Thank you for your kind words. Yes, that is my daughter in the garden.

We hope that your mother learns to spin and weave… and you and your daughter, too!!! It would be great for Prairie Tuesday! We so enjoyed your post on visiting your mother’s home with the lovely sewing room and gardens.

Tell Michaela that Corgis are wonderful little dogs. We have had six Corgyn.

Take care,
Diane

Becky, bear in mind that I have NOT read the entire CM original series, and these thoughts came from pages 112-119 in Volume 6 where she spoke of a Herbartian education and mentioned a school where an entire year’s worth of lessons were taken from Robinson Crusoe, for every subject including math. There was just no end to it, and the teacher had put the lessons together so that it seems like the children were directed to continue on and on and on taking hundreds of leads from Robinson Crusoe, making connection after connection after connection that had surely become boring and tedious to them by the end of it all. So much so that they would develop a loathing “not only ‘Robinson Crusoe’ but for every one of the subjects lugged in to illustrate his adventures.”

You know we have enjoyed unit studies here and will continue to do so. I love Five In A Row, and the more I read CM’s original works, the more I appreciate Jane Lambert’s wisdom in the way she put Five In A Row together. I think her approach to unit study is ideal: a variety of lessons to choose from, closing the unit study on a particular book within a reasonable time frame — unless the child wants to continue, her choice of books, interacting with the child one-on-one so that their ideas are voiced in a way that they make their own connections and the book becomes theirs, so to speak.

Does that make any sense at all?

We plan to do some FIAR Volume 4 with a co-op this year and also to do Beyond for the biography reading. Term 3 of Year 5 calls for a biography of George Washington Carver and should take 3 months to cover, so that will be perfect.

Ken, we love projects, as you can see from my blog. I think you hit the nail on the head with the word “saturated.” I have even taken Five In A Row too far before — my doing, not Mrs. Lambert’s — by adding in thing after thing that *I* thought must be covered right at that moment, and muddied up something that was simple and clear.

I noticed your loom. My mother would love to spin and weave. I wish she could learn how. Also, Michaela has been researching a stack of books from the library on puppies and I think she has settled on getting a Welsh corgi. One particular book rates breeds on behavior, affection, protection, etc. and the corgi is hard to beat!

Thank you for your comment.

Lynn

My daughter and I love Monet, too. The painting “Women in the Garden” is a lovely delight!

Here is a link to a dress that reminds us of the dress worn by the lady sitting down in the painting:
http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/the_costume_institute/dress_promenade/objectview.aspx?page=2&sort=0&sortdir=asc&keyword=1862&fp=1&dd1=8&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=8&OID=80004406&vT=1

Here is a link to a photograph of my daughter in my garden:
http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html

Your photographs of the dragonfly in your garden were great. We enjoy the pictures of old books that you feature on your blog, the photographs in your garden, and your 4th of July post.

Take care,
Diane

Bea, that took some time for me too. I thought on it for several weeks before deciding on year 5 for my 6th grade daughter.

Thanks for your comments!

Lynn

I have been reading your blog, and enjoy so much! I too, am looking into Ambleside Online, but am finding a hard time figuring out which levels to put my children in.

I like unit studies, but I agree with CM that when the connections go on forever or are forced it’s lost its fun. Let the connections be natural and engaging to the child.