Ambleside School of the Rio Grande

We are excited to be growing and seeking a Christian Teacher eager to learn the Ambleside difference. Please Like and Share with those in our Community you may think would be interested. Send us an email and we will forward the application to start the process. Many Blessings!

We asked Ambleside Principals, How have you seen lives changed at Ambleside?

Here is a reflection from Jennifer Carlson, Principal of RiverTree School:

"When we walk alongside students in the work of discipleship, we see radical transformation in their lives and the lives of their families. Sometimes we witness these positive changes in small, simple places; some changes, however, are deeply profound.

Students who have previously looked at the ground when talking to others start to make eye contact. Students who used to rush through their work discover the joy of slow and careful progress. Classes that have struggled with kindness start to soften and come towards each other in compassion. Students who have struggled with respect toward teachers grow to accept correction and enjoy doing as they ought.

We also see changes in families. Parents help in the work of habit training at home and discover their mornings before school are more orderly. Families have chosen to reduce or eliminate video games or screens in their home after good conversations about the impact these elements are having on their children."

We are excited to offer Ambleside Rio Grande Summer Camp. Please contact us to enroll your child as soon as possible for limited space is available.

We asked Ambleside Principals, "Discipleship is about positive change. How have you seen lives changed at Ambleside?"

Here is a reflection from Melinda Boshears, Principal of Ambleside School of Boerne:

"True discipleship is about seeing others through the eyes of Christ. We walk beside others and assist with struggles, rather than view them as problems to remedy or solve.

We have a student who started in Pre-K and it was noticeable her first year that she struggled overall with academics; however, she lit up a room with an internal light that can only come from Jesus. Everybody gravitated to her, and she knew every student and parent by name in no time at all, along with details about each one.

Both the parents and grandparents are very active in her life and sought answers in order to help her. It turns out she has a chromosomal difference. Not long after the diagnosis, her grandmother came in to visit with me. She posed the difficult question of how long will Ambleside continue to accept this child?

The Holy Spirit’s words flowed through me easily. I told her, 'I don’t put a timeline on relationships, and what (this child) brings to Ambleside is far greater than anything we could ever teach her.' This chromosomal difference did not diminish who she was — a child of God made in His image, nor did it diminish her purpose on Earth or at Ambleside."

“A child gets moral notions from the fairy-tales he delights in, as do his elders from tale and verse.” – Charlotte M. Mason, Ourselves

When a child delights in a fairy tale, he is not just enjoying it. He is quietly taking in what courage looks like, what selfishness feels like, what sacrifice costs, and what goodness requires. He learns these things not as definitions, but as lived realities. A faithful character, a cowardly choice, a costly act of love, these leave impressions long before a child can articulate them.

This is why Mason gives such attention to the stories children live in and return to. In the fairy tale, evil is not disguised or softened. It is clear. Goodness is not abstract. It is embodied. The child sees that truth holds, that virtue matters, and that choices carry weight. Over time, these impressions settle into what Mason calls “moral notions”, a kind of inner recognition of right and wrong that becomes part of the child’s thinking.

For an Ambleside classroom or home, this has a clear implication. The question is never just what a child is reading, but what kind of world they are being invited into. Are they living, through story, among courage, humility, and truth? Or among cynicism, triviality, and confusion?

Curiosity is a buzzword in Charlotte Mason education.

It’s not that we teach curiosity to our students – Charlotte Mason believed that curiosity is an innate desire for knowledge that every child possesses from birth. The responsibility that we as teachers and parents carry is that of developing a child’s curiosity. It is not something we can impart to them; it is a desire they already possess that we can and should direct.

Like all hunger, it can be satiated with either a heavy portion of sweets, or with a balanced, nutritious meal. Healthy curiosity must be cultivated, or else the hunger for knowledge will eventually die off altogether and reject the hard work of real thinking.

Read the blog: https://amblesideschools.org/cultivating-curiosity-the-hallmark-of-a-lifelong-learner/