Y3: 2024-2025
Year Three. A most active year. A gentle yet challenging year.
I am looking forward to it.
H is beginning Year Three and we are encouraging more personal and academic responsibility in him. We are following AmblesideOnline again this “year” and giving a good nudge where we can. Below, I share our family’s plans for each subject area and you can find the entirety of Year Three’s book list at the AO website for your own reference and use.
Philosophy
- Big Panda and Tiny Dragon by James Norbury—This is a beautiful journey into Zen Buddhism. We will read two-to-four pages once or twice per week.
- The Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett—I plan on reading from the various sections every two or three weeks.
- The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy—We will use this after Big Panda.
We are studying philosophy together as a family.
History
H is going to study the 1400-1600s, the European Renaissance. We will continue to follow the AO books and schedule. I will also add:
- Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 by Charles C. Mann—This is a lead-up to reading the full text in the high school years.
- Women in the Renaissance by Theresa Huntley—This is a short book, fourteen chapters each consisting of a two-page spread. I will have to do minor editing-on-the-fly for content. However, there is a dearth of women in AO’s Y3 so I am trying to fill the gaps, appropriately, for my son.
Geography & Mapping
We will follow the AO books and schedule. I will also add:
- Draw Europe by Kristin J. Draeger
- The Adventures of Marco Polo by Russell Freedman
- Marco Polo by Manuel Komroff—I may substitute this book for the recommended text; I have both, so we shall see.
Biography
- We will swap Stanley’s DaVinci in Term One.
- We will cover both biographies, each over six weeks, in Term Two.
- In Term Three, we will spread Poet, Pilgrim, Rebel: The Story of Anne Bradstreet by Katie Munday Williams over six weeks of the term.
Literature & Tales
AO Year Three Literature Books
We’ll drop Pilgrim’s Progress and sub Parables.
- We will be using the secular Among the Farmyard People by Clara Dillingham Pierson, along with E.
Poetry
- We will be following the selected poets and schedule.
Language Arts
Language Arts Scope & Sequence for Form I
Reading
H is a strong reader thanks to Logic of English’s Foundations curriculum. He will have daily free reading for pleasure, and short read-alouds to practice his fluency. There should be a few books from this year’s lessons he can read to himself, so we will transition slowly to his assuming responsibility for independent study.
Copywork & Spelling
We will continue to utilize LOE’s method of Spelling Analysis to help broaden H’s spelling and vocabulary. I am contemplating starting LOE’s Essentials curriculum, but its focus on grammar makes me apprehensive–it is way more grammar than needed at this age.
Narration
H is a fantastic narrator. I will have him narrate all assigned readings orally and/or written (or via acting, etc.) if he wants.
Recitation
AO Year Three Recitation Suggestions
- I have not yet committed to recitation.
Foreign Language
AO Year Three Foreign Language Suggestions
- We will look at foreign languages next year.
- H loves computers, robotics, and all other things technology-oriented. He is learning the computer language Python, among others.
We will continue to encourage him to learn computer languages so long as he shows an interest.
Nature Study & Sciences
AO Year Three Nature Study Books
- We will follow the suggested books and schedule.
Mathematics
H completed RightStart Mathematics Level D last year and will continue on with Level E for this year.
Art
Artist / Picture Study
We will combine Art with E. For Term One, we will have Georges Seurat as our For Term One, we will have Georges Seurat as our focus artist. In Terms Two and Three we will follow the 2024-2025 artists. I am really looking forward to Albrecht Dürer!
Drawing
Drawing Textbook by Bruce McIntyre
- This is a simple little book with pictures for you to draw and expand. It focuses on different drawing techniques, such as foreshortening and shading, and you apply them to your (simple) drawing.
- We also have What to Draw and How to Draw It by E. G. Lutz.
Brush Drawing
Brushwork: Elementary Brush Forms by Marion Hudson
We will use this together with E as a foundation for learning brush strokes.
Music
We will follow the schedule after we complete 2023-2024’s Term Three opera studies.
Folksong Study
We will follow the AO schedule and listen to several different recordings of each folksong.
Instrument Study
- H is learning guitar and noodles around with the keyboard and synths with his father.
Health & Physical Education
AO Physical Education Suggestions
- We will continue our daily family walks.
- We have many body encyclopedias that are always available whenever a question comes up regarding bodily functions or structure. Using a reference book or picture makes conversations easy.
Handicrafts
Origami for Beginners: The Creative World of Paperfolding by Florence Temko
Picture It in Cross Stitch Today by Jo Verso
- These are the handicrafts we’ll have going into this next year.
- We will be purchasing a potter’s wheel to begin working with clay.
- H and his father have several woodworking projects lined-up for the coming months.
Free Reads
AO Year Three Free Read Suggestions
- I will select some books off this list for our family bedtime read-alouds.
- The rest (and whatever books he borrows from our local libraries) will be for H to read on his own for pleasure.
What are your family’s plans for the coming academic year?