Ambleside online curric. They have 2nd graders listening to Trial and Triumph?

[momee]

I'm just curious if any of you are using AO ongrade level?

Everytime I look at it, it sounds so wonderful and I attempt to really get into it to try a week or two and the literature itself looks so over the heads of my kids.

Also, the art history and history stuff seems advanced too.

[KS_]

I'm just curious if any of you are using AO ongrade level?

Everytime I look at it, it sounds so wonderful and I attempt to really get into it to try a week or two and the literature itself looks so over the heads of my kids.

Also, the art history and history stuff seems advanced too.

 

I'm using AO with both kids - I actually combined them because my dd was always there, listening in, and I didn't really want to go back and re-read the same stories over the next year. I've got them both in Year 3, however, we have slowed down Year 3 and will add a Year 3.5 (stretching each of those years out over 1 1/2 years), so dd won't be too young to go into Year 4.

 

So she's quite young for the level that we're at - ds is more of the average recommended age - but I'm often surprised at what she understands and retains. And his retention and comprehension is really great! I think at first, it's is a little difficult, but the payoff for us has been worth it. If you're really wanting to get into it, I'd recommend just starting off slowly, adding more things in as you get into the swing of it, and not trying to jump into everything at once.

[jananc]

Ambleside really is a rich curriculum. I used it several years ago before switching to TOG, and I go back to the website and browse wistfully every once in awhile. I just love their selections.

 

I do think you could easily do a year lower than the grade level of your dc. Like you said, the books are quite advanced, and I don't think you'd be doing anyone a disservice. At the same time, you would be amazed at how well you dc will understand and retain hard literature, once their ear is accustomed to hearing it. Give it a few weeks and you'll hear some of that vocabulary popping up in their speech!

[Chris in VA]

When dd was 4, I began reading chapter books to her, alongside the wonderful picture books I wanted to cover before she got "too old." I remember being absolutely astonished how well she listened, retained, and enjoyed the books we read that I had thought were going to just sail over her head. Then I read in WTM where kids really can glean info from books that are several levels above their reading level (she started reading at 4, so reading level 2-3 was what I went for). We read the first 3 Little House books, Charlotte's Web, and several others--

 

Your child may not get every detail, and I would not ask for a narration, but I can fully support the idea of reading above level. Sometimes, the books we read above level become the favorites when they reach that same level in independent reading. It paves the way, so to speak. And dd? She's now 8. The LH books are her fav's, were the first chapter books she read (in Nov of 1st grade, she jumped from barely reading Henry and Mudge to trying and succeeding at LHBWoods), and have been read by her and aloud by me at least 5 times each!

Now we are going slowly thru Anne of Green Gables--I dearly hope the same thing happens, and that Anne becomes beloved!

[at the beach]

I'm just curious if any of you are using AO ongrade level?

Everytime I look at it, it sounds so wonderful and I attempt to really get into it to try a week or two and the literature itself looks so over the heads of my kids.

Also, the art history and history stuff seems advanced too.

 

I am using AO Years 1 and 3 with dd's 8 and 11. So, the answer to your question is no, I'm not using it on grade level. I'd say if your kids are not used to reading challenging lit, you are going to overwhelm them by trying AO on grade level. Year 1 is just right for my 8 yo. Some of it is still hard for her to comprehend but she does okay with it, and we really enjoy it. It's not overwhelming to do the readings. Her ability to pay attention has increased a lot since we started with AO. Year 3 is wonderful and challenging for my 11 yo 5th grader. My 11 yo's ability to handle challenging material has increased significantly since starting AO. She's really enjoyed the book choices for the most part (she does complain about Parables of Nature!). The material is challenging, but it's definitely doable. The artist study and composer study is fairly easy for us to implement. We just look at the pictures of the term, spending a few minutes a week doing this, and we listen to the classical music in the car mostly. This has been our first full year with AO. It's gone so well. We love CM and Ambleside. My dd 11 wants to skip to AO Year 6 in the fall because she wants to do ancients. I think she can handle it at this point. BUT she really needed this year to get used to reading tough material. My dd 8 will be doing Year 2, which to me looks fantastic and appropriate for a wide variety of ages. For example, my 11 yo just read Understood Betsy and loved it. It is one of the Year 2 lit selections.

 

Honestly, I still peruse other curriculums like Sonlight or WP or MFW (obsessed with looking at curriculum and wondering if the grass is greener)BUT, in the end, I know I won't leave AO. It's really that wonderful for us! And it's free. :)

 

Anita

[Testimony]

I started my 2nd grader in the first year. I feel that he is at that level. I won't progress him any further next year. The book selections are difficult. My older son can handle the higher level, but definitely not the younger. I started the older one in the 2nd level at third grade. The 1st level I did in second grade. I moved him up when I saw he was progressing with his narrations, but I cannot say the same for my younger guy.

 

I know what you mean about Trial and Triumph. I said to my husband that they don't sugar coat these stories. It actually says that the person was burned at the stake. My husband replied to me, "well, they have to learn the truth sometime." I agree, but I was wondering if I could wait alittle.:confused: Just pick the things that you can do. Start off gradually. You will find that it will not take much time.

 

For art, don't fret! I have the children look at the picture. Then, I have them talk about what they see in the picture. Tell me a story based upon the picture. Then, I turn the picture around and I ask them what they remember in the picture. We talk about the artist. Find out whatever information about the artist and play this little guess what is in the picture game.

 

Blessings on your homeschool journey!

 

Sincerely,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[Donna T.]

I have spent the past year really floundering around. I have started and stopped several different things with my children. I have felt increasingly frustrated and dissatisfied as each day has passed us by and I still didn't feel "settled". I have frequently complained on this board and elsewhere that I was bored and uninspired. We were rarely getting to the things that we love to do because "school" was occupying our days. I had tried some of the "best", most highly recommended materials and I continually kept scratching my head and thinking, "is this just me or is this REALLY as insignificant as I think it is?" Certain curriculi that others were very pleased and satisfied with were leaving me with a hunger for something of real value. Long story short: enter AO.

 

We have spent the last few weeks easing into it. By the fall, I expect to have my nine year old third grader going "full speed ahead" with Yr 2. My youngest will be six by then but I don't expect to have him using exclusively AO until he's reading fluently. In the meantime, I am using the Yr 1 books with him, but at a very relaxed pace. Even though we haven't been at it for very long, I feel so at home. My children feel at home, too. We are easing into all these wonderful, meaningful books. We are refocusing on natural history (which we absolutely love), the Bible, art and music.

 

In a few weeks, I've seen real changes in my children. My oldest son who was so struggling with narration (to the point of tears) is already opening up and telling me all about what he is reading. My youngest son (a video game addict at the age of five - not that I've encouraged it) is spending more of his time outside studying birds and describing plants.

 

When AO recommends a book, it is just that... a recommendation. I don't expect to make many substitutions, but I can if I want to and in the upper years, I will want to because some just won't be a good fit for our family. The books are not dumbed down. They are meaty. They are ones that are easy for the child to narrate because they really have something to say to the child. It's important to realize that your children wouldn't be rushing through the books. They linger over them and have plenty of time to digest the material. It's really not a heavy load at all. I guess you would say it's quality over quantity and that's exactly what I was longing for.

 

For me, one of the biggest draws is their selection of high quality history books. I love their history selections. I have always wanted my children to learn history through rich literature and even though I've tried several different ways to go about that, I've never felt as comfortable as I do with AO. Also, the books on the free reading lists are memorable ones that make an impression on the child. We won't read all the myths, all the fairy tales, or all of the fantastical stories because we aren't that "into" those, but we will read some. As for Trial and Triumph, I plan to read the stories for myself and decide which ones to share. Instead of using alot of those, I plan to include some material that is more specific to our denomination. AO does say that you should feel free to omit that book. You can cover much of that material later on with another book for older children.

 

I think that you have to be convinced of the value of a Charlotte Mason styled education to be happy with AO. If you are, you will like it. Yes, the books are a bit more advanced than some other programs, but it's fine to place your children at a level that is lower than their grade level. It's not about their grade level, at all. Yr 2 starts a history cycle as does Yr 6. I choose Yr 2 for my oldest because I want him to read most of the books for himself.

[Lovedtodeath]

For art, don't fret! I have the children look at the picture. Then, I have them talk about what they see in the picture. Tell me a story based upon the picture. Then, I turn the picture around and I ask them what they remember in the picture. We talk about the artist. Find out whatever information about the artist and play this little guess what is in the picture game.

 

 

 

Karen, this might seem simple to you, but I really needed this direction! :confused: I am printing it out. Thank you!

[yslek]

From the AO website (about Trial and Triumph):

 

If you prefer, you can cover church history in Years 7-9 with a different book, Saints and Heroes

 

I'm plan on using AO next year, but will follow the above suggestion.

 

HTH

Kelsy

[Peela]

The main reason I havent used AO more before now is because I really like the 4 year history cycle and i could never work out which years would work properly for us. But this year I looked at Year 6 and 7 and thought, yes, I can make this work. So I am presently using the Year 6 Ancients books, as well as any pre7 books we havent read, with my 12 and 13yos, and we will start Year 7 of HEO in about October when my kids will be almost 13, and 14. Then I will probably have to do a mish mash of the next 3 years, over 1 year, because I want to do "Rennaisance" (or TWM cycle year 3), and then use HEO Year 11 (which is 20th Century history) when my daughter is in Year 12 and my son is in Year 10.

It may not work- it may well be too advanced for my son- but I will just adapt for both. That is my present plan. All subject to change :)

Many people use AO years several years below their child's grade level. For me the priority is doing the 4 year history cycle (for some reason. I don't know why but I just really like it and I want to get my dd through it twice!).

There are so many resources connected with AO, and Yahoo groups, I am sure you could ask more questions there or find information you need. I think there is a page on where to place your child.

[KS_]

I started my 2nd grader in the first year. I feel that he is at that level.

 

And this is what the Advisory says, too. Children should be placed at a level that works for them - it doesn't strictly correlate to grade levels. I copied this from the Ambleside site:

 

" At which Year/level should I place my child?

 

(This is the most frequently asked question posted to the email list!)

 

In general, the best Year for each child is the Year that challenges him without paralyzing frustration. An Ambleside Online "Year" does not mean "Grade" as it would in public school. Ambleside Online's Year levels (year 1, year 2, etc) are loosely equivalent to grades, but, true to Charlotte Mason's standards, the curriculum is rigorous, so a Year level of Ambleside Online will be advanced compared to the same grade in most public schools - some gifted sixth graders doing Ambleside's Year 4 find it plenty challenging! Charlotte Mason placed her students in their form or grade levels somewhat according to their ability as well as age. It's normal for parents to place children coming from public school in an Ambleside Year that's a notch or two below his actual grade level - which works out fine because, even if a child graduates from high school after having only completed Ambleside's Year 8, it still may be more than they may have learned in many public high schools.

 

All children should be working at their grade level in math and language arts regardless of which Year of Ambleside they're doing.

 

Where you start your children will depend on what they can handle - the books should be a challenge, but not so frustrating as to be discouraging. Some people look at the booklists for each Ambleside Year and if their children have read most of the books in a particular Year, they start with the following Ambleside Year. These books may be more difficult than some children, even good readers, are used to. If you've been using a different curriculum, you will probably want to look at Years a year or two behind their actual grade level and adjust by moving up or down from there.

 

Consider the level of difficulty of the books the children currently read and compare them to the majority of the books in the curriculum for the year you are considering. If a child can read classic books like Pilgrim's Progress, Black Beauty, Water Babies and other books on the Year 3 and earlier lists like Heidi, he should be ready to attempt Year 4, even if he hasn't read all the books on the Year 3 list. The books should not be too easy, but neither should they be nearly impossible. Many times children will rise to the occasion when placed in a Year that looks at first glance above their abilities. One parent, whose fourth grade child was still having trouble reading, decided to try Year 4 anyway: "I went ahead and put her in Year 4, but was afraid. It was a tough, tough year. However, we persevered, and by the end of the year her reading skills had leapt forward at an astonishing rate, and she now says Plutarch is her favorite school book.""

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

We are using AO. My childrens ages and the AO year they use, for your reference are:

 

dd12 - Year 4 (with pre 7 books added in slowly)

ds11 - Year 4 (with pre 7 books added in slowly)

dd9 - Combo of Years 1 and 2 (I want her in Year 3 next year)

ds 6 - Year 1 (he will be 7 next week).

 

I would start year 1 at about age 7 at the youngest, myself. My olders came from public school and year 4 is what suits them best.

[mama25angels]

We are using AO. My childrens ages and the AO year they use, for your reference are:

 

dd12 - Year 4 (with pre 7 books added in slowly)

ds11 - Year 4 (with pre 7 books added in slowly)

dd9 - Combo of Years 1 and 2 (I want her in Year 3 next year)

ds 6 - Year 1 (he will be 7 next week).

 

I would start year 1 at about age 7 at the youngest, myself. My olders came from public school and year 4 is what suits them best.

 

 

I went to your blog, it's wonderful, I hope you don't mind that I bookmarked it for future reading. I will be using AO this year, it'll be our first year using it and i'm so looking forward to it.

[farmnwife]

Another AO family here. My dd age 13 is doing a combo of years 5&6. Next year she will tech. be in 8 but in yr 7AO. My two boys ages 11 & 10 are doing year 4 together. I still do the history readings to them and certain other books that are above their reading ability. We started AO about 3 yrs ago. So I placed them in where their abilities were at the time. For us AO is great!

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

I went to your blog, it's wonderful, I hope you don't mind that I bookmarked it for future reading. I will be using AO this year, it'll be our first year using it and i'm so looking forward to it.

 

Thank you. I don't mind at all. :001_smile:

[frogpond1]

We loved their books and learned to read several books at a time for long periods of time. Every book we ever read from AO was worth the time! My kids were quite tiny when we read Robin Hood off the AO list. My husband wondered if it was way over them, and it was fabulous. If you lag a year, it is o.k.. I think reading aloud those books is excellent. Go for it!

[proudmamma]

I have always been drawn to AO, but felt overwhelmed with trying to plan out a daily/weekly/yearly plan. I really need to see it all laid out or I am not comfortable and for some reason was not able to do this on my own with AO...but I would love to try this with my kids. I need a preplanned schedule...I'm sure this is easier than I am making it though.

[Jami]

If you think "Trial and Triumph" is too challenging or mature specifically, you might consider the Withrow's History Lives Series http://www.historylivesseries.com/

 

You can order them from Amazon, Veritas Press, Westminster Seminary Bookstore.

 

I am an AO fan and have found that my children continually amaze me with how much they enjoy books and stories that I'm sure are a stretch for them. They're nuts about Nesbit's Shakespeare! And have seen Lamb's on the shelf and have asked when we'll be reading it. :)

 

Jami

[jg_puppy]

I have always been drawn to AO, but felt overwhelmed with trying to plan out a daily/weekly/yearly plan. I really need to see it all laid out or I am not comfortable and for some reason was not able to do this on my own with AO...but I would love to try this with my kids. I need a preplanned schedule...I'm sure this is easier than I am making it though.

 

I completely understand. I was the same way until I finally found an AO schedule in the format that made sense to me. We have not fully started AO because it is so late in the year, but I do plan on using it next year. Several of the AO yahoo groups (including AO schedules - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AO-Member-Schedules/?v=1&t=search&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=group&slk=1) have schedules in a very user friendly format. There have been a few slight changes in the program since some of the schedules were made, but it is a place to start.

 

 

I will say we have just started to dabble in AO and my dd couldn't be happier with school. I don't want to think about all of the money I have spent on curriculum only to find the one that works best for me and my dd is free. It is actually quite liberating to not be hunting and searching for curriculum, but actually enjoying one for a change.

Jan

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

I have always been drawn to AO, but felt overwhelmed with trying to plan out a daily/weekly/yearly plan.

 

On the website is a weekly schedule, with it all done for you. There is also a yahoo group: AO-Member-Schedules that is quite helpful.

[KS_]

On the website is a weekly schedule, with it all done for you. There is also a yahoo group: AO-Member-Schedules that is quite helpful.

 

Here's a link to the Yahoo group - they've got the weekly schedules in a grid format in Word or PDF files:

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AO_HEO_Schedules/

[proudmamma]

Thank you ladies, I will look at all of these schedules...how exciting :)

[AngelBee]

Does anyone have updated sites with schedules? Some of these I can not access.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

We are using AO. My childrens ages and the AO year they use, for your reference are:

 

dd12 - Year 4 (with pre 7 books added in slowly)

ds11 - Year 4 (with pre 7 books added in slowly)

dd9 - Combo of Years 1 and 2 (I want her in Year 3 next year)

ds 6 - Year 1 (he will be 7 next week).

 

I would start year 1 at about age 7 at the youngest, myself. My olders came from public school and year 4 is what suits them best.

 

Would you give a link to your blog?

 

This thread is so helpful. Thank you ladies so much for all of your comments. We are going to start Year 1 in the fall, and I've been a little intimidated myself. I keep being drawn back to it, so we're going to give it a go! :)

 

I've printed out their schedule and book list for Year 1 to familiarize myself with it. I like books in my hand, so I've been taking it to every used bookstore we go to. My 6 year old will be an older 6 when we start. We are already using some good literature for her age (Outdoor Secrets, The Story Book of Science, Mr. Popper's Penguins, and the Little House Series).

 

Do you all use the Handbook of Nature Study as written? For example, the first Term science is mammals. Do you go to the Section on mammals and just go for it? Maybe go to the zoo, other areas you know you can observe animals listed in the section? Any help on how you implement this would be wonderful!

 

Thanks!!

[Emilylou]

This is what I did too- just skipped Trial and Triumph.

We have been slowly using AO over a 2 year period when Ds was 5 1/2 and 7. He enjoys all the other books.

 

 

From the AO website (about Trial and Triumph):

 

If you prefer, you can cover church history in Years 7-9 with a different book, Saints and Heroes

 

I'm plan on using AO next year, but will follow the above suggestion.

 

HTH

Kelsy

[woolybear]

There are several other helpful Yahoo groups. There is AmbleRamble, AmblesideONline, and each year has a group. There are schedules on all of them I believe, and a lot of other helpful information in the files.

 

Woolybear

[AuntPol]

You can skip Trial and Triumph. My kids are in 4th and 5th and doing Year 4. We started last year with a combo year 2/3 and they were fine with Trial and Triumph.

 

However, they start church history again in year 7 for those who didn't read Trial and Triumph.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

Aunt Pol ~

 

I noticed you follow Ambleside very closely. Thanks for the heads up about using T&T later. I was looking at your new blog. Do you go on the field trips by yourself? Did you plan these on your own? That is a wonderful idea to do it on a regular basis. I'm trying to see how it will look for us since we are going to be starting 1st grade with my oldest this summer, maybe fall.

 

Thanks!

[nitascool]

We've used AO for two years.

 

This year

 

ds9 did year 3, 3.5 and 4 (he did year 1 and 2 last year)

ds8 did year 2 and 3 (he did year 0 and 1 last year)

ds5 did year 0 we will probably start year 1 before years end

dd2 will do year 0 next year, we'll stretch it out over two years

 

*except for the history spines

 

We just began reading This Country of Ours and Trial and Triumph this year and the boys always ask for Trial and Triumph first and ask me to continue reading. Of course it's the first thing we do in the morning after Bible so there is a little bit of procrastination going on there I'm sure.:lol: But they have many interesting things to say about our readings.