[Ambleside Online users (or others using public domain books)]

Well, we are doing Year 0 this year of Ambleside, so I can't comment on their books specifically, but I am also doing Noah Plan which uses a lot of public domain Fairy Tales and I print them all out. My kids are way too little to sit still and read from a computer screen, so I have to read it all outloud anyway.

 

We use a printer cartridge refill service and to print the public domain books is much cheaper than buying reprints in most cases. The Selfish Giant reprint was $10 at Barnes & Noble and 4 pages on the printer. My first choice is used if I can find a spine cheaply enough, but if it is rare or expensive I will typically just print it out. Can you get a good deal on refills for your printer? I know Walgreens does most types for a fraction of the cost. We did the math per page and then made a decision. HTH!

[Reading aloud to almost 4 and 2.5 year old]

I think she is still listening. We read loads of chapter books, we began when my son was 4 (he turns 5 this month) and he cannot narrate back to you what happens in a book, but if you pay attention you can frequently catch him laughing at a joke, or acting out the story the next day with his toys. I agree that Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland might have been a bit too difficult for this age, but I wouldn't give up on chapter books, maybe just go with a bit smaller chapter books. Charlotte's Web & Winnie-the-Pooh, maybe the Boxcar children (which DS is loving right now) are excellent suggestions as previous posters have mentioned.

 

I actually think this is one of the hardest listening levels for which to select books. The attention span is there, but the material needs to be very simple, about everday life, to fit within a 4-5 year old's range of experience. We are right there with you!

[Brand new to all of this!]

Welcome! I have a newly 5 year old. We are in a fantastic co-op play-based preschool that we love as well! For preschool, I think Sonlight's younger cores (P3/4 & P4/5) can't be beat:

 

www.sonlight.com

 

I think Hewitt Homeschool Plus's program is pretty good as well:

 

www.hewitthomeschooling.com

 

I tend toward the literature-based/classical side of things so those are a couple of programs I really like. A great free program is:

 

www.hubbardscupboard.org

 

These are a few to get you started, there is loads of information here if you have time to search. Good luck!

[Does anyone afterschool with Ambleside?]

Has anyone done afterschooling with Ambleside online? I'm sort of undecided about whether to afterschool or homeschool long term, but if the school focuses on math and reading (as I know they will in the early years), it seems like Ambleside would be a good compliment to that. Has anyone done it? How did it work out for you?