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kristinannie
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I am definitely solidly a CM type of homeschooler. I love living books and definitely base my homeschool around her philosophies. I am also drawn heavily to unit studies. I think they are easy to mesh, but there is one fundamental difference that I am trying to figure out how I feel about...
Unit studies revolve around one topic and almost everything you do is about that topic so you can really immerse youself in that topic (geography, science, history or whatever). I use living books and resources from the library in these unit studies. In a way, I do feel like this is kind of spoonfeeding my kids and making the connections for them (although they are young and that isn't a bad thing necessarily). I also read more pages per day than is recommended for CM because we read a lot about the topics from different books.
I like how in CM, kids are taught to make their own connections, but then I sometimes worry about the choppiness of it (although you can get several books on a similar topic back to back). I do see my kids making those connections though. We are currently reading Stuart Little and it takes place in New York City. We spent a day learning about the Statue of Liberty in our North America unit study and John Paul immediately said, "NY is where the Statue of Liberty is!!!" He was so excited to make that connection. The more books we read, the more information they will have in their minds to draw connections on their own and really make the learning their own instead of being spoonfed all of the information together at once.
I really think these are fundamentally different ways of looking at education. I would love to hear your opinions. Maybe I am totally off base here!
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Mackfam
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Hi Kristin!
I enjoy both approaches and find them fitting together rather naturally and seamlessly in our home, probably because they are two "vehicles" I find most natural in terms of presenting ideas. You're right - there are some basic philosophical differences. I do think that you can approach unit studies in a way that isn't handing the child the connection. The child may know the topic of the study, but connections remain theirs to observe. I don't announce them, underline them, or emphasize them. We continue in our CM way - reading and narrating.
In a CM education, CM herself chose to allow a historical period to inform the bulk of a student's term studies, even going as far as to have picture study and composer study spring from that period. In a sense, that's very close to unit studies.
I tend to think of unit studies approaches as providing wonderful context, relevance and detail to a period or topic of study. I don't use packages or guides with our unit studies, with the exception of a couple of topics. I rather choose to move through a unit study using CM's methods. So, I might base my booklist on an idea or around a topic (the Civil War for example). We'd continue with narration, and copywork and dictation. The child adds to their Book of Centuries. We may find special games or outside the home trips to pursue. And, occasionally, the child chooses to pursue projects or investigations that pertain to that particular study as part of their Masterly Inactivity.
Sometimes an entire year could be based as a Unit Study - like my daughter's 8th grade year which was based on Anne of Green Gables and following the history and Literature of the Victorian period. What a lovely year! Sometimes a Unit Study is something we pursue for a shorter amount of time - like a few weeks as a special study because of a seasonal occurrence. And sometimes Unit Studies take on a life of their own here. I really just wanted to include all that to show you the different ways we pursue these rabbit trails here, and that some are naturally long and winding, while others take us on shorter journeys.
Anyway, I'm sure there are possibly more differences because I don't really follow a strict *Unit Studies* approach I guess, but I do really enjoy these rabbit trails and find in them a very nice complement to a CM education.
Since your question is really more about philosophy rather than the nuts and bolts of a living education, I'm going to move it to Philosophy of Education. Ok? 
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Grace&Chaos
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I recently came across a post at Afterthoughts blog. I had never really thougth about the two probably because I've just never really approached school as a unit study and if I do it's not intentional. Like Jen, I love those side tracks that naturally happen. But even more I enjoy watching my kids make those natural connections without me giving it to them.
I'm not familiar with the works of some people she talks about (and for CM I've only read volume 1 and haven't gotten as far as some of her discussion) but I found the post very interesting
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CrunchyMom
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That is an interesting article, Jenny!
I think that it touches on an important distinction and that is the definition of a unit study. There are rabbit trails and times of more in depth study which come about naturally in the course of a living, breathing education.
And then, there is a unit study *approach* to learning, which I find to be lacking.
The introduction to Dr. Nebel's book Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding really resounded with me. You can read the whole thing in the Amazon preview. without purchasing the curriculum.
Of course, Dr. Nebel is a scientist speaking specifically about the teaching of science, but I think that his Principles of How Students Learn can be applied more broadly:
- There are two parts to developing real understanding. There is learning of factual information, but understanding comes only as facts are integrated together into a broader, conceptual context.
- New understanding is constructed on a foundation of existing undrstanding.
- Effective learning depends on students self-monitoring what they know, and don't know, and striving to fill in gaps.
- Learning needs to connect to real-life experience.
Now, I think that he most specifically addresses the question of "unit studies" under principle number 2 where he says
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New information is meaningful and delights us when it connects and adds to what we already know. On the other hand, if new information does not fit into our foundation of existing understanding, we are most likely to dismiss or quickly forget it. The cliche is, "there must be hooks upon which to hang new information if it is to be retained."
Said antoerh way, we must pay constant attention to helping students construct and expand that framework of integrated facts, ideas, and concepts noted above. On this basis, it is understandable why a series of science activities on different topics that have little if any connection to one another does not serve to yield scientific literacy. |
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To me, this seems entirely compatible with Charlotte Mason's philosophy. To me, her methods were meant to be that effective "framework" on which to hang the facts and ideas the student encountered.
The two subjects where the unit study is most likely to be used are science and history. Charlotte's linear approach to history as well as the use of timelines and her notebook of centuries would seem to frown upon an approach reliant on unit studies. It is like making a patchwork quilt without a pattern or plan. That doesn't mean that one can't spend a lot of time and take a lot of care embellishing some of the squares, but it would be a lot harder to assemble the squares if they were not made initially with the end result in mind.
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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Another example that comes to mind is liturgy being an effective teacher.
I grew up Protestant. We were very active, and I read the Bible a lot in Sunday school, Bible studies, church services, etc...
And yet, it was greatly a hodgepodge and mishmash stories until I was able to encounter them in the context of the liturgical year. One could have a "unit study" approach to their faith, but to me, the beauty and meaning is revealed in the larger picture.
More over, I was able to gain a HUGE leap in my understanding by studying Jeff Cavins Great Adventure Bible Timeline. There were few of the stories I had not heard or read many times over. But it was a REVELATION to see how they all went together. Truly, I could not believe how little I understood all those stories until I could see them in context.
So, while as educators, we don't steal the joy of making the connections and providing all the connections in one easy place, I do think we have a responsibility to ensure a framework or context on which the information can be properly assimilated.
I don't think that is necessarily complicated. I think that it just requires us to be mindful in what we choose to introduce into a curriculum.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Grace&Chaos
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CrunchyMom wrote:
So, while as educators, we don't steal the joy of making the connections and providing all the connections in one easy place, I do think we have a responsibility to ensure a framework or context on which the information can be properly assimilated.
I don't think that is necessarily complicated. I think that it just requires us to be mindful in what we choose to introduce into a curriculum. |
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I agree with you, it is our job to do all the research for the upcoming year. And boy is this forum proof that we do that . While we use the CM way of not lecturing per say we are in a sense providing what they need. We decide what that will be. Maybe this is why I didn't make a distinction before or like you said I didn't have my definitions straight. I like to give them good books, materials and even provide relevant fieldtrips/projects to give them that framework.
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Jenny
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lapazfarm
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Excellent points made by all!
I'd like to address specifically the idea of "choppiness" or disconnectedness in CM vs unit studies.
I propose that they b oth have issues with choppiness, or disconnectedness, but in different ways.
In CM, the criticism is that at any given time the subjects are not integrated (as in unit studies) and so the child must make his own connections across subjects.
In unit studies, while the subjects are integrated over a period of time, the choppiness comes from moving from one topic one month (say, the desert), to something totally different the next (perhaps the Civil War). The child must make his own connections between these disconnected topics over time.
Now, which way of being "choppy" do we choose?
If we are of a CM mindset, then we relax about integrating the subjects and just choose good living books that follow their own lovely threads, leaving the child to weave them together into his own tapestry in his own way.
If we are of a unit-study mindset, then we do the work to weave subjects together for him, but leave him to piece together those mini-weavings over time into some cohesive whole.
( sounds a lot like the previous quilting analogy, right?)
So, either way works. The question is do you prefer tapestry or quilt?
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Mackfam
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This is a very thought provoking article, and provides a bit more context and understanding into what CM spoke of when she addressed unit studies.
Something popped out at me as I was reading the article, and that is my resistance to guides. I tend to avoid them and go straight to the booklists - in a way its mostly just a natural gravitational pull. At first, I'd purchase a guide because I loved the idea of such a delicious booklist...and then it would sit, and I realized that all I really did was to mine the guide for the booklist...and introduce the books....and never use the guide.  It took me a bit to recognize that I was doing this, and I guess that's why rabbit trails have evolved in the way that they have in my home.
Another observation that the blog author made aligns with one of my own, and that is draining the life from a book by siphoning off every single fact or idea as a springboard for another learning opportunity or activity. I have a vivid memory from a few years ago of a homeschool high school student lamenting a particular piece of literature, a piece of literature that at the time, my daughter was thoroughly enjoying. This student recounted a considerable number of activities and plans that were a part of reading this book, along with an exponential number of essays that were a necessary component to complete the book and recoiled at the announcement that my daughter was really enjoying the novel. I must have looked incredulous as the young student asked me what my daughter had to do to finish the book. "Read it and then she narrates it to me." was my timid and unsure response in the face of the mile-long stretch of activities just recounted by the aforementioned intelligent student. But the bottom line was that the student that read the book and narrated it was given the time to enter into the book, time to develop relationships, enjoy nuances, savor words. The other student moved through quickly, surgically, examining the book and analyzing it, yes, but never developing a relationship with it. And thus, the student left with a distaste for the author and the book.
Now....this becomes a whole different ballgame if say for example, it's the child who is motivated (by self or because of a desire to know and go further) to explore and investigate an idea in the book (Masterly Inactivity).
I'm really enjoying this discussion ladies! How thought provoking! Quilts or tapestries....or QUAPESTRIES???
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Jen Mackintosh
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CrunchyMom
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I didn't mean to imply that you didn't have your definitions straight, Jenny! I just meant that in order for us to discuss whether unit studies are compatible with Charlotte Mason, we need to be sure we all mean the same thing when we say it 
If people want to call what I call a bunny trail a unit study, it could be completely fine. Its just tricky in the context of having a conversation about it.
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My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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Mackfam wrote:
| At first, I'd purchase a guide because I loved the idea of such a delicious booklist...and then it would sit, and I realized that all I really did was to mine the guide for the booklist...and introduce the books....and never use the guide. |
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Lol, that is mostly how I use Dr. Nebel's book! But, he has awesome booklists
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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kristinannie
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Mackfam wrote:
.
I tend to think of unit studies approaches as providing wonderful context, relevance and detail to a period or topic of study. I don't use packages or guides with our unit studies, with the exception of a couple of topics. I rather choose to move through a unit study using CM's methods. So, I might base my booklist on an idea or around a topic (the Civil War for example). We'd continue with narration, and copywork and dictation. The child adds to their Book of Centuries. We may find special games or outside the home trips to pursue. And, occasionally, the child chooses to pursue projects or investigations that pertain to that particular study as part of their Masterly Inactivity.
Sometimes an entire year could be based as a Unit Study - like my daughter's 8th grade year which was based on Anne of Green Gables and following the history and Literature of the Victorian period. What a lovely year! Sometimes a Unit Study is something we pursue for a shorter amount of time - like a few weeks as a special study because of a seasonal occurrence. And sometimes Unit Studies take on a life of their own here. I really just wanted to include all that to show you the different ways we pursue these rabbit trails here, and that some are naturally long and winding, while others take us on shorter journeys. |
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This is exactly our situation. This year we are taking a trip around the world and spending a month or two on each continent, just getting to know that there is a whole world out there. It quickly turned into a unit study. We read books about the regions, eat food, read stories from the regions, learn about animals, learn about kids there, listen to music, do crafts, learn geography, etc. We are just finishing up North America and we are having a blast. We want a little break from this so we are going to spend a month learning about our Solar System. I have purchased some "unit studies," but have found that we enjoy things much more when we can just read great books and immerse ourselves in the culture. All of the "cutesy" unit studies things are not really for us. Plus, I don't like the kids watching a lot of online videos (although we do a little of that). I would rather that they get their info from books. As the kids get older, we will add in narrations (my son narrates every once in awhile and I sometimes model narration so they can at least see what it is like) and add in copywork and dictation. I really can see how easily that can be done with anything you are reading.
As to the people who talk about continuity and having a plan, I know that most CM programs use a 6 year history cycle. What kind of plan do you all do? I am not sure about the 6 year cycle (or the 4 year classical cycle). We are going to start a Book of Centuries sometime. I am not sure when. I have heard it is best to wait until they are a little older so they won't be embarassed by their entries. I might do a timeline starting next year. How important is it to "start at the beginning" as opposed to skipping around more, but always having that timeline or book of centuries so they can see where things fit in?
I think it was good to move this discussion. I am really interested in what you all have to say. I am trying to really determine my philosophy of educating before we hit 1st grade so we can be on our way. I really appreciate all of your help and advice!!!! I am so glad I found this forum!!! 
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CrunchyMom
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Mackfam wrote:
| Quilts or tapestries....or QUAPESTRIES??? |
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I just a few minutes ago saw this quote by Fulton Sheen
Quote:
| "It is not always easy to see just how much progress we are making toward our goal. We are very much like the tapestry workers who work not from the front of the tapestry, but always from the rear, keeping ever before their eyes the model of the work to be achieved. They go on drawing thread after thread in a monotonous but thrilling way, never destined to see their completed work until the last thread has been drawn, and the tapestry is turned about to show them how well and how truly they have labored. Archbishop Fulton Sheen |
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Lindsay
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My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Grace&Chaos
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CrunchyMom wrote:
I didn't mean to imply that you didn't have your definitions straight, Jenny! I just meant that in order for us to discuss whether unit studies are compatible with Charlotte Mason, we need to be sure we all mean the same thing when we say it
If people want to call what I call a bunny trail a unit study, it could be completely fine. Its just tricky in the context of having a conversation about it. |
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When I first read the post, I really felt like I didn't have the right definition for a unit study. Because I thought of it in the context of how I approach a CM education and not at all how it is described in the post. I had to stop and understand the difference .
Yes, I think it is important to know how we interpret it and it's nice to know that around here we all kind of think in terms of rabbit(bunny) trails probably because we've grown to understand our style of living our education and seek guidance from each other.
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Jenny
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Grace in Loving Chaos
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Grace&Chaos
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Mackfam wrote:
Another observation that the blog author made aligns with one of my own, and that is draining the life from a book by siphoning off every single fact or idea as a springboard for another learning opportunity or activity.
I'm really enjoying this discussion ladies! How thought provoking! Quilts or tapestries....or QUAPESTRIES??? |
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This was key to me too. I love book lists but can never follow or implement how the guides tell you too, especially in this fashion. I'm not even sure if my kids would enjoy reading as much as they do if I did this to them. The enjoyment of one book will often lead to another or some deeper research all on their own.
Booklists I love, guides and premade lesson plans have been increasingly collecting dust around here  . (I hope that didn't sound too harsh, there might be a moment when I'm sure my life will need them again )
QUAPESTRIES...I like that!
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Jenny
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Mackfam
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I read that quote of Fulton Sheen's not too long ago, and it's really quite a remarkable quote for pondering! Since reading it, I often find that it's so much easier to consider our life, our plans, God's plans, our attempts to cooperate with Grace, and to a large extent, our own humble attempts as we home educate our children, as a part of working on the underside of the tapestry. We won't see the top side until we (please, Lord) make it to heaven. How.many.times have I thought I was weaving in one direction, only to notice years later, that I really needed the Divine redirection? But I digress...
I feel I should make an attempted clarification about the unique activities that often abound in a unit study approach. I must tell you, that I'm often quite attracted to them. And, so long as they are in context with our studies and seem purposeful, we might even pursue activities...activities which I may motivate or initiate. We do enjoy historical documentaries, scientific programs, cooking science, etc. I love relevant connections, and some rabbit trails I initiate! And, I think that pursuing these additional activities...or not...may largely come down more to a person's natural momentum, (which is to say, their season of life, their natural likes and dislikes, the children in their care, etc.) rather than a rightness or wrongness in pursuing investigations...or inviting relevant activities after reading a book, or as part of a study. What seems more of a problem is the disconnectedness of handing a student a book or a topic and neatly assembled collection of activities which must be checked off as part of an *experience package* I suppose.
I don't know if that made sense, but I felt like I seemed rash and judgmental of activities, pursuits and investigations which are often enjoyable by-products of unit studies...which I do sometimes quite enjoy. So, I wanted to try to frame more of my thoughts on that. It's this idea of *experience* driven that I think lies under my concern...everything has to be about an experience (which is already known by the giver of the experience...it's orchestrated, like an amusement park ride.)
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Jen Mackintosh
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JennGM
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| [QUOTE=Mackfam] At first, I'd purchase a guide because I loved the idea of such a delicious booklist...and then it would sit, and I realized that all I really did was to mine the guide for the booklist...and introduce the books....and never use the guide. |
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That is totally what I do! I did learn pretty quickly that I was looking for books and not the activities. I stopped buying guides after that.
I remember asking here a long time ago about FIAR books and could a book stand alone, or do they need discussion and reinforcement. I was leaning so heavily towards CM philosophy, but not quite sure--so many things looked attractive.
When we read picture books, I felt the book, if it was good, stood on its on merit. The FIAR activities seemed so contrived and ruined the book for me. A pattern that kept returning is the wonderful reading of the book and there my activities ended. The connections and extensions happened by my son's volition, but he would find them in all sorts of places. It was wonderful to behold, but at the time I wondered if I was doing something wrong, or missing the boat?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Donna Marie
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Mackfam wrote:
I read that quote of Fulton Sheen's not too long ago, and it's really quite a remarkable quote for pondering! Since reading it, I often find that it's so much easier to consider our life, our plans, God's plans, our attempts to cooperate with Grace, and to a large extent, our own humble attempts as we home educate our children, as a part of working on the underside of the tapestry. We won't see the top side until we (please, Lord) make it to heaven. How.many.times have I thought I was weaving in one direction, only to notice years later, that I really needed the Divine redirection? But I digress...
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Oh Jenn, I was just wrapping up our day, finagling all the details of who is doing/has done what and the "hurry up and get outside" and "get off your sister and find something FUN to do with her" conversations and I was marveling at how much the Holy Spirit guided our day. I stumbled through it in a way that was a little disjointed only to find out that there were so many connections we had in our studies that I never planned. I was amazed to see that God guided even our oopses and rabbit trails to show us a bit of HIS story that I never realized before and I shared that with the kids. After even crazy noisy days we did good things...inconceivable!
Another interesting thing..some of the same connections were being made in the other room with my high school (studying independently together...yeah, I know. It isn't an oxymoron) crowd. So then we chat over dinner and share things that hit us. I think God has a way of running any curriculum and sewing together what He wills in the way He wills.
I just keep praying.
Just WHO is the REAL teacher anyway?? 
Not me 
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Donna Marie from NJ
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Mackfam
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CrunchyMom wrote:
in order for us to discuss whether unit studies are compatible with Charlotte Mason, we need to be sure we all mean the same thing when we say it
If people want to call what I call a bunny trail a unit study, it could be completely fine. Its just tricky in the context of having a conversation about it. |
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I was thinking about this...and though I'd love to sit here and gnaw on this idea all afternoon, I've got to get to my Deep Dish Chicago Style Pan Pizza making! 
I agree, Lindsay, and I've used a number of terms with wild degrees of (in)accuracy. I thought that it might be good to define a few definition boundaries for this discussion.
When Charlotte Mason referred to a Unit Study in Volume 6, she was referring to an educational idea of the time that is {possibly (??)} the grandfather of our modern day unit study. You can read her thoughts about it here. The example she offers takes the book Robinson Crusoe, and illustrates how a Herbartian Unit Study would find a source for every single subject within the Robinson Crusoe reading. The one book would stretch out for an entire year, and rather than a feast of ideas for the child to grow upon, the child is presented only one book, but a feast of lessons springing from the one book. All connections are handed to the child, and the idea of Herbart's was that if a child could grab one of those connections, the rest would be swallowed up as if they were all chained together.
What we commonly refer to today as Unit Studies are often loosely based on the same ideas of Herbart's, except that they generally involve more books. A Unit Study could be based on a book or a theme, but the idea is that all of the child's learning and lessons, which are fairly scripted and planned, spring from one central idea or theme and the books that support that theme.
Then, there's a modified Unit Study, which is probably UN-definable. I imagine that MOST of us here that have mentioned enjoying a blend of CM and some Unit Studies fit into this category. Generally based on ideas or themes and supported by rich booklists, this type of unit study is reflective of the individual family more often than not. These modified unit studies are usually rich in the living book approach, but the spectrum here in terms of how often used, to what extent are they planned or do they *just happen*, tools used, activities pursued....probably varies wildly, but I think it's probably helpful just to name it at least, do you?
....and one more term....
A Rabbit Trail is a unique term, and refers for the most part to an often exciting and attractive tangent of learning that is discovered while on the natural educational journey. It can sometimes springboard, or open the door, to a fantastic new learning opportunity that you never foresaw when you began reading. Sometimes these closely parallel unit studies. An example might be that you're reading Lepanto by Chesterton, and you follow a rabbit trail into the life and papacy of Pope St. Pius V, the pope that requested that the faithful pray the Rosary during the Battle of Lepanto. You discover and learn much about this remarkable Pope, and it lends a greater and wider context to the overall story of Lepanto as well.
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So, does this help in terms of defining and framing the question, or was it entirely redundant? Also, don't assume that I've got all my facts straight! Please correct as necessary! I'm off to make pizza!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Sept 22 2011 at 4:56pm | IP Logged
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I think a major distinction between a unit-study and a rabbit trail is that a unit-study is typically pre-planned (sometimes to the nth degree) by the parent/teacher, while a rabbit trail is usually spontaneous and student/delight directed and open-ended.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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Chris V
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| Posted: Sept 22 2011 at 5:02pm | IP Logged
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lapazfarm wrote:
| So, either way works. The question is do you prefer tapestry or quilt? |
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Mackfam wrote:
| Quilts or tapestries....or QUAPESTRIES??? |
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...Still making my way through the posts, but had to stop for a laugh!
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Chris
Happy Wife with my Happy Life
Mama to My Five Girls ('04~'07~'09~'11~'11)
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4Real Forums : Philosophy of Education
Topic: Question about CM and unit studies
