Why does HEO Y7 “look” so different from the lower years of Ambleside Online?
The upper level book lists are more “meaty” than their lower year counterparts. This was done on purpose–and is in keeping with Charlotte Mason’s original PNEU Programmes. Students are expected to be “ready” to handle the demands of a more advanced curriculum. Therefore, students read additional subjects such as Logic, Worldviews, and Current Events. They also begin formal Grammar and Writing instruction and will spend more time learning about a specific period in history. In the lower years, students read from a comprehensive history spine and used supplemental historical fiction to give them a broad overview of history. Beginning in Y7, students read primary source documents, historical biography and study literature that is specific to the period of study. HEO students are given an opportunity to spend an entire year reading about one period in time, focusing on one or two key persons, and studying the major political, social, and economic developments of the era.
