AmblesideOnline's Patio Chats:
1a. Welcome to AO
Welcome to AmblesideOnline! Before you get started with your school year, we'd like to say hello and make sure you've stopped by our Introduction page for beginners. That page explains how all of this works, tells what you need in order to start, offers a word about which grade/Year to start with, and gives some scheduling tips. It's not very long, and should help you get acclimated.
View that page at https://www.amblesideonline.org/getting-started
We've arranged a special area of the forum just for you -- it's sort of our Patio, where you can hang out and ask questions without making a commitment to come all the way in, and with no worries about finding your way around the rest of the forum -- you can stay on the Patio just long enough to get your questions answered, or stick around for awhile to discuss these informal Patio chats with us. If you decide to stay, you can look around the forum until you feel comfortable enough to venture off the Patio. There's a wealth of information there!
As you begin your child's school, we want to begin helping you in your journey to understanding the Charlotte Mason method of education. So, over the next 36 weeks, we'll chat with you briefly about this journey. We hope these little snippets will whet your appetite to learn more. Most are taken from one of Charlotte Mason's 20 Principles -- what she felt were the 20 most important points about education that works. If you'd like to talk through some of the concepts we bring up, join us on the AO Forum.
https://amblesideonline.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=100
We want this year to be a great time for you and your student(s). A Charlotte Mason education is wonderful, not only for your children, but for you, too. The freshness of the outdoors, the beauty of art and music, the awakening in the mind sparked by a new idea, the inspiration of a touch from the Holy Spirit -- these are meant for you as well as your student(s).
Today, as you read to your child, or explore nature, or look at a picture -- stop and appreciate. Allow your own mind and soul to be fed.
If you'd like more to "chew" on, here's an article that explains the benefits of this kind of education: Why Choose CM?
http://archipelago7.blogspot.com/2017/01/why-choose-charlotte-mason.html
If you'd like to read Charlotte Mason's 20 Principles, you can see all of them at http://www.amblesideonline.org/CM/20Principles.html.
