I had heard of the Anne of Green Gables study quite a few years back, when a fellow homeschooling mom mentioned that her daughter would be starting it that particular fall. My eldest daughter was at the perfect age to begin the study, but alas-I had already purchased our curriculum for the year; and having just birthed our fourth child that summer-I knew it was not an option for us. I have pondered the Where the Brook and the River Meet many times hence, and yet-never purchased it. Well, after receiving it as a review product I just shake my head in regret. What a shame, as it has proven to be quite worthwhile, and know that my eldest would have truly enjoyed this study. Fortunately, my lovely 14 year old daughter is now able to dip her toes in the gentle river flowing through Anne's Avonlea, as it meanders through the early 20th Century era.
The revised edition offers up more than the discussion the chapters found in Anne of Green Gables by Maud Montgomery, but extends the program to encompass those very things that Ms. Montgomery experienced while growing up on Prince Edward Island, the goings on in her world at the turn of the century, and the beauty of the written word found in popular poetry and literature of the day. The Victorian Age is one of my most favorite historical eras, so this is especially intriguing to me. More over, my daughter has developed the love of the Age, so she too is finding this study to be most exciting as well.
Where the Brook and River Meet guide is divided into nine units (which cover a select set of chapters) that are broken down by activities the student is to complete. In the beginning of the manual, author Margie Gray, has thoughtfully laid out the mechanics of working through the study, how the different activities translate into high school credits, and offers Reading Contracts for Bible, History, Literature and Occupation Education which the student is to sign upon completion of said assignments in order to earn a particular grade. This combination creates a very easy way to track the student's progress, and to then assign a final credit to each subject. This is a one or two year study-depending on the speed of which the student wants to go through it.
Each chapter starts with a book list, a syllabus which notes the cooresponding activities, and a study guide to fill in. Please note: the instructor should inquire, assist and aid the student-but for the most part they can and should be able to work through this on their own. Literature, Bible, Health, Occupational Education, Fine Arts, Grammar/Writing and History are covered. You will need to supply your own programs for Math, Science, Foreign Language (all though she does encourage the study of Latin-you will still need to have a source for it), and other various electives your student may also want to work on during the study.
As a part of our package, we also received the book, Anne's Anthology, compiled and edited by Margie Gray. Since Ms. Montgomery sprinkled in much prose and poetry throughout her novel on Anne Shirley, no study on the series would be complete without such a lovely companion. It only makes sense to include this as well. This is a collection of several of the harder to find Victorian poems that were such a part of that era. Quotes from the Anne of Green Gables novel, with the drawings and photographs all add to it's charm. Also suggested for the study, is the Annotated Anne of Green Gables. This actually contains the novel, and valuable commentaries which cover the era and the book itself. If I had to make a tough financial choice, and could only get one or the other-I would recommend the Annotated Anne, as it is most beneficial and offers up the best bang for your buck. By all means, since this is a year or two long study, my ultimate suggestion would be to buy the Book Pack which contains all three of the resources.
This meaty program is a unit study; therefore, in order to get the full benefit of it, it will require more work for the homeschool instructor and student alike. If you are new to unit studies, then I suggest taking the slower approach (at first anyway) of stretching out the chapter assignments until the student is more comfortable with how it works. The study also requires a host of various books which are needed to complete it. A list is provided in the Introduction section and in the Planning Guide before each chapter. In addition to these, I would like to see a Master Book List-cataloging each book needed for each chapter/unit, so that I am sure not to miss anything, and/or can find/request them from my local library. I also would like to see a new, updated page reference list, for a current edition of Anne of Green Gables since the study uses the 1987 edition (if you are not using the Annotated Anne), which is becoming difficult to locate. This would avoid time delays from having to scour the newer edition for the specific page referred to in the guide. I should think a PDF file on their website should suffice for both of these suggestions. Other than that, my daughter and I also found that we preferred to continue with our current history studies, and only chose a few of the listed books referring to those historical time frames. I am a proponent for studying history in blocks of time (instead of in snippets) so as to truly develop knowledge and understanding of it. Hence, our decision to opt out of most of the history selections.
Luckily, I already had a large collection of the minor books used within the study and so, did not have to purchase them. If you chose to do the Where the Brook and River Meet study, I suggest ordering the basic book pack, then carefully going through the study to make notation of any additional books you will need (that you do not own or have access to), in order to have them ready and waiting for use. I also recommend that you take time to pre-read the study, as far ahead as time permits, so that you have a better understanding of what the next section will cover.
Overall, if you are a unit study kind of family, this will be a great fit for your high school student (I do not recommend this for children younger than 13-14 years old, due to the work load and reading requirements); and if you have never tried the unit study approach this should be a great way to begin them. Remember, you are not required to do everything, and should tailor it to your student's ability and your family's learning style. Frankly speaking, Anne Shirley (with an "e") is a delightful character which deserves special attention, and the Where the Brook and River Meet is a great way to provide just that.
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Cadron Creek Homepage
Where the Brook and River Meet Study Guide: $65.00
Anne's Anthology: $29.95
Anne's Pack: Study Guide, Annotated Anne of Green Gables and Anne's Anthology- $114.00
Anne's Daily Pack: Consists of Study Guide, Annotated Anne of Green Gables, Anne's Anthology, Writer's Inc., and the Green Gable Letters- $150.00
L.M. Montgomery resource link
Prince Edward Island Info
Official PEI site: order or instantly download your free island guide (upper right-hand corner)
Head to our TOS Crew Review Homepage for more information about Cadron Creek's Study Units, and many other fine homeschool products.
**Cadron Creek provided me with the free copy each of Where the Brook and the River Meet Unit Study Guide and Anne's Anthology Book, in order to test and use it with my family, so I could write this review.
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