10 Favorite How-Tos {2020–2021}
Ten reader-favorite how-tos from the archives: Reading, notebooking, narrating & more!
Tag Beechick Basics
10 Favorite How-Tos {2019–2020}
Ten favorite How-Tos from the archives: 1. Skill Subjects vs. Content Subjects {The Key to Simplifying} 2. Teach a Child to Read: The Natural Way 3. Language Arts the Natural Way: Narrating 4. 14 Forms of…
7 Lessons for Teaching Writing
We learn to write by reading and writing. This natural method of learning to write is actually the MOST effective way to learn.
10 Steps to Build a Better Speller
Memorize your weekly spelling word list, ace the test, promptly delete that information — sometimes permanently! If you were one of those students who could get A's in spelling — without ever becoming a competent speller — this one is for you (and your students!).
Letter Generator Interactive {Free}
After a child is able to write comfortably, he will need things to write. We have suggested 8 writing activities for the younger student — one of which is writing a letter. This free Letter Generator interactive at ReadWriteThink.org is…
Activity: Measure Length and Distance
Here are ideas for exploring measuring length and distance — in a natural way:
First Year in Number {Free eBook}
One of the things Dr. Ruth Beechick always recommended when it comes to arithmetic and young children is to start with the concrete. This is the advantage you will find in a book like First Year in Number by Franklin…
NASA Pre-K – 2 Educator Guide {Free}
If you are looking for a hands-on science option geared toward young children, you may enjoy this free, 104-page K–2 Educator Guide from NASA! 3…2…1…Liftoff! is a multi-discipline approach to science in the early years. Subtitled An Educator’s Guide With…
Skill Subjects vs. Content Subjects {The Key to Simplifying}
Here is the key to simplifying home education — understand the difference between skill subjects and content subjects.
6 Ways to Encourage Your Children to Pursue Their Interests
In the midst of academic basics, scopes and sequences, record keeping, and chores, here are 6 ways to encourage your children to pursue their interests.
Making Wise Curriculum Purchases: Math
Math is one of those areas where we tend to struggle. Our frustrations in this area tend to stem from one of a handful of problems: A particular math curriculum just doesn’t seem to fit a particular child. There are…
Teach a Child to Read: The Natural Way
Simplify the process of teaching a child to read — try the natural way.
3 Ways to Develop Critical Thinking Skills
In a chapter titled “Thinking Skills” in her book A Biblical Home Education, Ruth Beechick explains that we don’t need a “thinking” class. Instead we want our children to apply critical thinking skills to every subject. She relates an anecdote…
The Arithmetic Primer by Frank H. Hall {Free eBook}
The primer lays the groundwork necessary to help a first-year student learn arithmetic.
Language Arts the Natural Way: Dictation
We started by reading to our child, familiarizing him with language. At some point we had him narrate to us what was read, absorbing the language. Our child traced his name. Then he began copying — letters, sentences, paragraphs. Now…
Language Arts the Natural Way: Copying
Once a child is comfortable holding a pencil, he can begin copying. Rather than starting with copywork, some prefer to start with tracing. Probably your child’s first writing lesson was when you printed his name and he traced it or…
Language Arts the Natural Way: Narrating
Narrating employs all of the skills we use in writing — but without the pencil.
Language Arts the Natural Way: Reading
Most great writers are great readers. That makes sense if you consider that, by reading, an authors’ words and the way they are used are input, and “copied” when we write — albeit with our own words and style. Someone…
Language Arts the Natural Way: Introduction
Before your child reaches school age, does he know how to talk? How did he learn? Did you pull out the flashcards, go over grammar, show him diagrams of how to form sounds with his mouth, use neat ditties to…
Alpha-Phonics Workbook {Free}
Alpha-Phonics workbook free. We make reading more complicated than it needs to be.
10 Ways to Become a Better Editor of Your Child’s Writing
What if I don't feel competent to edit my child's writing? 10 ways to become a better editor.
How to Use Noah Webster’s Reading Handbook
Noah Webster’s Reading Handbook published by Christian Liberty Press is a great inexpensive option for those who feel they need more guidance than is offered in A Home Start in Reading by Ruth Beechick. The Reading Handbook uses the same…
6 Ways to Get the Most from Literature-Based Studies
Wonderful literature is a necessary complement to learning no matter what methods we use to educate our children. But for those who rely on a literature-based approach, it is particularly important to process what we read. If you wish to…
“Natural” Language Arts Scope and Sequence {Free}
One of the problems with doing things the “natural” way is also one of its key benefits — freedom. We do hear occasionally from those homeschool moms who really like the idea of educating their children in a more natural…