Ambleside Online - Year 3 Booklist

Exam Questions

If you're planning to use Ambleside Online, your first stop should be the the FAQ for some information about the curriculum and basic instructions. It is not advisable to attempt this curriculum without first reading the FAQ. Homeschoolers hoping to raise their children to be readers, as Charlotte Mason urged, owe it to themselves to take the first step in reading by looking over the instructions for the curriculum they plan to use. The FAQ has all the questions that people routinely ask, with detailed answers and explanations collected from two years of responses to user questions.

Asterisks refer to which term the book is used.
* the book is used in term 1
** the book is used in term 2
*** the book is used in term 3

Formatted etexts for year 3 can be accessed by joining the etext email list

In order to complete the curriculum additional instruction should be provided in the following areas.

Daily Instruction:

Penmanship or Copywork (AO's Language Arts Scope and Sequence for this level is here.)
Phonics (Read notes on teaching phonics in a CM education.) Free online beginning readers by Harriette Taylor Treadwell
Math
Foreign language

Weekly Instruction:

Art
Correspond history readings with a timeline or century book and map
Handicrafts
Music Appreciation, including folksongs and hymns
Nature Study
An artist and a composer each term

Bible

This site has many versions; it is preferable for a child to become accustomed to the language and flow of the KJV, as a familiarity with King James English will make other literature more accessible. Please read Lynn Bruce's article on the King James Version. Penny Gardner has a list of Old and New Testament stories to read straight from the Bible that may be useful for Bible time. | Bible timeline | Coloring Sheets from Calvary Chapel: OT and NT | Study questions with nice maps |

History

An Island Story by H.E. Marshall 1509-1760, Henry VIII-George II (sometimes called Our Island Story) Free Audio at Librivox Part 1, Part 2. Kings and Queen timeline figures here. [Be aware: The edition from Wilder Publications has no table of contents, or chapter numbers.]
This Country of Ours by HE Marshall [Be aware: The edition from Wilder Publications has no table of contents, or chapter numbers.]
A Child's History of the World by Hillyer OR The Discovery of New Worlds by MB Synge ch 31 and 49 and The Awakening of Europe by M.B. Synge ch 5, 6, 14, 15, 30 (OR corresponding chapters of The Story of Mankind by Van Loon.)
Note - The Story of Mankind (by Van Loon) chapters are shown where they overlap with history being studied for those wishing to have an older student follow along in the same rotation or for those who are limited to only this text. Story of Mankind is for an older age group and not really recommended for children this young.

TERM 1
An Island Story by HE Marshall ch 62-71 (1509-1588, Henry VIII-Elizabeth; Armada defeated)
This Country of Ours by HE Marshall ch 6-11 (1497-1584, Henry VII-Elizabeth) A Child's History of the World by Hillyer ch 63-66 (ch 60-62 in 1st edition) skip Colombus, Explorers-Renaisance 1492-1520 OR The Discovery of New Worlds by MB Synge ch 31, 49, 50 and The Awakening of Europe by MB Synge ch 5 OR Story of Mankind, ch 39-40, Renaissance, Age of Expression, 1471

TERM 2
An Island Story by HE Marshall ch 72-82 (1588-1685, Elizabeth Charles II)
This Country of Ours by HE Marshall ch 12-22 (Elizabeth-James I, 1584-1622) A Child's History of the World by Hillyer ch 67-69 (ch 63-65 in 1st edition) Reformation/ Elizabeth, Age of Elizabeth, 1520-1600 OR The Awakening of Europe by MB Synge ch 6, 14, 15 OR Story of Mankind ch 41-42 Great Discoveries 1497?, Buddha Confucius

TERM 3
An Island Story by HE Marshall ch 83-94 (1685-1760, James II -George II )
This Country of Ours by HE Marshall ch 23-28 (James I-Charles I, 1618-1691) A Child's History of the World by Hillyer ch 70 (ch 66 in 1st edition) James I OR The Awakening of Europe by MB Synge ch 30 OR Story of Mankind ch 43 Reformation, 1517

History Tales and/or Biography

Trial and Triumph (Church history from a definite Protestant perspective) by Richard Hannula (selected chapters) Read a sample excerpt or purchase the book. Now online Note - Descriptions of some trials of the Christians may be intense; parents should preview chapters to determine suitablity based on their children's sensitivities. If you prefer, you can cover church history in Years 7-9 with a different book, Saints and Heroes.
* Da Vinci by Emily Hahn Landmark book purchase from Sonlight OR Michelangelo by Diane Stanley (contains drawings of nude art and drawing of cutting a cadaver) or, a biography of Galileo
** Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare by Peter Vennema and Diane Stanley OR Good Queen Bess by Diane Stanley
*** Squanto by Feenie Ziner (1965 edition called Dark Pilgrim) in print (has references to native spiritism) OR Landing of the Pilgrims (Landmark Books) by James Daugherty

Geography

Marco Polo (see link here for recommended books and resources)

Natural History

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock (a 1911 version is online in various formats here)
Secrets of the Woods by William J. Long

Science

Science Lab in a Supermarket by Robert Friedhoffer (another Friedhoffer book, or even another book of science experiments can be substitued if the book is hard to find - this book isn't worth paying inflated prices!)
The Story of Inventions by Michael J. McHugh and Frank P. Bachman (online, except for the last 2 chapters, which were a later addition and still copyrighted, or purchase from Christian Liberty Press) Great Inventors and Their Inventions by Frank P. Bachman is an earlier version of the same book.OR, if you have a copy, you can substitute All About Famous Inventors and Their Inventions by Fletcher Pratt, which is very similar. Or, boys might enjoy War Inventions by Charles R. Gibson (the Advisory hasn't read this yet.)
OR, if you prefer, you can use any of the Exploring Creation With . . . series by Jeannie Fulbright for science in Years 3-6, available here. A support group is available.

Mathematics

Choose one; these are just a few suggestions; more help here.
Developmental Mathematics
Making Math Meaningful
Math U See
Miquon Math
Ray's Arithmetic
Singapore Math
Right Start Mathematics

Foreign Language

Lyric Language, Phrase-A-Day, Triple Play, Triple Play Plus, Springboard to French/Spanish are some programs we can recommend

Poetry

* William Blake
** Sara Teasdale and Hilda Conkling
*** Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Literature

Parables from Nature by Margaret Gatty (selected chapters) purchase (This is a Christian character book using elements of nature to make its point; it's not a science book. If you feel you must substitute, we suggest Clara Dillingham Pierson's Among the __ People series because "each story closes with a gentle moral, inspiring children to right behavior," rather than substituting with a science book.)
American Tall Tales by Adrien Stoutenburg
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb
The Heroes by Charles Kingsley
Pilgrim's Progress Part One (Christian's Journey) by John Bunyan OR Part Two, Christiana's Journey - the original language is recommended; read why and see recommended versions here.
* The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
** Children of the New Forest by F Marryat
*** The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling Book 1 and Book 2

Additional Books for Reading - these are books that no child should miss, but rather than overloading school time, these can be read during free time. No narrations need be required from these books. Parents should explain to students that historical fiction, while often well-researched, is still fiction, and contains the author's ideas of how things might have happened.
(Books with asterisks pertain to that term's historical studies)
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley [download an abridged, slightly annotated Word doc of this book by Anne White here.]
At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald
Men of Iron by Howard Pyle
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
The Bears of Blue River by Charles Major
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
* Unknown to History: Captivity of Mary of Scotland by Charlotte Yonge
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright
English Fairy Tales and more by Joseph Jacobs
King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry (18th century, Africa, France and England)
The Four Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright
Then There Were Five by Elizabeth Enright
The Wheel on the School by Meindert De Jong

For those on a strict budget, recommended purchases are:

Year 3
A Child's History of the World by V. Hillyer (to be used for 2 years)
Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock (to be used for 6 years)
Trial and Triumph (Church History) by Richard Hannula (avail at http://www.canonpress.org/pages/church.asp)
a Math program
a phonics program if necessary
Da Vinci by Emily Hahn, Landmark Book OR Michelangelo by Diane Stanley (check library)
Bard of England by Peter Vennema and Diane Stanley OR Good Queen Bess by Diane Stanley
Squanto (Dark Pilgrim) by Feenie Ziner OR Landing of the Pilgrims Landmark Book by James Daugherty
Science Lab in a Supermarket by Friedhoffer
Story of Inventions published by Michael J. McHugh and Frank P. Bachman
American Tall Tales by Adrien Stoutenberg, unless your library has a copy of tall tales
Laura Ingalls Wilder books if your library does not have them
Elizabeth Enright books are nice if you can find them cheap (but not worth high collector prices)
Other books can be read online or borrowed from the library.

Last update Mar. 16, 2007