Homeschool Resources: McGuffey Readers

I first read about McGuffey's Eclectic Readers in The Well-Trained Mind.  Since then, I have read many positive reviews elsewhere.  At first, I really questioned whether I needed a set of readers at all.  We have lots of books to read already.  In the end, I did purchase this set of readers because they were so widely acclaimed.  I am really glad to have them.

The set I own includes seven books: a primer and books 1 through 6.  These readers were first published in the 1880s.  Each book is broken down into lessons, with the Primer having 52 lessons and the sixth volume having 138.  As you would expect the lessons increase in difficulty and length as you proceed through the series.  The print is also larger in the first few volumes for beginning readers also.  The lessons really are an eclectic mix with selections of short stories, fables, poetry, etc. I really like these readers because of the moral values that are taught throughout the selected readings: obeying your parents, working hard, telling the truth and much more.  Many other books out there marketed as readers are just plain silly, but these are very substantive.  The quality of the writing is also excellent.

I have read that some people actually use these readers to teach their children to read.  I have not used them this way; I use them for practice reading aloud. Mary and I sit together on the couch during a quiet moment of the day and she reads a lesson out loud to me.  I follow along so that I can help her with difficult words.  Then, I ask her to tell me what we read about and we discuss the story.  If there is unfamiliar vocabulary, we also review the new words. We have been proceeding through the volumes lesson by lesson this way (though I can't say that we actually do this daily as we ought) and are currently in the fourth volume.