Okay, as I sit here reading through selections of bible verses, poems and hymns to share with my DD for reading lessons I find myself completely in love with this good old fashioned non-twaddle stuff – then I stop and wonder if it isn’t all too outdated for kids today.
For example, should I really introduce words we don’t use when we are actually speaking -like loveth and doth- to my 6 year old? Or should I just change them to their modern day English meaning? I know she will likely use/need to know the words when she is a bit older and reads classic poems or books but are they too much to introduce to a beginning reader?
Also, I am wondering if introducing contractions is too confusing for a beginning reader with no knowledge of grammar (obviously). Naturally, many books and poems have contractions in them, simple ones like “I’ll” , and I hadn’t thought about it before, but now I am wondering if it will be confusing for a child or if I could just quickly explain what they mean. What do you think?