What vintage reference and anthology type sets do you recommend?

[stm4him]

I think I am wanting to build some sort of curriculum for our content areas around old sets of books.  So far, I know a little bit about The Book of Life, The Book of Knowledge, Colliers Classics (if I am saying that correctly), My Bookhouse, and Journeys Through Bookland.  Which do you recommend or what else do you recommend and if possible, include any information about which years are best, best places to purchase, etc.  

 

Also, if you use them regularly in your home I would love to hear more about it.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[SilverMoon]

This old thread has some great info. Refill your coffee first.

 

We own complete sets of My Book House, Collier's Junior Classics, The Children's Hour, Childcraft, Journeys Through Bookland, and a few parts and pieces of others.

 

I think Journeys is the one you really have to watch. Get an older set with 10 volumes instead of the newer one with 8; they cut a lot of the content out with the newer publications.

 

My 1st and 4th girls used parts of the first four in my list for their geography studies this past year. My rising 5th and 7th graders have read full volumes of My Book House and Journeys on their own. DD/rising 5th will read through volumes 3 and 4 of Journeys for fifth grade.

 

Childcraft is the oddball. It's nearly all shorter articles, 1-3 pages each. We've used the science books heavily for kids to read on their own.

Edited September 10, 2023 by SilverMoon

[SilverMoon]

Doh. To start with for younger kids I'd go with Collier's Junior Classics. For older kids who can read classics independently, Journeys Through Bookland.

[stm4him]

We have a 1991 set of Childcraft because I found it on Craigslist for $10 but I don't know how it compares to older sets. My kids like them ok.

[ElizaG]

Through Golden Windows (circa 1958) and Best in Children's Books are our family's favorite anthologies.  They're mainly for younger children, and they're not heavy on literary content, but I tend to prefer using separate books for the study of literature with the older ones.

 

If we could only keep one set that would cover both homeschooling and pleasure reading, I'd choose the original Young Folks' Library (circa 1905, I think?), which came into our house thanks to the thread linked above. 

 

For some reason, I don't find the Colliers, My Book House, or Bookland series very appealing.   So it seems that we don't all share the same tastes!  :001_smile:

[lllll]

nm

[8filltheheart]

OOP books I not only like but have been core books my kids have used for learning (not in any particular order):

 

Landmark books

Signature series books

Horizon-Caravel books

Some of the All about Science titles (some provide solid introduction to topics; some are out of date)

Time-Life History of the World series

American Heritage Jr Library series

Our Living Nature series

JttB (my daughters love these books)

Collier Jr Classics (I love reading these to my younger kids)

 

Not a fan--Picturesque Tales of Progress (I have a beautiful old set that I would be happy to sell)

 

When it comes to older versions of the Great Books of Western Civ, we only use a few titles. There are better translations available these days then the ones included in ours. (Obviously does not apply to not translated works ;) )

[stm4him]

How would you homeschool with a few sets of these?  If this were your main content curriculum.....

[stm4him]

And where can I find basic information about various sets?  Is there a good website?

 

How about blogs that use these kinds of books as a staple of their homeschool?

[8filltheheart]

How would you homeschool with a few sets of these? If this were your main content curriculum.....

I don't. I don't teach anything the same way twice. Some of my kids have used some of them, some of them others, and we most definitely incorporate modern writings as well. I wouldn't even want to educate my kids with all vintage books.

 

Valerie's Living Books has a decent description of various series.

[SilverMoon]

I can't think of one I'd solely teach from. My Book House, Collier's, and Journeys could cover lit and some history. We've used Childcraft as supplements to our science topics.

 

There are some individual old books I'd use for science. Like The Human Body: What It Is and How It Works (Mitchell Wilson) is plenty for elementary kids. The big Golden Book of _______ for science and history. (Chemistry, Civil War, etc). But these aren't usually found in handy sets.

[SilverMoon]

I'd love to find a fat set of Landmark books! I just pick them up one at a time as I run across them at sales and thrift shops.

[ElizaG]

It depends on the age, and on what you mean by "content curriculum."

 

Any of these series could be a basis for informal elementary unit studies in history and natural science.  I'd just look through them for one or two relevant selections, and we'd read them together and perhaps use them for other language arts activities.  Then we'd branch out to some hands-on activities, maybe field trips, or a look at a couple of web sites (checked by me beforehand) to answer any questions we have.  

 

This is pretty much my default method of doing "content subjects," and it works well for us.   We generally also have a shelf with newer books, pictures, and models for those who'd like to explore further, but you could just have your older children make the models, and print some pictures and information from the Internet and put them in a folder.   You could also have a page in the folder with a list of additional book passages, and a list of other resources in your home or community.  (I keep meaning to start doing that!)

 

For high school, or if you're planning to have them do a lot of fact-oriented independent work (research reports and that sort of thing), I agree with 8 that you would need more current books.  

[stm4him]

I think for the elementary years it could be enough if you have a solid language arts curriculum and math curriculum.  And when I say "it" I mean various sets of books like these as you find them here and there.  There wouldn't necessarily need to be a certain set as long as science, history, Bible, and literature were covered.  Something like How to Tutor followed by Saxon Math and Hake Grammar and Writing would be sufficient.  For everything else they could read from these books and listen to a variety of music for music appreciation and read about the composers in the books.  I would have them notebook and draw about what they read in the sets and as long as they were reading Bible, fiction, and nonfiction each day I would not care that much what it was.  I could also read aloud selections for these and have them journal a response and then free-read what they wanted with possibly a required amount of time or something.  One wouldn't necessarily need a curriculum like Hake if you were able to teach spelling, grammar, and writing directly from the books, but a lot of people wouldn't feel comfortable doing that.  I think thorough grammar instruction is necessary before other languages so I probably wouldn't be ok with not having a set curriculum.  So for example, a day could look like:

 

Memory work and recitations using selections from the reference sets (poetry, prayers, songs, lists, etc. as desired by Mom or suggested in guides)

1 hour read aloud from book sets and Bible (or set about the Bible like The Book of Life which has KJV text)

Journal and draw from the readings, oral narrations

Readers do Saxon Math and Hake Grammar while Mom meets with non-readers using HTT or sets of flashcards (penmanship, phonics, numbers or math facts)

Mom double checks math and grammar and works with readers on writing

 

Once finished with the grammar books (meaning completed them), they could move on to other languages.  Music theory or practice could be done before or after school.  If the read aloud is too much or not going well or Mom doesn't have time, students could just read from the sets, journal/draw, and practice memory work independently and then share with Mom and/or the rest of the family.  To me, this is a pretty old school/organic way to homeschool. 

 

[FawnsFunnyFarm]

Childcraft for younger kids and The Goldenbook Encyclopedia for after that would probably be my top 2 reference choices off of my shelves.

 

My Bookhouse and Collier's New Junior Classics would be my story anthology choices from what I have. Most Collier's do not contain "new" in the name, but thy appear to be the same or very similar.

[ElizaG]

Once finished with the grammar books (meaning completed them), they could move on to other languages.

Would this be at the beginning of high school, or junior high, or 5th/6th grade, or ???  Just trying to figure out the overall plan & goals you're working with. 

 

I tend to think that it's simpler to start at least one foreign language as early as possible, and teach grammar along with the language.  Whichever way they're learning the grammar, though, if they start the languages in high school, they're not likely to become proficient without very intense work.   And the standard high school schedule is already very full, IMO. 

 

For a modern language, once they had a grasp of the pronunciation and some vocabulary, they could even make some use of children's anthologies in that language.  For instance, these volumes might have little verses that could be memorized, or classic stories that would be easier to understand since the children already knew them in English.  (Though for languages that have undergone significant reforms, e.g. German, it would probably be best to avoid vintage books at this stage.)   Of course, you could also do this with older learners, but they would probably be less interested in the subject matter.  :001_smile:

[stm4him]

There isn't necessarily an age goal.  For example, some children can do Saxon 5/4 in 2nd grade or younger if their reading skills are strong enough and they know their math facts.  My 8 year old (who was in 2nd grade this year) is having no problems with 5/4 so far.  He started reading at 6.  I have one who is learning to read at 5 right now and I could potentially have a child even younger than that read since I still have 3 more to teach.  If they can read and do 5/4, they can probably begin Hake Grammar.  There are six books and each book has about 150 lessons I think.  The lessons take 30-50 minutes and I am thinking mine may do more than one per day and we school year round.  That being said, my kids work at their own pace, so my older two very frequently have to go back and redo lessons because they missed too much.  So what I am saying is that some kids could fly through 6 books of grammar and writing in 3-4 years and be ready to start Spanish at 10 or 11.  Some kids could be 16 before they are ready.  I know that doesn't give them much time before they are 18, but it is enough to get the credits and they can always continue the study after high school.   Coupled with some sort of immersion experience like being part of a Spanish ministry or church service weekly and a Spanish speaker in the home (my husband is basically fluent), I think it would be ok.  Maybe even a missions trip or two.  

 

I learned more intensive grammar (or at least was supposed to be learning) while learning French and it didn't go well for me.  My husband who diagrammed his rear off in middle school did much better in Spanish because he already had a firm grasp of grammar before starting.  I want to take that route for my kids, too.

[kubiac]

Valerie's Living Books is a great resource:

 

http://www.valerieslivinglibrary.com/#thebiglist

 

And another vote for Best in Children's Books:

 

https://www.etsy.com/search?q=%22best%20in%20children%27s%20books%22

[Ausmumof3]

I don't know if it's vintage but we have one of those massive Websters dictionary. The kids love looking stuff up in the dictionary though they get lost reading random definitions for fun.