We are one week away from the halfway mark of our first school year using Ambleside Online. It is easy to adapt for our family, wonderfully deep, and intellectually satisfying. Living books and narration are deceptively simple but effective educational tools.
One of the things I love about AO is the already laid-out plan for art and composer study for each term. I had neglected to start our composer/music study up again this term until yesterday. A quick look at the webpage and I had a YouTube video of Benjamin Brittens’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra to enjoy with the kids during Morning Time. 🙂
I don’t feel the need to follow AO to the letter, though. For instance, we are reading Trial and Triumph together once a week, instead of following the separate schedules for Years 2 and 4. And for folksongs, I’m simply listening to a different track from Wee Sing Fun ‘n’ Folk several times a week during Morning Time. The kids have really enjoyed it, especially Mr. E. It’s fun to hear him belting out “Cindy” or “A Frog Went A-Courtin'”. 😀
Speaking of Mr. E, he was very excited to receive his new Teaching Textbooks 3 workbook on Wednesday. He begged to be allowed to do a more lessons yesterday and today and wants to do math tomorrow! It may be partly the novelty of doing math on the computer, or having the same curriculum as his older siblings, but he also told me today that math is fun. Hoping the enthusiasm lasts!
Mr. D may often do his assigned reading “under protest”, but I can tell from his narrations that he is learning, making connections, and actually enjoying his books more than he lets on. He is doing Kidnapped as an audiobook (the narrator does a wonderful Scottish brogue), and last week he gave me an enthusiastic and vivid description of how David’s uncle tried to do him in.
Miss A has wanted for a while to learn to sing well. Our piano teacher also teaches voice, so she is finishing up her current piano books and transitioning to voice lessons – so far just warm-ups to find out her vocal range.
The Winnie-the-Pooh stories have been our Friday Morning Time read-aloud for the last few months, and greatly enjoyed by all four of us (sometimes the 3-year-old wanders in). Today, we read a passage that I knew had to go straight into my commonplace book (hope you can read it).
A.A. Milne gets me! I’ve had an idea for a blog post floating around for days now, but when I try to express it in writing, and think of others reading it, it doesn’t seem so good anymore. This happens when I try to articulate my thoughts and feelings in conversations, too. According to this website, we share the same personality type, INFP. It’s nice to find someone who understands you, even a long-dead author. :)
Nice week, love the quote. We aren't even halfway done with our first Ambleside term, but I concur.