This is a 30-page, self-published book with an answer key that fits into a unique category within the language arts curriculum. Accent Your Syllables is a brief worktext that first introduces the rules for syllabication and accents in English, then provides many exercises to practice applying those rules. The rules are printed in a blue ink and are easy to find on the pages. This course would be best suited for a student who is reading fluently, as the words are generally multi-syllable. Choosing words at random from the exercises provides this list: displease, exported, scripture, soapstone, Mediterranean, bacteria, and sedimentary. I plan to use this course over the period of a few weeks, rather than using it once a week throughout a school year. This course promises to be an excellent preparation for a student beginning the formal study of a foreign language as well as a course in a specific part of the study of English.
These little saint stories, beautifully illustrated by Augusta Curelli, are very appealing to children because of the nice hardcover format and the full-color pictures on each page. The moderate amount of text (about 4-10 lines per page) makes it fairly accessible to beginning or reluctant readers. We found this series to be an excellent help to our eight year old son who was struggling with reading. I was delighted at how much he enjoyed reading about the saints and he didn't even mind reading about the girl saints. :) The sewn binding (so unusual even in hardcover books nowadays) make the books very sturdy for heavy family use. Children may need help reading the names of people and places.
Individual Titles:
The American Cardinal Readers are Catholic Readers originally published around 1930. They were reprinted in 1996 by Neumann Press in very nice hardcover editions. This series is quite popular among Catholic homeschoolers. They are a little more enjoyable and more engaging than the Catholic National Readers, and perhaps more beautifully written (in the way that older books tend to be) than the Faith and Freedom Readers.
Continuation of family stories from Primer. Twenty-three chapters like "What Father Kelly Told", "The Snowman", and "A Prayer". Also has black and white pictures.
Book two begins to offer stories and poems that are enjoyable and worthwhile reading in their own right such as The Christ Child by G.K. Chesterton, The Honest Woodman, several Saint stories (Blessed Imelda, St. Teresa the Little Flower, St. Francis and the Wolf) and other short stories, folk tales and fairy stories.
The Third Grade reader includes a total of fifty-two selections which are somewhat coordinated with the seasons of the year. The selections include poetry (about God, country, nature, etc.) and a variety of stories that are both appealing and inspiring - saint stories, fairy tales (with very obvious morals), biographies, stories that teach something about the world around us and others relating examples of devotion and heroism, such as the well-known tale of the little Dutch boy ("The Hero of Haarlem"). A few of the stories are a little "dated", such as the story entitled, Jamie Watt and his Grandmother's Tea Kettle" which treats the concept of steam engines in a rather contemporary fashion. Rather than being problematic, I see this perspective as informative and educational. (Another learning opportunity). The stories are surprisingly "multicultural" (in a good way) for their day; you'll find several very nice stories (and even a poem) involving American Indians and one story about a little boy from China.
Fifty-three separate stories including two stories of Christopher Columbus, "Three of Our Lord's Miracles", "The Story of Daniel", "The Angel of the Resurrection" by St Teresa of the Child Jesus, "The Children's Hour" by Longfellow and "The Church Underground". A few black and white pictures. Glossary.
Forty-seven stories including "The Star Spangled Banner", "Our Lord and Our Lady" by Hiilaire Belloc, "St Martin of Tours" and "St Brigid". A few black and white pictures. Includes study suggestions for each story. Glossary.
Fifty-nine stories including "Bethlehem 1918", "Daniel Boone" by Teddy Roosevelt, " St Aloysisus", "O Captain! My Captian" by Walt Whitman","St Isaac Jogues", "The Address of the Roman Catholics to George Washington, Esq. President of the United States". Includes study suggestions for each story and a glossary. A few black and white pictures.
In the story "Bethlehem, 1918" on page 88, there is a troubling sentence: "In Jerusalem, in spite of its overwhelming interest, the Catholic pilgrim is distressed by the discord of jarring creeds, by the crowds of Mohammedans and foreign Jews that infest it..." While we certainly can't judge the author's intentions in referring to people as infesting a place, it certainly seems contradictory to Catholic teaching on the value of each human life, regardless of race or religion. I would be anxious to make clear to my children that it is inappropriate to refer to people as infesting a place. While some may choose to skip the story entirely, I think it can be valuable for children to read such things and discuss them with their parents in order to be better prepared to avoid such errors and evils in the future. (A.V.H.)
Forty-four stories include: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", "The High Tide at Gettysburg", "The Martyr of Molokai", "Holy Ireland", and "Malchus the Monk". Includes study suggestions for each story. A few black and white pictures. Includes a glossary and a home reading list.
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