A Storehouse of Sunshine Vintage Books By Lorraine Curry Jer. 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the OLD paths, where is the GOOD way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. Between somber covers, antique books hold a storehouse of sunshine. Precious pages radiate Godly values, which can-even now-inspire greatness in our families, for the glory of God, and well being of our nation. When first published, books were esteemed as prized possessions. Due to this loving care, many have been preserved for those of our generation who realize their true worth. Finding Antique Books Libraries. Several years ago, we received many classic and non-fiction books from a small library. We still search discard shelves and purchase those we find special. You can too! If your library doesn't have a designated place for these, ask. Sometimes they are collected for an annual sale. Thrift Shops. Thrift shops are another source for old books. Our older set of encyclopedias, a 1930 Book of Knowledge, wasn't even unpacked yet when we purchased it from Goodwill. Our affection grew stronger, when we saw its profuse content of literature, history, and art. At another store, we unearthed a lovely devotional book. This well-preserved heirloom (© 1936) is graced with exquisite writing; as well as photographs, sketches, poems, and scriptures. Yard Sales. At yard sales, our eyes are quick to spot, our hands quick to examine these keepsakes. With this method of book "searches," you will pay for the wind (gasoline) for your sails as you go "sale-ing." The tradeoff is usually a fun day, especially if you are blessed with pleasant weather. Here you will find some of the best bargains. If the price does seem high, offers are usually accepted. (Books are not always listed in garage sale ads.) Flea Markets, Antiques Shops During a recent visit to a small flea market, I found an abundance of delightful books, but had not planned on buying. But I just couldn't resist the petite 1867 poetry book with gilt-edged pages! As I paid for Longfellow, Tennyson and Browning, I commented on the clerk's mental arithmetic skills being a product of these books. She said, "I have some at home that I will give you, if you make good use of them." Surprised-and yet not surprised-I thought of Luke 6:38: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom." I thought of how much money I could have just spentand how the Lord had freely blessed us instead! At these "retail" establishments, owners would probably be more inclined to "dicker" if you wanted many books. Be bold and speak up. You may be happily surprised at the money you can save. (Of course, they may say no. Just learn to accept it, don't be offended, it's nothing personal, they just feel they can't sell the item for less. At that point you need to decide how badly you want that book.) Our Eli recently helped our piano tuner a few years ago. A few days later, he was surprised to pull a package from our mailbox addressed to him. The man sent him a lovely old Johanna Spyri book from a antiques store in a small town. It was even more special because the man's grandmother was from the same area of Switzerland that Mrs. Spyri was from. (I found it interesting that Mrs. Spyri begin to write to earn money to help the refugees that were coming to Switzerland during the Franco-Prussian War.) Auctions. At auctions you could wait all day for the books that you want to be offered for bidding. But if you are like us, you may enjoy this outing and even find a collectible or two for your home. If several boxes of books are to be sold, they will usually be listed in the ad. But if there are only a few, they will probably be included under miscellaneous. To get details, call the auctioneers. Be specific about what you want-with copyright date ranges-or you may end up driving miles to a sale, just to find boxes and boxes of romance novels. Or if the auction is in your area, go and search boxes or tablesearly on the day of the sale. If you have never bid at an auction, you may find them exciting at best, and confusing at worst. Spend some time in the midst of the bidding to see how it works. When you understand how much people are paying for things, and have set a limit in your mind as to what you will pay for what you want, plunge in, but be sure to stop at your limit. It can be a tense few seconds when something you want very much, is going higher than you want to pay. You have to be able to make extremely quick decisions, if you have not set a firm limit to begin with. One sale we attended had some real beauties amidst much junk, but we had to leave early. In that case, call the auctioneers to find out who purchased the books, then contact the buyers directly. Perhaps they purchased the box for something other than the books you wanted; or they may have bid impulsively, not wanting them at all, in which case they may be willing to resell them all, for a few dollars more than what they paid. You can also do this right at the auction if your "catch" got away. Family, Friends, Neighbors. Do your parents or grandparents have a treasure or two in their attics or on their bookshelves that they would be willing to part with? I have a history book that my uncle used. And one of our neighbors, who taught in Christian and public schools all of her life, kept everything. I have let her family know that I am interested in her old books. Book Searches, Dealers, Reprints, Etc. I list a few of these below, and more in my paper, "Antique Books for Excellence," but your best values will probably be be from the sources listed above. You may even find a few antique books at your support group's used book sales. Reprints, such as those from Mantle Ministries, are available through homeschool catalogs. Using Antique Books Once you have a collection of antique books, you will find that they get used without any effort on your part. Our children always have one (or more) encyclopedia volume out. (Along with our 1930 set, we have 1952 World Books.) Our daughters read classic novels that we had for years. Ezra has almost worn out an old carpentry book, and has used heavily "The American Boy's Handy Book," (© 1882, our copy from 1920) Jessica spent her own money to expand her growing library of antique classic novels. She collected (and read) old high school texts that have complete classic works and excerpts. (The purpose of these was to whet the students' appetite for good literature.) Antique books can also be used more formally in your teaching. You can get ideas for curriculum from them. For instance, while cleaning our bookshelves, I noticed a big etiquette book and decided to go over just one chapter (table manners). I also found both a civics text and a health book for the girls; Shakespearean and British literature for the oldest, and Terhune dog stories to read to the boys. We also have many old American Heritage books to use for history. Bible. The Scriptures must be the core of one's curriculum if students are to be to be wise as well as learned. Unsurpassed for both literary (KJV) and spiritual value, this Heirloom can be studied in the same manner as other literature. It can be read and discussed, copied and dictated (See "Spelling" below for instructions.); while the use of a dictionary and a concordance will give more depth to the study. Search for similarities and differences in words and phrases. The Holy Spirit will enrich the teaching of His Word, as he guides into all Truth. Reading aloud. Educational experts, intellectuals, and others agree that reading aloud is the single most important educational activity. The most obvious use of old books is for reading aloud. Such musical, well bred language is rare in newer books, and will impart a love for, and skill in, the English language that nothing else can. Poetry. Dictate from poetry volumes to instruct in grammar and spelling. Poems may be memorized and recited for training in diction, carriage, enunciation, projection, and so forth. It is easy to teach with these fine examples of writing, because the proper grammar forms, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling are usually present within the poem. One doesn't have to "guess" or look things up in a language guide or dictionary. (Don't be discouraged if you do not have the mastery of a subject. I have even discovered errors in Robert Louis Stevenson's writings.) Spelling. As with verse, classic prose may also be dictated. In your read aloud sessions, choose a special passage. Read the selection as slowly as necessary for your child to transcribe. Examine the copy (or have your pupil examine it) for punctuation and spelling. To instruct in spelling, require that your student write (speak, or otherwise learn) the words that he or she has misspelled, ten times each, and then test on these selected words. (The testing can be oral or written.) Have them erase and replace the misspelled words with those they now know. Dictate the same passage again. These steps can be spread out over 2-3 days. My daughters have mastered spelling on their own through their profuse reading, but misspelled words have been successfully learned, merely by bringing these words to their attention. Occasionally we test from the old Ayers reprint, A Measuring Scale for Ability in Spelling, to determine their skill level. (available from Shekinah Curriculum Cellar) Math. We used an antique arithmetic text for our daughters' first math course. Using that old book gave them a big head start. When we started Saxon, we began with a book beyond the one recommended for "bright" students. To use these books 1.) make copies of the pages to use as worksheets. Although the numbers may be small, figuring can be done on another sheet; or, 2.) copy the equation onto a blackboard, marker board, or paper. These texts provide much practice relating to each concept and, along with drill (speed drills were included in our text), produce well taught children. History. The examples of courage and patriotism filling antique history texts led our country to victories in wars, and prosperity in peace. These texts can be used as a departure point for one's studies, borrowing library materials or purchasing books on a selected topic. A text's table of contents may be used for the scope and sequence. (See my book, Easyhomeschooling Techniques for details on school planning.) You may choose a person from the text to study. A biography may then be read aloud to your children. If you find an old historic biography, you have found a real treasure. Not all of these are equally wonderful though. We read one on George Washington that included so much uninteresting detail, that I wished we would have read Washington Irving's three volume, The Life of Washington, which -when reading excerpts-we found to be far superior. Geography. Our old geography collection includes texts with photos and illustrations, story-type books with color pictures, and specialized books on different areas such as Eastern Europe. Sure, some of the information is outdated! You could use a game such as Take Off® or Where in the World?®, or a newer globe, or some other tool to update facts and figures. Reading & Beyond. We used McGuffey's for our daughters' first readers and in the second grade, both girls were two levels above their age-grade level. They simply read to me each day, one lesson at a time. One may choose to use an excellent old set of encyclopedias along with a Bible for a complete curriculum. I know our old set would give a rich feast of history, authors, literature, poetry and more. (A newer set may be used for current information.) My favorite science books happen to be the older ones too. I especially like the Young Scientists series by George Barr, because of their organization and easy to do experiments, done with easy to find (at home) materials. The Harvest of Antique Books The superior learning and strong character of the past was the result of 1.) using these (now antique) books, and 2.) godly virtues such as diligence and responsibility (which were, in turn, encouraged by the Bible and these other virtuous books). To duplicate such results, we can find and use similar tools, sometimes even the very same volumes. As fragile pages fall open in gentle fingers, we discern a oneness with those who have gone before. So many shared our faith! How stirring to think that someday soon, we will stand with them, before our wonderful Savior. Or, should the Lord tarry, how profound to consider that we may help preserve and restore our culture, by investing in, and using these antique books. Click here to see our Exceptional! Books Lorraine Curry is the author of 5 Star Easy Homeschooling books. See and link to more articles, FREE copywork, subscriptions, ebooks and more at http://www.easyhomeschooling.com | Articles may be republished freely. However we ask that you include the following and a link to our site with the article. Lorraine Curry is the author of Easy Homeschooling Techniques and Easy Homeschooling Companion. See more articles, FREE copywork, subscriptions, ebooks and more at http://www.easyhomeschooling.com We prefer you use the linking code at top of page in your page's html source. 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Look for: 2) Books about a time period by people who lived then. Books of quotes or including the quotes of a famous person. 3) Usability. I especially like my "new" 1867 poetry book because it is made up of short poems, which makes it perfect for dictation and memorization. 4) "Hot" authors in homeschooling circles such as Genevieve Foster. 5) The originals of reprints such as McGuffeys or G.A. Henty's stories. 6) Books, poetry, by John Greenleaf Whittier. His anti-slavery sentiments, and calls to courageous action, are timely and apply just as well to the evils and injustices of our day. As a boy the only book he read was the Bible; as an adult he lived his convictions even when not easy (was mobbed, beaten and had property burned).
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