Meet the Ambleside Online Advisory

The Ambleside Online Advisory members were asked to serve based on their understanding of Charlotte Mason's vision and their commitment to be extremely selective in choosing the highest quality literature for the curriculum.

The Advisory members are:

Donna-Jean Breckenridge lives in northern New Jersey, not far from New York City, where she has lived her entire life--with a notable exception of a few years in Maryland (notable because there she met and married her husband, Bill, and where their eldest daughter spent her first year of life). Donna-Jean comes from a rich legacy of a family of pastors, evangelists, and missionaries--and takes seriously the verse "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required." She herself is a Bible college graduate, with a B.A. in Biblical Literature.

In her childhood and growing-up years, Donna-Jean was exposed to wonderful literature (Heidi and Sara Crewe were revered role models, and Wuthering Heights' Catherine was like a best friend), the language of rich poetry (Elizabeth Barrett Browning--and Robert--were among her favorites, though her English grandmother quoted reams of Wordsworth and Longfellow to her, and a blue-covered anthology she received for Christmas in 6th grade is still treasured, and read to her children today), the musical depth of hymns of faith, the beauty of fine art (she and her best high-school friend discovered Renoir from a set of slides they watched while sipping Earl Grey tea), and--above all--the eternal Word of God, which her parents lived and which her pastor-Dad lovingly explained to her many, many times.

It was her desire to recreate the best parts of that childhood with her own children. When their oldest child was an infant, early in 1986, Donna-Jean read Susan Schaeffer Macaulay's "For the Children's Sake," and found Charlotte Mason, and an educational philosophy that matched her own values. When it was time to consider which school for their daughter (who was at that time their only child), home turned out to be the best choice, so that was where they started. Now all three children (two daughters and one son) have always been homeschooled (and in a Charlotte Mason-styled education). Both their son (12, with learning disabilities that make AO more challenging but also more rewarding) and their youngest daughter, 9, use Ambleside Online for their curriculum plan, and the entire family is enjoying it and benefiting from it.

When oldest daughter Bethany was approaching the high school years, Donna-Jean researched what was available in terms of a Charlotte Mason-styled curriculum plan. Information was quite scarce, as it seemed then that many who followed a Charlotte Mason philosophy switched to other methods and ideologies for the high school years. However, she determined to persevere in the same solid Charlotte Mason principles that had guided them to that point, and she sought to pursue the ideas Charlotte Mason wrote about for the upper grades as well.

Sharing those high school plans with the Charlotte Mason online community brought her to the attention of the House-of-Education planning committee, and eventually to the AO-Advisory. Donna-Jean went ahead and developed her own four year plan, which is listed on her website. Bethany (now 19) graduated in 2004. She then completed an exciting semester of college in New York City (the Empire State Building), and has since returned to the workforce. She is now excelling in management in a Christian bookstore and also serving in our church in youth ministry. She has a heart for young people and their struggles. God has also brought a Christian young man into her life (he was also homeschooled), and they are planning on getting married next year. The richness of Bethany's CM education has been a great blessing, and she views it that way.

Along with being a homeschool mom and an occasional speaker at support groups, conventions, women's groups, and other church and outreach events, Donna-Jean is the Director of Ministires at the church where her father is the pastor and her husband is the Associate Pastor. Chapel on the Hill is an independent Bible church, and it is the largest focus of the Breckenridge family's ministry.

Donna-Jean enjoys writing as well as speaking, and is currently at work on several writing projects. Her passions include prayer, and studying theology, current events, conservative politics, US history, and missions.

Being on the AmblesideOnline Advisory has been a great honor for her, and it has enriched her life immeasurably to be blessed by the wisdom and dedication of the women on the Advisory.

Donna-Jean with her children

Lynn Bruce is a lifelong Texan, and mother of two daughters and a son. Her husband, known in certain circles as "Dan the Bruce," practices both law and bagpipes to varying degrees of personal satisfaction. They began homeschooling in 1994, when their eldest child was five, out of dissatisfaction with institutional education practices. Lynn read For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macauley that year, and found therein a vision that mirrored her own. She soon began reading Charlotte Mason's series, and has participated in the online CM community from its earliest days. She joined the Ambleside Online Advisory in July 2001.

Lynn grew up on a wheat and cattle farm in north central Texas, the daughter of an evangelist. Her mother, having been a voice major (coloratura/soprano) in college, passed along to Lynn early on her love for classical music and traditional hymns sung in acapella harmony, and taught her solfa as a child. Throughout her school years, Lynn's interests included studying classical piano, art, and competing (with a vengeance! ;-) in UIL (University Interscholastic League) Poetry Interpretation and Drama contests. Through these interests she developed a lifelong relationship with great music, art, poetry and literature. She feels all of these early exposures continue to define and enrich her life, and she is grateful to have the opportunity through Ambleside Online to help make great literature and the fine arts accessible to her own children and many others.

Lynn's elder daughter, an early guinea pig for Ambleside Online and now for House of Education, studies dulcimer and Suzuki piano, and works daily on penning a promising collection of poetry. Lynn's younger daughter studies oil painting and Suzuki violin, polishes her Tolkein books daily, and dotes on her Texas-sized 23 pound cat. Together they pass many hours in the parallel universe of their dollhouse village, where a couple hundred characters of their creation live out complex, ongoing sagas (now in progress eight years and no end in sight) -- the wellspring of effuse incidental narration. Active in their homeschool Girl Scout troop, they each tend personal gardens and sing much too long in the shower. Lynn's young son is a serious train fanatic who calls his mother "Mama-DAH" with a devoted, captivating, honey-dripping drawl . . . which is why he can squirrel a daily dose of Bob the Builder out of the likes of Lynn Bruce.

Lynn graduated cum laude from Texas Tech University with a BS in Education, Generic Special Ed emphasis (a junior year switch from Fine Arts), and taught briefly in public school. When school is done, she works on renovating her house, studies holistic health and nutrition, maintains a daily practice of hatha yoga and Pilates with her whole family, and struggles ever forward toward an elusive state of organized domestic bliss.

Lynn moderates a private email list for parents in her church community, writes on education and family topics, and occasionally speaks at homeschool retreats and conventions. A brief list of favorite books and authors . . . The Quotidian Mysteries by Kathleen Norris, Jane Austen, Emily Dickinson, Isaiah and James KJV, Augustine's City of God, Palace Walk by Naguib Mafouz . . . and her favorite picture book is A House is a House For Me. She is presently indulging a new friendship with Sir Walter Scott. Favorite artists include Connie Dillman, Dale Chihuly, Ramon Kelly, Rosa Bonheur, Albert Bierstadt, Vermeer, and Willem Claesz. CDs currently in the household disc changers: Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, Mark O'Connor, Eva Cassidy, Fernando Ortega, Yo-Yo Ma, George Gershwin, The Chieftains, Christopher Parkening, Alistair Frasier, James Taylor, Emma Kirkby, Carly Simon, Stephan Grappelli, Dolly Parton, and the Dixie Chicks. Somewhat eclectic, no?

Lynn with her children

Wendi Capehart, the wife of an Air Force non-commissioned officer, has homeschooled her seven children all over the United States and Asia. Although Wendi was born in Arkansas and has lived in Texas, Canada, Arizona, California, Illinois, New Mexico, Japan, Alaska, Nebraska, and Washington, she and her family now live in Colorado, where her children (six girls and one boy) range in age from four to twenty, including a 16 yo with special needs. Her special needs child was born in 1987 and joined Wendi's family in 1992. She is profoundly retarded and does not speak, though she can make a few signs. She also has mild cerebral palsy. The family has 1 dog; six cats; three horses; untallied chickens; 5 ducks; and a worm bin. They used to have 9 goats (two milking); and hope to have milk goats or a dairy cow again.Wendi and her family are members of a local Church of Christ.

Wendi began her homeschooling experience in 1988 when her oldest was in first grade. She has always used literature as a core in her curriculum. In her early years of homeschooling, she has used (freely, as she has a very independent personality) Konos and Far Above Rubies as her basic educational material, supplementing it with her own literature choices and assignments. In 1997 she abandoned unit studies and relied exclusively on CM's methods.

She has owned the Charlotte Mason six volume set for almost as long as she's been homeschooling, but didn't actually read the books until 1997, when she found it easier to begin with some of the later books in the series. As she read she found that she'd been implementing some of Mason's methods for years, but was eager to try new ideas. Regular narrations, nature study programs, and more concentrated lessons began finding their way into her homeschooling schedule. Excited by what she was seeing, she delved farther into Charlotte Mason research, and soon found herself helping to develop the AO curriculum.

Her children also enjoy the Charlotte Mason method - much book reading, much learning - and it has been a delight to see how her children's interests wildly vary (everything from Veterinary Science to Art to English Literature) while all still have, or are gaining, a passionate love of learning and the same high standard for what is clear thinking and what is good literature. She and her children have had fun exploring various art museums, and attending multiple concerts.

In her "spare" time (a rare commodity) Wendi loves to read anything history related, or any English literature. She has eclectic tastes and enjoys classical, folk, bluegrass, acapella hymns, as well as some of the songs of Simon and Garfunkel, Van Morrison, Styx, and Queen. Her favorite artists are Renoir, Pissaro, Da Vinci, Durer. She says that naming her favorite authors is "an impossible dilemma." In random order: Jane Austen; Tolkien; C.S. Lewis; G. K. Chesterton; William Saroyan; Elizabeth Goudge; Stratton-Porter; P.G. Wodehouse; Margery Allingham; Ngaio Marsh; Patricia Wentworth; Josephine Tey; Dorothy Sayers; A. A. Milne; Sir Quiller-Couch; Charlotte Mason, of course; Charles Dickens; George MacDonald.

Wendi has made two contributions to the curriculum that deserve special mention for excellence and foresight. She suggested bringing Donna-Jean and Lynn on board, and she continues to be astonished at her rare display of stellar wisdom.

(The majority of this biographical sketch was compiled by Wendi's oldest daughter, who, at the time of this writing, still had to do the dishes.)

Wendi with her children

Karen Glass has been homeschooling since 1995. After reading a copy of For the Children's Sake that first year, she became a Charlotte Mason-enthusiast and has read the six-volume Original Homeschooling Series several times. This has led to an insatiable interest in educational philosophy, ranging from Plutarch and Quintilian to Ruth Beechick and David Hicks, though Karen says that the more she's studied educational philosophy, the deeper her respect and appreciation for Charlotte Mason has become.

Since 1997, Karen and her husband have been Baptist missionaries in Krakow, Poland. They have three children - Jonathan (1990), Elizabeth (1993), and Katherine (1997), all of whom speak Polish, eat pierogies, and love books.

One of the original visionaries of the idea that became Ambleside Online, Karen has a broad familiarity with Charlotte Mason 's writings and principles - and with educational philosophies in general - which has made her a valued and respected voice in the Charlotte Mason community. Karen moderates the CMseries email list where she leads studies through Charlotte Mason 's writings, and has written many important articles for various online Charlotte Mason venues. She also publishes Magnanimity, a popular Charlotte Mason and Classical Education e-newsletter devoted to supplying homeschoolers with nourishment for the mind.

Aside from reading as a hobby, Karen likes to do thread crochet (doilies, etc...), attempt to grow plants on her balcony, and cook.

Karen maintains a mental list of "lifetime favorite" authors. At the top of the list are Jane Austen, Pearl Buck, Betty Smith, Gene Stratton-Porter, Elizabeth Goudge, and the most recent addition - Jan Karon. She likes to tackle big reading projects, and is attempting to read at least one volume of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Gibbon. Her favorite poet is Emily Dickinson, but she has no favorite artist or composer, and is thankful that other members of the Advisory are so helpful in these areas.

Karen with her children

Leslie Noelani Laurio lives in the southeast in a rural area with her husband, who is a postal clerk, their three sons, ages 9-15, a toddler daughter, and one cat. She spent her early childhood in Rhode Island and later childhood in Florida before joining the military for a three-year stint that took her to Okinawa and finally to California, where she worked as a postal clerk and met her husband. In 1995 the family moved from the west coast across country sight unseen in order to provide a more rural setting for their children to grow up in. She knew she wanted to homeschool from the time her oldest son was a toddler, when she knew that private school tuition was out of the question. At a homeschool seminar in California, she was introduced to the various approaches to homeschooling and was drawn to Charlotte Mason's gentle approach and emphasis on literature and culture, but was nervous about trying it without a curriculum. So when her first son started first grade, she used Sonlight. After a year on the cmason email list, she gained the knowledge, confidence and encouragement to rely less on packaged curriculum. She first switched from Sonlight's science text to nature study, then slowly began using more CM-friendly books (with the "less is more" mindset, using more challenging literature, and at a slower pace) and by 1998 was a fully committed CM mom. The CM lifestyle has not only benefited her children, but, observing the effect great literature was having on her sons, she was inspired to delve into great literature for her own personal growth, and in that pursuit she became so enthused by all the new doors opening for her - a newfound meaning of "science of relations" - that she co-created The Classical Review email list for group book discussion, as a forum where she could share her infectious new literary enthusiasm with others. Similarly, Charlotte Mason music study led her to a deep interest in and appreciation for Chopin (ok, she's practically a fanatic!) which has inspired other moms on The Classical Review to explore classical music for the first time also.

Being shy, Leslie feels most at ease in front of a keyboard and is thrilled to have found a way to help the homeschooling community without having to leave the comfort zone of her computer. She considers it a privilege to be involved in the Ambleside project and an honor to be working with the other members of the Advisory. Leslie's energy, initiative, and ability to bring ideas to reality are indispensable to this project.

The family attends Calvary Chapel, where her husband is an elder. Leslie co-moderated The Classical Review mailing list (previously CMLit) but is taking a hiatus to be more involved with the CMSeries list as well as a few other CM-related lists. Her mother is part Hawaiian, and, although Leslie has never been to the islands, she is interested in the culture and is taking auana hula lessons (mostly hapa haole and praise; kahiko is not taught in her area) as a way to learn more about her Hawaiian heritage. Among her favorite artists are Albrecht Durer, W.A. Bouguereau and Pre-Raphaelite art, especially J.W. Waterhouse, and she particularly enjoys the music of Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Bach piano music, Jackson Browne and almost all Hawaiian music. Favorite books include Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain, Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales, Baby Matters by Linda Folden Palmer, Diet for a New America by John Robbins, King Arthur books by Howard Pyle, books by George MacDonald, James Herriot, Goethe and the poetry of Tennyson and Sara Teasdale.

Leslie with her children

Leslie Smith lives in Plano, Texas. Her husband is involved in Songs of Praise, a web-based praise ministry that provides free-use worship music for non-commercial purposes. They have three children, ages 8 to 13. Leslie brings a talent for extensive research and attention to detail to the Ambleside Online project, as well as an interest in and knowledge of history. (It was she who coordinated the history portion of the curriculum, fitting book readings into place like a puzzle to make Ambleside's history sequential.) Her ability to find and organize information as well as check details from every angle at make her an invaluable asset to Ambleside Online.

Amy Toomsen is not an official member of the Advisory, but owns the email list. She fell into that role almost by accident when the list moved to the Yahoo site, but she proved herself equal to the task as her grace, sense of humor, tact, Charlotte Mason knowledge and technical know-how make her ideally suited for her duties as list liaison. The Advisory has appreciated her unique gifts in moderating and managing the list. Amy has five children. Besides Ambleside, she is the Membership and Marketing Director for Area III, Girl Scouts, Heart of Missouri Council, plays the fiddle, and got a PDA before any of the other Advisory members.

Anne White found a copy of Susan Schaeffer Macaulay's book For the Childrens' Sake in the church library when their oldest child was about two, and was interested right away in its approach to education and family life. Nature walks and "less twaddle" found their way into the preschool Sunday School class she was teaching--a great preparation for the years of homeschooling that followed!

Anne says, "In the summer of 1999, a Charlotte Mason message board post challenged us to make Charlotte Mason's own volumes our summer reading project. I took up the challenge and spent most of the summer buried in pink and white paperbacks. I also began planning out something as close to the PUS program as I could manage. At the time this curriculum started, we had just begun our first real "CM School Year" with our seven-year-old. Then the CMSeries list announced "The Great Experiment" (which became Ambleside Online), and the idea of having a whole group sharing the same books, art and music was like a gift from heaven! I decided to join the group and ended up working with the Advisory."

Anne moderates the CMCanada email list, and co-ordinates the library for a local Christian homeschool group. Her favourite books (besides Plutarch) include The Christian Imagination, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Pilgrim's Progress, Gene Veith's books, and Anne Tyler's novels; and she collects anything illustrated by Edward Ardizzone. She enjoys holiday celebrations (Advent and All Saint's Day are favourites), library book sales, crocheting, and Tim Horton's coffee. Her husband works as a computer network administrator and enjoys building model rockets and restoring CB radios--usually with one or more of their three daughters (he's in charge of their technology courses).

Their oldest daughter, now beginning high school, can't decide whether to be an 'I-T Guy" like Dad or a hairdresser/manicurist--or maybe both, so she is exploring apprenticeship options. She also enjoys helping her younger sisters with their schoolwork (and decorating their nails). Middle Daughter (the one most likely to someday jump a motorcycle over a stack of garbage cans) is zooming through Miquon Math and is teaching herself to play the keyboard. And the youngest, sometimes called Crayons because of her insatiable appetite for drawing and crafting, says that her chief ambition is to be Santa Claus.

Anne with her daughters

If you have a question or problem concerning the email list that cannot be addressed on the list, you may contact a List Moderator.
List Moderators and Advisory members rarely respond to private email queries regarding book substitutions, scheduling, homeschooling, etc. and we rarely review books or curriculum programs (we might make an exception if a free sample/book is provided!) Questions about implementing the curriculum that are directed to Advisory members will usually be ignored. If you contact us and don't recieve a reply within a few days, ask your question on the list. We have many, many helpful AO moms on the list who are likely to be able to help you.