. I'm trying to not bite off more than I can chew with changes as I really enjoy AO as it's written. It's a wide and beautiful feast and we have enjoyed all but 1 of the books suggested so far.
I really hope you enjoy the AO selections you’ve made for your kids ❤
Thank you for bringing groups up! So I took a look at the Sample Rosters back in the summer and if I were to do Groups starting next year, my girls would both be in Form 1A (6&8 years old next year). Meaning they would be doing the same curriculum/booklist, correct? But then the thing that threw me off, is that the following 2 years they would be in 2 separate Forms (1B/2B and then 1C/2C) doing different readings. Then come back together in Form 2A on the 3rd year, before my oldest ages into 3B the following year. 😅 Am I looking at this right? Or am I over complicating it? I 100% see the benefit of Forms if you have a large family so that the parent is running no more than 3 different Forms amongst their children. But since I only have my 2 girls I thought (at least for elementary and most likely middle school) I would just do the year between their grades and bring in additional books for my girls to meet them at their levels if necessary? Does that make sense? 🫠 I’m also toying with having my youngest do year 3.5 after year 3, while my oldest continues on to year 4, then have my oldest do the combined highschool years later on to “catch up,” if we stick with AO long term. I’m still fairly new to AO so let me know if you have any advice! 🥰
Wow I can't believe how much is here FOR FREE! I know you don't *only* use Ambleside Online, and I see that in the notes areas and whatnot it says you don't *need* a formal program for things like copywork or phonics/reading but do they break apart any of that or just kind of assume you'll fill in with your own plan? This probably was answered but I missed it, lol
It really is a great resource and it’s incredible that it’s all free! You don’t need a formal program for copywork (we take our daily copywork from our McGuffey Readers and other literature we are reading in our curriculum). However there are plenty of copywork workbooks out there that you can use if you don’t want to come up with it yourself. Also we use separate phonics program in addition to the curriculum - it’s a blend between Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reader, Elemental Phonics and McGuffey Readers.