Curriculum
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Ambleside Online - Year 1 BooklistPlease be advised that these booklists and curriculum suggestions are incomplete without a thorough understanding of Charlotte Mason's ideas and methods. We cannot emphasize enough that you take time to familiarize yourself with her philosophy by reading her books. If you're planning to use Ambleside Online, your first stop should be the the FAQ for some information about the curriculum and basic instructions. It is not advisable to attempt this curriculum without first reading the FAQ. Homeschoolers hoping to raise their children to be readers, as Charlotte Mason urged, owe it to themselves to take the first step in reading by looking over the instructions for the curriculum they plan to use. The FAQ has all the questions that people routinely ask, with detailed answers and explanations collected from two years of responses to user questions. Asterisks refer to which term the book is used. We have left the history schedule light to enable parents to add supplemental books and biographies as they have access to them and their children have an interest in a specific event from the history texts. Formatted etexts for year 1 can be accessed by joining the etext email list In order to complete the curriculum additional instruction should be provided in the following areas. Daily Instruction or Practice:Penmanship or Copywork (AO's Language Arts Scope and Sequence for this level is here.) Weekly Instruction or Practice:Art BibleThis site has many versions; it is preferable for a child to become accustomed to the language and flow of the KJV, as a familiarity with King James English will make other literature more accessible. Please read Lynn Bruce's article on the King James Version. Penny Gardner has a list of Old and New Testament stories to read straight from the Bible that may be useful for Bible time. | Bible timeline | Coloring Sheets from Calvary Chapel | Study questions with nice maps | HistoryTrial and Triumph (Church history from a definite Protestant perspective) by Richard Hannula (selected chapters) Read a sample excerpt or purchase the book. Descriptions of some trials of the Christians may be intense; parents should preview chapters to determine suitablity based on their children's sensitivities. If you prefer, you can cover church history in Years 7-9 with a different book, Saints and Heroes. American History Biography* Benjamin Franklin by Ingri D'Aulaire GeographyPaddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling (read online here) After reading the book, you can watch a three-part docu-drama of the book on YouTube: part 1 2 3 Natural History/ScienceHandbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, as scheduled in Nature Study (a 1911 version is online in various formats here) PhonicsThese are programs the advisory has used and can recommend (not an exhaustive list): MathematicsChoose one; these are just a few suggestions; more help here. Foreign LanguageLyric Language, Phrase-A-Day, Triple Play, Triple Play Plus, Springboard to French/Spanish are some programs we can recommend Poetry* A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson (if purchasing, see note below) LiteratureThe Aesop for Children by Milo Winter (also online here )
Charlotte Mason created a "List of Attainments;" what a child should be able to do by age 6, and by age 12. It might be helpful to take a look at this list since many Year 1 students are age 6. For those on a strict budget, recommended purchases are: Year 1: Other books can be read online or borrowed from the library. Fifty Famous Stories Retold--The selected Tales are historically vital for cultural literacy. No child should grow up without knowing the story of William Tell or Horatio at the Bridge. These tales not only have deep value as stories of courage, bravery, and wit, but they will also show up in many other readings (and in media sources as well) for the rest of your child's life. There will be newspaper articles that allude to the Sword of Damocles, such as this one, for just one example. If you do not know the stories, you miss those references and so some nuances are lost. Your child's life will be the richer for knowing these stories. Lisa Dal Santo has created a complete list that dates, summarizes and arranges all of the chapters in book order and chronological order. From the Blue Fairy Book, the following chapters are scheduled: If your children are sensitive to tragic stories, (and every family's needs will be different because children are unique and have varying levels of tolerance) you may prefer these less violent suggestions. However, you may want to first read Donna-Jean's comments before assuming that such tales are bad for children. Term 1 (32 pages total) Parents May Wish to Make Some Omissions in Peter Pan This book is very British and, on a few ocassions, Tinker Bell uses the word for a donkey in name-calling. Her character is not admirable, and in chapter 6, fairies are said to be coming home from a wild partying revelry, but the word that is used sounds odd to us because it has changed meaning since the book was written. There is also a casual attitude about violence, although there is nothing realistically explicit. Over all, the book is fun and JM Barrie has a fun sense of humor and a charming writing style that is delightful to read. If you read the book aloud, ommissions can be made. Peter Pan was originally as a play called The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up. Then a novel followed, a prequel to tell how Peter ran away from his mother and went to live with the fairies when he was seven days old. That book is called Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. And last, the play was re-written as a novel called Peter Pan and Wendy. Last update Mar. 16, 2007  |
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What about A Child's Garden of Verses illustrated by Thomas Kinkade? There are some wonderfully illustrated versions of children's poems out there to choose from. Children enjoy seeing pictures of children like themselves. While Thomas Kinkade's paintings enjoy popularity with many people, they aren't really geared for children; they're charming, idyllic scenes that appeal more to adults who may be drawn to peaceful scenes of country tranquility. Since there are so many alternatives that would be better suited to children, the concern was that Kinkade's current fame might cause a parent to choose the version with his pictures based on the fame of a name alone rather than with a child's eye. My favorite versions of A Child's Garden of Verses are illustrated by Eulalie and Jessie Wilcox Smith. Children dressed as real children were in Robert Louis Stevenson's day helps to set the poems in their correct time context and may help a child form a perspective that children who lived a long ago were a lot like they are today, which I believe gives a better idea of our place in the world; ie, people who lived before were just as real as people who live today. It would be a shame for children to miss seeing pictures of children alongside these poems about children. One that I especially recommend: |
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