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Primer
A gentle introduction to Classical
Writing • 1st - 4th grade
| Copywork, Spelling, and Grammar | The Primer Series of Books |
| Narration | What to Buy |
| Nature Study | Frequently Asked Questions |
| Picture Study | Preview a Sample Week |
In antiquity,
formal and rigorous education was begun around age eight. Before that,
lessons would be short and simple. Storytelling, music, and outdoor
play were the primary means preparing for that formal education. In that
spirit, we present these Primers.
Kathy's primary inspiration for the Primer series came from the
works of Charlotte Mason, a highly respected educator of the late 19th
and early 20th century. Charlotte Mason brought back the ideas of short
lessons, copywork, narration, nature study, and picture study to the
homes and schools of her day. She knew that young children needed ample
time to play and dream each day and that short lessons were the most
effective means of preparing the child for the more rigorous education
to come in later years. Charlotte Mason's ideas have been rediscovered
by many home and private educators in recent years. These are the basic
principles we have followed in developing our Primer series for
primary grade students.
The aim of the Primers is to help teachers establish and
maintain a simple and consistent weekly routine of copywork, narration,
nature study, and picture study with primary grade students. We have
done all the preparation work for you so that you may spend more time
engaged in instruction with your student. There are also exercises each
day which most students will be able to complete on their own. The
Primers are an invaluable aid to keeping young students on track
as they prepare for more challenging academics in years to come.
Copywork, Spelling, and Grammar
Copying, the earliest written form of
imitation, has always been an important part of a classical education.
Copywork is a very simple exercise where the student reproduces a
well-written literary selection in his best handwriting with careful
attention to correct spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
Each of the three Primers is divided into twelve weeks and
organized around a brief selection from a children's book, poem, hymn,
or Scripture. Each day has a short copywork exercise from the weekly
selection. The daily grammar and spelling lessons are generally drawn
from the weekly selection. Capitalization, basic punctuation, making
plurals, letter writing, contractions, homonyms, antonyms, and making
verbs past tense are a few of the topics addressed in the daily lessons.
Please note that Primer spelling lessons are meant to review
and apply what is learned in your primary phonics/spelling program.
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Two narration lessons are included in
each week. Again, the concept is simple. The student listens to a
short narrative or reads it himself, then tells the story back to the
teacher. We provide a list of vocabulary words to assist your student in
comprehension and as an aid to memory in retelling.
In each Primer, the narration selections come from one classic
children's book which is available for purchase through Classical
Writing. These books are also available free online as an e-text.
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Our weekly nature study lessons invite
the student to observe the natural world with his five senses, then
draw, write, or talk about what he has observed. These lessons are
simple and brief, but powerful, as the student begins to classify and
categorize what he is seeing in the world around him. Nature topics in
the Primers include telling direction, identifying clouds,
understanding the water cycle, identifying moon phases and simple
constellations, and observing and classifying birds, mammals, flowers,
and insects.
We provide you with information to teach simple nature study
lessons in the Teaching Helps booklet for each Primer, as well as links and
resources on a website available to purchasers only.
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Picture study is done each week by
simply looking at and describing paintings done by famous artists. We
have chosen pictures that are appealing to younger children in their
subject matter and use of color. Students may reproduce what they see
by drawing with color pencils, or they may simply narrate orally what
they see. Artists featured in the Primers include Mary
Cassatt, Vincent Van Gogh, Jean-Francois Millet, Pieter Breugel the
Elder, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Winslow Homer.
Images of the paintings needed for picture study are included on the free Picture
Study PDF download for each Primer. For each Primer, we also provide very brief artist
biographies in the Teaching Helps booklet, as well as links and
resources on a website available to purchasers only.
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The Primer series is designed for the primary student who has
completed at least one year of phonics instruction, and can copy a few
sentences without too much difficulty.
The Primers can be used in any order. Each one has a seasonal
focus: choose Primer–Autumn for your autumn studies, Primer–Winter
for your winter studies, and Primer–Spring for your spring
studies. In the
What to Buy section
below, you will find details about what copywork selections, nature
study, picture study, and grammar and spelling lessons are found in each
book.
The books in the Primer series are in a workbook format and
have space for each written exercise or drawing. Each Primer
also
has:
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a Teaching Helps booklet available for separate purchase with instructions and information for the nature study and picture study lessons, tips on teaching the spelling and grammar lessons, and an answer key for the exercises that warrant it.
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a free Picture Study PDF download containing the images for picture study which you can view on your computer, or print out for your own use.
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a webpage with links and resources for the nature study and picture study lessons.
You will also need access to the children's book from which the
narration selections are drawn. You may purchase it through our
partnership with Amazon by clicking on the links below, or you may
access it online as a free e-text.
View the
Scope and Sequence for the Primer series.
View a sample week from
Primer–Autumn.
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Primer–Autumn
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Primer–Winter • consumable workbook format, twelve weeks of lessons • seasonal focus on winter through Easter • copywork selections from A.A. Milne, Beatrix Potter, C.S. Lewis, a hymn, poetry, and the Bible • nature study examines the night sky and birds • picture study looks at artists Vicent Van Gogh and Jean-Francois Millet Additional Materials Needed: • Primer–Winter Teaching Helps (print version, non-consumable) • Primer–Winter Teaching Helps (download or e-book version) • Primer–Winter Picture Study PDF (free download) • Primer–Winter Resource webpage (link given in Primer–Winter) • Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin (also available as a free e-text
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Primer–Spring • consumable workbook format, twelve weeks of lessons • seasonal focus on early spring through Memorial Day • copywork selections from A.A. Milne, Beatrix Potter, Rudyard Kipling, Jean Henri Fabre, poetry, a patriotic hymn, and the Bible • nature study examines flowers, weather, and insects • picture study looks at artists Pieter Bruegel and Mary Cassatt Additional Materials Needed: •s (print version, non-consumable) • Primer–Spring Teaching Helps (download or e-book version) • Primer–Spring Picture Study PDF (free download) • Primer–Spring Resources webpage (link given in Primer-Spring) • The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse by Thornton Burgess (also available as a free e-text) |
How do I know if my student is ready for Primer?
The Primer student should have beginning spelling and phonics proficiency, and be able to copy a sentence without too much difficulty. View the sample week to get an idea of the level of reading and copying ability required.
What else should my student be studying along with Primer?
You will also need:
• a spelling program - we
recommend a systematic phonics approach
• a handwriting program
And most importantly, read to your student daily from quality children's
books!
