Mcguffey through Charlotte's eyes

Someone has mentioned that all of this new/old learning can get one "bogged down" and going in circles--and this I understand completely.

I have found that I cannot approach the Ecclectic Series, or anything closely related to it, without utilizing some lenses which should make the whole process look a lot simpler.

I continue to read everything I can about the series and the authors, even the advertisements (both past and present) in order to get inside the intentions for these methods. I am also trying to keep in mind the culture and atmosphere of the times.

For one thing, not everyone had great access to the amounts of information we have today, so these books may be some of the only ones owned by a family, except for the Bible. This puts the information offered and the way it was presented in a entirely different light.

Also, life was much slower back then, and educational options were limited (e.g., the internet, various menu of educational options, etc.). There also wasn't a lot of pen and paper available to students, these items being quite expensive--the slate and oral learning were of the utmost importance, which meant that lessons were assigned in another way than they could be where pencil and paper could be procured in abundance.

These factors cause me to rethink the way I will use these materials as compared to the teachers of the past. I find myself not concentrating so much on the trifles and instead going for the meat of each lesson--the things I see they will need more in our current setting. Some methods should be kept, some should be simplified. Just as with any modern system of learning, all is subject to what God is leading us to do in our family--no one else's ideas can trump this, and I am referring here to the necessary time we need to take, the routine we need to follow and the specific needs of our young scholars, etc.

In addition, I am looking at things from a Charlotte Mason perspective, keeping her ideals in mind. I think that, done in the right way, she would approve of the McGuffey's, just not as strictly and as schoolishly as we might feel initially led to begin. These are perfect for dictation, oral and written narration, and copy work; in fact these things are encouraged even in the original texts in several places. The definitions and spellings are taken directly from the text. The math is very much like what she would have approved of, very logical, but relying more on one's mental faculties and concrete understanding of the methods and then progressing to abstract expressions.

The grammar is so short and sweet, especially at first (I am referring here to the Harvey's--there are multiples you can find of all sorts of flavors, but these actually refer to the McGuffey's). My children need this information, it helps to explain things they have questions about. I consider this more straight-forward and much easier to use (for a child over the age of 10) than the Andreola's book "English for the Thoughtful Child".

As for the geography I mentioned earlier, I am sorry I did not post a link before:

Monteith's Manual of Geography (including History and Astronomy)

I am still working on compiling this one, and my children are salivating over it, so I'd better hurry. I'm not sure how we will use it--but it is so fun to peruse that I am not sure I will have to "assign" anything other than to read, enjoy, share and discuss.

This is what I am doing for the next few weeks, or months:

Grammar--we are working through Harvey's Grammar, taking one lesson daily (only four per week) through lesson 25 (lesson 26 is participles--pretty heady stuff) so that my pupils will have a better grasp on mechanics before we begin the readers in earnest. I have discovered that they are much more enthused when they look up examples for the lessons in their own readers.

Math--I am just going over some of the different lessons in the first Ray's orally until we get our "sea legs", then I will hopefully have enough copies comb-bound to give each child his/her own copy at his/her own level and then set them loose, being available for questions, direction and oversight.

Penmanship--We are daily working through the Spencerian penmanship until I am seeing some consistently good handwriting, the children love this part. This is self-paced, since we have such a large range of ages.

Spelling--using the revised speller as an oral drill book for those who have struggled, just a column a day.

The eight-year-old is being tutored by her older sister in spelling and math (my older daughter begged me for this privilege).

The six-year-old is beginning to read, just after using phonics flash cards--just the basic long and short vowels, as well as the basic consonant sounds (I am still using the ones I bought from Rod and Staff some 20 years ago, MES English has some pretty good free printables, or you could use the Phonics Made Plain from Mott Media) and the Johnson's Primer (love this one--it contains some memory ideas and the lessons even include some penmanship instruction, beginning with simple lines, and color recognition) as well as the McGuffey Primer (love this one, too!). What a joy it is seeing her eyes light up as she sounds out simple words.

For the toddler, I have enjoyed sharing stories from various primers and readers I have found on the internet, interspersed with Frog and Toad and preceded by hours of Dr. Seuss.

As far as time goes, we use about 2.5 hours in the morning, that includes the 6-year-old. Of course, learning goes on all day, with scripture, discussions, reading aloud before bed, handicrafts, nature study, etc., but this is mostly spontaneous, as it should be.

Just as a note of interest, I read recently that McGuffey was a wonderful Christian man, a preacher of his day. He also began teaching children (48 in a classroom) at the age of 14! This man had a heart for God, which is so evident in the original McGuffey's, with numerous references to sin, salvation, etc. I am so impressed at his ability to take human icons, such as Alexander the Great, and size them up according to the Word of God (even Napoleon is not safe--but he is addressed in the 6th reader, which I understand was written by William's brother after the original's were produced).

Some additional sites that might interest you:

McGuffey Museum

McguffeyReaders.com

Continuing the journey...

Bit of this and that

Summer is happening here--

--we are busy identifying all sorts of growing things, from birds to bugs and everything in-between.

Dental appointments--I have chosen this little lull in things to get them all taken care of--note to self: don't let the dentist talk me into doing only one-filling-at-a-time-for-5-weeks-straight!

Uniform--baby--diaper only, unless we are going out. How wonderful to view her soft, buttery self unencumbered. Girls--skirts (with shorts underneath for rolling down hills and climbing), hair up in buns and braids. Boys--old things so they will be able to paint things around the house and go wading through all sorts of stuff at the nature park.

Music--I don't know why, but we sing a lot of songs from the 40's around here--Danny Kaye and the Andrews Sisters--we like to harmonize, etc. We are also learning to sing "In Christ Alone"--what a powerful, modern hymn, singing it puts courage in one's heart and strengthens the "spirit man". I have also re-discovered the playlist from Eyes of Wonder--it's worth waiting for the pictures to load.

God is teaching me--humility. I am learning all sorts of new things to repent of daily. Repentence is wonderful, it is a freeing and lovely thing to be about--not at all damaging, but lifting. I am so thankful that He gives me beauty for the ashes I offer up daily...

Learning, learning, learning, about Ecclectic Learning. The time I am taking is so great because I have children at 8 different levels.  Just as in everything else, I found myself over-complicating at first, and I am looking at the whole process now through the eyes of years of de-schooling and things are simplifying again. I am still so excited!

I want to share more of my discoveries as I go along, first to calm the fears of those who are starting out--no, you will not need to spend the amount of time and energy that I am--I am not beginning at the beginning, which makes me have to do a lot of "catch-up".

A story from one of our history readers struck me the other day. A certain pioneer family had the chance to send the littlest children to a school, the older boys being needed to help their father at home. The boys at school were unrully, the schoolmaster strict and unyielding, so the children begged to stay home to help out, too. All of them knew how to read the family Bible, so their mother told them they all could get their lessons at home, as long as they agreed to read the Bible aloud every night--sounds right! They already knew how to do many more useful things than our children may ever know. No matter how much we may need to give our children the tools of life-long learning, we must always remember to keep a good humor about us, to let them play and laugh and explore, and give them meaningful, real work to do that helps the family out--this builds so many good things in them.

My husband has gone out of his way to facilitate our 19th Century educating. He has made it possible for me to bind more books, and is enthused each time I share new things we are discovering. Our funnest thing of late is Monteith's Geography--I plan on comb-binding these today. Just think, this book (from the 1870's) gives the origin of man as Adam, and the emergence of man as somewhere in the 4000's BC, and even references the Great Deluge as being around 2900 BC--wonderful! Of course, the countries and some of the Almanac statistics have changed drastically, but this is history, too, and is it ever interesting! Almost every page includes a charming illustration of some sort, and it is done in a question-answer format--grasping and keeping the attention easily.

Penmanship--I am enjoying filling in line after line right along with my children--we are using the Spencerian method--so much science and math with this one. We talk and sing together while we scribe along--this is great for a lot of reasons.

We have put aside the readers until I can get my older children up-to-speed in the areas of grammar and penmanship, probably by the end of summer. We are also needing to get used to the new method of 'rithmetic. I am not concerned about the 6 and 8-year-old, although my oldest daughter at home is tutoring her in math and spelling for about 1/2 hour each day during quiet time.

Some neat sites to explore:

Beautiful Womanhood

The Art of Manliness  * Some content on this site may be objectionable.

I leave you with a little reminder that, even though by all reports the world is falling apart, God is the same, and His plans for those that love Him never change. Don't lose heart--continue in that work He has given you and live as though He were returning today, but plan as though He might not return for a thousand years.

Sherry

Home missionaries

Our Perfect, Precious, Princess, Patience turns 1-year-old this Saturday. This morning I awoke to her clinging to me, as she is accustomed to doing most of the night, and realizing just how much I love nursing babies and sleeping with them. Then I reminded myself that this may be my last opportunity, that I am "getting up there", perhaps already at the end of these blessed times. No amount of money or influence could ever replace the charms our home has known because of our little babies.

One of my grown daughters just returned from a missions trip to Peru. Among the stories she shared with us were the heart-breaking tales of the orphans; victims of tragedy in a desperate land. My mother's heart was stirred, and besides praying, I found myself wishing I could do something more "tangible".

Right now there are myriads of people who need the tangible. My husband is in touch with people who go throughout the world, often risking their own lives (some die) putting their faith into action. Because of the economy, etc., donations are down all over. If someone ever wanted to give financially, now would be the time. Also, if someone was called to go and do, there are plenty of opportunities.

But I am the mother of 15 children, and I have a nursing baby, and it doesn't seem as though I am caring for the world at large at all, so I asked God what He thought.

He told me that I, and others like me, are also doing and going, just in a more vissionary sense.

Every time I speak blessings over my children, I am expressing my faith. Every time I pour God's Word and vision into them, I am walking out and spreading the Gospel of peace.

Each time I take my job seriously and give them boundaries and teach them responsibility, I am involved in vital ministry.

Every time I go out in public and love my children and they are well-cared for, with clean clothes and clean faces and hands, I am showing forth God's goodness.

When they see me actively supporting and loving my husband, I am changing a culture. When they witness me doing without and thanking God for the privilege of staying home with them each day, I am preaching sermons to thousands that I may never meet.

My dear daughter was able to go half-way around the world and play with orphans and give them a little of herself--why was that? I'd like to think some of myself was there, too, in the way she saw them all as precious and worth caring for. She knew how to do silly things like paint the little orhpan girls' fingernails and fix their hair up and color with them, things we were always doing together in our house as she grew up.

Although in the middle of a desert, without even any way to wash her clothing, she wanted to stay; she wanted to love and treasure and state by her life that children are precious gifts from God, no matter if they are the product of a br*thel or r*pe, or if they have been beaten so badly they are disfigured in body and mind.

I can't hop in a plane and fly to an emerging world to give of my all, but I can grab my six-year-old and squeeze her when she comes up to ask me a question. I can tell my teen-aged son that God sees great things in him, and encourage him to keep up the good fight on his way to noble manhood. I can tell my daughters they are lovely; I can listen to them when they share their hearts with me.

When my husband calls me on the phone, I can put aside all of the things I have to do and give him a little encouragement as he is out there in the midst of the mess that is the "rat race", courageously thrusting ahead and guarding and providing for our large family--what a man I have married!

We should never squander the opportunites we have each day to be "world-changers", one precious person at a time.

19th-Century learning today

So how do I put 19th century learning into practice?

I could tell you how I would approach it, but you may assume that I already have a background in teaching children, and so if you are new to the whole thing, it may still seem intimidating.

That’s why I asked my husband to tell me how he would approach teaching a child to read with the basic, 1937 McGuffey’s Primer. He told me that he would read the lesson and helps and allow the ideas to naturally begin to present themselves.

I love him—he always knows how to cut through the haziness of an issue and get straight to the point.

For instance, at the beginning of the primer the alphabet is presented, both in capitals and small letters. It would be a good idea to take time to familiarize a young child in these symbols, and to explain the sounds they make. Eventually any child could begin to practice writing them. If the sounds of the letters were repeated (routine recitation) each day for a fortnight (two weeks' time) almost any young scholar would be able to recognize them. Engaging in this small exercise takes but a few minutes, which would be easy to do, even with a distracted preschooler.

The Lord gave me the idea of taking the phonics pictures in the revised speller, printing, cutting them out, and hole punching each one. Then I put these little cards on loose-leaf binder rings (which I found at Office Depot for a dollar a package) and gave them to the little girls on lanyards (from our old YMCA cards) and had them wear them around the house for practice with their basic phonics sounds.

Another idea is to buy phonics cards from the store (even the dollar store has some good ones), hole-punch them and put them on rings (this keeps them from being lost and scattered all over the house). Any type of drill, even household guidelines and scriptures for memorization can be put on these rings.

At some point it would be helpful to separate the vowels from the consonants and to make sure all of the sounds of the vowels are introduced and learned, including the alternate sound of “y”. The soft sounds of the consonants “g” and “c” should also be taught.

Once a child is pretty familiar with the basic sounds, reading the simple words and demonstrating for the child how to read from left to right and sound out the words is very important. The lessons provided in these older primers from this point on should progress relatively easily, but it is vitally important to never get ahead of your little one; never, never push him beyond his readiness to comprehend! This leaves a bad taste in his mouth for learning and makes him feel inept. Always be positive, enthusiastic and supportive when teaching. Everyone has bad days, and often we learn things in spurts. Allowing your child to feel inferior or develop a sense of failure can be a death nil to the love for learning that is naturally within your scholar. Don't put your eagerness or ego ahead of your child's sense of success.

It would be better to take more time each day and read aloud a variety of books that interest him, then, at a later date pick up the lessons again when he is ready to make a new start.

This is just a beginning (the Bible cautions, "...not to despise the day of small beginnings."). I will share more on using numerous books and other topics in future posts.

Meanwhile, here are some tips and resources:

Copybooks--did you know Sam's Club is a great place to find basic supplies for this type of learning? I ordered some Roaring Spring copy books (elementary ruled, for 1st and 2nd grade) when I did my last "click and pull" on-line when ordering my monthly groceries. The amazing part is the shipping was FREE, and two of the books arrived the very next day! I only paid $1.18 per book! I also purchased Efficiency Ampad steno pads for the older students, which I think worked out to about $.50 a piece--I am remember hearing that school children used to receive a single Big Chief pad and a pencil per term!

I have bought the Ray's Arithmetic series, the 1837 McGuffey's, both Harvey's Grammars and Spencerian Penmanship which were produced by Mott Media (along with Beechick's guides and the answer books--through Amazon.com). I covered the hard-bound books with clear plastic jackets, much like public libraries use. I did this by cutting the bottom and side "stitching" on a sheet protector, opening it up, and folding then taping it. As a general rule, I cover all of my paperbacks with clear contact paper to protect them. I also hope soon to have the guide from Betty Burger for McGuffey as recommended by one of my dear readers.

There were other ecclectic-type series that were produced. There were Franklin Readers and some written by Town. The Heman's Reader for Female Schools is fascinating to me, and was part of the original Eclectic Series along with the McGuffey's--lots of encouragement here for Godly womanhood and stay-at-home daughters (I am indebted here to Ignite the Fire for her lists that put me on the path to these wonderful gems).

An Old Fashioned Education is another marvelous resource site.

I know there are some veteran comb-binder users out there who could teach me a few things, but I tried a few books myself. I figured using the most economical setting on my printer, putting two pages per sheet of paper, and getting the comb-binding done for $1.89 each (at Office Depot it doesn't matter how thick), a 100-page book costs about $6 (@$.05 per page). I understand laser printers cost considerably less, but inkjet is what we own right now! I used the free Emporium Capitals font and some art from the Art Renewal Center to decorate the covers (just type words like "class", "teacher" or "child" in the museum search engine on the site).

If you haven't discovered it yet, Happy Hearts Homeschooling Library is full of resources for "eclectic" learning--Alexandra has blessed us with all her hours of research and compilation. On her recommendation I have found a few more charming primers for little ones and literature sources for the older ones. A helpful book for bringing this all together is The Course of Study and Manual of Methods for Michigan Schools.

Remember, this is an exciting journey and we will learn as we go...

Re-discovering eclectic learning

If there is anything I have learned over these last 22 years of homeschooling, it is that teaching children is not as difficult as we have made it out to be the last 100 years or so. Familiarizing myself with the methods and texts from the 19th century, the century which produced the entrepreneurs, explorers, inventors and the like that built up our great country has confirmed this for me. The problem lies in taking a mind, such as mine, which is used to being fed like a baby penguin with pre-digested food, and training it to obtain, chew and swallow whole ideas that need to be broken down and digested without being overly influenced by the interpretation of others.


The Pilgrims knew how to obey God and trust Him to show them the next step. The founding fathers relied on the Almighty to aid them as they laid the foundations for a nation such as the world had never seen before. The pioneers left their homes in the East fortified only with self-education and the family Bible.

The Eclectic Series of Learning, and others like it from the same era, were widely used by teachers who may not have been no more than 16 years old themselves, yet were in charge of classrooms filled with students of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Amazingly, I have heard it said, that the entrance requirements for college in those days were more stringent than the graduation requirements of college in our present times.

So how, indeed, am I utilizing these old texts?


First, I am reading and studying them for myself. I am taking the simplest approach in my perusal of them by allowing the "teacher helps" to suggest the things that are most important to teach my children. By beginning this way, I aid myself in discovering the things I must re-learn. The same is true as I reacquaint myself with math as Ray’s presents it. I have been snatching minutes here and there to prepare myself to teach in this way--reawaking my own discovery instincts. This seems to be most difficult in the primers, since there is so little information per lesson, but there is a reason these are short and sweet. Reading the same material over and over to a small child, as long as it is done with a heart of love, interest and enthusiasm, is an effective way to help him in assimilation—I am thinking here of how many times I have read the same Dr. Seuss books repeatedly to the same child until they have been memorized by the both of us!


It is important to remember that children of the past did not spend as many hours in school—they had families to be a part of, and work to do. I once read that Livingstone, the same physician-missionary-explorer who discovered the head of the Nile River in Africa, attended school for a few hours after work each night, and “got his lessons” in-between attending the spools in a cloth factory during the day.


Real learning should never conflict with real life, and so this system is not meant to be an end in itself, but the means to an end. Everything presented has a practical purpose (even learning how to honor God and live a noble life is woven throughout these materials). This is why the lessons are not filled with useless information and are devoid of seat-work. We are so used to workbooks and the like that we feel unsure of ourselves without them, but as long as the material is presented well, and then mastered through repetition and oral recitation, we can rest assured that nothing further is necessary!


This works well with our family motto “Homeschooling is everything, and everything is homeschooling”.

I have also come to the conclusion from literature I have read from the era that “getting one’s lessons” meant reading and memorizing information so that it could be recited before the class. My reading children will be required to practice reading out loud and to have the suggested spelling words memorized for oral recitation. The same goes for the math facts in Ray’s Arithmetics.


Enlightening ideas I have gleaned from numerous homeschooling authors are being confirmed to me—treating each child as a scholar, not a dullard; small, consistent lessons are better, especially at young ages; work, exercise and play are important; working at one’s own level and pace for mastery is best, etc. For instance, in the preface of one of the primers I noted a very important quote, "To awaken noble sentiments, and to sow seed for good in the hearts of children, should be the aim of ever teacher."


A great question is the requirements of the State. There should be no conflict here at all. I am convinced that any child beginning at the age of 6 with Ray’s and McGuffey’s should easily out-perform any public-schooled child in any standardized test by the age of 8—given he has had adequate time and resources for delight-directed studies and is familiarized with test-taking strategies. The methods employed here will give a better education in a few years than is given in 12 years in most modern schools.


My dear son can attest to this. He is a manager of employees with high school diplomas, several headed for college, who cannot perform basic math to run a cash-register. 8th-grade students of the 19th and early 20th century could do most figures in their heads!


Also, building a portfolio with these books would not be difficult at all. Ruth Beechick has created charts to keep track of such things as an educator would deem important and that would aid a parent in creating a proper presentation. It would not be difficult to create one without her help, however.


I have purchased composition books from Roaring Spring for the youngest set and steno books for the older set for practice and copywork. I will also be creating rings for memorization of certain basic facts (more on this later). Our wipe-off board should be employed regularly as well. I have also become sort of a public-domain junkie and have been downloading and printing and comb-binding more books (more on this later, as well). The children are begging me to get started on our new, old “program”, but I’m just not quite ready—I need more time to prepare and familiarize (I am having so much fun!). My husband is just as excited as I am, and it was at his suggestion that I took a break to write this post so that you could become encouraged, too.

If a 16-year-old young lady could teach a whole classroom using these old texts, it can’t be “rocket science”, just a different way of approaching learning; a better way.

I will be posting my discoveries as we continue this journey together.

The places I have been

I have spent hours and hours in research and re-education these past days.

I am not new to homeschooling. I started out with a curriculum prepared by a reputable over site group. It was not a successful attempt, a total, frustrating waste of money.

From there I moved on to Rod and Staff--I did not know what I should be doing and when, so I figured the creators of this curriculum knew more than I did, and besides, it was affordable and conservative and used lots of the Word. My poor children labored like slaves in a sweat shop trying to fill in all of those workbooks--I still have the memory of my dear son sighing as he tried diligently to please me, his fingers red with all of the tedious filling of spaces on a page. After realizing that buying separate curricula for each child was neither price nor time effective, my quest continued.

At one point I bought those workbooks that are supposed to contain a complete year's worth of learning in one volume--these were quite interesting, but not necessarily Christian, and my kids were still stuck filling out pages and pages of material that pretty much went in one ear and out the other.

Then I got hooked on unit studies, etc. My confidence to trust my instincts and just enjoy learning were built up by Kathryn Stout and her "Design-a-study" books. Slowly I could feel the tentacles of my own public schooling loosening their grip on my mind. My children were grateful.

After reading through 10 years of Home Education Magazine (I was given a whole box of these that were left at a curriculum fair), and reading For the Children's Sake, among other things, I branched out even more. Add to these books by John Taylor Gatto, Ruth Beechick, Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore, Marilyn Howshall, and Charlotte Mason (via Karen Andreola), and I thought my education was pretty complete.

Then realizing I have a new "crop" of children, all with different needs, and I needed to go further still. Discovering antique texts and methods has been just what I needed at just the right time.

Over the past few weeks I have read and familiarized myself with the education that was a part of the formation of our nation, including philosophy and methodology. I have come to a few conclusions:

• What we spend time learning today is pretty much useless compared to what they used to think was valuable (knowing about iPod apps will not help you in times of distress or disaster).

• All of my favorite educational philosophers (the ones I have listed above), are in total agreement with the methods of the past as practiced in these old materials--this was confirming to me. Consider that there was to be no written math work allowed until the 3rd year--and they did not use "grades", as it was hinted many students did not enter school until the age of ten. I also read that they considered as little time as was necessary for little ones to be engaged in "formal" learning; that play was essential to development (nothing new under the sun)--I wonder that more folks are pressing their little ones into earlier and earlier schooling, when our country was built with folks who weren't trained this way at all.

• That I am a well-educated ignoramus, that I need to re-learn most of what I was ever taught, and that teaching my children should help me!

Someone has asked me "How do you use McGuffey's?" --good question. It has always boggled me that there are no instructions in these books--but that is part of the magic of the method.

We are so used to being spoon-fed every step, but in the past teachers and parents were used to using their own brains--trust me, I know what it feels like to have lost that ability, but it can be recaptured.

Look out for my next post, it will be filled with links and helps.