Curriculum & Methods

The Ambleside curriculum and classroom practice are inspired by the educational philosophy of pioneering British educator Charlotte Mason. She devoted herself to the theory and practice of educating children.  Her timeless approach resonates in much that has been written since, in the fields of education and child psychology, and remains relevant in our own time and place.  Her philosophy of education is encapsulated within a number of Educational Principles.

The curriculum coursework at Ambleside provides:

• A wide and varied course of study.
• A daily program that alternates skills development with mastery of content.
• Knowledge that is vital, fruitful, and interesting with its formative ideas.
• The use of living books, characterised as “the best thought of the best writers.”
• The use of materials that aid in understanding and exploration.

Narration is the core teaching methodology of an Ambleside education.  Narration is an active retelling of what the student has heard and learned.  Such a retelling requires the use of the child’s whole mind and memory, and demands careful attention to a single reading of the source, without review or repetition.

Ambleside students do the scholar’s work of the first-hand reading of primary sources of literary merit that present inspiring ideas in all subjects - not dry texts and pre-digested facts. The Ambleside course of study also includes direct observation of real objects from nature (plants, minerals, animals, the elements), as well as art, music, and other human disciplines (maps, instruments, machines).