Ambleside Flourish Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Aesthetics and Atmosphere Feb 10, 2018

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As you listen, use our study guide to assist you in making meaningful connections and increasing comprehension and memony.

Cultivating a taste for the good and beautiful begins with setting the Atmosphere. Beautiful music, art on the walls, wooden furniture all play a part in setting the tastes of a child. Dr. Bill St. Cyr, of Ambleside Schools International, notes that children don’t innately know what is good, what they would like, but rather respond to what is in the Atmosphere. “She [an Ambleside student] had been introduced to beautiful music. Her natural appreciation for beautiful music had been cultivated such that when she heard something that was not beautiful, she was quick to recognize it.

Masterly Inactivity Feb 09, 2018

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As you listen, use our study guide to assist you in making meaningful connections and increasing comprehension and memony.

Masterly Inactivity is a peaceful presence held by the teacher that gently calls, invites, a child back to a strengthening of the will – to sit up straight or say a kind word, for example. Dr. Bill St. Cyr, of Ambleside Schools International, discusses the importance of Masterly Inactivity and the toxic effects of the “Heavy Handed” teacher. “The teacher is preserving peaceful, good, instructive, life-giving atmosphere, and the way she does that is by practicing what Charlotte Mason called Masterly Inactivity.

The Teacher and the Atmosphere Feb 08, 2018

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The role of the teacher or parent in setting a classroom atmosphere of joy and order hinges on the nature of authority between the adult and the students. Does the teacher lead with an authoritarian or authoritative role? The authoritarian teacher leads by anxious and controlling means, setting an unpredictable and fragile atmosphere that squelches a student’s love of learning, desire for growth, and sense of joy and peace. The authoritative teacher, as described by Charlotte Mason in School Education, leads as a person authorized by another, with immovable fixed principles in all matters of importance. Proper authoritative leadership lives peacefully under authority and is moved only by responsibility and what is good and right; selfish wants and needs are quickly dismissed. At Ambleside® schools and homeschools, weakness is not seen as a disturbance, but rather as an opportunity for discipleship; “It is good to be me here with you. . . . We’re going to figure out a strategy to help you move in a more life-giving direction.” Dr. Bill St. Cyr and Maryellen St. Cyr of Ambleside® Schools International discuss the distinctives of a proper approach to authority in the classroom that fosters an atmosphere of joy, curiosity, exploration, learning, and peace.

As you listen, use our study guide to assist you in making meaningful connections and increasing comprehension and memony.

Cultivating an Atmosphere for Learning Feb 01, 2018

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Atmosphere has a profound impact on setting our affections. Dr. Bill St. Cyr, Executive Director of Ambleside Schools International, discusses the atmosphere that supports the desire for working well, paying attention, and reading worthy books. Our affections are caught by the community we are surrounded by. “When you step into a classroom where everyone is paying attention, the easiest thing is to pay attention.

How Atmosphere Sets Our Affections Jan 29, 2018

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As you listen, use our study guides to assist you in making meaningful connections and increasing comprehension and memory.

Our affections, our desires and motivations, are set by our community, family, or tribe. Atmosphere has a powerful influence in setting these affections; affections are caught, not taught. Bill and Maryellen St. Cyr, of Ambleside Schools International, discuss the subtle, yet potent role atmosphere plays in the heart and mind of a child. “When you go into a school… you ask, ‘What is lifted up here? What does the atmosphere say is desirable, is worthy, is worth having, worth pursuing?’

The Foundations of Joy Jan 28, 2018

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As you listen, use our study guides to assist you in making meaningful connections and increasing comprehension and memory.

Chapter 1: The Foundation of Joy from Ambleside Schools International on Vimeo.

One of the most important responsibilities of a teacher is to set an atmosphere of joy in the classroom. The sense of joy is non-verbal, “in the air and breathed in” by the children – it’s what Charlotte Mason called Atmosphere. Bill and Maryellen St. Cyr, of Ambleside Schools International, discuss the difference between happiness and developing a deep sense of joy. Often when people visit Ambleside member schools, they say, “There’s peace here, a peacefulness, there’s a sense of expression here by the students and by the teachers that’s genuine, that’s full of delight, full of joy….

What We Draw Children With Is What We Draw Children To. Jan 27, 2018

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Part 3: What Are We Drawing Students To? from Ambleside Schools International on Vimeo.

How is the Student Growing? Jan 26, 2018

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Welcome to our video introduction to Ambleside Schools International and the Ambleside Method. We hope you find these videos both informative and inspirational.

As you listen, use our study guide to assist you in making meaningful connections and increasing comprehension and memory.

Persons or Products? Jan 25, 2018

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Welcome to our video introduction to Ambleside Schools International and the Ambleside Method. We hope you find these videos both informative and inspirational.

Download the audio version of these videos on our Ambleside Flourish Podcast

As you listen, use our study guide to assist you in making meaningful connections and increasing comprehension and memory.