What We Talk About When We Talk About Chili

by Anne White

In her 1995 book The Tightwad Gazette II, Amy Dacycyzn included an article called “The Chili Chart,” explaining it this way: “It's always interesting to examine how widely the costs can vary when you purchase or prepare a particular dish in different ways: in this case, chili.” Using a basic recipe (ground beef, beans, tomatoes, etc.) to define the proportions and ingredients of  “chili,” she used a graph to show that, even within that definition, the cost of a cupful of chili could vary wildly according to, say, whether one used dried vs. canned beans, or homegrown vs. store-bought peppers and tomatoes. And that  variation was only within the recipe as given: reducing the amount of ground beef, or replacing it with plant protein, or choosing a more luxurious meat option such as, say, ground-up steak, would have changed the price even more.

The cost of homeschooling is, similarly and exasperatingly, almost impossible to calculate, even limiting it to material costs (as opposed to lost earning opportunities for the teaching parent, or, on the other hand, money saved through not having to pay for packaged lunch food and fashionable shoes). Even for one year, for one child, using a definite curriculum such as AmblesideOnline, there are many variables. New or used? Print or e-book or audio? Owned or borrowed? Do you include your math curriculum, or outside classes like Latin or co-op drama? Do you count in a percentage of your electronic equipment? Board games? Craft supplies? Museum admissions? Gardening seeds? Biscuits for afternoon tea? Will you try to recoup some of your expenses by reselling books afterwards, or do you have other children who will take their turns with them? And don’t forget about professional development for the teacher, such as books and conferences; and memberships in various sorts of homeschooling associations.

We could create, as the government food experts do, “food basket” versions of a typical AO year. There would have to be some parameters, such as no substitutions, and exclusion of math curriculum, microscopes, and watercolour paints. We could, perhaps, create a Chili Chart of options from “luxury” to “economy.” Super deluxe: leatherbound first editions. Moderate: Some new books, largely paperback; some used, and some borrowed from the library. Super cheap: homemade printouts of online free books, in the smallest readable font. Super cheapest: somebody else’s homemade printouts passed on to you.

Part of the problem, though, with statistical “food baskets” is that they can be misinterpreted so that you think that’s exactly what you should be buying. This happened where I live early in 2020, when a news source published typical food items people should keep on hand in case they were unable to access supermarkets. Customers quickly emptied the shelves of spaghetti sauce and beans, because that's what was on the list. But it wasn’t meant to be a specific shopping list, more of a reminder that one should have some extra food—of whatever sort one normally eats—on hand. In the same way, the real-life version of homeschooling is that you might have multiple children sharing a resource, you might be doing science in a weekly group (and not need to buy any books), or you might have accidentally read or listened to one of the literature books before and have to substitute. You might be overseas, or travelling, and have to use as much free and online as possible. You might need to buy a full-on foreign language curriculum, or you might have your in-laws happily teaching it for free.

But is the point of a Charlotte Mason education to keep the cost as low as possible? On the “yes” side, Mason boasted that her methods were “economical,” as indeed they can be.  She was also interested in seeing her ideas applied in low-budget situations: with young working adults who had to buy their own books; in schools in mining areas; and with families overseas who likely would have had to keep shipping costs to a minimum even in those days.

On the other hand, she used the word “generous” to describe the ideal curriculum. She criticized those who did have sufficient financial resources, but who refused to buy the books that, she believed, would not only enrich an educational curriculum, but actually form its backbone. She made the point that, as we do not feed children’s bodies on “smoke and water feasts,” so we cannot feed their minds properly without acquiring nutritious mind-food. One imagines Mason, perhaps not settling for the cliché of “for the price of a cup of coffee,” but insisting nevertheless that the best books are not simply an expense, but an investment in children’s minds.

John Ruskin, in the preface to Of Kings’ Treasuries, had this to say about book-buying, and the example of ourselves as readers that we set for children:

… valuable books should, in a civilized country, be within the reach of every one, printed in excellent form, for a just price; but not in any vile, vulgar, or, by reason of smallness of type, physically injurious form, at a vile price.  For we none of us need many books, and those which we need ought to be clearly printed, on the best paper, and strongly bound.  And though we are, indeed, now, a wretched and poverty-struck nation, and hardly able to keep soul and body together, still, as no person in decent circumstances would put on his table confessedly bad wine, or bad meat, without being ashamed, so he need not have on his shelves ill-printed or loosely and wretchedly-stitched books; for though few can be rich, yet every man who honestly exerts himself may, I think, still provide, for himself and his family, good shoes, good gloves, strong harness for his cart or carriage horses, and stout leather binding for his books.  And I would urge upon every young man, as the beginning of his due and wise provision for his household, to obtain as soon as he can, by the severest economy, a restricted, serviceable, and steadily—however slowly—increasing, series of books for use through life; making his little library, of all the furniture in his room, the most studied and decorative piece; every volume having its assigned place, like a little statue in its niche, and one of the earliest and strictest lessons to the children of the house being how to turn the pages of their own literary possessions lightly and deliberately, with no chance of tearing or dog’s ears.

That is my notion of the founding of Kings’ Treasuries; and the first lecture is intended to show somewhat the use and preciousness of their treasures: but the two following ones have wider scope, being written in the hope of awakening the youth of England, so far as my poor words might have any power with them, to take some thought of the purposes of the life into which they are entering, and the nature of the world they have to conquer.

So take some thought, as you budget and plan, of the real purposes of your homeschooling. Treat your bookshelves, and their contents, as the most studied and decorative things in the room. Then enter in and conquer.

A New Opportunity

 In its nearly 20 years of existence, AmblesideOnline has never charged for its online curriculum or forum. Our entire offering has been and will always be free. 

We have been able to pay for our work through  Amazon's Affiliate program, but we now have an opportunity to provide an additional way to support AO. 

Living Book Press publishes a number of books that are in AmblesideOnline's curriculum. LBP has several titles for which they've sought and gained reprint rights, and some that have never before been transcribed and republished. This is already a wonderful contribution to the Charlotte Mason community in general, and the AmblesideOnline family in particular. 

One of our objectives at AmblesideOnline is that of using the best possible books that are also readily available. On our site, we include links to free online sources where they exist. We suggest that our families buy used books for their home or group's library, and we also link to inexpensive Kindle e-books. 

As we list books for each year, we have provided links to Amazon. When you purchase a book through that link, AO receives a small percentage, as an Amazon Affiliate. This has helped us sustain the work of AO over the years, a work which we offer completely for free. 

In the light of recent concerns and as assurance regarding those concerns, and also because we are grateful for the work of Living Book Press, we have entered into an additional affiliate program - this time with LBP. On our website, you will see this symbol:  £,  which is a direct link to purchase that title through LBP. When you buy the book that way, AO will also receive a small percentage to help us with the ongoing work of AmblesideOnline. 

We will continue to link to both Amazon and Living Book Press (where applicable), in order to provide our AmblesideOnline family with as many options as we can. 

CM is just a lot of reading....

by Wendi Capehart

Answer: Not quite.

People often ask for projects to do to supplement the reading in a Charlotte Mason education.  For the most part, this type of supplementation is not necessary.  If the students have spare time in the afternoons (or in some part of the day), they can use it to come up with their own projects.  You may need to remove the screens and let them be bored for a bit in order to give this process a bit of a nudge, but boredom is a great starter dough for creativity.

There are also plenty of non-book activities already built into Miss Mason's philosophy and practice of education. Some of the non-reading things in the curriculum include:

• Singing folksongs 
• Singing Hymns 
• Drill- some sort of physical activity, exercise, sport, physical game 
• Handicrafts- origami, cardboard sloyd, clay work, weaving, soap carving, basket making, cooking, baking, and so on. 
• Map work 
• Timeline, history book or century book work (you need not do all, but they are each slightly different) 
• Picture Study 
• Composer Study 
• Recitation is kind of in the middle, it involves some kind of reading, but the focus is on style and saying the words clearly and with a speaking voice it is a pleasure to listen to. 
• Narrations can be oral, written, acted, drawn set up as a scene using blocks, legos, tinker toys, toy soldiers, plastic farm animals, and more.  Here are some ideas.
•  Nature study, nature walks, and nature journals
• Occasional visits to museums and historical sites, with sketching (sketches here can go in their history books or timelines) 
• Foreign Language 
• Science experiments 
• Some of the map and geography work is more hands on 
• Mason also recommends some sort of service project the children can do 
• She also recommends learning to play an instrument. 

That's off the top of my head, and two or three times I thought I was done, and then I remembered something else. You don't have to do it all every day, or even every month.  I just wanted people to see how many non-book related activities are part of a CM education.

Some children appreciate a bit of input into the curriculum, which can help when you are worried about 'too much just reading', but don't overdo it.  They need to own their education, but they don't run it, they don't decide what topics are or not necessary.  But giving them some choices here and there can be a useful way to get them invested in what they are doing.   Decision fatigue is real, and it's harder for some kids than other, so again, use the following ideas with wise eyes on your children:
Sometimes after a reading ask if your child would rather narrate orally, or set up a scene from the story using his* legos.
 Pack a picnic lunch to take on a nature walk and ask if he'd* rather help learn to make deviled eggs or cut the cheese into squares and make toothpick shiskabobs of the cheese squares and sausage slices with pickles.
For foreign language study, ask him to choose ten nouns or verbs to learn together and then practice using them all week.
 For copywork, let him choose the sentence to copy form his reading. (this is the ideal)
If he is into artistic things, see about learning calligraphy.
When doing the folk songs and hymns, find two versions on youtube and ask which he prefers.

These things should be mixed up and sprinkled throughout your school day, because the schedule should be varied. Read something and narrate, then sing something, or do copywork, or go outside. Read something and narrate by drawing a picture, then read something and narrate with a diorama, then sing a song.  Mix things up so it's not all book reading in a row. 

*or her, hers, or she, of course.

A Charlotte Mason Teacher

By Karen Glass

Not long ago, a homeschool mom on our AmblesideOnline Facebook group (link is in the menu above) was struggling with all that a Charlotte Mason education entails. She is not alone in feeling a bit overwhelmed! This is part of her dilemma:

“"Now I've signed on to CM's philosophy of education. So this means I simultaneously believe ON TOP OF TEACHING ALL BASIC SUBJECTS I need to:
•Secure AT THE LEAST a half day a week in a rural setting, and even in this I’m failing my younger children who ought to have 4 hours a day or more.
•Sustain constant vigilance in habit training
•Feed my own knowledge of wildlife so I have something to pass down
•Feed my own intellectual life so I have something to offer my children as they grow
•Constantly be modeling good habits in everything
•Lead my children in daily devotions

While teaching my 6yo:
•A foreign language
•Art appreciation
•Watercoloring painting
•To play an instrument
•Music appreciation
•A purposeful handicraft
•Shakespeare
•Poetry
•Dendrology
•Folk songs
•Hymns

AND I'M PROBABLY LEAVING STUFF OFF!
This is on top of the basic responsibilities of caring for my 4 yo and infant son."

I couldn't put my finger on it at first, but then it hit me. There is a philosophical problem here, and I'm writing this is because I hope it will help bring things into focus for this mom and others like her. The problem (I think) is the word "teach." That implies a certain picture, in which you, the teacher, are imparting knowledge to your student, and that he is receiving it from you. That’s not the relationship between teacher and pupil in a Charlotte Mason paradigm.

Let me recast your question in a different context. Suppose you were feeling conflicted in a different area, and you felt like this:

“You mean in addition to providing seasonally appropriate clothing, shoes and outerwear for my six-year-old 365 days of the year and maintaining a safe shelter adequate to protect him and keep him warm, I also have to insure that he grows taller and heavier? That his hands and feet grow, and his bones? That his blood supply increases as he grows to meet his larger size? That his heart and lungs develop greater strength to support his larger body? How am I supposed to do all that for him, and my two younger children as well??”

Do you see the problem? You aren’t responsible for insuring that your child grows larger, let alone looking after specific details like making sure his blood supply increases. He will do those things for himself—all of them—under the right conditions, and the condition is that you provide him adequate and nourishing meals. And yes, several times per day, 365 days per year, and if you think of it all at once, it’s overwhelming. But you do it one day at time and one meal at a time. You consider what kind of food will make the most nutritious meals, and you will even take your child’s taste into account, but you’ll also make it a point to introduce him to a wide variety of things and give him a chance to learn to like all the best kinds of food. And it’s a big job—it takes time and money—but it’s done in small increments and one “off” day in appetite or indulging in extra junk food doesn’t ruin the long term effect. Your child is fed and grows physically, as he is made to do.

Now, that is the right picture for a Charlotte Mason paradigm. You aren’t going to “teach” your child all those things, any more than you are going to eat and digest your child’s meals. You are just going to put that food in front of him—you might insist that he eat, but hunger is on your side—and he does all the rest himself. You are going to spread a wide feast for your child—an intellectual banquet—and make him sit down to the table. His natural appetite for knowledge works in your favor, but you don’t force-feed him. He’ll take what he needs, intellectually, and he’ll grow—oh, how he’ll grow. Long before he is old enough to leave home, you will come face to face with a situation in which your child knows more than you do about something, and how did that happen? Because that’s how this works. You feed them; they do the growing themselves.

In that context, a Charlotte Mason education becomes no more complex than some basic meal planning. You aren’t making your child’s liver function properly—you’re just making him a sandwich. You aren’t “teaching art appreciation”—you’re just looking a painting. Or a tree. Or reading an interesting bit of history or singing a song or enjoying a great story.

Education is the science of relations is the principle that lies underneath what we do, and ties everything together. When you break it down into all its component parts—as you must do when  put it on paper with labels like “history” and “science” and “art”—it can feel a bit overwhelming,  just as it would if you had to break down all the necessary vitamins, minerals, phyto-nutrients, etc, that your child needs to grow properly. But what it still looks like, on a day to day basis, is breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and healthy snacks (most of the time). When we talk about the theory and philosophy of what we do—nutritional science or educational philosophy—it sounds more complicated than it actually is.

You can over-complicate anything. Suppose you approached the making of a single meal with the same analytical micro-focus. You have to make sure that you have 20 separate ingredients, as well as bowls, pans, knives, and other utensils. You have to wash and chop carrots AND onions AND celery. You have to peel eight potatoes and cut them into pieces. You have to measure five different seasonings; you have to keep the heat at the correct temperature, etc, etc, etc, and that’s just the soup course. In practice, it’s far less complex than it sounds on paper, and that’s true for education, too. When we talk about it and look at all the different bits individually it feels like a huge, overwhelming job, but when you get in there and start doing it, it all falls into place. You feel how forgiving some things can be. You have two carrots instead of four? It will be okay. Throw in some extra celery or onions, or half of a chopped bell pepper. Some things are less flexible. Don’t mess with the baking powder measurement if you’re making a cake, but experience will teach you (quickly) which things are flexible, and which things needs to be firmly adhered to.

This is firmly embedded in the principles. The twelfth principle is “Education is the science of relations.” That’s a little bit like “Hungry growing children need to be fed meals.” You absolutely can do this if you keep “education is the science of relations” firmly in mind and don’t let yourself get bogged down or overwhelmed by the details.

“Education is the Science of Relations”; that is, that a child has natural relations with a vast number of things and thoughts: so we train him upon physical exercises, nature lore, handicrafts, science and art, and upon many living books, for we know that our business is not to teach him all about anything, but to help him to make valid as many as may be of––
          “Those first-born affinities; That fit our new existence to existing things.” (Principle #12)

Did you catch that? Our business is not to teach him all about anything. That’s a principle (or part of one). Just fix the plate and set it in front of him. Encourage him to take a bite. Take a bite yourself and let your children know it’s delicious. Listen to music. Read a book. Talk to each other about it. Observe the ants on the sidewalk. Take delight in a sunset. You don’t really remind yourself every day that your children are hungry and need to be fed—that becomes a part of your life and you live it. If you can embed “education is the science of relations” that deeply and intuitively into your educational life, you will be a Charlotte Mason teacher.

Guest Post: Year 1 Review

We want to welcome back Diana, who has very graciously allowed us to host her review of Year one and how it worked for her. I was so excited to share her post that when I posted the year 3 review I forgot to mention two generic caveats:

1. This is how this year worked for Diana with her child. It's not to be considered a full endorsement by AO (neither is this very generic caveat to be seen as a disavowal of anything in particular). It's one example of how a family made AO their own. We hope it inspires you. It's not meant to be a recipe or a list of commands.

2. Any list of books in order from easiest to hardest is going to be just a bit subjective (Diana addresses this as well).  I recently read aloud a very easy picture book to a group of kindergartners- and I had to stop and explain things several times.  They all live on a tropical island.  Most have never lived in America (even the two or three with American parents).   While their English is excellent, among the class were children who had no idea what such things as a moose, a bonfire, autumn leaves, and jam were because they have never seen them or been exposed to them, or they use different terms.

So without further ado, here's Diana!

 Last month, I was able to write a guest post for Ambleside Online's official blog, Archipelago, detailing my family's journey through Year 3. Today I am writing a similar post about our experience with Year 1.

 This is my second time teaching Year 1, which was way more easy than the first time around since I, myself, have begun to wrap my mind around Charlotte Mason's philosophy. Of course, every home school is going to look different, even if we're using the same wonderful Ambleside Online curriculum. I definitely believe that our uniqueness (both strengths and weaknesses) as mothers and as a family at large are what makes each set of parents the best teacher of their own children. Just know going into this post that we are a very literate family. I mean, none of us have been awarded a Pulitzer or Nobel Prize, but both Dear Husband and I are working writers, and two (so far) of our three sons have been early readers. Maybe your family is more of a hands-on or science-y type. That is great! I hope that you are playing to your strengths and covering for your weaknesses just as we are striving to do.

 One more note about us. Our Year 1 student, L6, is ... well ... slightly different than most kids his age. First, we suspect that he may be on the autism spectrum. Although he gets along very well in this world, he has a few symptoms that have lead us to this theory. We have not pushed for a diagnosis in the past, but we may in the near future. 

Second, L6 is what some people call "gifted" but is better labeled "asynchronous." It's funny because you would think the higher the IQ the easier a child is to teach, but that's not always the case. Often an asynchronous child thinks differently or faster than their peers but still at an age appropriate maturity and emotional level; hence, the out-of-sync label. Basically, teaching an asynchronous child -- and "twice exceptional" if our suspicions of autism are correct -- can be very frustrating because you're not sure when to push for excellence or when to back off. Thankfully, AO's curriculum is a broad feast. It's absolutely perfect for an asynchronous child. Basically, if some of the stuff we do in Year 1 seems strange, it probably is just a little.

 Okay, so just like in my Year 3 review post, here is a list of the Year 1 books in order of hardest to easiest (in my humble opinion):

• Parables of Nature (AO’s paraphrased edition) by Margaret Gatty (Literature)
• Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula (History Tales / Biography)
• Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling (Literature)
• Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling (geography)
• The Burgess Bird Book by Thornton Burgess (Natural History / Science)
• The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (Literature)
• Viking Tales by Jennie Hall (History)
• Bible: New King James Version (Bible)
• Our/An Island Story by H.E. Marshall (History)
• *Shakespeare for Everyone: Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It (Literature)
• The American history books by Ingri D'Aulaire
• James Herriot's Treasury for Children (Natural History / Science)
• Oxford Book of Children's Verse by Iona and Peter Opie (Poetry)
• A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson (Poetry)
• Now We are Six by A.A. Milne (Poetry)
• Aesop's Fables (Literature)
• Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin (History)

*Our family does Shakespeare together in morning time. We have substituted Shakespeare for Everyone in place of Charles and Mary Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare – a personal preference.

  Specific Scheduled Book Advice This ranking is very subjective. At the Year 1 level, I am prone to label a book "more challenging" because its stories are longer -- even if you chop them up into different sittings -- rather than just by an elevated writing style. There are several books on this list that L6 could "read" as far as de-code the words, but he could not read these at length and comprehend, so these have all been read aloud to him.

 If this is your first time doing Year 1 with a student, all of these texts are probably new to you. L6 is my second student to complete (nearly!) Year 1, so these books are my old friends but somewhat new to him.
  An Island Story and Trial and Triumph are both books we will be using for the next two years. L6 listened in quite a bit with British history when his older brother passed through it, so he has taken to An Island Story very easily. He especially enjoyed the chapters around the King Arthur era since we have read several Margaret Hodges picture books of the same setting (Saint George and the Dragon, The Kitchen Knight, Merlin and the Making of the King). L6 is a HUGE fan of picture books. He's a lap sitter and a snuggler. Bedtime reading is a big deal to this kid.

  Trial and Triumph contains a lot of death and church history, both which can be confusing to a six year old, but I'm glad to introduce some church history to my kiddos. I've seen many AO users comment that their child is too sensitive for this book, but so far my boys have weathered it well. In fact, L6 was very excited to pick up on the use of "creeds" in the chapter on the Nicaea counsel because we memorized the Apostle's Creed as part of our morning time recitation work this year.

 Fifty Famous Stories Retold is probably the easiest book 

scheduled for Year 1. This one, along with Aesop's Fables, is not only great for teaching history and literature, but they are also excellent for teaching children to narrate. L6 is already a master narrator. I'm not sure if it's from watching his older brother or if it's because he's particularly good at holding thoughts in his head.

The stories in these two books are so short and so focused that narrating their central theme is fairly easy. If your kiddo is struggling with narration, these two texts are great starting points to work on that. We happen to already own a different version of Aesop's Fables than the suggested Milo Winter edition. Rather than bouncing around the book to follow the AO schedule exactly, we just read them in the order they are placed in our book. No big deal!

 (Wcapehart's note: HOORAY!!  This is exactly correct!  Sometimes, the very best book is the one you already have!)

We're still reading through Viking Tales by Jennie Hall, but it's a very lovely addition to An Island Story, Year 1's main history spine. I'm so glad the AO Advisory made sure our Year 1 students had a little bit of understanding of the Norwegian influences in European history. This book sort of lays the groundwork to understand The Little Duke in Year 2 since the main character's family in that book is descended from the vikings. L6 is in love with Scandinavia because he attended a vacation bible school program that was all about Norway. When we busted out the Viking Tales in Year 1/term 3, he was very excited! This is also a good time to add in the D'Aulaire book Leif the Lucky, if you happen to own it.


 Speaking of D'Aulaire, the three of those books scheduled are all very fun and beautifully illustrated stories of American history. I've sometimes seen other CM communities give AO some flack about focusing so much on British history in Year 1. To each her own, I guess, but let me just chime in from my experience. First, the D'Aulaire books do introduce American history in Year 1. And, second, having seen my 9 year old pass through Years 1 and 2, absorbing all of this British history, I can tell you that when we got to honest-to-goodness American history in Year 3, he had a very good understanding of how the first English settlements came to be. It was astounding. Hang in there in Years 1 and 2 with your British / European history. You are building a foundation that will really begin to shine in Year 3.

  Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling is really not that difficult of a book. It has some lingo in it that can be challenging, but all of the illustrations really help support the text. I rated it a bit challenging because it was L6's first foray into geography. L6 did some amazing map work (thanks to maps purchased from Beautiful Feet Books) to go along with the chapters. (This is geography. Do the map work!) I hear there's a short film about this book on available on YouTube, but we haven't watched it yet.


Holling's books transport you, as a reader, to another world. You really just have to jump in and be swept away. Yes, Year 1's main character is a wooden Indian in a canoe. Hold onto your hat, though, because in Year 2's Holling books the main characters are a tree and a bird carved from whale bone. Year 3? A hermit crab. Yep.

 As already noted, we traded Lamb’s Shakespeare for a line of books called Shakespeare for Everyone written by Jennifer Mulherin. I found the Georgian / Victorian language used in Lamb’s only confused Shakespeare’s Elizabethan era plays, so we opted for a modern retelling followed by film viewings.

 I know most people advise to "start with the comedies," but since my Year 3 student had just read about Henry V of England, we started our family-wide Shakespeare project with that play. Maybe it's just because we're a house full of mostly boys, but Henry V went over very, very well. In addition to the retelling, we studied the St. Crispin's Day speech ("We few, we happy few, we band of brothers ...") and watched the Kenneth Branagh film -- which my boys were happy to see included not only Gilderoy Lockhart, but also Professor Trelawney (Emma Thompson), Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), and Batman (Christian Bale).

 Because we do Shakespeare as a family, we had our own rotation going rather than juggling Year 1 and Year 3 assignments. Now I see that AO has moved to a Shakespeare rotation, we will probably try to jump on board (so long as we don’t repeat what we’ve done recently). 

Do not be intimidated by James Herriot's Treasury for Children. These are really just a bunch of picture books all in one binding. I don't know about your kids, but it really wasn't a stretch to read picture books about farm animals to my kids. Just enjoy these little gems, and feel free to read the entire book, even though not every chapter is scheduled. You may find that your Year 1 student wants to become a vet for a while after reading this book.


 The Scheduled Bible readings for Year 1 are basically just a list of popular tales from the Bible. My kids are all quite familiar with the New King James Version as that is what we read from at home all the time (and use for recitation). No matter the translation you prefer, don't go into Year 1 Bible worrying about whether you child understands absolutely everything. You don't have to turn this into Sunday School with a planned craft or song. Just take time to familiarize them with these iconic stories and get them used to reading from the Bible rather than a Bible-type book (even though there are some excellent Bible story books out there, too, like The Jesus Storybook Bible.) Make this time fun and relaxed, because the Bible is a book they will enjoy reading every single year with AO and, hopefully, daily throughout their lives.

 Speaking of enjoy, my kids and I have all enjoyed Parables of Nature. I know that sounds crazy because they are crazy-long. Sometimes I even find myself dreading to begin one of these, but I'm not sure why (other than length) because my kids always enjoy them. It's really the same with Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book. I think, perhaps, my kids appreciate parables and fairy tales more than I expect they will. Funny story: I took L6 (and his brothers) to see a live performance of Beauty and the Beast at our local community theater. After the show started, L6 (who was, of course, sitting on my lap) whispered to me that the show wasn't like the book. I told him it's supposed to be like the Disney movie ... and he had no idea what I was talking about! I completely forgot that he had never seen the film. He was primed to see a performance of the Blue Fairy Book story. That's a proud AO moment. ;-)

Oh, The Burgess Bird Book, how I dread you some days. It's not so much that the stories are a bit repetitive (describing birds can get old), but it's more that I know L6 wants to color a picture of each bird, and it's so difficult to find coloring sheets of birds that look like a Flycatcher or a Martin -- there are helpful mom-created web sites out there, though. I've also found several coloring images here. These resources just aren't comprehensive of the whole book. If someone systematically went through this book and created companion coloring pages, I would appreciate that! L6 wants to color each bird just right, and I hold my breath each time as his little perfectionist heart goes to work. I do appreciate this book, though, for getting us thinking about birds but still being a narrative form.

I'm glad we also have a field guide and online resources at our disposal to liven things up. We've looked up birds on YouTube and at the Audubon web site to see videos and hear bird calls. We also bird-watch at our feeder. We read a picture book called The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon this year. I thought that was a nice tie-in. Whatever you can do to blow the dust off Peter Rabbit, Jenny Wren, and all the endless parade of bird varieties the better. With my oldest son, I simply read the book, and he really didn't get much out of it. With L6 I've made these efforts to make it more of an interactive experience. Oh, and remember, you don't have to read the chapters in order (or even all of the chapters). Pick the chapters by the birds you want your child to learn.

I'm going to lump the poetry books together even thought they are each wonderful in their own way. It has amazed me with both of my Year 1 students how much kids love poetry if someone will just make time to read it to them. Kids are not nearly as afraid of rhyme and meter as we adults are. In fact, L6 and I recently read a free verse book called Love That Dog by Sharon Creech -- we loved it! It dealt with the death of a beloved pet dog, which is something our family just went through. Now We are Six by A.A. Milne is a particular favorite of my children's because it's so funny. All of the AO poetry options come in colorful illustrated editions, which is not always necessary, but is nice for a 6 or 7 year old.

I find Rudyard Kipling to be challenging. I want to like him, but I am just not there yet. Just So Stories scheduled in Years 1, 2, and 3 were hard for me. That said, I was able to punt those readings to Dear Husband for now. That sort of feels like cheating, but until I can love Kipling I wanted the kids to hear him read by someone who does. Another option is to get an audio book. It would probably help if I would spring for a picture book version, but right now we just have a cheap paperback. I need to get on board, though, because Kipling is sprinkled throughout the AO years. Thankfully, everyone in this house but me has loved Just So Stories.

Free Reads Free reads for Year 1 are mostly read-to-me type of selections. There are not many that L6 could and would read on his own and still comprehend. That said, he is a skilled reader and has read some on his own (those are in bold). This year we have read:

• Charlotte's Web
• Peter Pan
• The Red Fairy Book (some stories)
• St. George and the Dragon
• The Velveteen Rabbit
• Plenty of Fish
• Seeds and More Seeds
• Let's Get Turtles
• Frog and Toad books

We have read countless books at bedtime as well. As previously noted, L6 loves picture books, and he is usually able to read any picture book (to himself or to his little brother) off the shelf at the library. I could never list all of them, but we tend to follow the advice of booklists from sources like The Read Aloud Revival, Housefull of Bookworms, Honey for a Child's Heart, and others.

 Much to my chagrin, L6 has read all of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and every single Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants, etc.) book. Additionally, he has read some Roald Dahl books -- The BFG and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for sure -- and we have read several books together as a family, including The Hobbit, The Borrowers, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the Ramona series (Beverly Cleary).

  Various Daily Instruction

 We are a Math U See family. L6 is nearly finished with the Alpha book. He has taken to math very easily like his older brother. When the day comes that he is ready to run with math, I think he will be exceptionally good at it. Right now, though, he'd rather do his one page of math and then go ride his bike. I'm not going to argue with that at age 6.

 L6 has naturally good handwriting (much better than his older brother who struggles), so Copy Work is a breeze for him. We haven't really started Foreign Language with L6 just yet. I want him to go through Classical Academic Press' Song 
School Spanish curriculum with his friend, but that friend is not quite ready yet.

Since he is reading on his own, we are not taking time for daily Phonics or Reading Instruction, although I do love Starfall.com for those skills (in addition to actual books).

We do Recitation together in morning time, choosing to memorize favorite poems or Bible facts set to music.

 I am not great with Handicrafts. I hate that about myself, though, because I see others making things and wish I had that skill or drive. The boys are probably behind in this because Dear Husband and I are both inept, but we are trying. We do paint and draw a lot, and we do a lot of freewriting (ala Brave Writer). I've taught the boys a bit of handsewing.

  Weekly Instruction Subjects

 We very closely follow AO’s artist, composer, and folksong/hymn study rotations, utilizing morning time to do this as a family. Additionally, I have taken A9 and L6 to a couple local symphony performances for a little in-person music appreciation. A9 and L6 both take piano lessons from me at home, we hope someday that L6 might take violin lessons. With his hyper-focus abilities and dexterity, we think he might have a knack for it.

 We also learn about nature topics in morning time, according to my own reading of the Handbook of Nature Study, various picture books, and field guides. A9 and L6 both sketch in nature journals, and we belong to a weekly hiking group for kids (taking its cue from the Wild and Free movement). J4 and L6 both like to attend a monthly nature class at our local Conversation Department, and all three boys are involved in Cub Scouts.

 We also attend a local school co op one day a week, which gives the boys 4 hours of classroom experience each week. In order to fit this in, we stretch the 12 week AO terms into 15 week intervals.

  Sports and Recreation
 All three of our boys all take a weekly swim class designed for homeschoolers at a local indoor pool. L6 and his brothers are now playing Little League Baseball, and I think A9 and L6 might be interested in track next spring (2018). Our community also has a monthly "homeschool skate" at our local roller rink. We've only been once, but L6 loved it! He's turning out to be an individual sport type of guy (no surprise there!). Probably our best source of recreation, though, is living in a cul de sac where the boys ride their bikes and scooters up and down the street.

  An Introvert's Life Unlike my extremely extroverted oldest child, L6 is typically content to stay home and play in the backyard. He's probably more involved in activities than he would choose just because we travel as a pack, but it's probably good for him. We try to make concessions for both boys who are pulling in opposite directions. This is our Year 1. It's probably as different from yours as each child is uniquely made, but I hope this helps someone out there. Until next week (or so). I’m reading: Novel:

• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas (audio book)
• The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (Family read aloud)

Moderately challenging books:

• Personal Reflections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain
• Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (Reading along with CiRCE’s Close Reads podcast)
• Be Different: My Adventures with Asperger’s and My Advice for Fellow Aspergians, Misfits, Families, and Teachers by John Elder Robison

Stiff books:

• Mind to Mind: An Essay Towards a Philosophy of Education by Karen Glass
• For the Children’s Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay in conjunction with Brandy Vencel’s Start Here study (for my CM study group)

Diana Save Save

Guest Post: Year 3 Review

We are excited about this!! You are about to be blessed, especially if you are looking at year 3.

 We want to introduce the Nelson family today, who would like to share with you the details of how they implement AO Year 3 in their homeschool. The Nelson family has three children -- all boys -- and they've been homeschooling with AO for three years, using Years 1, 2, and 3. Diana Nelson blogs at http://takingjoyblog.wordpress.com/ You'll want to bookmark that and follow her blog.

 We are so thrilled to be able to share this post with you.  It is the first in a new series we hope will grow- guest posts by AO users on how AO works for them.   We are so thankful that Diana graciously shared this post with us to use on the blog, and thus with all of you.

We hope her generosity and spirit of sharing freely encourages and inspires others the same way she has blessed us.  So without anymore fanfare- here's Diana on year 3:

As my oldest is about to enter Year 4 (we'll probably start the first Monday in August), I find myself looking for advice from Year 4 veterans. And, since we are just finishing up Year 3, I thought I'd offer that type of advice to those about to begin Year 3. First, and this is in no way scientific, here is a list of Year 3 Books in order of hardest to easiest (those in bold above the line are books I might allow my son to read independently occasionally; those in bold below the line are books he actually did read independently by the end of the year):

• The Heroes by Charles Kingsley (Literature)
• Marco Polo’s Adventures in China by Milton Rugoff (Geography)
• Parables of Nature (AO’s paraphrased edition) by Margaret Gatty (Literature)
• This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall (History)
• Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula (History Tales / Biography)
• Bible: New King James Version (Bible)
• An / Our Island Story by H.E. Marshall (History)
• *Shakespeare for Everyone: Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It (Literature)
• Children of the New Forest by F. Marryat (Literature)
• The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (Literature)
• The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (Literature)
• Pagoo by Holling C. Holling (Natural History/Science)
• Secrets of the Woods by William J. Long (Natural History/Science)
• Leonardo Da Vinci by Emily Hahn (History Tales / Biography)

____________________________________________________

• American Tall Tales by Adrien Stoutenberg (Literature)
• Child's History of the World by Virgil Hillyer (History)
• Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daugherty (History Tales / Biography)
• **[all Year 3 poetry] William Blake, Sara Teasdale, Hilda Conkling, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Bard of Avon by Peter Vennema and Diane Stanley (History Tales / Biography)
• Good Queen Bess by Diane Stanley (History Tales / Biography)
• Science Lab in a Supermarket by Robert Friedhoffer (Natural History/Science)
• A Drop of Water by Walter Wick (Natural History/Science)

*Our family does Shakespeare together in morning time. We have substituted Shakespeare for Everyone in place of Charles and Mary Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare – a personal preference.

 **We do poetry in morning time or at "tea time," which is why he did not read independently.

  Specific Scheduled Book Advice Even though A9 can read several of the history / biography books on his own, I was hesitant to just hand it all over to him because we are still doing a mommy-and-me style timeline. A9 is probably an above average reader (he was an early reader), but he's still a reluctant one. He's the type to skim rather than read carefully, so we chose to read aloud more than was probably necessary.

 

An Island Story is an old friend. We've read it for the past three years, so that one is familiar and easy.

This Country of Ours starts out overlapping the timeline in An Island Story, so even though the chapters are longer, An Island Story has brought us up to this point.
Child's History of the World is another book that overlaps. It's by far the easiest reading level of the three main history books scheduled in Year 3.

 The historical biographies are all fairly easy reads. We did Leonardo Da Vinci as a read aloud just because in Term 1 our son was not quite mature enough to read independently AND give a good narration. (Plus, it's a little boring.) A lot of maturing happened this year! By the end of the year I was able to transition more and more over to A9.

 We started American Tall Tales as a read aloud, but he was able to read the second half independently with good oral narrations.

 The most challenging book in Year 3 is The Heroes by Charles Kingsley. Not only is it an elevated prose, but also my son was only slightly familiar with Greek gods and goddesses. A9 picked up Percy Jackson: The Lightening Thief at the library around the middle of Term 2 -- purely coincidentally -- and I think that helped him relate to The Heroes a little better.

 

Marco Polo's Adventures in China was the next most challenging. I know there are many options from which to choose for your Marco Polo book. We landed on Milton Rugoff's after I checked out a few options from our library (inter-library loan). I liked all of the photos, maps, and sidebar info in Rugoff's book. I have seen AO Advisory members comment about the many Marco Polo options, saying that all of them are great books, and the only reason there are so many options is so that there isn't a mad rush on just one version. All that to say, if you're planning Year 3, you'll be tempted to worry and fret over which Marco Polo book to choose. Relax and buy the most affordable and most available one on the AO list of options. And, remember the purpose of this text is to teach geography, so be sure to map out the Polos' travels. We also checked out a book from the library about what Mongolia is like today. I thought it a good idea that A9 understand that parts of Mongolia today are urban and industrial.

  Parables of Nature is another old friend. I would almost be tempted to let A9 read one of these stories independently, but frankly we just enjoy these together way too much. They are a time investment, but when we settle in to these stories we always have deep conversations.

 Even though Trial and Triumph is familiar from Years 1 and 2, I still read this one aloud just in case it raises any questions. There's a lot of death -- and church history (obviously) -- that I want to help A9 interpret. I've seen Catholic AO users say this book is very protestant, and I've seen protestant AO users say this book is very Catholic. I think the book does a fairly good job walking that line (we are protestant), and I can see why the AO Advisory has chosen it. Still, I find this book needs a chaperone.

 My kiddo is so familiar with the New King James Version of the Bible that I find that he gives excellent narrations. In fact, A9 asked to begin a written narration on New Testament reading assignments. Sometimes we also read the same selection out of The Message or the English Standard Version if the selection is particularly challenging (more typically in the Old Testament).

 As already noted, we traded Lamb's Shakespeare for a line of books called Shakespeare for Everyone. I found the Georgian / Victorian language used in Lamb's only confused Shakespeare's Elizabethan era plays, so we opted for a modern retelling followed by film viewings. Because we do Shakespeare as a family, we had our own rotation going rather than juggling Year 1 and Year 3 assignments. Now I see that AO has moved to a Shakespeare rotation, we will probably try to jump on board (so long as we don't repeat what we've done recently).

 I turned over three of the literature selections (by MacDonald, Marryat, and Kipling) for Dear Husband to read to A9 in the evenings. They were all tackled at bedtime with very little involvement from me.

They read Little Pilgrim's Progress by Helen Taylor last year in Year 2. DH says he thinks A9 could have read these independently, but we thought it best to have Daddy pronouncing the words properly and doing character voices.

  Pagoo and Secrets of the Woods for Natural History / Science were reserved as read alouds so we could reinforce the science involved. Rather than giving these over to A9, we checked out additional picture books from the library that involved sea life and woodland creatures to support the scheduled books.

 The other two Natural History / Science books (by Science Lab in a Supermarket and A Drop of Water) were both books I felt I could hand to A9 and he would run with it. We did the experiments together, but really he required hardly any guidance at all.

  Free Reads A9 would not read any of the free reads unless made to do so. He would be much more likely to choose a book from the library based on his own interests (and he frequently does), so we compromised. A9 has assigned free read time during which I set a timer for 20 minutes, and he reads a Year 3 free read of his choosing. So far, in Year 3 he has read:

• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
• Through the Looking Glass
• Swallows and Amazons
• King of the Wind

He has also read "on his own time" countless books in the fantasy genre, to which he seems naturally drawn. We've also completed several family read alouds this school year, including The Hobbit, The Borrowers, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, Love That Dog, and the Ramona series (Beverly Cleary).

Various Daily Instruction

 A9 is still loving Math U See for his main math curriculum. He finished the Delta book around Easter and has jumped right into Epsilon. I'm also trying to get him interested in Beast Academy math, which is more problem solving style questions. Math nerdiness run in our family, so A9 is a bit ahead in math. I know many kids his age in the Beta or Gamma Math U See books. I love that those books are not grade-specific so kiddos can be comfortable doing their best without undo pressure.

 In Term 3 of Year 3, A9 began learning typing / keyboarding online at www.typing.com, which is a free program that saves his progress. We are still plugging away at Copy Work, but this child is perpetually behind in that department. Even though his handwriting is atrocious, his spelling and grammar are naturally exceptional (I mean that in a good way). I expect dictation in Year 4 to be a breeze.

For foreign language, we went with Classical Academic Press's curriculum. A9 started out with Song School Spanish and has since moved on to Spanish for Children Book A. Next year we will add Visual Latin 1 and see how we do. I'd love for him to add in French someday, but recently he has shown interest in learning Japanese. We shall see what will be.

  Weekly Instruction Subjects We very closely follow AO's artist, composer, and folksong/hymn study rotations, utilizing morning time to do this as a family. Additionally, I have taken A9 and L6 to a couple local symphony performances for a little in-person music appreciation. A9 and L6 both take piano lessons from me at home, and A9 took a guitar class and belongs to a community boys choir, which performs many folk songs and spirituals.

 We also learn about nature topics in morning time, according to my own reading of the Handbook of Nature Study by by Anna Botsford Comstock, various picture books, and field guides. A9 and L6 both sketch in nature journals, and we belong to a weekly hiking group for kids (taking its cue from the Wild and Free movement). Oh, and all three boys are involved in Cub Scouts. We also attend a local school co op one day a week, which gives the boys 4 hours of classroom experience each week. In order to fit this in, we stretch the 12 week AO terms into 15 week intervals.

  Sports and Recreation
 The boys all take a swim class designed for homeschoolers at a local indoor pool. During the winter, A9 played Upward Basketball and participated in an archery for kids program. All three boys are now playing Little League Baseball, and I think A9 and L6 might be interested in track next spring (2018). Probably our best source of recreation, though, is living in a cul de sac where the boys ride their bikes and scooters up and down the street.
  Whew! Man, that sounds like a lot, but remember we're not doing all of it every day. Also, A9 is an extreme extrovert. L6 is much more introverted, so I'm hoping he's going to take it easy on me. J4 seems to be somewhere in the middle. I hope this record of how our Year 3 played out helps someone out there.

 Until next week (or so).

 I'm reading:

• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas (audio book)
• The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (Family read aloud)

Moderately challenging books:

• Personal Reflections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain
• Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (Reading along with CiRCE’s Close Reads podcast)
• Be Different: My Adventures with Asperger's and My Advice for Fellow Aspergians, Misfits, Families, and Teachers by John Elder Robison

Stiff books:

• Mind to Mind: An Essay Towards a Philosophy of Education by Karen Glass
• For the Children’s Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay in conjunction with Brandy Vencel’s Start Here study (for my CM study group)

Diana Save Save

How to use the website and booklists

We're revamping our website and planning some changes, but they aren't done yet, and people are working on their school year now.
They visit us at amblesideonline.org, and are often overwhelmed by the information (honestly, sometimes we are, too!).

Who is this tutorial for? If you shut the website down in a panic one second after opening it, this might be for you.  If you find yourself feeling a little dizzy while you look at it, numbly asking yourself, "What do I do? Where do I start? This is all so confusing!"-  I hope this post will help with that.  It's intended for raw beginners, so I explain things that may seem obvious to old-timers, and don't explain some other things that I think can wait until newcomers get their feet wet a bit.

CM Philosophy in a sentence: It's better to know something of Miss Mason's philosophy, but what if you are pressed for time and urgently need to begin now?
Know this:

 Children are born persons. Much and varied humane reading, as well as human thought expressed in the forms of art, is, not a luxury, a tit-bit, to be given to children now and then, but their very bread of life, which they must have in abundant portions and at regular periods. This and more is implied in the phrase, "The mind feeds on ideas and therefore children should have a generous curriculum." 

This is a generous curriculum, based on Charlotte Mason’s ideas.  For help understanding how to implement the things on our website, feel free to ask questions on our forum.

Breaking it down into bitesized pieces of years, terms, and weeks:  We offer a 12 year curriculum list, although the years do not necessarily correspond to grades. We have had at least one student complete our program only through year 8 and still go to college on SAT scholarship. More commonly students have finished at one of the years from 9 to 11 and still been able to manage college.

 Each year is divided into 3 terms, 12 weeks each. We expect students to take 12 weeks to complete the readings assigned for each term. There is no benefit to completing them faster, and tearing through the school readings as though you’re driving on the autobahn is the antithesis of a CM education (by this, we mean, it’s not good. Don’t).

 There is a 13th week for exams. Don’t worry about exams yet. We do not recommend teaching to the test anyway, and we also offer exam helps on the website and forum, so we’ll be there when you get to exam week and need us.

 What year do you need? I don't know.  I always let somebody else answer this question.  Ahem.  Think about your child’s reading level, habits, and experiences. If you are taking a child out of public school, you might choose the year that matches the grade he just finished. If you have a five year old, you probably want year 0. If you have a six or seven year old and are just beginning your CM journey, you probably want year one.  But since this is also a question that often comes up on the forums and you can find more specific help by asking about placement there- people with children the same ages as yours can share what they’ve been doing, I'm not going to spend more time on this question here.

 Are you crazy?  These books are too hard!  The reading will appear quite difficult at first if you are not used to AO or Charlotte Mason’s approach. If you find that a year is too hard or too easy for your child, you can switch after you start- that’s the wonderful thing about a free curriculum. (Even if you find you bought books that you don’t need after all, you should be able to resell them in the buy/sell area of our forum).  But give it a chance. Respect the minds of your children (and your own mind as well!).  I bet all of you can do more than you think you can.

 Walking step by step through one curriculum year on the website: But you don’t have to have a year chosen to go through this outline of website helps.  Let's just pick any year- there will be some differences from year to year, but the general outline is mostly the same, so for now, go to our curriculum pages and click on AmblesideOnline Curriculum (click any pictures to enlarge):






 and look for the years in the left sidebar: http://amblesideonline.org/curriculum.shtml

Let’s pick year 4 as an example. Click on a year, and you'll see something similar to this (click to enlarge):

1. Every year has a quote at the top of the page, one we chose from Miss Mason’s writings which we thought was a good fit for that year.

 2. Next you’ll find a paragraph with short overview (not intended to be complete, just to give you a sense of direction for the year).

3. The most confusing part is perhaps a choice you'll need to make, so let's ignore that for a moment and come back to it.

4. There is also a grid which gives a picture view of the year. It’s basically just a visual overview of what you read in the paragraph of description.  Like that paragraph description, it's not intended to be a thorough picture.  We wanted to give you just enough information to give you a sense of direction for the year.

We offer both, because some people would prefer to read text, some want a look at a glance. Some find both distracting (see me, sheepishly raising my hand), and just want to get on with it, so let’s look at your choices.

We'll come back to the 36 week schedule later.  But DO Note: this is merely an overview.  It's not exhaustive, it's not a replacement for the actual booklist.  We also have a gridded schedule available with the schedules, and it is not enough to print that out alone.  YOU NEED TO CLICK THROUGH and LOOK AT THE BOOKLIST.  In fact, I find myself referring back to the booklist frequently.

basic vs detailed: We offer two options called basic, and detailed. The main difference is that in the detailed version we sometimes offer alternatives- more choices to make! There might be more than one biography to choose from for instance, or two or three options for church history, or several options to choose from for geography.

 In the basic version, we simplified things for you by removing all options.  We just give a straight list with no substitutions or varied selections (again, this was just to simplify things- you are always free to make substitutions, of course). You would choose the basic if you don’t want to make choices, if you are in a hurry, if you feel you are not really familiar enough with Miss Mason and her principles to make informed choices, if you live somewhere and some way that your options and time to process this information are limited anyway.

 Some years, especially the younger years, there are almost no differences because we didn’t offer that many options anyway- there weren’t many good ones, or it was obvious that the best of the best was simply the only option (Island Story for year 1 history, for instance).

The Booklist:  So pick one, detailed list with several options and choices to make for many of the books, or the basic ‘this is what you do, no alternative choices listed’ and click through:

Time Period: Every year except year 12 covers a specific period of history (with occasional side-trips, romps through events or biographies in other areas to keep things interesting, or because a theme matches even if the year does not). We list the main era covered at the top of the page for that year.

Asterisks = terms:  Every year is divided into 3 terms, and we break it down further and tell you what period of time each term will cover as well.  If you scroll down through the booklist you'll see asterisks in front of titles.  We denote the terms through the simple method of asterisks. One asterisk, *, means that item will be used in term one, two- **- means term two, and so forth.

Table of contents for each year: Before you get to the actual curriculum, we have a short table of contents for each curriculum year page. You can think of it as another brief overview.

 If this is your first time, you can skip that. All the material is on this page, and you can scroll down to look at it. This linkable, clickable toc will be immensely helpful to you later, when you want to look back at a particular subject for a given year to check your progress, or make sure you got the title correct, or see if you scheduled it properly- instead of skimming through the whole page, you can quickly skim a list of a dozen or so words, find the subject and click on it. For now, don’t bother with it.

Cunningly devised key to (mostly) free stuff: Next is a key, a table of symbols which will at first look confusing and overwhelming, but don’t skip it.

 This will help you find the books you want for the best price (or free!).
When we give the title to a book, we also share where you can find it. Whenever possible, we share free sources, because that is part of our mission- making this as cost friendly as possible, and something missionary families with weight limits overseas can use, as well as families who have just been through a devastating flood, a job loss, or some other life drama. If we were to list out all the sources for each book, it would make the pages longer, more visually overwhelming, and printing them out would be a real bear. So instead, we have a cunningly devised list of symbols (See above.  Isn't it cunning?)

 Our actual book titles in the curriculum lists are always hyperlinked to Project Gutenberg (our first choice) or other FREE online text if no Project Gutenberg text is available- provided a free online version is available. If we don’t know of a free online source, the book title will not be hyperlinked. When we find a new source of free online titles, we add it.

 So take a moment to look over that key and get an idea of what it means. For example, when you see a title followed by the symbol β , that is a clickable hyperlink to manybooks.net, another free ebook site. Whenever you see a ‘Δ’ following a title, that is a clickable hyperlink which will take you directly to a free etext version of that title at archive.org. When you see this symbol, ☊, (doesn’t it look like little headphones?), that takes you to a free audiobook at Lit2Go, and so forth.

 About our Amazon links: When you see a capital K following a booktitle, that is a clickable hyperlink which will take you to a free Kindle text from amazon.com. ($) will take you to a hard-copy book purchase from amazon.com, and the K in parentheses (K), is *not* free- it is a clickable link which will take you to (K) a Kindle purchase from amazon.com. For about the last three years, the Amazon links have been affiliate links, and this is how we cover expenses such as the website, research materials, and related costs. I say they are affiliate links, but of course, Amazon does not pay us for free books. That’s not a criticism, just a clarification. We do get an affiliate percentage if you click through to Amazon through one of our links and then also buy something else there on that visit. We appreciate it, but do not require it- we are a ministry first, and not a business at all, or we’d have more than Amazon links, and we’d have had them for far more than the 3 of our 17 years or so of existence.

 This is for Amazon.com, not Amazon.CA or Amazon.UK. We don’t have affiliate status there.   If you want an easier- just-fill-your -shopping-cart without worrying about finding the cheapest version option, we also have an amazon A-store- it's here on our blog, over on the right side.  You know best what best meets your needs.

 So the key tells you some of the places we know of where you can find free versions of the books, and it links to Amazon, and sometimes Christian Book Distributors.  This key, confusing as it may appear upon first light perusal, is your friend, and it will help save you boatloads of money.

Daily and weekly subjects:  Next on the page is a list of subjects under daily and weekly.  At the moment, it looks like this, although we are in the process of streamlining it and making some things more clear:

  The reason for this list is that there are some necessary subjects in a CM education that do not rely on a specific title in our book list, but are still an integral part of a CM education.

 For year 4, we have these things- and if you don't know what any of them mean,   you can search the website (go to our ‘articles’ section), search Miss Mason’s volumes, or ask at the forum:

 Daily:
Penmanship or Copywork (also called transcription in Miss Mason’s books)- there is a right way to do this and a wrong way.

 Math- you choose your own curriculum, but we do offer suggestions on the website.
Foreign language- your choice, but we do offer suggestions on the website.
Latin (I consider this optional, but you should know Charlotte Mason didn't and neither does Auxiliary member Brandy, and both of them are smarter than I)
Musical Instrument Practice- your choice.

Recitation (or memorization) practice should be here, and will be soon. Its absence in year 4 is really just an oversight. It is included in the other years.

Weekly:
Art Appreciation (this is picture study)
Art- this refers to skills such as painting and drawing.  You don't want to omit it even if you think nobody in your family can draw.
Grammar (there's a hint or two as well on what to do for grammar in those years where grammar is taught as a separate topic)
Correspond history readings with a timeline or century book [tl] and map- there are different ways to do this, most families I think just do this one day a week for a few minutes, others may do it every time they read.

Handicrafts-this is meaningful craft work such as sewing, weaving, carving, leatherwork, crochet, carpentry, and so forth. If I can, I prefer implementing this several times a week.
 Music Appreciation, including folksongs and hymns- in my family, singing was a daily activity, not weekly.
Nature Study 
One Life from Plutarch per term (we help you schedule these out over the term)
A Shakespeare play each term (same as above)

You can learn more about these later- right now, just note that you will need to include them in your schedule, although Plutarch and Shakespeare are scheduled for you if you wish to use our optional 36 week schedule.

Finally- the BOOKS!:
 Now we come to the topics where specific books are required. This is what year four has first:

"Bible: This site has many versions. [1]"

 We have here a link to versions of online Bibles, and a footnote to our site.

Important note about our footnotes:  We used footnotes to make the booklists easier to print and less visually cluttered, but some people are used to skipping footnotes.  This is not a good idea for our website.  They really are not the sort of footnotes that you should skip as though they were just extra, unnecessary information only of interest to geeks and nerds (and we love geeks and nerds). Our footnotes are really expansion, additional information you probably need.
For instance, this footnote takes you to this text:

” It is preferable for a child to become accustomed to the language and flow of the King James Version of the Bible, as a familiarity with King James English will make other literature more accessible. Please read Lynn Bruce's article on the King James Version by clicking here. The weekly schedule lists readings taken from J. Paterson Smyth's commentaries, with Old Testament readings focusing on Joshua and the Judges, and New Testament in Mark and the beginning of Acts. (see AO's Bible plan) Charlotte Mason taught both with commentaries, reading the Bible passage first, then narration, then reading the commentary, but Smyth's commentaries may reflect the doctrine of his era and denomination; they are not necessary to follow the Bible schedule. Optional Bible Resources: Timeline; Study questions with maps.” 

You see, if you skip the footnote, you’ve missed what version we officially recommend and why, you’ve missed that we do offer a scheduled reading plan, and you’ve missed the additional optional mapwork for Bible. Our footnotes are important.

Next in year 4 we have:
History: 1700's up to the French and American Revolutions

This Country of Ours, by H.E. Marshall β Δ ($ K) Ω [2]
** *** George Washington's World, by Genevieve Foster ($) [5]

This is from the ‘basic’ version. Had we chosen the detailed version, it would have looked like this:
 This Country of Ours, by H.E. Marshall β Δ ($ K) Ω [2]
** *** George Washington's World, by Genevieve Foster ($) [5] OR The Story of Mankind, by Hendrick Van Loon ($ K) β Δ Ω [3]

Optional: A Child's History of the World, by Virgil Hillyer; An Island Story, by H. E. Marshall β Δ Ω [4]

And then:
History Tales and/or Biography
* Poor Richard, by James Daugherty ($) [6a]
** *** Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution, by Natalie S. Bober ($ K) [7]
Optional:: Trial and Triumph, by Richard Hannula ($ K) [6]

Remember the asterisks denote terms- so Poor Richard is for term one. It is not in the public domain, so the title is not hyperlinked. When you have to buy a text, we only list two places- Amazon or the Christian Books Catalog. We use those because they are readily accessible to all, and we have affiliate links there, but you are free of course to buy a copy anywhere you like, or to check it out from the library or borrow it from a friend. The footnote to this book answers a common question we get about it- the way it ends makes some readers think their book is missing a page. We used the footnotes to  explain why it isn’t missing a page.

Abigail Adams is a book we use in two terms, the second and third (see the asterisks). It’s available for purchase from Amazon in Kindle or hardcopy ($ K). In this case (and for the next book), the footnote explains some caveats or concerns some parents might have, and directs readers to a helpful discussion of those caveats in the forum.

 Whenever the footnote is red, that takes you to an explanation of something we believe some parents would want a heads up about so they can discuss it, or even omit it, as they choose.  We are not your Holy Spirit, and we can't, of course, foresee everything parents will find objectionable.  We also don't see that such warnings are as important as the students get into the upper years.  It's meant as an aid, not a substitute for the parent.

So you finally have all your books.  What are you supposed to do with these books?   How do you use them?

Prepare the Lesson when you can.  See this Parents' Review for some ideas.  Always be sure to link what they are about to read with what they already read- this can be as simple as saying "Where were we?" and letting the child tell you, or reading the last paragraph of the previous reading. Preparation shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

Start Reading. Have your child read them if possible, and you read aloud if the child can't read them yet.  You do this in small increments over time- the more you quit while the child is hungering to finish the story, the more time he will spend thinking about it, dwelling on it, reviewing it, analysing it- without any extra effort on your part, and that's performing his own review and evaluation and assessment!  It's fantastic when this happens, and we don't want to stymie the process by reading larger chunks of material just because the child begs us to keep reading.  I know it's hard.  Be strong.

Immediately after the reading, the child narrates.  That's basically it, although there are many expanded tips and suggestions for parents in the forum and on the website.  None of them will involve creating cut and paste projects, turning the reading into a math problem, making a six foot model of a drawbridge from a mattress box, or studying goat husbandry just because you read Robinson Crusoe.  Charlotte Mason is not a unit study curriculum, and for good reason.

 Now, you can schedule out the readings yourself (divide the number of pages by 12, that's about how much to read in a week, then sort it out by day as best it works for you), or take advantage of our 36 week schedules diligently created by the rock of AO, Leslie Noelani Laurio (Jesus is The ROCK of AO, Leslie is the lower-case-r-rock), it’s up to you.  You will have the best results by using the curriculum as intended, and that means however you choose to schedule them, you schedule the books out so the children are not reading huge chunks of text at one time. Spread the readings out.

 The children should narrate after every reading. If that is sometimes not possible, they should at the very least never know that they will not be narrating until after the reading. The narration is where the children process the material they’ve read, think about it, sift it, analyze it, organize it. It’s not really a negotiable part of a CM education. One of Miss Mason’s students actually explained it by saying “We narrate, and then we know.” They will not truly know the material they do not narrate.  They will also retain far more material and think of it more carefully through narrating than through any other 'project.'  There are ways to vary the narrations and use some creativity with them, even make them hands on.  It’s enough to know at the beginning that narration is basically telling back, but you should take further time to read about it as you are able. You might start here. http://archipelago7.blogspot.com/2015/03/narration-helps.html

Some other odds and ends: 
Copywork, once the child has mastered handwriting or letter formation, is taken from the books he's reading (not his own writings), and is an integral part of the language arts curriculum.

nature study: This is science.  It's about the child observing and drawing conclusions for himself, from real life.  It's foundational for future science. It will help children develop their attention skills, and it will help them appreciate the world their Creator made, and thus, the Creator as well.

Drawing- this, too, will help children learn to observe and really *see*, even if they don't seem to be actually drawing well.  It will also be useful for science later.

For more about the folk songs, picture study, poetry, composer study, hymns, and so forth, look at the left side bar and click on those topics.

Additional helps: You will find much more specific help and can get answers to additional questions in our forums.  We know that many people are intimidated by the forum, so Auxiliary member Naomi has made a couple videos to walk you through it:
the direct links are
http://youtu.be/KKAxd6ekloE
and
http://youtu.be/7gm5fVg9M-0

I hope this helps.  Should you have any other questions, or other areas of the website you'd like explained, feel free to ask here or on the forum.  We wish you the very best for your upcoming school year!

P.S. You might find the masterbooklist helpful: On the main curriculum page, scroll down to the bottom, or visit here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nPPei_V-x1tKURTQ6InmFSmFXuRNH3t91B_1ZYtlPgE/edit#gid=1434456495
There is a a separate tab with all the extra, optional Geography selections for high school. (special thanks to Kathy Livingston)

Be sure to read the notes on each book on the AO Geography page (http://amblesideonline.org/GeographyOptions.shtml) since many of the books need parental previewing.