 <p>As dnndeveloper says, your answer is <code>ObjectContext.CreateObject&lt;T&gt;.</code></p> <p>So you're gonna want - </p> <pre><code> Dim ci = _db.CreateObject(Of CalenderItem)() ci.OrderDetail = _orderDetail ci.Image = c.image ci.YearMonth = c.YearMonth _orderDetail.CalenderItems.Add(ci) </code></pre> <p>or something along those lines. I've run into this issue a couple of times and this has worked so far.</p> <p>HTH</p>