Education is a Life: Two More Reasons I Love Ambleside Online!

Friday, January 16, 2015

Two More Reasons I Love Ambleside Online!

1. Yesterday I was reading (to my 6-year-old) the legend of how Merlin brought the Giant's Dance from Ireland to England to form Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain. The thought crossed my mind that AO is already filling in gaps in my education...and this is only year one!

2. Having the wonderful list of living books AO recommends for each grade is a huge blessing to me. You see, it can be intimidating to go from a vague idea of what a living book is, to always choosing living books for your children. Using a list like this, you gain an experience of what a living book is simply by using them constantly. I realized yesterday that almost all of the books I am using with my grade one child are books that a person of any age would enjoy and learn from. I'm sure that the level of difficulty goes up with each grade, of course, but these books and the information in them are not aimed at first graders...they are aimed at people. My fourteen-year-old sister is staying with me right now, and I know that her interest has been caught by the books I'm reading to my son. I know this because she has been finishing off the books on her own. (Tales from Shakespeare and The Blue Fairy Book, so far.)

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Denise · 532 weeks ago

I'm curious what you do if you've previously read your child(ren) one of the book list choices as a free read. Do you pick a new book or do you read it again and this time do the narration and other "study" aspects along with listening to the story? I've read the boys a few year one picks already so wondering how to go with that.....

1 reply · active 532 weeks ago

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Nelleke_PEI 73p · 532 weeks ago

That actually hasn't happened to me yet. In the first term, when you're getting used to narrating everything and a new routine, I'd skip the ones already read. You will find plenty to fill your time without them. After that, I'd probably make a judgement call as to how well they know the book (Can they narrate it before you even read it? You can probably substitute.). On the other hand, if narration is a challenge (I doubt it will be for your very verbal boys :), maybe redoing something they're already a bit familiar with might build confidence.

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momco3 40p · 532 weeks ago

I completely agree-- finding living books can be intimidating. I have also found a lot of living books in The Well Trained Mind and others' booklists.
Blessings, Annie

1 reply · active 531 weeks ago

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Nelleke_PEI 73p · 531 weeks ago

I'm hoping that it will become less and less intimidating as we read more and more of them. :)