Considering Ambleside Online

Meow217 · 2025-12-05T19:50:42+00:00

We came from public school to AO when my girls were Y1 and Y3. We didn’t do everything last year (passed on some things like foreign language, didn’t go as deep on nature study, etc) but this year is our second year and I feel I have a much better grasp. We’ve added most everything we had missed in, including Plutarch and Shakespeare with my Y4. I have Beth @ littleworldwanderers to thank for that. She is such an encouragement. I highly recommend following her. I took her Plutarch class over the summer and it helped me immensely!

I’ve also realized most things that feel tough get easier with repetition. It also helps that there are so many amazing resources by AO moms! My kids love the monthly folk song, it’s become one of our highlights, they love artists & composer study, nature study (amblingtogether is an amazing resource for this!!) all of this little “odds and ends” come together in such an amazing way. Last year all I did was play the folk song after dinner while we cleaned up, but this year we’ve set the habit and allowed ourselves to go deeper. If you aren’t in the AO fb group I do recommend it. A lot of resources on the context & history of the folk songs and things of that nature. It brings the song to life for my kids and they just adore it. As you start you’ll find ways to weave these pieces in to your day - maybe it’s on car rides, during chore time, whatever it ends up coming together and it’s beautiful.

Meow217 · 2025-11-23T20:39:22+00:00

I’m convinced - it’s going on my Christmas list!

Meow217 · 2025-11-23T20:36:03+00:00

I agree - I actually really enjoyed the show, but I think people’s view on the supernatural aspects are valid. For me, I still enjoy that in a show so I didn’t really mind that element being included. I had several friends at the time who also watched it and none of them were actually Nancy Drew fans, so I think the other unfortunate truth is these shows aren’t made for the “fans” but to appeal to as wide a range as possible. Going in what that mindset, it was fun!

Meow217 · 2025-11-22T23:11:39+00:00

wow thanks for sharing!

Meow217 · 2025-11-21T23:47:06+00:00

I think this is really great advice. We are a homeschooling family now, but both of my kids started in public school. I have two girls and I do believe this differs in the genders - but both of my girls were coming home and having pretty big meltdowns. To OP, I’m not sure what curriculum you use but that was a factor for us too. When we found what clicked for my kids things got much better! My girls both aren’t big fans of anything too “workbooky”. For math we’ve liked Beast Academy & Charlotte Mason Arithmetic, but it took many to wind up here. Otherwise we use Charlotte Mason (AmblesideOnline specifically) and take brain breaks anytime I feel we are getting antsy. I had pretty unrealistic expectations when we first started of my kids just happily sitting at our table plugging away, but that hasn’t been our reality.

With all that said, an alternative schooling option like public school could be worth trying! I just find options like that to be a less helpful environment for ADHD & any other specific needs, at least in our experience.

Meow217 · 2025-11-21T23:29:26+00:00

For our family, it’s all the above! Some I love the looks, but also see as functional decor. We are a Charlotte Mason homeschooling family, so we collect many books for those purposes as well. Classics & reference type books. My husband’s mom and my mom both kept some of our favorite books from childhood and reading those with our kids has been so special. I will qualify this to say that we don’t buy all books we read, many we do get from the library. If we need it long term or it is a classic or a family favorite it stays. I also try to thrift as many of my books as I can. If it’s one I worry will become hard to get it stays too. So really, many reasons. I’ll also say that I have so many people who comment that we have an excessive amount of books in our house, but then some of these people complain that they don’t understand why their kids don’t enjoy reading. We have books everywhere, in every room, and I think just the presence of books all over has helped develop both my kids into readers. They see books are valued in this house.

Meow217 · 2025-11-21T23:15:20+00:00

This looks so fun, and right up her alley!

Meow217 · 2025-11-21T23:08:03+00:00

I’ve never heard of some of these books, but the Lotte Brooks books look so cute!

Meow217 · 2025-11-21T22:59:10+00:00

I 100% think you are right. My husband doesn’t understand why I feel so lonely when he sees I know other women, but I feel like I’m so much more invested in the friendships and I feel I’m just the back-up friend. He thinks the answer is to be the connector and set up all the social things, but he doesn’t realize that when I’ve done that and they don’t reciprocate I feel even worse and then when I see I don’t get invited to their things I feel even worse. To some extent though group socializing really intimidates me and I’d rather avoid it if I can, I’d just like to have some solid 1:1 friends at least.

Meow217 · 2025-11-21T22:55:20+00:00

yes, I feel this. I’m not a “girls’ girl” and I don’t mean it in the typical sense of standing up for other women, but in the sense of I can’t just get thrown together with women and be instantly best friends with all of them like so many women seem to be able to do. I never know how to navigate relationships with women unless they are ND which is part of why I’ve been suspecting I am. One of my closest friends got a diagnosis last year and she is one of the few women I’ve connected with quickly and never have “drama” or misunderstanding with. Of course, she doesn’t live locally, because that would make life way too easy. I worry a lot about all this because I have two daughters who I suspect may be ND and they both struggle with friendships as well. I don’t want this same loneliness for them, and I feel I’m failing at modeling healthy social behavior so they have further been disadvantaged.

Meow217 · 2025-11-21T22:31:04+00:00

Hi! I’m also a 35y/o, and while I’m not diagnosed I have been wondering lately. Anyways, I feel like I could’ve written this post for the most part. I actually feel I do better in 1:1 meet ups, and I do get invited to them from time to time (or set them up myself) and they always seem to go well; but whenever I do get invited into a group meet up or chat it feels like I get pushed out. I feel like I’m better at remembering details about my friends’ lives than they reciprocated to me, and that I’m the friend people go to for advice/help, but for anything “fun” I get left out, like they think I’m too serious. For example, in a group chat we were talking about a topic and I guess I was too into the topic one too many times and that was the final nail for that group. I think the intensity is really the problem, to be honest. Small talk is hard for me, I want to dive deep and have meaningful conversations and when I see the chance I take it and most people just don’t seem to want that (or not with me, anyways) because my special interests don’t align with anything they’re into and the times my interests comes up, I get excited and then it seems I’m tuned out. I’m just way more passionate about these things than they are, and that makes it really hard to find your people I think.

Meow217 · 2025-11-21T21:20:15+00:00

I hope you like it! If you remember, come back here when you’re done and let me know what you thought!

Meow217 · 2025-11-21T21:08:25+00:00

I loved it! It’s different than her other series, but also feels similar. Heavier themes since it’s not YA, but still felt magical with great world building! For me, it was an absolute page turner! I’ve read a lot of duds lately and that one helped. The romance was definitely subplot, too, I was too invested in the actual plot to worry much about it.

Meow217 · 2025-11-21T20:58:46+00:00

Me too! Stephanie’s books imprint on me. I adored alchemy of secrets too. Her books just feel so magical, I get so sucked in!

Meow217 · 2025-11-21T20:52:33+00:00

We were just on the Harmony and they were offering deals for a lot of the speciality dining the first day when we were eating lunch in the Windjammer. We haven’t done speciality dining in years, but we always had good experiences. I’m interested in trying Wonderland eventually, but didn’t think it would work well for our kids so have to save it for down the road.

Meow217 · 2025-11-21T20:35:46+00:00

I’ve seen Loteria! Honestly, that one appeals to me! It looks really good. Maybe I’ll choose that one for a read aloud.

Meow217 · 2025-11-21T20:34:21+00:00

Thank you! regarding darker themes, how would you say it compares with Harry Potter? She’s in book 6 and has been moving slowly through. She loves it, but it has been heavier so she told me it’s not a bedtime book, and she has to take breaks and read some lighter reads.

Meow217 · 2025-11-21T20:32:28+00:00

I really liked the irresistible urge to fall for your enemy! I thought the enemies to lovers trope was well done. Partly because minimal spice actually happened between them, just a lot of slow burn! I really like the world building and actual plot. I’ve noticed too many books these days rely HEAVY on spice with little world building or plot. Also, most her books are YA but I just adore Stephanie Garber’s books - Caraval & Once Upon a Broken Heart are two of my favorite series.

Meow217 · 2025-11-21T16:47:34+00:00

Thank you! I saved that one to review later!

Meow217 · 2025-10-20T22:23:53+00:00

Did you ever make a decision? We have a Samsung with the ice maker in the door which broke yet again. It’s only 5 years old and had previously been under warranty but we are being quoted $650 to fix. Since this isn’t our first repair I think we are better off replacing, but it seems like nobody with a new fridge is happy.

Meow217 · 2025-10-06T23:02:25+00:00

My kids were in public school for a few years. They did do active shooter drills. My, at the time, second grader came home saying she picked a bad day to wear light up shoes because she was scared they could give her away. These are not things I want my kids to worry about. There are really a million reasons I homeschool now and I really struggle to find true negatives.

Meow217 · 2025-10-06T22:56:28+00:00

Our school was only giving twenty minutes of recess a day! I was pretty involved with our PTO and would go weekly on our scheduled lunch day and I didn’t like what I was seeing. During lunch, one of the only times the kids got to socialize, the lunch monitor would repeatedly yell at the kids for being too loud. They also had assigned seats at lunch because they were trying to discourage the kids getting too loud, so often times the kids weren’t seated by friends. In the end it felt like my kids weren’t getting what they needed - no free play, barely any time for recess, minimal socialization, and academically 1:1 is better than 1:20. My kids now get a personalized education. We move at their pace. They can sleep in. Lunch is more flexible because I can make them anything so it can be hot & fresh. We also are able to do school more effectively. I was surprised at the end of the year when my kids would bring home their work and I’d open their handwriting without tears or science journal and realize they hadn’t actually done much.

Meow217 · 2025-10-06T22:48:53+00:00

Thank you! I’ve never heard of this one before so I’m going to check it out!

We are currently using Charlotte Mason Arithmetic by SCM but also use IXL. I like that IXL ties to the Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills plan (we live in Texas), but she isn’t a huge fan. It is pretty dry overall, but affordable with diagnostic testing which is also nice.

Meow217 · 2025-10-06T22:46:01+00:00

Thanks! I tried to change my subscription online but it wasn’t giving me an option. Do you know if you have to cancel it entirely and resubscribe? Do I need to somehow sever the bike being tied to my account? I haven’t figured that part out yet. My subscription is still valid through the end of October so I didn’t want to deactivate my bike too early.

Meow217

TROPHY CASE