Living Curriculum Books or Ambleside?

[Josephine]

Ok, I was almost decided to do Ambleside next year when I started looking at Living Books Curriculum. Any opinions?

 

One thing that has tipped me more in the direction of LBC is that I noticed it looks like AO only goes through the history sequence once to end of high school while LBC finishes by the end of 8th grade. I'm assuming you can then go back through a 2nd time in high school. Anybody else notice this? Thoughts?

 

Josephine

[SophiaH]

Ambleside does actually go through the sequence twice, if that makes a difference. Check out this link for their chronology: http://www.amblesideonline.org/FAQ.shtml#history

[lovinmomma]

I LOVE the looks of the LBC. It's beautiful. I just wish that I could combine all of my children together with it.

[tricia]

I have not used either. Yet. But I ordered the Teacher's Guide for LBC a couple weeks ago for 3 grade and I love it. I love AO too only I love having a bit of a "schedule" with ideas and suggestions and from what I've seen with the TG for LBC I think I will really like it. I have used AO but only the books list. Not their schedule. I like a bit of structure but not too much and LBC looks terrific for this. Even a bit lighter than sonlight.

[Josephine]

Oh, ok I must be daffy. I see where history is covered mostly twice in AO but it looks like it starts over the 2nd go round at 800 AD then goes back to ancient history at the end.

 

Also, I guess I wan't quite accurate about LBC either. It looks like history is covered through 6th then a whole overview is done in 7th and 8th.

 

Any opinions on these history sequences?

 

Josephine

[SophiaH]

I LOVE the looks of the LBC. It's beautiful. I just wish that I could combine all of my children together with it.

 

:iagree:I've looked at it over and over, but being in different time periods for each of my children just would not work for us.

 

 

I have not used either. Yet. But I ordered the Teacher's Guide for LBC a couple weeks ago for 3 grade and I love it. I love AO too only I love having a bit of a "schedule" with ideas and suggestions and from what I've seen with the TG for LBC I think I will really like it. I have used AO but only the books list. Not their schedule. I like a bit of structure but not too much and LBC looks terrific for this. Even a bit lighter than sonlight.

 

That's a good point. I'm curious...I see you have 12 children...How in the world are you looking to use this with your dc since it seems so difficult to combine? :001_huh:

 

 

Any opinions on these history sequences?

 

Josephine

 

I really like the idea of either one much better than the four-year cycle. Our first two years of history have been covering ancients and middle ages per the four-year cycle, and it has felt like a whirlwind tour with very little time to go in depth on anything. I am changing things up next year for that very reason.

 

Out of the two, I think my favorite is LBC, mostly because I *love* the idea of multi-stream history--doing world and American at the same time. I also think a two-year overview of world history is a great idea if done well. I'm just not sure what "done well" would look like! :tongue_smilie:I'll be interested to see how she does the eighth grade program!

[tricia]

Heather. Right now I am only schooling 6. My youngest isn't old enough for school yet. The older ones are no longer in my homeschool having "graduated" already. My boys are on auto pilot and finishing up the year. My younger ones, all girls is who I will use LBC with. I've homeschooled for so long now that I've been able to tweak curriculums to combine several kids. Most likely it will look like this.

 

LBC grade 2 or 3, haven't decided yet. My twins will continue with their sonlight reading and most likely will just 'sit in' with LBC that I will do with my 2 younger girls. But they love activities so I'm sure they will join in with all of the activities and hands on things. So it won't be their "total" schooling for the twins, just some fun stuff just because since they love to do everything together. They normally read their sonlight books in the evening anyway so it will work fine. If one of the books in the LBC is one they haven't read yet I'm sure they will pick it up and read it therefore learning what the younger ones are doing but only of their own free will. Does any of this make sense?

[SophiaH]

Yes, it does make sense! It sounds like a great plan! I love the LBC book choices--all those public domain books. The LBC books together with Sonlight books would make a great combination!

[DaffodilDreams]

We've been using AO, SL, and Earthschooling. This next year, we will use LBC as the meat of our curriculum and add on readings from AO2 and SL. I will continue to use Earthschooling to incorporate storytelling (though after receiving the set for LBC2, it looks like they promote storytelling, too, so I love that!), crafts, art, some science experiments, exploration of world holidays and cultures, etc. I went with LBC as the mainstay for next year because of the CM approach like AO but with the added bonus of a schedule and suggested activities. Like someone else mentioned, I also love that LBC covers American History each year. Now if I could just find a plan that incorporates Chinese History each year, too, I'd be a mega-happy camper.

 

Update: I realized I should give you OUR pros and cons for AO since we have experience with that.

 

Pros: rich literary choices, reading selections leave much room to ponder big questions, artist and composer studies are fabulous and the group is excellent at emailing resources for those (youtube compilations, very nice printable files for artwork, etc), the reading load is easy to get through within a week (at least in AO1). Much of the AO booklist has been a huge hit with dd.

 

 

Cons: very loosely defined weekly schedule - in fact schedule is really only for the reading selections; it's up to you to pencil in all other subjects - I found I really need that reminder to add in the "other" stuff even though the other stuff (nature study, music, art, etc) is something we both really enjoy. AOs history doesn't seem to be coming to life for my dd the way it does with SL. You work your way S L O W L Y through some of the most interesting books, and that's frustrating to my dd. I understand why AO does that (because CM liked for the kids to savor the stories), but dd's faves seem to be the ones with the most time between readings. I'm not sure if LBC will solve the issue of going too slowly through a work or not. Time will tell, I suppose. I felt the need to supplement because we'd only have 1, maybe 2 reading selections a day with AO1. I'm sure it must pick up the pace each year, but if I hadn't pulled from so many different places, dd and I would both have been left wanting more. She could listen to stories all day if I'd let her!

 

I can't offer up an opinion on LBC yet since we won't use it until the next school year, but I do have it in my hands, and what I've gone through so far appears engaging and easy for me to implement.

Edited May 4, 2010 by kimmie38017

[woolybear]

Lalalalalala (Hands over ears) I can't hear you. I am not listening to this. I am not even reading this thread. I have looked at LBC many times. I *thought* I was all set for next year. BUT this thread sent me back to the LBC website. No, it didn't. Really. I didn't just look at that.:001_unsure:

 

 

 

very quietly.....It does look good, doesn't it?

[abrightmom]

:001_smile::001_smile::001_smile:

I am so happy this is being discussed. I too have been agonizing over how to combine kiddos with LBC. It is my dream plan . . . I have Grade 1 and 2 teaching guides and I've been pondering how to utilize it. I think it would be easy peasy to combine kiddos close in age but not as easy for the youngers to fold in.

 

That is a difficult challenge! But, not having any experience with combining at all I don't imagine it is any easier to combine multiple ages in any program. There will always be "tweaking" and adjusting required.

 

LBC is amazing . . . so well put together with fantastic book selections and enough flex to give Mom some room to maneuver. All of the extras included in the teaching guides (articles, documents) are wonderful!!

 

The slightly slower, steady stream of history over 6 years versus 4 is appealing. I also like how national history is studied alongside in a slower, steadier fashion and then the two streams merge in the 6th grade year.

 

I would LOVE to hear more on combining . . . if ANYONE has ideas or tips I'm :bigear:. As I have worked the "plan" my biggest challenge would be in what to do with the youngers who jump in mid stream. Once they get to the 6th grade time period then they really aren't ready to cycle back around with LBC because the cycle begins in first grade. At that point having to beef UP first grade and beyond would be too much work. The only other option would be two cycles happening at the same time (or possibly 3 depending on how many kids are in the family and the age spread). In reality all of the children would benefit from going through LBC's program from beginning to end. The sequence of skills taught is awesome.

[abrightmom]

A few more thoughts:

 

1. I think it is quite possible that LBC expects older children (mid elementary age, say 3rd or 4th grade) to take much of the reading on themselves. I can't remember where I read this but it's worth a phone call to ask. Perhaps this frees Mom to work with/read to youngers. I don't know how the narrations would work with the olders who are reading on their own. Perhaps they read independently and then write their narration?

 

2. I decided that the history portions would not be difficult to adjust (for kids starting mid cycle and then having to go back to the beginning with the first grade plan) because it's really about adding in literature, more challenging narrations and projects if desired.

 

3. The two challenges are the possibility of having children within the family in different history cycles (I haven't decided if this is bad yet :D) and the youngers missing the fantastic skill progression laid out in LBC. Quite possibly one could use two guides side by side. Teach the skills out of the younger guides for the younger but use the history progression out of the older guide, modified for the younger. Or just start each child in LBC at the appropriate juncture so each child can do a complete run through from first to sixth grade (This sounds insane but I'm really not sure if it is . . . could be worth a try :D). Then in 7th and 8th it is done again with primary source documents.

[abrightmom]

Woolybear,

 

I realize we're having fun dreaming about LBC but do, pray tell, share HOW you are using Oak Meadow, AO and TOG!! I would LOVE to hear more. You can even PM me if that would be better. Perhaps there will be some LBC in there as well!!! :001_smile:

[Josephine]

Ok, I did find this by perusing the LBC forum.

 

 

 

How to combine subjects with multiple children

Penny Gardner, a mother of seven, author of A Charlotte Mason Study Guide and Italics: Beautiful Handwriting for Children offers this advice regarding how to combine subjects with a range of children:

“Subjects such as history, art appreciation, science, literature, nature study, and anything else that mom is reading aloud can be combined with two or more students. They may take turns narrating those topics. I have done this with three students who were between first and sixth grade. Older students (5-6th grades) may write some of their narrations independently, while mom listens to the younger ones.â€

Subjects such as math, beginning reading instruction for the first grader (while the older child reads independently), and perhaps handwriting, including copywork and dictation, may need to be worked on with each child individually.

[abrightmom]

I still think that having kiddos in two different time periods in history would be tough . . . including the youngers with the olders would work for a season but then they have to start over at the beginning and one would have to purchase first grade for them and beef it up while also tweaking all of the other subjects to make them grade/age appropriate. I think it would/could get really messy for a Mom with multiple kids. :glare: Oh bother!! LBC just looks so so so so so wonderful in so so so so many ways.

[woolybear]

Woolybear,

 

I realize we're having fun dreaming about LBC but do, pray tell, share HOW you are using Oak Meadow, AO and TOG!! I would LOVE to hear more. You can even PM me if that would be better. Perhaps there will be some LBC in there as well!!! :001_smile:

 

I am not using it all yet!:001_smile: I've been toying with different ideas, but here's what I'm thinking(today):

 

Oak Meadow will be our core. I will use their methodology for teaching math and language arts, as I believe those will work well for my children. The other subjects I will use as well, but perhaps not fully. It is not very time intensive in the years we will be using so there is room to do other things. I am thinking of using Ambleside for literature, picture study, nature study, and read alouds. Loosely. And TOG. This is really a debate. It is obviously quite different from the other two. It really appeals to ME. I'm not sure how it would be for my dc. I am thinking of doing a very slow version. Perhaps Year 2, Unit 1. For the whole year. Maybe we would do the other things (OM and AO) M-Th and TOG on Fridays. Not sure about this. I'm thinking this is me being silly and doing planning overkill and then not being able to follow through on any of it. :eek:

 

 

My problem is there is just so much wonderful hs stuff out there. I'm still like my son at a buffet. He takes way too much on his plate and eats way too much and still can't finish half of it.:)

[abrightmom]

Thanks for sharing! Yes, it IS a buffet and most of it looks so appealing! I would like my approach to be called the Well Trained Living Tapestry of Grace with a little Sonlight on the side. :D

[momto2Cs]

Lalalalalala (Hands over ears) I can't hear you. I am not listening to this. I am not even reading this thread. I have looked at LBC many times. I *thought* I was all set for next year. BUT this thread sent me back to the LBC website. No, it didn't. Really. I didn't just look at that.:001_unsure:

 

 

 

very quietly.....It does look good, doesn't it?

 

I'm not listening either. :tongue_smilie:

 

Thanks for sharing! Yes, it IS a buffet and most of it looks so appealing! I would like my approach to be called the Well Trained Living Tapestry of Grace with a little Sonlight on the side. :D

 

I'm in favor of calling mine Eclectic Somewhat Well Trained Charlotte Mason dipped in Waldorf.

[abrightmom]

I'm in favor of calling mine Eclectic Somewhat Well Trained Charlotte Mason dipped in Waldorf.

 

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Edited May 4, 2010 by abrightmom
trying to fix the quote

[MicheleinMN]

Has anyone recommended the Simply Charlotte Mason website to help with combining different ages?

 

I pick one (or 2) year(s) of Ambleside Online and then use SCM to fill in for the other children.

[abrightmom]

I get so confused by the website . . . I'm sure it's all me so I'm going to have to go back and try again.

 

Any suggestions for where to start there??

[woolybear]

I'm not listening either. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

 

I'm in favor of calling mine Eclectic Somewhat Well Trained Charlotte Mason dipped in Waldorf.

 

 

I see you here, too. What are we doing here? Come on, let's get back over to our little Oak Meadow world. Lol.

 

I posted somewhere that I was doing Oak Meadow with a touch of Ambleside and a little TOG on the side. :001_smile:

 

And while we're talking about nice CM programs, I've always liked the looks of Tanglewood Education. Nicely laid out, not too heavy.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

I'm in favor of calling mine Eclectic Somewhat Well Trained Charlotte Mason dipped in Waldorf.

 

I love it! Me too, me too. :D

[Guest mrsjamiesouth]

I am using Grade 1 next year. I also have Grade 5, but decided against 2 different Time periods. Grade 1 is Ancient, so I just used some SCM and some Tanglewood book choices to beef it up for my 5th grader. I think it was super easy to combine them this way. I also am going more classical, so I added CLE LA and FLL for my 1st grader. My 5th grader will be using CLE LA, Wordly Wise, and Veritas Comp. Guides.

[MicheleinMN]

http://simplycharlottemason.com/planning/scmguide/

 

click on history:

http://simplycharlottemason.com/planning/scmguide/history-modules-overview/

 

click on time period you wish to study.

Early Modern for example:

http://simplycharlottemason.com/planning/scmguide/history-modules-overview/history-module-5/

 

You can do the same for literature, but I usually stick with Ambleside's or Sonlight's lists for literature.

 

HTH

[Josephine]

Ok, you guys are making life difficult for me. Is Oak Meadow CM?

 

One of the reasons I started leaning toward LBC is that their booklist really appealed to me and I found almost all the books at the library. There are so many curriculums out there that have an extensive booklist yet a majority of the booklist won't be readily available from the library.

This makes LBC very affordable which is one of my criteria.

 

To further complicate matters, we were accepted into a co-op that is covering the Middle Ages next year. My ds will be in 3rd but the Middle Ages is covered in 4th in LBC. My dd will also be in K. So now I am thinking about doing K and 4th in LBC. I actually already have several of the K books. I figure she will tag along some with ds but that I could either drop some of the K stuff for her or have her do less with ds. I also figured that if I needed some beefing up I could supplement with Ambleside.

 

Josephine

[Guest Cindie2dds]

Ok, you guys are making life difficult for me. Is Oak Meadow CM?

 

No, Oak Meadow is not CM. It is Waldorf-inspired in the younger grades and moves to a more rigorous program for the upper grades. The reason I am using Oak Meadow is because of the beautiful, artistic nature of the program. It is a very creative program that has great handicrafts, art, nature study, music, etc. It was a perfect compliment to something like Ambleside Online, which I love, but I was having a hard time incorporating the things Oak Meadow naturally includes.

 

Hope this make it clearer.

[happyWImom]

Lalalalalala (Hands over ears) I can't hear you. I am not listening to this. I am not even reading this thread. I have looked at LBC many times. I *thought* I was all set for next year. BUT this thread sent me back to the LBC website. No, it didn't. Really. I didn't just look at that.:001_unsure:

 

 

 

very quietly.....It does look good, doesn't it?

 

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

I was thinking the exact same thing before I read your post!!

What is wrong with us?????

[Josephine]

I happened to see one of the LBC books at the library last night, Matilda Bone. I started reading it and love it.

 

 

Josephine

[Jenn in Mo]

We've used LBC for 1st and 5th this past year. They really haven't done school together at all, except for enjoying each other's read-alouds with mom in the evenings.

 

I think it would be relatively easy to combine different ages though. My 4 yo and 6 yo dd's did their subjects together. My 6 yo just focused a little more. My 12 yo joined his 10 yo brother in several subjects, he just read ahead faster which allowed me to assign more books to him.

 

I'm trying to piece together my own this year, using books from Sonlight, LBC, and Tanglewood. I've grabbed from their different age lists so I can assign different reading books to different kids, but keep the spine and read-alouds together. Students can study the same composers and artwork, but the older kids can study these more in-depth while the littles play.

 

That's my plan anyway. ;)

 

We LOVED LBC. My 5th grader was a reluctant reader beforehand and he couldn't believe how many books he was trucking through - and enjoying! They have the most wonderful book selections!

[abrightmom]

Jenn,

 

:001_smile: Would you share how much of the reading is done by the student using LBC's plan in the older grades? I can't figure out how many of the books on their plan would be RAs and how many would/could be assigned to the student?

 

Did you find it a problem jumping into the history mid-stream? I do like how they have two streams going at the same time but I think it might be difficult to skip some of it. Perhaps your olders (those using 5th grade LBC) were on track to jump in.

 

Why are you piecing your own together versus continuing with LBC??

 

THANKS so much!!!

[Jenn in Mo]

Sure! Nearly all of it is student-read. Our only Read-Aloud for 5th grade 1st semester was Pilgrim's Progress. It's actually not very clear (to me) in the guidebook, but this is how it appears to be arranged. My only complaint with the 5th grade curriculum is that they don't always say how MUCH of each book should be read...just that it should be read. With this, a child could read far ahead and finish a book a month before it's scheduled to be finished or read too slowly and be behind. After hitting the semester mark, I'd say it is very unlikely a student would get behind. They allow a lot of time to finish.....and yet, it amazed me how much was finished. It felt too gentle to accomplish as much as we did!

 

Mine were fine with jumping in. We had already covered the world history time period and were just finishing the American history time period. None of it seemed to feel like review though at all!

 

I'm going to piece together because my children are spread out from almost 5 years old to almost 13 years old. I would need to buy the books for at least 2 kits, including teaching manuals. Now that I have a feel for how the schedule/line-up works, I don't think I'll have much trouble building something around a common spine. (I hope:confused:) Also, I'm kind of stuck on the idea of a chronological history. I sat down and lined up our history schedule when 4 & 6 year olds were babies to get them all in the same century at the same time - lol. After investing that much energy into thinking about it, I'm not ready to abandon it yet.

[abrightmom]

Jenn,

 

That is very helpful! I do LIKE the fact that LBC's guides don't give specifics for reading . . . allows a child (or a Mom) to set the pace which appeals to me. I also like that you felt as though it was gentle but see that you accomplished a lot! This is more food for thought in this journey of "deciding" . . . I do like those history cycles too and that has been my hang-up with LBC. I have four kids to consider right now (they are closer in age than yours but there are 7 years between the oldest and youngest). I DO like the idea of keeping us all in the same time period . . . it looks very difficult to do that with LBC while making sure that the younger students aren't missing out. Big sigh as I think the program is well done!!!!!

 

Thanks for shedding some light!

:001_smile::001_smile::001_smile:

[Josephine]

fyi

I found this review which is dated March 2010 so it is recent review.

 

http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/Homeschool_Reviews/3954.php

[woolybear]

Have you seen the LBC Get Acquainted Pack? They will e-mail it free and it is full of lots of useful info plus samples.

[Jenn in Mo]

Whoa! I didn't realize that review was online yet - thank you for the link!

[Josephine]

Jenn,

 

I know this question is running a little late but are you planning on doing the dual American and World history streams?

 

I am planning on doing LBC Foundation year with my dd but am still up in the air about my ds. I really like the looks of the LBC schedule but would like to do the Middle Ages/Reformation for history.

 

Josephine

[Jenn in Mo]

No. I've been so torn on this. I love the program and my 5th grader didn't get lost at all with the dual streams of history, but I have chronological stuck in my brain and my daughters are the perfect age to begin doing the Ancients with all of my children. Now that I have a feel for the routine and the method, I'm going to try pulling together my own curriculum layout, using books recommended by LBC, Sonlight, WTM, MFW, and Tangelood for the Ancients. Big emphasis on TRY. I'm a little nervous about this. But, hey! If it works, maybe I can have my own initials to represent my own curriculum! :D

[Josephine]

Thanks for the reply, Jenn.

 

I decided to do the Foundation Year with my dd but I don't think I will do LBC with my ds. The co-op I joined is year 2 of the 4 year history cycle. I am going to look at either trying to put together a LBC/AO year 2 or just getting SOTW if I get too flustered with it all. I also have a CM planning book from SCM so hopefully that will help.

 

Josephine