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Simply Charlotte Mason Users or Ambleside?


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Anyone, use SCM? (or even Ambleside)

Do you feel like it is a lot (too much) of bookwork?

How do you do at making things interactive and fun?

Does this method help you think of and plan fun activities and find ideas?

Do you follow there guide exactly, moderately, minimally?

What do you think is the best about this method/currc.?

Do you use their planner?

What do you think of it?

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I will see if I can help. While I've not used AO strictly by their schedule I have used CM's method's for years in our homeschool. I have 12 kids and have been schooling them all along. So maybe I can help in a small way having that experience. HERE is my next years schedule outlined for my youngest children if you want to take a look. And I will explain how I use that schedule. I see you are a former teacher so I'm not sure I could offer much to you. But I will say that I noticed your oldest was just 5. This tells me that you should relax into an enjoyable year with your children reading, narrating, and drawing lots of pictures with lots of outdoor time. Let your 5 yo slip gently into learning with you. Here is how I will use my schedule.

 

 

For each subject I have several choices of books to read during the year. I write each title on a stick and place it in the correct jar. But the MAIN jar just has the subject written on them. The other jars are broken down into "subject jars" with titles on them used in that subject.

 

all science books go into a jar

geography in one

art and music in another jar

history in another and so on.

 

I plan on doing 3 subjects a day with them. From the MAIN jar they draw out 3 sticks. Whatever subject is written on them we do that day. Let's say they drew out science, world history, and art.

 

That means I'll do those 3 with them that day. So, we go to the jars that say, world history, science, and art on them. From these jars we choose one out of each. Those will be the books we will do that day from those subjects. In this way, everyday will be different. And exciting I hope!!

 

 

Choose your books

Organize them into subject areas

Plan amount of time to spend on each subject for each day or as I have done and do sometimes still.....Focus on one subject per day for a longer period of time. We used to do science on Monday, geography on Tuesday, history on Wednesday and so on.

 

I hope this helps. Just enjoy your wonderful first year of schooling your little one.

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:001_huh:I had a very long reply that I typed out but sadly when I hit submit it went "poof"

 

I have used SCM in the past and I did enjoy it. I think the titles are not quite as "heavy" as AO. I took a bit of time off to help ease a bit of burnout from worksheets so we did FIAR. That was quite successful but I have always been drawn to AO. I tried it in the past but my daughter was not mature enough for the year 1 material.(Which is why I used SCM instead)

 

I have used Year 1 AO for the last three weeks to test the waters again. My daughter did very well with it so we will be using it for her 2nd grade year. I have loved going through the wonderful free files and materials. I created a wonderful copybook by using the Donna Young free fonts listed here http://donnayoung.org/penmanship/fonts.htm This will save me some time by having it all ready to go in one place. I also labeled the top of microsoft word pages with the title of each chapter in "our island story" so that my daughter can create illustration pages for each story. This helps her stay focused and gives her a nice reminder of the story later. I also have "Geography Through Art" which has some really great craft ideas to use. I have Uncle Josh's Outline Maps that I will give her to label and color.

 

I love narration as I really know how well she paid attention.(or not);) It is much better than a worksheet of questions. I follow the weekly schedule but sometimes take longer than a week to complete the weeks reading. I feel no pressure to "get it all done" like I did when I tried Sonlight.(not sure why)

 

Fiar did work well and I sometimes feel guilty for giving it up but I feel that the literature selections in AO will increase my daughters already wide vocabulary. I almost chose to do fiar until the end of beyond fiar and then move on to AO but I felt like the beginning years of AO lay a foundation that builds on to really difficult books. I want to transition her now as I feel it is the better choice.

 

I could go on forever but...

HTH,

 

Penny

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Anyone, use SCM? (or even Ambleside)Some years I have used SCM as a guide and a couple years I used AO as written

Do you feel like it is a lot (too much) of bookwork?Depends on what you mean by "bookwork" - some people would say there is not much book work because there are not lots of worksheets to fill out, etc.

How do you do at making things interactive and fun? I think one of the things that appeals to me about anything CM is that there is NOT an emphasis on interactive and fun. When I was young I often wondered what the purpose was for some activities that adults thought that I should enjoy. With CM (SCM or AO) reading the books, thinking about them, reliving the stories through natural play are all fun because the books are so engaging. This approach has resonated with me. If you read the FAQ on the AO site, it may explain this better and also mentions that you are free to add as much hands on, etc. as you like or need for your family.

Does this method help you think of and plan fun activities and find ideas? See above. And go to the FAQ on AO's site.

Do you follow there guide exactly, moderately, minimally?

What do you think is the best about this method/currc.?

Do you use their planner?

What do you think of it?

 

What I liked about SCM - it begins with Creation and OT history and gives guidelines for keeping the entire family on the same history cycle by giving suggestions for each reading level.

 

What I liked about AO - the books selected and the way it stretches the student for more challenging books.

 

Sorry I don't have experience using SCM exactly as written or any experience using their planner. The preview of her seminars look like they would be good.

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  • 8 months later...
I will see if I can help. While I've not used AO strictly by their schedule I have used CM's method's for years in our homeschool. I have 12 kids and have been schooling them all along. So maybe I can help in a small way having that experience. HERE is my next years schedule outlined for my youngest children if you want to take a look. And I will explain how I use that schedule. I see you are a former teacher so I'm not sure I could offer much to you. But I will say that I noticed your oldest was just 5. This tells me that you should relax into an enjoyable year with your children reading, narrating, and drawing lots of pictures with lots of outdoor time. Let your 5 yo slip gently into learning with you. Here is how I will use my schedule.

 

 

For each subject I have several choices of books to read during the year. I write each title on a stick and place it in the correct jar. But the MAIN jar just has the subject written on them. The other jars are broken down into "subject jars" with titles on them used in that subject.

 

all science books go into a jar

geography in one

art and music in another jar

history in another and so on.

 

I plan on doing 3 subjects a day with them. From the MAIN jar they draw out 3 sticks. Whatever subject is written on them we do that day. Let's say they drew out science, world history, and art.

 

That means I'll do those 3 with them that day. So, we go to the jars that say, world history, science, and art on them. From these jars we choose one out of each. Those will be the books we will do that day from those subjects. In this way, everyday will be different. And exciting I hope!!

 

 

Choose your books

Organize them into subject areas

Plan amount of time to spend on each subject for each day or as I have done and do sometimes still.....Focus on one subject per day for a longer period of time. We used to do science on Monday, geography on Tuesday, history on Wednesday and so on.

 

I hope this helps. Just enjoy your wonderful first year of schooling your little one.

Lovely ideas! :)

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Anyone, use SCM? (or even Ambleside)

Do you feel like it is a lot (too much) of bookwork?

I have only begun (on day 9 I think) SCM Gen to Deut. For what I want it is perfect. No there is not too much book work for my Ker.

 

How do you do at making things interactive and fun?

We also use FIAR so we have interactive stuff there. But I add Bible Songs Cds, R&S timeline, and I may use some of the activites in History Revealed wkbk for elem.

 

Does this method help you think of and plan fun activities and find ideas?

It doesn't really help me, I am already that way.

 

Do you follow there guide exactly, moderately, minimally?

So far exactly with minor additions.

 

What do you think is the best about this method/currc.?

It is not soo much that I would have to stop FIAR. It covers the Bible chronologically and it is the main text. Ilike the way it shows how the Bible really does fit in traditional history.

 

Do you use their planner?

No.

 

What do you think of it?

 

I am quite draw to AO also, but I hear tell that most find that it is best to wait till your child is 7 yo to start it. Works for me as we are really enjoying what we are doing now.

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Anyone, use SCM? (or even Ambleside)We used Ambleside one year. We did it exclusively for about 6 months, and used Sonlight Core 2the rest of the year

Do you feel like it is a lot (too much) of bookwork? You mean reading? No

How do you do at making things interactive and fun? I used Konos as a go along for hands on ideas

Does this method help you think of and plan fun activities and find ideas?NO!:lol: That's why I used Konos for ideas.

Do you follow there guide exactly, moderately, minimally? We started out following it exactly and dd was bored, then I added in Konos which created more work for me and defeated the purpose of using Ambleside. That's why we switched to Sonlight, to have everything scheduled.

Do you use their planner? I printed off the book list and the reading schedule and put it in a binder. Then, I used Homeschool Tracker to plug in the reading and print it off for my dd.

What do you think of it?

 

What do you think is the best about this method/currc.?

 

I would recommend Ambleside to someone who:

 

1. Has a child that doesn't like/need hands on activities

2. Has a child that can't/won't do workbooks

3. Has a child that loves to read or loves being read to

4. Wants something simple

5. TOTALLY agrees with CM style - including using things like Primary language lessons

 

My dd loves to read, hates JUST reading for school, and loves hands on activities. I always thought I could add those in, but it was more difficult than I thought. I would always try to go for the "cheaper" or free curriculum and "add on" (Ambleside, BF). However, I was being unrealistic with myself regarding my abilities and time. I was blessed to have a friend that used Sonlight and she gave me her TGs to use a couple of years. Then, last year I started using MFW, and wish I had just used it starting with 3rd grade.

 

HTH!

Dorinda

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Well I mix and match, but I have used the planner so ...

 

Anyone, use SCM? (or even Ambleside) Both, more of SCM's S&S with Ambleside's books (public domain is very helpful for my budget).

Do you feel like it is a lot (too much) of bookwork? Reading? No, but it takes time to get used too. My boys are finally starting to enjoy books & being read too.

How do you do at making things interactive and fun? We do games (phonics concentration, math war; I'm buying more games soon) and sometimes projects (we are doing a chicken mummy - I'm not a big project person though). Both nature study and artist study (Book of Masterpieces as in charlottemasonhelp) are fun here. And singing.

Does this method help you think of and plan fun activities and find ideas? Not really, but as I said to many projects make me tense.

Do you follow there guide exactly, moderately, minimally? Minimally. The S&S mainly. I'm a tweaker and am missing the ability to follow any guide exactly.

What do you think is the best about this method/currc.? Simplicity (living books, narration). Time for other interests. No busywork. For SCM the combining your kids for many subjects. Encouraging exploration of nature and time outdoors.

Do you use their planner? I did for 2-3 months.

What do you think of it? I liked it, but it was to expensive. ($100 a year * how many years til DD is 18?). I'm using the FCS now.

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Ambleside.

 

Easy Peasy Puddin Pie.

 

I have three in year 3 and two in year pre 7 and yes, I did it like that purposely. Saves my sanity and since all I have left is this one brain cell bouncing around...

 

I don't need to make it fun, it is fun, and then we stop work early and they play so I don't have to work hard to make the day enjoyable. THAT SAID-I've always read a lot to my kids so the reading to them all day part is easy. We've always narrated-so that was easy. They spent all afternoon working on their nature studies, drawing winter birds and now after years of doing it-they enjoy it.

 

Even with the boisterous boy-the lessons are so short and deep that he listens, narrates back and is off to play. Then I bring him back-science-listens, narrates back and then he's off again (I have the other kids I juggle with-I don't' sit and read to him for an hour and let him go-that's too much).

 

I don't use SCM, I refuse to buy what I can use for free on AO. I print out the schedule, make myself a binder and away we go.

Edited by justamouse
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