Archive for the ‘Site of the Day’ Category
14 September 2009
Site of the Day: Ambleside Online
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Site of the Day.
Charlotte Mason has legions of followers since the recovery of her delight-directed and twaddle-free philosophy of education. The web is inundated with hundreds of links and references to all things Charlotte Mason and homeschooling curricula modeled after her programme.
That’s not a bad thing, I think, because her views on education are among the most life-affirming and child-focused, and more people should know about her contribution (For example, read her eulogies). Understandably, many new homeschooling families are overwhelmed.
But this website Ambleside Online sits right at the top for those who are intrigued and inspired and want to homeschool the Charlotte Mason way. Besides, Ambleside Online offers her methodology and curriculum for teaching young children at home for free. Yes, you read right: FREE.
It’s one reason why it deserves to be awarded Website of the Day!.
Ambleside Online (AO) is remarkable for attempting to approximate a ‘Charlotte Mason (CM) education’ and stay true to literary standards espoused by Mason in her schools, Parents’ National Education Union (P.N.E.U). However, Mason is not just about a method or a curriculum (okay, she did say her’s was a method but not a ‘system’) and therefore principles provide the essential underpinning for holistic learning and child development. You’ll find a reiteration of her ideas on AO’s introduction page if you need a little more convincing.
Therefore books and reading lists though important are but a part, and must not be mistaken for the whole. With this in mind, I am pleased to report that AO has collected Mason’s 6-volume magnum opus and put them online for aspiring CM educators. Yes – no need to buy the hard copies (if you’re not inclined for economic reasons)! And if her writing style is too archaic for your 21st century ears, a modern-language translation is also available here.
A CM education programme – right up to Year 11!
Once you’ve gone through this foundational stuff (no, you don’t have to pass a test) you’re ready for take-off. AO lists an entire curriculum for a complete CM homeschool that begins with kindy or preschool right up to Year 11 (Year 12 is in the works). The wonderful people behind this labour of love – by the way, they’re all volunteer mothers – have put together a meticulous yearly programme in 3 terms encompassing text, daily and weekly instructions, and – gasp! – end-of-term exam questions.
A whole year is mapped out in weekly readings and exercises (by chapters) around a number of recommended books that include Bible, History, Geography, Natural History/Science, Mathematics, Phonics/Reading, Poetry/Literature, and so on. That’s a lot of books to read, mind you. Literacy and numeracy are amply covered. The best thing is, practically all of the recommended texts are available online for free too (check out the online library and links to where they may be downloaded or purchased).
Of course this should not stop you from buying any of these books if you so wish – though not from AO (they’re not vendors), but elsewhere online, or at the nearest bookstore.
There’s a lot of other links to reviews and vintage articles. I must add that this site also hosts a support group that addresses issues, readers’ comments, and queries. So dear parents, you’re not dipping into the deep end alone.
But how does it work for Malaysians?
Having said all this, I can almost hear whispers of hesitation from moms who have scrutinised the CM lists: “But, but….Plutarch? English Revolution? This Country of Ours – The Founding of Maryland? We’re Malaysians-lah!”
Now this is where I step up and say, you’re not in school-lah. Improvise, like all good homeschoolers do.
I understand the bugbear of homeschoolers in Malaysia (and the complaint of local detractors) – is this over-dependence on foreign curricula. Eventually our homeschool kids end up more informed about Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War, than about Tunku Abdul Rahman and the Baling Talks.
Indeed, one should use the CM plan as a guide; and certainly, you should supplement where needful. Surely no problem there for resourceful parents who understand what homeschooling is all about. It’s really a matter of adapting and contextualising Mason’s philosophy to your home, whether you’re Malaysian or Filipino or Singaporean. Remember, homeschool is not about a list of books or a study plan. Neither is a CM education. But until such time when intrepid local homeschoolers design a comparable Malaysian-based CM curriculum, AO is a great find.
Give your child a single valuable idea and you have done more for his education
than if you had laid upon his mind the burden of bushels of information.
Charlotte Mason
To Charlotte Mason, education was a way of living and learning, a new way of seeing. “Education is a life,” she wrote. And so it is. Hers is the way to stimulate the senses of a child and start her on a joyful discovery of knowledge beyond dead facts and fragmented information favoured by some teachers today.
Thanks to Mason, homeschoolers are rediscovering living books, real literature, the classics, notebooking, read-alouds, oral narratives, art, nature walks, and outdoor play. It’s a wholesome approach that stands opposed – no, defies – the glossy offerings of homeschool publishers and vendors, and their increasing dependence on workbooks or technology and multimedia. If this strikes you where it matters, in your heart, you owe it to your children to check out Ambleside Online.
Related Links:
Why you should know Charlotte Mason – previous HOMEFRONTIER post
Charlotte’s Daughters – Learning from Charlotte Mason and her PNEU. Includes her PNEU curriculum guide too.
Charlotte Mason Group (on Squidoo) – helping homeschoolers implement her philosophy in all areas including narration, living books, poetry, Shakespeare, timelines, living math, composer study, artist study, and nature study. Lots of resources.
8 July 2009
Site of the Day: Meet Me At The Corner
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Site of the Day.
We all know YouTube, but I’ll bet lots of you have not heard about Meet Me At The Corner. Meet Me At The Corner (MMATC) is a YouTube-like site, except that videos aren’t all there is. And unlike YouTube, it’s entirely educational in content and completely dedicated to kids.
This interactive site features episodes of videos that are either submitted by children or produced by the site owners for children. According to children’s author and founder of MMATC Donna W. Guthrie, the site aims to build a community of children that will utilize video for storytelling and self-expression.
And why not, when you consider that more and more young children are consuming online videos than ever before. The good thing about this site is that it’s clear about what it wants to do and what it offers kids – providing a safe site for net-gen kids to meet and interact. In the process they get to expand their horizons and that should whet their appetite for learning.
Video episodes on the site have featured an interview with a cookbook author Abbey Dodge, a clip on International Year of Astronomy 2009, and pop-up book artist Robert Sabuda. These videos are all helmed by kids, which is great. Right now, a lot of the episodes come from the US, but MMATC hopes to go global and feature real submissions from kids everywhere. That would be cool. Kids sign up for a free account with MMATC (activated only after parents have been informed), and get to send in their own shorts and video clips.
Every video episode has extended learning activities designed by educators as well as links for kids to go a little further. Visit the feature on Queens Botanical Gardens and you’ll be linked to the Gardens website, instructions on building your own worm bin, and a Discovery Kids page titled, The Yuckiest Site on the Internet. The other neat stuff would be links to Contests that invite submissions – poems, poster designs, etc.
The thing about MMATC that may put some folks off is, almost all of the links lead to commercial sites hawking products, publishers of homeschool curricula (sample pages!), or those that limit access to members, or unless subscription is paid. For instance Recommended Books links you directly to Amazon, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing really. After all it is the biggest bookstore online with possibly the largest range of books available on earth! We’re all so used to free stuff online we forget that good websites can’t keep on giving; sooner or later, someone’s got to pay. So while MMATC is free, you’ll have to navigate through other sites and links that aren’t.
But there’s still loads that give kids (and parents) free access, and lots of educational stuff to keep a child occupied. MMATC is designed for kids 7-12 years and I do think the videos the stuff that will keep them coming back. Pay the site a visit and tell your friends about it.