Ruth Beechick's "Three Little Books"

Ruth Beechick's name isn't exactly a household word among homeschooling moms, but her writing has had a big influence on me. In my early years of homeschooling, I especially appreciated her three little books about the "3 R's" for young children. I highly recommend these books, and believe that you don't need any other resources for K-3. Following is a brief summary:

A Home Start in Reading talks about teaching and doing "real stuff" (cooking, cleaning, hygeine) with your child before teaching reading. Then Beechick outlines five steps for teaching reading, with suggested games and activities for each step.

A Strong Start in Language discusses using models from great writing--via copywork, dictation, and rewriting--to learn writing skills. Beechick states, "Efficiency is a correlate of learning from wholes" because you learn on a need-to-know basis. She lists skills and sa

mple lessons by grade level.

An Easy Start in Arithmetic begins with ways of thinking about number: manipulative (up

to age 6-7), mental image, and abstract (after age 12-13). Good abstract thinking comes from lots of manipulative and mental image thinking in the early years. Along with "typical" grade level skills, Beechick provides many ideas for activities and games. She says, "We cannot overemphasize the importance of games for growing children."

You can probably tell, if you have read much of my blog, that these ideas are fundamental to my educational philosphy! I really appreciate Ruth Beechick's

ideas and insights, and I hope you will too. The best news: I discovered that these "three little books" are now in one volume, listed on Amazon for $8.62! That's less than I paid for them 25 years ago!