# Ambleside online



## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

I had REALLY thought I was decided about next year, but now I am SERIOUSLY considering Ambleside online. Anybody know anything about that? 

Cindyc.


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## foaly (Jan 14, 2008)

I have used some of the reading suggestions (history and literature) and checked out some library books suggested for science.

In the earlier years, AO suggests lots of fairy tales. This might work well for most kids. My DS9 has Asperger syndrome and one of the issues he has trouble with is very literal thinking. He cannot always reconcile fairy tales in his mind so we skipped it.

My boys are not really into reading so I use just parts of AO. What I have found has been terrific so far.

This is a positive post regarding AO. Sorry if it sounded otherwise.


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## Cara (May 9, 2002)

I found that many of the books listed were hard to find. My time is too full to be searching all over for out of print books. Other than that it looks very interesting.


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

Cara said:


> I found that many of the books listed were hard to find. My time is too full to be searching all over for out of print books. Other than that it looks very interesting.


Somebody else said the same thing. I don't really like the kids reading off of the computer either. Dh is a computer programmer and has some eye trouble which his eye doc thinks is b/c of his computer work. Of course, they wouldn't be at the computer 8 hrs or more a day for 10 years, so I am probably making too much of it! Still, you do make a good point. 

Cindyc.


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## heather (May 13, 2002)

I use parts of Ambleside & I've written about it in previous posts

If you like the approach, but aren't thrilled with Ambleside's selections, you could check out Simply Charlotte Mason
There are MANY other resources offered for this type of philosophy -
I can provide links if you'd like
Simply Charlotte Mason is the only other online program that offers a free schedule that I know of
But I belong to quite a few Yahoo groups, such as Charlotte Mason with a Twist, that are based on this philosophy but do not stick precisely to the method.
Everyone makes their own schedules & it's very helpful to see others' ideas & incorporate or not.
If you're interested, I can send or post some links


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## heather (May 13, 2002)

oh, btw, i never have them read off the computer -

If i like something that Ambleside recommends, I print it out

OR I find an alternative text


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## akhomesteader (Jan 5, 2006)

I thought I had everything planned for next year, too, but then (re)discovered Charlotte Mason and Ambleside. I'm planning to use Ambleside next year, but with a few changes. There are quite a few yahoo groups for AO. I just found the Ambleside with a Twist, which looks good. There is also one called Amble Ramble where you can discuss book substitutions. If you go to Yahoo groups and search for Ambleside, you'll find several. 

And, I LOVE the Simply Charlotte Mason site, too. She gives tons of information for how to use the Charlotte Mason method. It's well worth spending some time on that site. When I first looked into it, it seemed a bit overwhelming. I thought I'd be reading to my boys all day long. But now that I've learned more about it, I think we'll probably read about the same as we're doing now, only it will be more focused and better material. But your children are older, I think (mine are only 6, 4 and 4), so yours will do more on their own. 

Also, are you familiar with the sites that have free downloads of books like Gutenburg or the Baldwin Project? I think you can find most of them on the Ambleside site, and also Old Fashioned Education. I've read on an AO yahoo group that on the Baldwin site you can also purchase the books. They said the woman does a great job of printing them on good paper in large type that's easy to read, and binds them nicely. They don't cost much more to purchase from her than it would to print them yourself. We're thinking about getting a laser printer, though. 

Best wishes. I'm looking forward to using Ambleside. 

Jenny
Frontier Freedom


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## Sasha (May 22, 2006)

My kids did Ambleside year 1 last year. We went with a more Well-Trained Mind flavor after completing year 1. I just like TWTM better and I was a bit put off by some of the selections for year 2 once we started reading them (there's nothing _wrong_ with them but they are very Christian and we are atheists). 

I do think it's a great curriculum, it just wasn't a good fit for us.

There are a lot of Ambleside-related yahoo groups. You can get a lot of good info and ideas from them.


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## claytonpiano (Feb 3, 2005)

DGD is in her second year with Ambleside. She started with parts of year 3 as shown on the web site and then did most of what was listed for year 4. 

She loves to read and this has worked very well for her. We have had no trouble finding the books or printing them from the links at the Ambleside on-line web site. 

The wonderful thing has been how easy it was to use. She also uses the Rod and Staff language arts curriculum and Saxon math. It's a long story why my daughter picked that for DGD. Suffice it to say that she had a lot to work on as a result of the failure of the public school system where she lived in NC. 

I helped my daughter get everything typed into an Excel spread sheet for year five. That way DGD is pretty much on her own except for her telling her mom about what she has read. 

Apologia Science fits well here also.


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