In early January we held a chili dinner for alumni of Ambleside School in McLean, Virginia. It has been seventeen years since I took the helm of Ambleside, and sitting with these young graduates—high school students, college students, and professionals, I was reminded of the long road we are on with our students and the distant vision of growth parents and teachers need to endure the difficulties along the way.
One student was eager to share his latest wisdom from his freshman year in college:
It’s so great that students at Ambleside listen to Mozart. It’s as if there is a distant drum beat that reminds me that there is something good and true in the world, and I can do something good and true in it. My friends at college don’t have this.
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Here is the scripture and art from today’s Ambleside Notes, to serve as a meditation for the beginning of Holy Week. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, April 5, the events of which are represented in the artwork here and in the account from Matthew below.
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Here you will find a video from our Head of School with the Hymn of the Week and scripture reading, followed by a video of our Passover Chapel teaching.
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Hi students! I miss you all and hope you are doing well. Here is our hymn for the week: O Sacred Head, Now Wounded. When you listen during the week, I hope you will take a minute to reflect on the words and use them as a prayer. You can also sing along with the harmony if you want!
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O God of peace, who hast taught us that in returning and
rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be
our strength: By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee,
to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou
art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Every Friday at Ambleside, we hold a community Chapel service that we share with teachers, students, and parents. While we cannot gather for chapel in person, we wanted to offer our families some resources to join in spirit and share chapel at home. We invite you to use this video as an anchor for your own chapel service as a family today.
Read MoreDear Ambleside Parents,
During these days of Ambleside At Home Learning, it is important to invite your children to tell back throughout their morning work to secure their attention and their understanding. One of the distinctives of a Charlotte Mason education is the use of narration, the simple method of “telling back” whatever has been read, seen, or heard…
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Dear Parents,
The greatest challenge for parents of multiple children during At Home Learning is managing all of their individual needs. What follows is an outline of how the work may be coordinated and accomplished with multiple children at once. Remember, more important than book-learning is maintaining an atmosphere of peace and joy in the home…
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“This New Yorker article chronicles the development of “children’s literature” as a distinct genre in the context of children’s readership at the turn of the 20th century. It’s an interesting read especially for those seeking to provide children with access to good books.”
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This week we enter our time of exams- a time of gaining a window into our students' minds. This is an opportunity for us to see how your students are organizing knowledge, synthesizing ideas, and mastering skills. We can also gain valuable insight into the habits of learning that are formed or lacking in the young scholar.
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At Ambleside, we aim to inspire our students to servant leadership. Our Veterans Day Chapel is one way we do this by exposing our students to men and women veterans who have served our country in times of war and in times of peace. These individuals have chosen of their own accord to put their lives in a position where at any moment they may be called upon to stand in harm's way in order to protect others. For our students, veterans are excellent examples of sacrificial servant leaders.
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I have been fascinated re-reading Masons' ideas on the mind of a child in the context of recent discoveries in neuroscience. Leading psychiatrists (Jeffrey Schwartz, Dan Siegel, Curt Thompson, and Karl Lehman) have been exploring the power of "mindsight" over the function of the brain. Such research has led to transformed living in persons who have long been held captive to addictions, compulsions, depression, and other unhealthy psychological maladies.
Mason, a "psychiatrist" in her own right, draws the same clear distinction between mind and brain….
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We are aware of the middle school years, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, as significant years as students move from childhood toward adulthood. This season in a young person's life is rich with opportunities for connection with their parents and understanding of themselves.
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Partnering with parents in the education of their children is one of the unique guiding principles of Ambleside School.
Charlotte Mason, whose educational principles inspire our classrooms, began her work over one hundred years ago with parents…
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Some of us are spontaneous and function best in crisis mode. Some of us thrive on routine and plan our calendars weeks in advance. Regardless, I imagine that as each of us made the transition into parenthood, we moved a little closer to routines to make our busy lives work. September seems to be the natural month for "New Year's Resolutions," and now is the time for home routines to set a tone for your student's education.
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Do you feel you are always nagging your children? Charlotte Mason's ideas about building character in our children through habit are fresh approaches for parents. Interestingly enough, some of her suggestions are validated by modern brain research.
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