We are so thankful for all the moderators who help us here and on the FB group!  These ladies tirelessly answer questions, provide information, and keep conversations going.  We couldn't do this without them.

We've recently added some new moderators:

Jeff's Jessie
carpeaeternitatum
MaryFrances
cbeauchamp
aSageMother

You can read about all our mods (at least the ones who have posted) here:
https://amblesideonline.org/forum/showth...hp?tid=826

Our server is planning a routine update, which is why we rushed our forum update -- so it would be done before the server update. I don't when that will be, but they said to expect some down time. I expect it to be within a few days. If they let me know before they do it, I'll update this thread and thread title.

There's some routine forum maintenance that will almost certainly be happening today; it means the forum will be offline, though I'm not sure how long -- an hour? A couple hours?

I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but with Advisory/Auxiliary living all over the world, it's not always possible to plan a time in the wee hours of the morning when most people are sleeping.

2022-2023 School Year [2022-2023's Study Guides are New and Updated!]

Term 1: Marcus Brutus (Study Guide with North's text; Text Only)

Term 2: Pericles (Study Guide with North's text; Text Only)
Term 3: Fabius (Study Guide with North's text; Text Only)


These will also be available in book format within the next month or so.

Folksongs for term 3 are up on the blog now. I also added my youtube playlist for all three terms to each of the folksong posts for the upcoming schoolyear. .
Term 3's songs are:
Brown Girl in the Ring
King John and the Abbot of Canterbury
The Saucy Sailor
https://archipelago7.blogspot.com/2020/0...-2021.html

Because we like round numbers, we've decided to add a tenth year to the Plutarch cycle. It isn't  scheduled on the website yet, and the studies aren't ready: this is just a heads-up. The three new studies (Phocion, Camillus, and Dion) will appear for the year 2024-2025, and the rest will move on by one year.



If Dion seems familiar, yes, he used to be in the cycle, and we're bringing him back with updates. The others are new ones for AO.



Also, watch for all the older existing studies (Pericles etc.) to appear in overhauled format by the end of the year. I'm trying to close the gap there.

Folksongs for term 2 of the 2020-2021 Year are up: https://archipelago7.blogspot.com/2020/0...-list.html

The songs for term 2 are:

The Cruel War

The Alberta Homesteader or Starving to Death on My Government Claim

Michael, Row the Boat Ashore

The Advisory have added a book, which is scheduled across Years 4, 5, and 6 (or Groups Form 2). If you've already started your school year and can't afford another book to your budget, it's fine to pick it up later and catch up. If your library ends up with a copy (when libraries are open again!) it could also be used for free reading. It's a collection of stand-alone biographies, so its scheduling can be very flexible.

Answering the Cry for Freedom: Stories of African Americans and the American Revolution
By Gretchen Woelfle

It's been added to the booklists and schedules.

Folksongs for term 1, 2020/21 year

Folksongs, term 1
https://archipelago7.blogspot.com/2020/0...-2021.html

Follow the Drinking Gourd
The Golden Vanity
Down by the Bay.

A few months ago I published the AO-study version of Madam How and Lady Why, and it is available free on the website. This week Leslie created text-only versions for each of the two volumes, for those of you working with groups or for those who prefer not to give students the whole guide. You can access the text-only pages by clicking on the footnotes for the books on the Year 4 and 5 pages.

A brand new Year 1 Primer/Guidebook is now posted to the website to help you plan Year 1:
https://www.amblesideonline.org/Yr1Primer.shtml

The previous primer was over 10 years old and had too many out of date references and dead links to save, so we've made a new one.

We've made some exciting changes to the website in the last week or two! Now it has more white space, faster page loading, and drop-down menus at the top. In order to see the pages correctly, you will need to clear your cache in every browser you use, on every device.

Leslie and I are going through the Typos thread in the Tech Support area, fixing the errors you've reported.  So if you are about to use schedules or booklists that you downloaded in the past, you might want to download new copies.  The footer of the schedule tells you when it was last updated, so you'll know if it's been recently changed.

Before we shut down for the holidays, we would like to offer you a surprise Christmas present. This will be of special interest to those with students in Years Four and Five, but others may find it useful as well. Several years ago, we added study notes for those reading Charles Kingsley's book Madam How and Lady Why. Advisory member Anne White has updated and expanded those notes, and has also edited the text to remove certain Kingsleyisms that have concerned current readers. The book has been divided into two sections: the first half, for Year Four, is titled A Walk Through the Glen, and can be read online HERE. The second half, titled Further Afield, can be read HERE.

These studies, like the Plutarch studies, are free for the use of the AO community. Like the Plutarch studies, though, they take many pages to print out. For those who prefer the convenience of a print or e-book format, those are on their way too. They should be available on Amazon in the new year.

In the meantime, we hope that you enjoy the old/new books online!

Our FB group and forum will take a restful Christmas break beginning December 18. On December 16 and 17, we'll have a Christmas party! The forum will re-open on January 1, Charlotte Mason's birthday. The FB group will re-open on January 8, after Orthodox Christmas.

“Standing in the need of prayer” are the words to the old spiritual, and they are true of us as well.


We on the AmblesideOnline Advisory are calling for an AO Day of Prayer, Wednesday, December 4th.

First, we humbly ask prayer for the leadership of AO Educational Foundation. The members of our Advisory -Lynn Bruce, Wendi Capehart, Karen Glass, Leslie Laurio, Anne White, and Donna-Jean Breckenridge - are going through some very intense trials right now, our Auxiliary members -  Phyllis Hunsucker, Naomi Goegan, Brandy Vencel, Kathy Livingston, Lani Siciliano, and Amy Tuttle -are also experiencing some great difficulties, and we ask prayer for our faithful Moderators as well.

Second, we ask prayer for the work itself - please pray for God’s protection and provision for every aspect of AmblesideOnline.

And thirdly, we want to lift up our entire AO Family in prayer, for your families, your walk with God, your homeschools, your cottage schools and co-ops, your marriages, your health and well-being.
“These things goeth forth only by prayer.” #aodayofprayer We will be praying for your needs as well!

We've made a change to Year 6 Bible.  Year 6 is a transition year in the Bible schedule, with the NT readings from Year 5 continuing into Year 6 while the OT starts the cycle the continues into the upper years.  The New Testament readings in Year 6 ended after just a few weeks in Term 2, most of which focused on the early chapters of Acts.  So we've scheduled the first part of Acts, up to the beginning of Paul's missionary journeys (and the point where he becomes Paul instead of Saul).  Of course, you are free to use the old schedule or your own schedule.  These Bible readings are just an option.  But this keeps the amount of reading more consistent across all three terms.

Have you seen the "new" *official* AO brochure?  It's actually been linked from the website for quite awhile, but I don't think we ever announced it.  You can find it here:
https://amblesideonline.org/

Look for the link on the right, where it says, "Downloadable tri-fold brochure."

Be sure to open the file in Adobe Acrobat, and set it to print in Landscape and at the Actual Size.
If your printer duplexes, then select Flip On Short Edge.

This is a VERY important announcement regarding our 2018 Christmas Break: The AO Forum and Facebook group will take a restful Holiday Break beginning on Saturday, December 15. We'll re-open the forum again on Charlotte Mason's birthday, Monday, January 1, and re-open the Facebook chat group on Monday, January 7. Thus, the Forum will be closed to posting for two weeks, and our Facebook group will be closed for a three week period.

Why are we taking this break? The CM method is about more than homeschooling; it's about life and relationships. We would like our AmblesideOnline family of members, moderators, Auxiliary and Advisory to step back from lessons and computers, and take time to savor the holidays with their loved ones.

Should you need AO information during the break, existing threads will remain available at the forum, and of course the AmblesideOnline website will remain up and running.

We encourage you all to explore AO's special Holiday pages during the break!

The Advisory's Favorite Holiday Stories and Poems:
http://www.amblesideonline.org/HolidaySt...oems.shtml

Holiday Carols and favorite CDs:
http://www.amblesideonline.org/HolidayCarols.shtml

And a Bonus!

An Advisory member's son, a "guinea pig" graduate, composed chorale music for a Chesterton Christmas poem, performed here by Milligan College: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZKH5GO9LGs

An AO graduate created this lovely collection of traditional music for Christmas, beautifully arranged for violin: A Violin for Christmas (affiliate link; mp3 download) http://amzn.to/1OmsPB8

May you find time to reflect on the meaning of Christmas, enjoy time with those you love, and be refreshed as you anticipate the coming year.

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

AmblesideOnline Advisory member Karen Glass, along with AO Advisory member Donna-Jean Breckenridge, has launched an audio seminar entitled “Principles at the Helm.” It’s 90 minutes of teaching on which are the most important CM principles, and how understanding them can keep your educational efforts on a steady course.

Today that seminar is 25% off the regular price of $10.00. Just use the code:givethanks at the checkout.
Https://gumroad.com/l/principles-at-the-helm/givethanks



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