Around the horn

Missed linking to another great article yesterday on CatholicExchange by Russell Shaw (okay I am biased, but read it for yourself here.) Here's a bit:

Create a democratic regime in Iraq, we were told, and other countries in the region would be so thrilled that they'd rush to get on board the democratic bandwagon. Baghdad would be the Mideast's city on a hill.

Unfortunately, things haven't quite turned out like that. Iraqi democracy, propped up by US military force, is a sickly infant with an uncertain future. Nor does it help much that the only indisputably working democracy in that part of the world, Israel, has lately rained bombs on civilian targets in a feeble neighboring democracy, Lebanon.

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The Wanderer and apparantly a newspaper in Hong Kong believe Israel's incursion into Lebanon is about annexing the Litani River. Don't know about that, but it is disconcerting that more and more commentary about the cease-fire seems to indicate this is just a rest for each side to either regroup or rearm.

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Mr. Nichols wants to draft Wendell Berry for the 2008 presidential election. May not be a bad idea. I haven't voted for a major party candidate for president (except in primaries) in many a year. I have read something about W. Berry on Catholic and agrian blogs, but haven't read anything by him.....

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While I don't listen to NPR usually, recently I have found myself in the car more often than usual lately. I missed this piece yesterday-but heard the previews for it. Now if my sound card worked, I would listen to it online. It is of particular interest-being somewhat local to us and being on a property somewhat similar in size to us. Of course I spend most of my time doing other things than farming....

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We are embarking on a new path in homeschooling this year: Unit Studies. The idea is that you study one general or specific topic in great depth-usually this topic will span several subjects and can be adapted at the same time to multiple grade levels.

For example, you could do a unit study on South Carolina. This obviously would cover history and geography. But you could include a study of Catholicism in SC, scientists and scientific discoveries related to SC. SC literature through the years. etc. and etc. (Catechism and Math would probably be covered in separate classes.)

You get the idea. The unit study is usually centered on a topic which may lean towards one academic course-but the periphials cover almost all subjects. While it seems particularly applicable to center on history or geography, you could certainly (and we will) center the unit study on other subjects, like religion or science. And you go in depth-so you learn how to learn.

Our first unit study is going to be about latter 19th century America. Mrs. Curley will be reading the "Little House" books aloud. We hope to visit a living heritage farm. We will study Catholicism in America during this time. We will learn folk songs and hymns from the period. I'm told the kids will have the opportunity to wash their clothes by hand one day in the coming weeks on a wash board. They will learn how to cook some popular dishes from the period as well as breadmaking. They will read some of the literature (according to age) from the period and read several books about the period and peoples. Some of the older ones may interview an expert on some aspect of the period. They will do fall planting and garden prep by hand. You get the idea: crafts, geography, art.

We will end the unit study with a "barn-raising" complete with music, dancing, games and costumes I am told. It looks to be a lot of work, but it also sounds like we will all learn something.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...Oremus pro invicem!