Interview with my AmblesideOnline Graduate #2!

My second daughter, Amelia, talks about her 12 years with Ambleside Online, her plans for the future, and how AO prepared her for life.
For more consistent updates (*ahem, so sorry!*) check out my instagram page @ cairparavelacademy

[@jennys8561]

I love that you talk about the fact that your daughter is going into the computer science field after not using computers much in her childhood. We don’t use screens in our home, although I want my kids to be at least comfortable using technology in their adult lives. This is super reassuring and refreshing to hear!

[@cairparavelacademy]

Thanks! Yes, I think it's important for parents to know we are not stunting our kids by keeping them screen free as long as we can! So much emphasis is put on early tech but those early years are much better spent screen-free, imo :)

[@Hopelb]

This was lovely to watch and she is lovely! My nephew is in Alabama and is a Senior this school year. He also looked into Mississippi State! I find it fascinating that your daughter is going into a STEM field and dances professionally! Two things you don't often think "go together". Such a beautiful thing after laying the feast for so many years...so many connections!

[@cairparavelacademy]

Yes! She actually addressed this STEM/fine arts false dichotomy in her graduation speech (you can skip ahead on that video to get to it) :)

[@deborahlangton2759]

This brings me so much joy! Thank you for doing these videos with your girls! They are brilliant and im beyond impressed with their knowledge, abilities, and intellect! 🥰 We found AO late, we started with my oldest in Yr5 and are now on Yr7. Im just bringing my 2nd grader home from public school and he will begin AO in the fall. I was certainly nervous about the language arts/grammar/composition aspect but seeing how intelligent your girls are gives me so much confidence. In one of your videos you mentioned needing to supplement science in the Jr.High and Highschool years. I would love it if you would do a video on that.

[@cairparavelacademy]

You can certainly do lab science from home (there are lots of resources now) but we have a wonderful collaborative that allows me to pay a gifted science teacher to teach, serve as a mentor, and prepare all of the labs, so we have gone that route!

[@AnastasiaR]

This was so valuable and encouraging. You must be so proud of Amelia! She has such a bright future ahead of her. Those tips about the ACT and dual-enrollment in later years are so helpful. I've just discovered AO after homeschooling for a couple of years. This year I will transitioning my 3 elementary children into it. I'm so excited to start! I have been spending every spare moment on lesson plans.

[@cairparavelacademy]

I am excited for you! You have some great years ahead of you. AO has been so good for all of us!

[@brookelewis8958]

Thank you so much for sharing these! It’s so good to see children who are graduating using Ambleside online. I’ve been researching so much. Also cool that you’re in Alabama! So are we. ♥️

[@cairparavelacademy]

Hi! You're welcome! Alabama is a great place to homeschool :) Let me know if I can help with anything!

[@meganowens2039]

Thank you for sharing these interviews. My oldest is only in Y4, but I love hearing from your graduates. What lovely young women your daughters are!

[@cairparavelacademy]

Thank you! I hope it was encouraging to you!

[@gardenia77]

These videos are amazing. I would love a video focused on the college application process and what other things you feel helped your daughter's application . Thank you both for such a lovely video

[@cairparavelacademy]

Thank you! I have plans to do a "How to Homeschool High School" video!

[@eileenwu7608]

Thank you so much for sharing about your experience as a homeschool graduate. You are an amazing family! Thank you for your encouragement; I am so grateful.

[@cairparavelacademy]

Thank you! You are very kind. I'm so glad we could encourage you!

[@garlandofbooks4494]

Thank you so much to both of you, this is such valuable insight. I just ordered the book Amelia loved - I can’t help myself when people give a stand-out favorite like that! - especially when I know they have read so many great books 😉, plus that middle school to high school changing time is such a sensitive time in the growth of a person, it sounds like a valuable resource. I appreciated the details for the dual enrollment program, that is such a wise thing for a student to do to help with whatever your college or otherwise plans eventually become. I also loved hearing how you didn’t start getting into computers until 10th grade. People do seem to push tech so early, but it’s really not something that needs to be pushed like that! A time for everything, and everything in its time. Ecclesiastes 3: 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil-this is God's gift to man. Amelia, you are a beautiful and thoughtful young woman, and I wish you all the best!

[@cairparavelacademy]

Thanks so much! I'm glad you found it helpful - enjoy the book :)

[@rusticheritagecrochet]

I'd love it if you could share sometime more about scheduling and book choices in the upper years using AO. Thanks so much for sharing! Lovely video! :)

[@cairparavelacademy]

Thank you! That's a great idea :)

[@kmalexander26]

Thanks for sharing! These are so fun. I watched your interview with your older daughter a few months ago. My Y7 girl watched it with me and she enjoyed it too :)

[@cairparavelacademy]

You're welcome! I love to hear about parents watching with their kids. Hopefully you are both excited about the upper years!

[@dobrien7737]

Thank you thank you thank you for talking about how CM prepares you for college and entrance exams! This has been the unanswered question that has been weighing on my mind since I fell in love with the CM method. I would love to know if there is anything else a CM momma needs to know about preparing our children to compete for those college scholarships while using CM methods. God bless!!

[@cairparavelacademy]

Thank you! As far as competing for college scholarships, we found that the biggest scholarships are awarded by the colleges themselves, and those are primarily based on ACT/SAT scores, so it was important to allocate time in high school for test prep. I wish it wasn't that way, and I don't consider test prep necessarily "educational," but it's the way things are. Also, prepare your college-oriented child to be open-minded and choose a college that will allow her to graduate without debt. Some of these smaller public schools (and community colleges) offer wonderful educational opportunities and fabulous scholarships.

[@trishcarter4883]

A total joy! Thank you for sharing. This is very encouraging!

[@cairparavelacademy]

Thank you! I'm glad it was encouraging!

[@alyssariehl9378]

I loved both of your graduate videos! It helps a lot when deciding if AO would be a good option or not. I was wondering if you kept a record of anything for their homeschool? I am starting homeschooling in Alabama and wondering the best way to keep records while using AO. Thanks for the videos!

[@cairparavelacademy]

Hi Alyssa! As you may already know, Alabama doesn't require anything of homeschoolers, so your only records would be for yourself. Personally, until high school transcripts, I just kept the AO term schedules that we marked as we finished readings for my own mementoes. Let me know if you have any other questions! It is so easy to homeschool in Alabama :)

[@Hopelb]

Did you do any formal spelling curriculum with your girls?

[@cairparavelacademy]

We used Spelling Wisdom to guide copywork and dictation. Once they were writing narrations I made a list of the words they had trouble spelling and used those for studied dictation. We have not had to use a formal spelling curriculum.

[@jen1963]

What math curriculum or curricula did you use?

[@cairparavelacademy]

We use MathUSee until Algebra, when my girls go to a local collaborative for math and lab science. Some of their teachers there have chosen to use MathUSee for the upper years, too, while others have chosen other textbooks.

[@jen1963]

@@cairparavelacademy Thank you! I’ll check out that curriculum.

[@kaylanichols4412]

What did you use for act test prep?

[@cairparavelacademy]

We just bought the test prep books for practice. My older daughter used a local tutor, too. I think the main thing is being familiar with the test format and timing!