I think this blog article is way overdue, so I apologize to those who’ve had this question since we started using AO (Ambleside Online) in 2021.
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Ambleside Online was my choice of curriculum before my oldest had begun formal lessons. From the time she was preschool age, I began to look into curriculum, teaching methods, and philosophies. It wasn’t until I read the beloved book known as “For The Children’s Sake” that I was introduced to Charlotte Mason for the first time and was blown away.
“This broad view of true education as the sum of all of life meant that Charlotte Mason first turned her attention to the parents. She believed that they had the most interesting and valuable vocation that exists amongst mankind. Into their love, care, and responsibility this person as placed. Charlotte Mason never spoke of education as merely taking place behind the walls of the schoolroom. She saw the home as the basic educational environment.”
For the children’s sake by susan Schaeffer Macaulay pg. 8
At the time, I was one of the first moms in my circle of friends to have a child, let alone one who was old enough to be in school. When we decided to homeschool, I ventured out on the wide wide web of Google and researched all that I could about Charlotte Mason homeschooling. That’s when I discovered Ambleside Online.
First Impressions
My first impression of AO was similar to what you commonly hear from homeschool moms who venture to their website for the first time– AO seemed intimidating and it was kind of hard to figure out. Gratefully, AO’s website has been given some TLC since I started with them, but I know for many new CM (Charlotte Mason) homeschool moms, AO is a top choice to use, but the website is hard to navigate. I find this super unfortunate because there is quite a lot of help, guidance, and resources on there if you’re up for the treasure hunt! It also really does make a difference if you can browse their site on a desktop rather than a phone. Though not impossible to use on a phone, because there are so many resources available on their site, I’ve found it way easier when on my laptop.
I went around in circles comparing and contrasting several of the Charlotte Mason curriculums out there and while all of them had components that I value in a curriculum, I still found myself coming back to Ambleside Online as my primary choice. Though I felt a little uncertain about how I would implement AO on a practical level, I took the leap of faith and went all in.
Genuine Community
I entered the world of Instagram homeschoolers around the same time I started our homeschool journey, and for many of the CM homeschool accounts that I followed, most of them didn’t use AO. I knew only a handful of folks in the Instagram homeschool (my primary social media) community who used it and shared their experience of it. I also didn’t have a local homeschool community at the time or homeschool conventions to attend and get plugged into due to the pandemic.
That’s when I found AO’s forum and their Facebook group.
Since joining those groups, I have been continuously encouraged by how many tried and true homeschool families use and love AO! I honestly felt like I found the unicorn in the field of horses of Charlotte Mason curriculum and community. Though I wish things were more streamlined by being in one place collectively, the community surrounding AO was a sure reason why I chose it as our first CM curriculum.
It’s Free!
We were figuring out how to live on a single income so I was already looking for a more affordable way to homeschool well. AO was a top choice simply because it’s free. With any curriculum, I’ve learned that it is there more as a guide and not a strict master or formula to follow. I knew we may need to substitute a book here and there or tweak something to best fit our family so it was hard to justify the cost with other CM curriculums if I was only pulling parts to use fully.
It was easier to make the decision to use and try AO first rather than another curriculum because it wouldn’t cost me anything besides a few books (which I was able to find free at the library or audio, but even for cheap buying used). If it didn’t work out, there would be no guilt because the cost was free, and I could then spend the money on a different curriculum. Thankfully that never had to happen!
It was also helpful for me to choose AO over other curriculums when I read into why AO was free. The members of the AO advisory generously poured out their expertise, wisdom, and passion into this curriculum, only to make it available free for all. Their legacy for making a Charlotte Mason home education available and accessible still amazes me and I am convinced their efforts really did give me the springboard to craft our own educational philosophy and curriculum.
The Books
There was nothing more intimidating to me as a new homeschool mom wanting to homeschool with the Charlotte Mason method than knowing what books to use. From year 0 (before age 6), all the way up to year 12, Ambleside Online lays out every book you will need. The books are readily available, and scheduled in a way that connects knowledge and ideas interweaving harmoniously within each subject in every year. They don’t discourage you if you need to substitue or remove a book completely to better fit your family, and if you need subtitute options, you can look on the forum.
Another great perk to using AO is their resource of footnotes for each and every book. If there is content in a book that may need to be considered for sensitive children, they mention it here. I also appreciate that they include a book list for those on a budget. Footnotes per year can be found at the bottom of each year’s booklist.
Lastly, if there are any books I’m considering substituting, I have found the forum to be a treasure trove of book substitute options from other trusted AO users. The freedom to make AO your own is encouraged, ultimately giving each mother the reigns on her children’s home education.
Freedom In The Schedule
It’s important to know upfront that AO is not an “open and go” type curriculum and because of this, there is much work to be done as the mother and educator. When looking at their schedules, we get a glance at what should be done daily and weekly. From there, it is up to each parent to schedule in the readings and lessons in whatever way is best, which looks different from family to family.
However, they didn’t just abandon us with no help or resources for how to schedule. Here are some of the scheduling helps that I used alongside when crafting our own AO schedule:
- This entire page on their site on scheduling is worth grabbing a pen and paper for
- A reorganized PDF of Charlotte Mason’s Original Schedules
- Principles that are important to keep in mind about scheduling including how much time to give to each subject per year.
- Scheduling with multiple children
If you are like me and want to see an example of how other AO families implemented the schedule, there are tons of examples in the forum, FB group, and Instagram with a quick search. If you check out my Instagram page, I’ve shared several AO planning and scheduling examples I used in Year 1, Year 2, and more to come for Year 3. Just have a look in the highlight bubbles on my profile under each AO year, “planning”, or “scheduling”.
Strengthened My CM Education
One of the reasons I was considering not using AO was because, while I’m in favor of a less “open and go” curriculum, I was still unsure of how to implement it all. I did need/want a little hand-holding in the beginning to get started. So I turned to and leaned into the forum and their FB group. There are many ways others have shared how they do a subject with the Charlotte Mason philosophy and methods in mind. Want to know how to implement artist study? How to use the Burgess Books? How mapwork can be included in a geography lesson? I said it before, but these groups, the support, and the community surrounding AO are next to none, and I find myself feeling more and more equipped each time I seek additional help from them.
As I’ve continued to read Charlotte Mason’s volumes, Parent’s Review articles, and other books surrounding her philosophy and methods, I’m building confidence in the role I get to play in my children’s living education.
Ambleside Online has given me a starting place for our Charlotte Mason homeschool and for that, I am so grateful.
Though there is work to do as mothers and educators, the work is actually a good thing. However, AO is there to help equip you, especially as you begin learning to implement CM principles and methods. They have so many resources on their website to bring ideas to life and help equip you to connect and implement it all.
Are you still weighing the options if AO is right for your homeschool? Here are a few links straight from the source that I found influential in making my final decision when first starting to homeschool. Grab a pen and notebook, and dive in friends!
