Has anyone here used Ambleside Online as a high school teaching guide? If you would post your experience as well as a general week's routine, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

After years of perusing Ambleside's plan, we are considering it as our teaching guide this year for my 7 and 11 yob. If you are fairly experienced with implementing Ambleside, would you mind sharing your weekly routine/rough schedule? Thanks!

Yes! I have a son who has a math LD. It is rare in the world of LD. He is 17 and working at about a junior high level in math, yet his reading and LA are advanced. I thank God for homeschooling because he may have been put in a stigmatized box at a young age, thus limiting him for life. His hope is to join the military after graduation, so we are setting goals to get him in that direction. The good news for him is that he is beginning to progress rapidly in his math learning at an exponential rate (no pun intended..haha). He will begin tutoring soon. Our plan for this coming year is to go the Christian Light Education accredited route through their Homeschool Plus. It is a workbook type format, which I believe will help him. He is beginning to feel the heat of his age vs. being prepared for the military in a few years. He will graduate at 19. Personally, I was so dumb at math in school until I hit college. I remember sitting in a freshman Algebra 111 class thinking "I actually get this now!" Math is so similar to reading in its learning that it seems that the "light" will go on eventually when the child is developmentally ready (in combo with good teaching according to progression of skills). Blessings!

**Be advised that this post contains Christian and military references. It is not intended to offend those that oppose or do not agree with these subjects. Homeschooling presents many challenges. Education can sometimes be considered a minimal challenge compared to home-management, self-care (the homeschool teacher), and motivation/training of your children to stay the course day-by-day outside of the normal school social environment. Many parents feel frustrated, incompetent, and at times unable to get their children at a point of self-motivation and responsibility, which is crucial for them to have success. Personally, I am blessed to have come from a military family. Both of my brothers and my father served as Marines. My dad and one of my brothers retired from the Marine Corps. That being said, my childhood could be described as fairly disciplined, physically active/fit, and hearing The Marine Corps Hymn as my lullaby at bedtime. As a home-educator for 19 years, I have been through many ups-and-downs both physically and mentally. I have birthed 9 children, 8 boys, 1 girl (1 is in Heaven). Thank God my childhood prepared me for what was to come in the brutal challenges and responsibilities common to the homeschooling lifestyle. When we first began home-educating, my very young children were very eager to please me and do what they were told to do. I thought I had it all together and all figured out. Man, this was an incorrect assumption on my part. Big-time. I had to dig deep and remember my own childhood environment and how it helped me. This reflection made me realize that the homeschooling family is a unit similar to the military. We share a vision, mission, and ideal. This vision is often a higher standard or expectation than much of what we have seen in mainstream society. However, our own human weaknesses are quickly made apparent. We fail. We get tired. Our children sometimes do the same. How does the military take so many individuals and turn them into disciplined humans? I began to read many military biographies in order to learn how individuals are trained to stay motivated as well as work together as a unit (like a family). My biggest discovery was that discipline is a key component to this formula. Biggest discovery? It’s starts with ME. Yikes. If I’m not motivated, my children aren’t either. I had to start setting a better example with my own routine. As a personal trainer, I had been well-informed about working out and staying in shape. However, after birthing babies and homeschooling, I put my physical health on the backburner. Bad idea. But how to fit it in along with the gazillion other tasks and duties that face a homeschooling mom each day….that was another story. Time-management and routine became my number 1 goal. Children are often bored if they do not have a concept of how their times is used. I tend to get little done if I don’t put a name on the minutes/hours/seconds of my day. Not to say that I am strict and super-disciplined. Actually, my tendency is toward the lazy side! I’d rather sit on my butt with a cup of coffee and a good book to read. Managers of Their Homes became a saving grace for me. I can hear some of you groaning at hearing this. Stop it! MOTH does not have to be used like an idol. I have used it as a guide to manage my time, but I have also taken lots of liberty to mix it up and use it as a tool. Sometimes we structure our days in a routine fashion rather than by the hour. Nevertheless, it is critical to structure your day. Free-time is also part of that. Make sure you and your children have free-time. Once you get that structure/routine thing down, it’s time to motivate. My boys love anything military. My daughter is even inspired by the standards the military puts in place. Laziness and sluggardly behavior is not usually what we admire. However, when we see the Blue Angels fly over our town in formation during our yearly festival, we are in awe of their precision. It takes a lot of work to get there. We watch YouTube videos about military training. Any branch will do, but the Marine Corps and SEAL BUDS training video are the most motivating. My boys are even watching the Russian Spetsnaz videos. They are an exceptional fighting force that many have never heard of. I think that the human spirit knows it can accomplish a lot, but it just needs the motivation to get there. God made us all to do great things. I think we are very disappointed psychologically when we don’t meet our capabilities. The SEAL BUDS training videos are our favorite. You can watch one each day (they are a bit long) to see what the SEALS do. It makes you feel like a pansy...haha. It made me put our daily life into perspective and how we didn’t have the endurance to even get the laundry done...grin. Here is a link to our favorite videos for initial motivation (warning, there may be some language and intense scenes): https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=navy+seals+buds If those get you all inspired, and make sure you are viewing the videos together, you can progress to workout videos. Search “Navy SEAL Workout†in the YouTube search bar and you will have many options to choose from. In conclusion, it is important to look at yourself, your home, and your relationships with your children/spouse. If your home is not a fun place to live in, and your family is not in good relationship, no one will be very motivated to do much. Some of them likely will wish that they weren’t there. With some work, you can attempt to change all of that. This may sound a bit preachy, so I apologize. However, you only have your children for a short time. See what makes them tick and do your best to motivate them toward achieving their God-given potential. I have 2 sons in the military right now and they are loving life. They are 22 and completely independent (1 is married). They are exceptional for their age. Believe me, not all of my children are as motivated and successful as they are, but our goal is to point them in that direction. My job is definitely not done yet! Try to stay motivated. You won’t always be perfect, and that’s okay. Just try not to make an unmotivated state your usual condition in your home. Your children are watching you. (if you are simply exhausted all of the time, a doctor’s appointment may be a good idea).

We watch videos featuring Navy SEAL training, but I have boys and one daughter. I can tell you that these videos are very motivating to me! I have found that inspiring my children often involves dangling carrots out in front of them so that they have something to shoot for. Your girl is likely going through a lot of hormone changes, which can be so rough. My daughter needed a lot of one-on-one time with me. Working on our relationship was very important during that time....well, it actually still is now that she is 15. I found that adding a workout to my daughter's (and sons') day really helped her, too. My children become sluggish and lazy if they don't work out. I am a personal trainer and also have a daily exercise regimen. It can be hard to motivate some children. If you approach it in a positive manner, you may find that she will follow your lead. Good luck!

I tried this question on the high school board but only got crickets. CLE has an accredited option that interests me for my high school students. However, the length of the lessons as well as the teacher involvement cause me to questions if it will work for us. My hands will be very full this fall and little time will be available for me to get into intensive teacher instruction for my high school students. We are currently using CLE math for 1, 3, & 6th grades, so the math lesson duration is somewhat familiar to me. Any input you may have about the other subjects and the coaching responsibility times for teaching lessons would be very helpful (especially if you are using CLE for your middle school or high school student.) Thanks!

I am considering going the accredited route for my high school children with CLE through their Homeschool Plus program. Just curious how much teacher involvement is required with CLE high school courses. Thanks for any input you are willing to share.

Thanks, KayT! I will look into it. Admittedly, I thought about Bob Jones but hadn't researched it yet. Hoping they have more high school elective options!

I hope it counts as school.....actually, my daughter has been persuaded to read 1776 (McCullough) in order to fill in more historical details. She LOVES Hamilton!

This is our 22nd year of homeschooling, just to put that out there. I am looking for affordable online options. We are a one-income, large family. Many of the online options researched by me have not been persuasive. K12 and Connections Academy, the 2 big ones that seem to be the loudest in marketing, seem to be lots of online computer-based learning, which do not work well with our children. Abeka Online is very limited in the courses they offer, especially in high school. This is in our price-range, just to give you an idea. Easy Peasy and Schoolhouse Teachers are not the modes of learning we are seeking. I have checked into the WTM online offerings, but they are not in our budget. If you have any other ideas to offer, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

Hornblower....I recognized you, too! HI!!! Crazy that we are still here after all of these years..grin. I am homeschooling 4 boybarians and 1 girlilla now. My 2 eldest are in the Air Force and loving it (one is married). Homeschooling has been such a blessing to my LD boy. I had him evaluated at a local private school, and after showing them his schoolwork, they were shocked. They had never seen a child who excelled so much in reading, language arts, and science, yet had a math LD. I knew he had this problem from day 1 of his home education. We just plodded along slowly at his pace, doing very concrete work. I am so glad we did things that way! For his language arts, we used the McGuffey Readers along with SWB's writing recs (narration, copywork, dictation). The school that evaluated this were very impressed. I felt so competent..haha He now realizes his LD and often asks me questions about it. I told him that it is just the way God made him and that it is fine to march by the beat of your own drum. It is math and written expression that challenge him. He is getting there. I am really proud of him. He is a very hard worker, which will really help. Thank you for your encouraging words! Nice to see you :o)

Thank you so much for this! It is very helpful. Yes, we are on target to get him into a 2-year vocational training school next year, which I believe will tremendously help him to learn so much and give him some vital skill training. It will be a good setting for him. Our identical twins went into the Air Force last year, and we did see that the military is stepping up their scrutiny of possible candidates. I appreciate the links you enclosed for the ASVAB. Thanks also for your input regarding Learn Math Fast. I don't want to purchase something and realize it is not what he needs. Blessings!

I was wondering about Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra. I really want to get him going right away. He seems to be understanding things more quickly, almost at an exponential level, which really encourages me that he will be able to catch up. Thank you!

Hi, everyone! I have a 17 year old son (sophomore) who attends public school part-time and is homeschooled in his core classes. He has a learning disability in math (diagnosed by professionals when he was 12). What this really means is that he doesn't learn at the same speed as everyone else. He is a turtle. Currently he is at a 5th/6th grade level in math. He is hoping to go into the military when he graduates, thus our avoidance of public school core classes (if he takes any special ed classes at school this would exclude him from the military). I am trying to put together a 2 year plan for him that will prepare him for the ACT and military tests. I have seen Learning Math Fast as an option for hitting essential math skills, but am hoping to get more wisdom and ideas here. Anyone ever deal with a similar situation with an LD child? I so covet your advice. Blessings, Camy

For our family, the best tool for improving reading comprehension has been reading aloud. I will usually read aloud at lunchtime, when everyone is sitting in one place. Our stories match our history study periods. At this time we are reading Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle (Middle Ages). This book appeals to all ages, yet is challenging in a literary sense. We also add videos, books, and other relevant materials to add depth to our reading (for example, we recently explored monestaries online, which are featured in the book Otto of the Silver Hand). We also looked on Ebay for illuminated manuscripts, which we were shocked to find how much they cost on the high end price range! As my children get a bit older, I have them read aloud to me from their "free reading" books, and then we have a discussion about the contents of that reading session. This is a great way to transition into independent reading and their own interpretations. Reading aloud in itself, is plenty to help develop reading comprehension. Blessings!

This would be right up my daughter's alley! What's funny is that she has a special relationship with our librarians. One of them pulled her aside recently and gave her an amazing Shakespeare package that is exclusively for research-only (not circulation). The librarian winked at her and said "I'm not supposed to let you take this home, but I know how much you love Shakespeare!" haha. How exciting to see your daughter dive into the deep end of the pool! I bet her thesis will be incredible.

oops...I forgot to add that we do Spelling Workout, too. I make flashcards on Quizlet and the boys practice them each day online. They do 1 page per day of the spelling chapter. The first day they read the paragraph selection to me and then we go over the spelling rule and the correct spelling of each word.

I have not read the replies to you inquiry, but it seemed a good idea to let you know how and what we do. This is our 18th year of home-education and we have 8 children. 6 are still at home. We have done things consistently the same, with the exception of 1 1/2 years of private school (when I was burned out and exhausted). My high school kids get to choose their educational pathway, for the most part. They do part-time public school electives and homeschool core classes. They are at school all day, which makes our life at home much more pleasant (haha). Otherwise, this is we are doing with the younger ones at home full-time: Silas (6 yob): Reading (Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading), Saxon Math 1 (love this program for early math, and we get a lot done w/ little time). Silas also sits in on our read aloud time, as well as history and science. Sam (10 yob): Grammar: Rod & Staff 3 (with his 12 yo brother), Math-U-See Gamma (with DVD instruction), Writing (WWE with his 12 yo brother), History (SOTW, Monday and Wednesday with his brothers), Science (we do experiments and research on items of our curiosity). John (12 yob): Grammar (see Sam's), Math (Saxon 76), Writing (see Sam's), Writing (see Sam's), History & Science (see Sam's), Bible Together Time is for everyone. We read the Bible, pray, and learn a verse and hymn. We also do memory work of other sorts during this time. We do regular school work Monday through Thursday, with tests on Friday morning. I clean house and do paperwork on Fridays. The boys earn computer time on Friday if they complete their schoolwork throughout the week as well as their chores. This time is precious to them! I would love to help you figure things out. Make sure you find ways to take care of yourself mentally, physically, and spiritually, or you will crash and burn. Start slowly with school (reading, writing, arithmetic) and add on from there.

This is exclusively art history (and a bit of fine are through duplication of some of the works by the student). http://meetthemasters.com/

Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but we really liked Meet The Masters. It has been about 5 or 6 years since we did it, but it integrated a slideshow online with a project that imitated an artist. (I was an art history major and found this curriculum to be doable, practical, and appealing).

Have you seen Phonics Pathways? It is chock full of excellent blending instruction! Blessings!

After 18 years of homeschooling, I have been getting more confident and braver in our curriculum choices. The Life of Fred Elementary Series is sitting on my homeschooling purgatory shelf, mainly because I am not 100% sure of it as a stand-alone math program. Not so brave after all...maybe. If you have evidence from your own seasoned experience that LOF is legit on its own, I would love to hear it! It seems to have so many holes... Thanks!

Do you happened to have any recommendations before we begin Wheelock's? I will be doing Latina Christiana with my younger children. Would it help the olders as a primer? Thanks!

Perfect...thanks!!!