Going Old School

Homeschooling is a privilege. One of the greatest things about homeschooling is the freedom to hand pick the curriculum from which my children can better understand the world around them. When I talked to my grandmother about homeschooling, she told me stories of how well she was taught in the church that was used for a schoolhouse during the week in their community and the readers they would use in the classroom. Listening to her gave me a great idea. It seemed that I would be able to incorporate my love for antiques into homeschooling. I have always seen primary readers when I perused through the old books section of local antique shops and I thought they were beautiful but other than that I didn’t pay much mind. Until, of course, I was able to reuse them as an inexpensive addition to our curriculum. We could use them for subjects such as Reading and Grammar for which they were intended but the way these old stories were written also integrated History and Social Studies and broadened their vocabulary to include tools, accessories, clothing, and cultural and social institutions that are no longer conventional. Antique readers reflect a time when church and school were commonly held in the same building and, in contrast with the books and lessons widely used today, Christian overtones are presented in the stories; wonderful words, stories, art, and lessons my children may have otherwise been neglected from the separation of church and state. Generally inexpensive, the readers range in price usually from $6 to $12 depending on how old and in what shape. I used the readers based on my children’s grade levels and found an Aldine Readers Book Three by Spaulding and Bryce (Newson & Company, 1918) for $10, a The Silent Readers Fifth Reader by Lewis and Rowland (The John C. Winston Company, 1920) for $6, and a Webster Readers Third Reader New Trails in Reading by Stone and Stone (Webster Publishing Company, 1932) for $2.50! Surviving antique readers are not uncommon and bring a graceful nostalgia to our homeschool environment and give my children more perspective on where we came from and where we are going.