So many of us homeschoolers enjoy the classics — books and educational guides from an older time period. Much of what we prefer is pre-1900. I’ve enjoyed introducing our family’s children to the classics, and they are richer (in mind) for it. They can understand a deeper language than the one used in society today, they understand references to old quotes, and they have a deeper vocabulary than I think they would otherwise have.
A fellow homeschooler suggested Wheeler’s Home Studies as an alternative to the ever-popular McGuffey Readers (which I found and wrote about here). I stopped in my tracks when I saw Wheeler’s Graded Studies in Great Authors: And a Complete Speller.
An 1899 book of classic quotes, organized into 186 lessons? Perfect! Each lesson teaches through doing. For example, in Lesson 70, “signs used for i as in pine” are introduced. The student will copy sentences and write from dictation. In this lesson, one of the quotes to by copied is, “I see, but cannot reach, the height that lies forever in the light,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
This curriculum could be used for any age that can read well, so it is a great option for homeschools teaching multiple grades.
Wheeler’s Graded Studies in Great Authors: And a Complete Speller is available free as a .pdf or may be read on the computer or downloaded to an e-reader.
Thank you very much for this! I appreciate it!
You’re so welcome!