DIY Homeschooler

This one is just funny. A delightful read aloud that will have your family in stitches (if you like oddball humor, that is).

Lucretia Hale, sister of Edward Everett Hale of The Man Without a Country fame, came from a large family. She had a keen interest in education — the good and the bad — and liked to poke fun at the overeducated.

According to the New England Historical Society, the author incorporated her family into her stories:

The over-educated son Agamemnon, who had attended five colleges, parodied Edward Everett, the child prodigy. He entered Harvard College at 13 and then went on to a career as a successful author and chaplain of the U.S. Senate. In most stories, Agamemnon can be found studying books looking for complicated and improbable answers to simple problems.

That should give you an idea of what you will encounter!

The Peterkin Papers by Lucretia Hale includes 21 short stories about a very quirky family who solve the problems of life in their own very unusual way. The family while good-hearted is rather naive and lacks common sense. Watching them try to find their way out of things is a very entertaining endeavor.

As a favorite example, the family has been gifted a piano that Elizabeth Eliza will take lessons on. The piano was to be set across the parlor window by the movers:

After they had gone the family all came in to look at the piano; but they found the carters had placed it with its back turned towards the middle of the room, standing close against the window.

How could Elizabeth Eliza open it? How could she reach the keys to play upon it?

Solomon John proposed that they should open the window, which Agamemnon could do with his long arms. Then Elizabeth Eliza should go round upon the piazza, and open the piano. Then she could have her music-stool on the piazza, and play upon the piano there.

So they tried this; and they all thought it was a very pretty sight to see Elizabeth Eliza playing on the piano, while she sat on the piazza, with the honeysuckle vines behind her.

It was very pleasant, too, moonlight evenings. Mr. Peterkin liked to take a doze on his sofa in the room; but the rest of the family liked to sit on the piazza. So did Elizabeth Eliza, only she had to have her back to the moon.

All this did very well through the summer; but, when the fall came, Mr. Peterkin thought the air was too cold from the open window, and the family did not want to sit out on the piazza.

Elizabeth Eliza practiced in the mornings with her cloak on; but she was obliged to give up her music in the evenings the family shivered so.

In our experience, children typically really enjoy the book…much more than the adults. If you find this funny, you will really enjoy the book! (If not, probably should skip it.)

The Peterkin Papers is in the public domain … free!

Free eBook

• Read online
• PDF
• Various formats (EPUB, Kindle)
• LibriVox Audio

Suggestions

Have your students do one or more of the following:

• Provide a narration at the end of each chapter.
• For each story, explain what you would have done differently to solve the problem.
• Another option is reading the book aloud, and reading each story to the point of explaining the problem. Then ask you child what he or she would do. Is that what the Peterkin family did?
• Choose a story to act out in a skit for relatives.
• Each of the characters in the story is very well developed. Write a character study of your favorite character in the story. Younger students can create a trading card.
• Write your own short story using the Peterkin family. What trouble will they get into this time?

---

Additional Resources

Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
More modern version with a similar slant.

The Worst Jokes I Know
“101 Plus Funny Bone Ticklers for Jokesters of All Ages” that answers the lighthearted questions in life. Learn more.