Were you at school today? Was it a large building with many boys and girls? John’s first school was not at all like yours. When he was five years old he began his first lessons at home, not in a school building.
His own mother was his teacher and he learned the whole alphabet on the very first day! He must have been a clever boy because the very next day he began his first reading lesson. He did not have an easy book to begin with such as you had. It may surprise you to know that his first reading book was the Bible. He began with the first verse and kept on until he could read the whole first chapter.
John had a number of brothers and sisters who also had their first school lessons at home. He was especially fond of his younger brother, Charles, whom you shall hear more of later. John’s father was a preacher. He did not know the gospel clearly but he did speak faithfully to the people about their sins. But now I must tell you about a terrible thing that happened when John was about six years old.