Some Old Books

The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore, by Laura Lee Hope, published in 1907.

This year my daughter is reading through the Bobbsey Twins series.  Needing a bit more structure from our delight-directed studies from last year (which I will blog about soon), I went towards more of a Robinson Curriculum style.  What that means is... the three R's with LOTS OF GOOD BOOKS. 

There aren't a lot of Bobbsey Twins books listed in the main book list for the Curriculum, though they are listed in the alternative list.  I enjoy reading through a series of books.  I find that, with a series, you spend a lot of time with the characters and they become a part of you.  I certainly felt that way about the Little House series or Anne of Green Gables.  And while there are some amazing stand-alones in literature, a series of books still gets to me as an adult.  (I'm pretty sure the Baxter family has followed me throughout my Christian walk as an adult.)

Through the years, I have enjoyed sharing some of my favorite series with my children.  I have also discovered others that mean as much to me as they do to my children, such as the Penderwicks or Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia.  Reading an older series, such as the Bobbsey Twins or Ruth Fielding, has some distinct benefits in that the vocabulary and sentence structure is wonderful.

My twelve year old reads at a much higher level than most. The Bobbsey Twins series may be a little beneath her reading level, despite the age of the series, but still the writing is excellent.  For instance, here is a paragraph from chapter 8 of The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore.

It was not difficult to gather the beautiful blooms, that nested so cosily on the cool waters, too fond of their cradle to ever want to creep, or walk, upon their slender green limbs.  They just rocked there, with every tiny ripple of the water, and only woke up to see the warm sunlight bleaching their dainty, yellow heads.

Yes, cosily was spelled with an "s" and not a "z."  I find the writing flows and is descriptive and is an awesome piece of literature.  And, with older books, I never have to worry about questionable content.  Having a daughter that is a good reader means she could easily choose books from the library that are in the Young Adult section.  But... I don't want her reading many of those books.  When they books are older, I don't usually have to worry about battles with sexual situations or vulgarity.  There are some books that have racism in them, as was typical of the time period, but I can often skip them or talk about it with my child.  

I don't mind a mix of quality newer books with the old, but I find that the older books are often quite engaging.  I use the McGuffey Readers for similar reasons.  The vocabulary and sentence structure is top notch.  I have used the McGuffey Readers as a spine for spelling, vocabulary, and writing for a few years now and find they are supremely effective.  It doesn't take an hour to do, either.  

We have a different sort of education in our home.  No matter whether we are following a curriculum or following our own passions and delights, there are some foundations that I have stuck with for a number of years because they work.   These foundations help me to keep our school simple.  When I begin to add too much, I can tell.  School becomes stressful.  But when it is just the right amount and the foundations are in place, school simply flows much more smoothly.