Connecting and Coffee
AmblesideOnline | Archipelago
by Anne White
4M ago
by Anne White A few years ago, my husband and I bought an electric coffee percolator. We usually make a potful in the late morning, and spend our “coffee break” together before going back to whatever we’re working on. I had thought for awhile that it might be nice (and a bit Mitfordish) to grind our own beans, so when we saw not one but three different electric grinders at the thrift store, we picked out one that looked clean and sturdy. It even came in its original box, which we thought was a good sign. However, packaging isn’t everything. We bought a bag of coffee beans, watched someone’s ..read more
Visit website
How Six Voices, One Story Came To Be (For Those Writing Their Own Chapters)
AmblesideOnline | Archipelago
by The AmblesideOnline Advisory
5M ago
Most of you reading this know about the new book written by the AO Advisory, Six Voices, One Story: The Heart of AmblesideOnline. Some of you may have already read it. What you may not know, although Donna-Jean hints at it in the introduction, is that this book took several years to go from “we could do that” through “are we ever going to do that” to “here it is.” We wanted to write something that was not only our story, but that would be a book of encouragement; not only about Charlotte Mason, but about the ways that God works in drawing people (many people!) together to act on small ideas ..read more
Visit website
Hearts and Zucchini
AmblesideOnline | Archipelago
by Donna-Jean Breckenridge
7M ago
It's a new school year and I have seen all the printables and wooden blocks, the panic and the purchases, the general clamor to figure out how to home educate your kid. A child is a human, and humans have brains, but they also have souls. They have things that interest them, and usually it’s an inconvenient interest. There are often piles of rocks stuffed into pockets and once I had a child who developed an obsession with collecting milk cartons. Three-year-olds are especially wild in their interests. But go ahead. Sit them down. Show them the letter A. We might as well all be bored together ..read more
Visit website
Single Readings and CM Exams
AmblesideOnline | Archipelago
by The AmblesideOnline Advisory
7M ago
Several years ago, Wendi Capehart planned a post to share her thoughts on Charlotte Mason-style term examinations. We are pleased to (finally) post this, and trust that it will bless those who have missed Wendi's voice. I am coming to this as somebody who singularly failed at exams and really regrets it. One of the benefits of exams that I see, from my spot with my nose pressed firmly on the glass window, outside looking in to the Little Shop of CM Regrets, is that the exams themselves work to help focus the child's attention and probably gently prompt some internal review in ways the child d ..read more
Visit website
Folk Song for March 2024: The Log Driver's Waltz
AmblesideOnline | Archipelago
by The AmblesideOnline Advisory
1y ago
This month we have a lively song from Canada that celebrates the old occupation of log driving, that is, moving “convoys” of timber down rivers, usually from the forest to the sawmill. When the river was wide enough, the logs could be bundled into rafts; but in narrower stretches, the logs would have to be steered through in smaller groups, or one at a time, to avoid log jams.  The log drivers stood on the logs, walked along them, ran from one log to another and pushed them along the river with poles, with the strength and agility of dancers. It might have looked like fun, but it was a d ..read more
Visit website
Folk Song for April 2024: A Man's a Man For A' That
AmblesideOnline | Archipelago
by The AmblesideOnline Advisory
1y ago
“A Man’s a Man for A’ That” was written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. (Alternate titles are “Is There Honest Poverty” and “For A' That and A' That.” ) Like other poems by Burns, it was intended to be sung, and when Burns sent it for publication (in 1795), he included a tune based on “Lady Macintosh’s Reel,” which he had also used for earlier songs (including “I am a Bard of No Regard”). The song was soon translated into other languages, including German and French (scroll down to find the poem). It became widely known because of its message of equality, espe ..read more
Visit website
Folk Song for May 2024: Simple Gifts
AmblesideOnline | Archipelago
by The AmblesideOnline Advisory
1y ago
Who were the Shakers? The Shakers are a Christian sect which began in England and was then brought to the American Colonies. Their proper name is the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing. They practice pacifism and a communal lifestyle, and are also known for their “simplicity” in various aspects of life, such as their plain furniture. What is “Simple Gifts?” The song is attributed to Elder Joseph Brackett of the Shaker community in Alfred, Maine, and it was apparently written to accompany a dance ritual. (The Shaker Museum website has posted a different view of the origins ..read more
Visit website
Folk Song for June 2024: Click Go the Shears
AmblesideOnline | Archipelago
by The AmblesideOnline Advisory
1y ago
"Click Go the Shears" is a traditional "bush ballad," which many Australians remember learning in their first years of school. The song describes the process of shearing sheep with blade shears, and the roles of the different people in the shearing shed, including the "ringer", the "boss of the board", the "colonial experience man" and the "tar boy." American Roots for an Australian Song? Wikipedia says that the tune is the American Civil War song "Ring the Bell, Watchman" by Henry Clay Work, and  Work's lyrics seem to have been used as a source as well. Maybe so ..read more
Visit website
Folk Song for September 2023: Aiken Drum
AmblesideOnline | Archipelago
by The AmblesideOnline Advisory
1y ago
Our first song of the year is "Aiken Drum,” a Scottish folk song. There are two quite different versions. The first, also spelled Aikendrum, is known as the Scottish country dance version; and the second is a funny song about a man who “played upon a ladle” and whose clothes were made of all kinds of foods. This useful document at Can Do Music shows some of its evolution. For instance, we now sing that Aiken Drum lived "in the moon," but the original phrase was likely "in the toon," or "town." Which song are we recommending for AO users? Either, or both. Those with younger children may ..read more
Visit website
Folk Song for October 2023: The Ash Grove
AmblesideOnline | Archipelago
by The AmblesideOnline Advisory
1y ago
The autumn is, in much of the northern hemisphere, a good time to focus on changing seasons, especially that which is seen in the trees. The folk song for this month, ”The Ash Grove,”  is about a “broad leafy dome”  where the singer used to wander; but it is also about change and loss.  The Welsh song was known as early as 1802, but the melody is likely much older than that.  If you have ever taken recorder lessons, you may have played it. The tune of “The Ash Grove” has been used for other purposes, including several Christian hymns. One of better known of these is ..read more
Visit website

Follow AmblesideOnline | Archipelago on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR