10 Favorite How-Tos {2020–2021}

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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…