A few weeks ago I wrote a post about 5 Easy Steps to Getting Started with Ambleside Online. As a follow up, I am writing this post on how I use the schedules I shared in that post to plan a week of Ambleside Online.
In this post I am going to give a brief overview of how I plan out each week. At the beginning of each term I print out twelve blank schedules for each student and place them in my binder. Behind these I place the current term printout of the Ambleside weekly schedule.
As I plan each week I start with the top blank schedule and begin by writing the term, week we are on, and the date across the top. Next I flip back to the AO schedule in the back.
All completed weeks have been highlighted in yellow. So the next week is the one we are on- currently for us it is week 21. I glance down the list, counting the number of readings for that week to help figure out placement. My year 4 usually has a full 2 reading each day and my year 2 student often has a couple of blanks spots. This week however they both ended up with an extra reading to squeeze in.
I begin going down the list and filling in blanks. As each reading is transferred to the students schedule I place a small check mark beside that one on the Ambleside Chart.
I don’t over think the arrangement of the readings, but I do try to spread them out a bit. For example I try not to put all the history readings in one day. I also try to spread out the longer and shorter readings-I don’t like 2 long ones in the same day. There are some we almost always split and those I count as 2 readings. In Year 2 we are reading Wind in the Willows and each chapter is super long, that always gets divided into two different days. After doing for a while I have gotten better at figuring out which ones are longer etc. I have also noticed that there are certain readings we like to do on certain days. I almost always schedule favorites towards the end of the week because it gives the boys something t look forward to.
My yr. 4 student is mostly independent and reads all his own books himself, so I do allow some freedom for him to switch readings or do an extra one if he wants. I just check up on him and make sure he narrates to me and does his written narrations for the week.
As each item on the schedule is completed each students checks it off. We are still working on doing this neatly 🙂
That is really about all. I would say this proccess takes me about 30 minutes total and I usually do it Sunday evening. Occasionally I need to grab a book to check page numbers, etc. I also like to look over art prints, recitation pieces, handicraft supplies quickly before wrapping up. I nearly always forget to check something and end up with a last minute scramble at some point in the week, but overall this method keeps me pretty organized.
I hope that some of this has been helpful! If you have any more questions let me know in the comments below!
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