Ambleside Online questions

[Dianne-TX]

My dc are almost 8 and 6 and I've been looking through AO. It's kind of overwhelming for me. I need some insight and a breakdown in realistic terms. I think I'm anxious because I feel like we're not on the best track for us and I feel like I'm losing time here because I'm rethinking what we're doing, yet again. Am I the only one who feels like I've not made good choices since I began homeschooling, except for making the choice to homeschool of course. :) Anyway, here's a few things that have come to mind.

 

- I'm guessing Year 1 is the best place to start with our ages?

 

- I would love to see someone's weekly/daily schedule using AO.

 

- How do you "do" nature study simply, but effectively?

 

Please offer anything else that you feel would help guide me. Thank you, thank you, thank you... :)

[Jean in Newcastle]

Yes, I think year one would be a good place to start.

 

I would check out this blog: Higher Up and Further In (if I can figure out how to link it I will).

 

Nature study: I think that the above mentioned blog has a good section on this. Basically it is good to get a notebook that each of you can use for drawings of interesting things you find in nature that you can label, identify and sometimes write about. At younger ages you can take a walk around the neighborhood looking for new and interesting things in nature. Or you can go to the zoo and spend more time just sitting and drawing the lions for example.

[suzf242]

Hi Dianne. I just started this year with my dd6, and we love it so far. There is a lot of information on the AO site! Basically what they recommend is to start slow with only the basics and then work your way into it from there. Also, they recommend short but intensive lessons. (I've found this really does keep the interest high.)

 

If your children like to work together, I think combining them in Year 1 would be a fine way to start. You can always change that later.

 

I don't really have a schedule, but we do the following basics every day:

 

Reading/phonics for 20 minutes. (I use Rod and Staff reading and workbook.)

Copywork. One verse from the Bible -- she finds it and reads it. We discuss, and then she copies word by word, memorizing the spelling of each word as she goes.

Math. Usually we do a lesson from the Rod and Staff workbook, but we also do games and other drills. My husband also gives her verbal drills and problems often during the week. (To her, it is a big game.)

One reading from the AO syllabus daily. I read, she narrates. (I printed off the syllabus from the Ambleside Yahoo group. I am going week by week and just select what I feel like reading every day.)

One poem from the poem anthology daily. I read, we discuss.

One selection from the Bible every day.

 

This takes about 1-1/2 hours. She also likes to read and will read on her own approximately an hour a day (more if I let her....).

 

Everything else we do right now is informal -- drawing, music, handicrafts, etc. We work on things as we have time. When the weather starts to get bad, I am planning to add daily Spanish and music lessons.

 

For nature study, I have given dd a 3-ring binder. She can draw pictures and write descriptions in it, or she can make things on other papers and insert them. Sometimes she glues seeds or leaves onto a paper and labels them. We have a lot of different plants and wildflowers in our yard, and she loves checking them out to see how they are developing, what's blooming, looking for different birds or caterpillars, etc. Sometimes I will ask her to find something and write about it (like, how many different kinds of trees are in the yard, and what are they?). We also love to hike in the woods and just observe and try to identify anything that catches our interest. She normally spends at least 2 hours outside every day.

 

I think the goal is to develop lifestyle of learning in your home. I've found that the lines blur between school time and real life. If we aren't doing bookwork, dd doesn't have any idea that the "fun stuff" she is doing is related to schoolwork or learning in any way.

 

Good luck, and enjoy! Hope AO works out for you!

 

Take care,

Suzanne.

Edited November 4, 2008 by suzf242

[Dianne-TX]

Thanks for responding ladies. Suzanne, what spanish are you going to use? There are so many to choose from. I almost bought Learnables for this year, but didn't when I saw several reviews that said their children didn't like it. AO said something similiar too. Their review was that children found it boring.

[suzf242]

I have La Clase Divertida. I know it is pretty light, but we have watched a few of the videos and dd likes it. I would just like to give her some kind of exposure this year. After that, I'm lost! If you find something you like, let me know.

 

Suzanne.

[Cricket]

We started AO last year. I started my oldest in Year 2. He's in Year 3 now. My second oldest just finished Year 1 last week. I loved Year 1 and he enjoyed it too.

 

Our schedule for years 1 and 2 looked like this:

Daily we have Bible, math, copywork, spelling and free reading. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday is history, literature and music. Thursday is art and geography. Friday is nature study through literature, outdoor nature study and handicraft/life skills.

 

A great resource on how to do nature study is the blog Handbook of Nature Study. I've learned a lot from her Outdoor Challenges.

[KS_]

- I'm guessing Year 1 is the best place to start with our ages?

 

- I would love to see someone's weekly/daily schedule using AO.

 

Please offer anything else that you feel would help guide me. Thank you, thank you, thank you... :)

 

Agreeing that Year 1 would be the place to start. You can kind of test the waters with how well your 6 yo will do with it and see if combining your dc into one year works for you. I have my 2 combined, but I did end up having to add in Year 3.5 so we wouldn't end up in Year 4 too early for my dd.

 

Here are links to 2 Yahoo groups that offer schedules for each year. There are weekly schedules on the AO website, but these may be more helpful, as they're in grid form (for the AO_HEO group), and the other group has schedules that other members have posted on how they're organizing their years. The grids on the AO_HEO group can be downloaded in Word and then edited, which is nice.

 

 

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

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AO-Member-Schedules