Appreciating and using the Original McGuffey Readers

My intention is not to reinvent a post about the Original McGuffey Readers simply because on Large Family Mothering we have such fine posts that were written on using them. If you have plans of using them or just want to see how one family benefits from them I suggest popping over and reading her posts. I only want to share how much I appreciate the content and how it is used in the training of my children. Each of our children has read or are reading these books. I like to have them read the lesson to me so we can discuss any vocabulary words and to discuss the lesson and what is to be learned from it. Each child reads 2 lessons a week and the days are staggered for each child so that I typically only have 2-3 lessons a day to go over. This seems to work the best for us.

Here is a sample from the Original McGuffey Eclectic Third Reader that is from the lesson my daughter read to me today.

Line 4. It will cost something to be a Christian, it will cost more not to be so.

Line 6. They who deserve nothing should be content with anything.

Line 9. They that do nothing are on their way to do that which is worse than nothing.

Line 10. Christian graces are like perfumes, the more they are pressed, the sweeter they smell. They are like stars that shine brightest in the dark. Like trees, the more they are shaken, the deeper root they take and the more fruit they bear.

Line 11. Sin yields its pleasures first, but pain is sure to follow. The pleasures on sin are only for a season.

Line 17. Knowledge will not be acquired without pains and application. It is troublesome digging for deep, pure waters, but when once you come to the spring, they rise up and meet you.

Line 18. There are no principles but those of Christianity, to be depended on in cases of real distress. These are able to encounter the worst emergencies, and to bear us up under all the changes and chances to which our lives are subject.