HOW I USE AMBLESIDEONLINE | Finding the Books and Teaching Multiple Ages

[@YogaNurture]

I love the AO schedule! I would download it and just remove the lines for books we weren't reading. Then we just started with week 1, first book in the week, and looped through the book list for the week. When we finished the reading and they completed the narration/map/timeline, then I highlighted it was done. Sometimes we got ahead because there were less readings than days of the week, and sometimes we got behind because there were more than 5 books to read that week. And the poetry and literature we often included at other times of the day. It's so flexible that once you get past the "Whoa! There's no way!" that people usually get when first looking at AO, you can enjoy how free you are to manipulate the readings. I looked at AO several times and thought "Yeaaah, no way." Then one day it was exactly what I wanted. haha

[@KidsLearningforLife]

You’re preaching to the choir here! I thought there was no way it would work, but it honestly works better than anything else we have ever tried. The schedule is actually pretty reasonable, and if it is truly overwhelming, you can always omit certain readings or just take longer on them. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@Dreblueskies]

Would love it if you had a video to fully understand how you do that.

[@KidsLearningforLife]

I don’t actually manipulate the spreadsheet schedule, I just eyeball it. It’s probably not the most precise or efficient system!

[@meganthornton9409]

Hi Jenny, did you ever create a video for Ambleside beginners?? I’m feeling so very overwhelmed and need help!

[@KidsLearningforLife]

You’re not alone! It does feel pretty overwhelming at first, but it’s totally doable. If you’re starting with AO Year One, I did a breakdown of that year recently, and it’s linked here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mmeUoIxpg7lmi9U If I made a video about AO for Beginners, what would you like it cover? That’s an interesting idea.

[@meganthornton9409]

@@KidsLearningforLife I would love to see how you actually fill out the schedule for the week/month, how long on average each of the pieces of the day last, and how each piece looks in reality. In essence, how a “narration,” piece would look like, circle time or alone reading etc. It seems that there are so many pieces to the day I want to be sure I get a good look at the reality of how it looks! Thank you!

[@KidsLearningforLife]

I do have a video on my routine, and how I homeschool for an hour per day or less! Here’s the link. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaPPi36gicSWfrM I also did a video on how we encourage free reads :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/f53Em3WDrbaspLM As for the AO schedule, I follow the schedule pretty much exactly for now. I’ve gone through phases of not following it and just casually reading the books, but we get SO MUCH more from it when we follow the official AO schedule. The schedule is really well laid out on their website, and it’s really not as complicated as it may seem. Even with working full time with my day job and also working on this KZbin channel, I find it manageable (and super enjoyable). I hope this helps with some of your questions for now!

[@meganthornton9409]

@@KidsLearningforLife I’ve watched a few videos so I’m not sure which one I saw this on but I did see you had a local printing company print the Ambleside planner for you. Would you be able to send me a link for them? Hoping I could get them to ship!

[@KidsLearningforLife]

You can get it shipped to you easy! Humble Heart Press’s website is www.humbleheartpress.com :)

[@nataliecrowe2122]

If mine were only 1.5 yrs apart, I'd be putting them in the same year too. :) I think we all go through some sort of growing pains while using AO. I learned quickly to not add too many extras.

[@KidsLearningforLife]

Yes, we’re still learning what we can fit in and what we can’t. I didn’t get a chance to talk about it in the video, but one Y1 book I just haven’t had time to do yet is Parables of Nature. So maybe we’ll listen to it in audio form, maybe we’ll do it later, or maybe we won’t do it at all… and that’s ok! It’s a large feast!

[@nataliecrowe2122]

@@KidsLearningforLife there are definitely some beautiful stories in parables and then there are just some that are so so. I usually split up one of those stories over a few weeks.

[@KidsLearningforLife]

Yes, they are pretty long, which is why I’ve put it off! But I’ve really liked the ones I pre-read.

[@jennifer61122]

Have you seen the AO groups? They condense multiple years together by form. I’m thinking of doing the year 4-6 group for my year 4 and year 5 daughters next year.

[@KidsLearningforLife]

Yes I have! I think it’s a great option for combining kids’ lessons!

[@simplyraisingarrows7369]

Do you have recommendations for ambleside if a kid with special needs is in different grade levels for different subjects?

[@KidsLearningforLife]

Hi! I would recommend doing a deep dive on the books on the AO schedule for the years you are considering. AO is pretty literature heavy, so it might work best to just follow the grade level your child is on for language arts. But that’s just a suggestion. I think the best way to figure it out is to preview the content yourself first and determine which year would work best. I hope this helps!

[@MariaMaria-sr8zg]

I started using Ambleside when my oldest, who is now in 11th grade, was in 6th grade and my middle was in 1st. I was just wondering if you have ever come across printed books for a whole year of picture study?My youngest will be starting year 1 and when we did picture study before we printed the pictures. Recently misplaced the printings when moving and no longer have a color printer nor are we near a place that will copy for us. We have a lot of art books my older children use but I want some printings again to hang for my youngest. Thank you.

[@KidsLearningforLife]

Good question! Artist study is something I haven’t really delved into much yet, but I plan to. My idea would be to get them professionally printed. I am not aware of any existing picture study books, but you can check the AO Facebook group, or the AO forum for ideas. Let me know if you find anything!

[@MariaMaria-sr8zg]

@@KidsLearningforLife Thank you.I do know Simply Charlotte Mason has some picture study art prints but not for a whole year. They are in groups to work with their program I believe. I'm not sure . I was looking for a less expensive option that covered the whole year for AO. Their pictures also have a bio and other aspects I believe and I really just want the art prints. But that is a site you or someone else may be interested in for that if you want to check it out.

[@jcav7]

@@MariaMaria-sr8zg check out A Humble Place.

[@krystinm7]

Hi what’s the book app or audio book app you use? I couldn’t understand the word you said sorry!

[@KidsLearningforLife]

I use Libby and Hoopla through my local library. I also use LibriVox which is free, and not a library resource.

[@AnimateWithMyCats]

I didnt see the link for the video you made for CM resources

[@KidsLearningforLife]

Hmmm that’s weird, I don’t see the video right now that I mentioned. Let me do some digging and figure out where it disappeared to!

[@KidsLearningforLife]

Ok here it is! kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZaxn6awnZufodk

[@amandachavarria1391]

Can you please explain to me how artist study is supposed to work?? Like a real break down please t y!

[@KidsLearningforLife]

Hi! I’m genuinely not an expert at artist study, but from what I’ve heard is that artist study consists of the students observing a piece of art, and taking in enough detail that they could be able to reproduce it on their own. When we do artist study, we also talk about themes in the artwork, what the artist might be trying to say, why certain colors are used, etc. It’s all about observation! A Delectable Education podcast has some great episodes on this topic. I hope this helps!

[@hanalei412002]

What’s your thoughts on Kumon?

[@KidsLearningforLife]

I have a few Kumon workbooks but I’m not a huge fan of them for curriculum purposes. I like the less academic ones and the more creative ones.