Three R's

Homeschooling is often overwhelming to newcomers because of all the educational theory that gets thrown at them. Dr. Ruth Beechick recognizes the value of simple guidance, and in The Three R's helps parents teach their K-3 students in the fundamentals of reading, writing and math. Originally three booklets (one for each subject), this single-volume edition retains all the original content in an easy-to-use format.

Beechick proposes a natural learning method, in which facts and ideas are presented in the right order. A lot of education goes awry when teachers put abstract ideas before facts. When teaching numbers, for instance, numerals are often introduced before kids learn how much "three" or "four" is; or in writing, they're encouraged to be creative before they know enough about paragraph structure to compose competently on their own.

Not that creativity is completely out of the picture—Beechick encourages to find moments to teach whenever they arise, whether at the dinner table, while playing in the yard, or on a drive to the post office. She offers plenty of her own ideas, as well as ways to come up with your own. The real strength of this book is the concrete approach of the author, as opposed to the abstract methods so often presented by others.

For each of the three foundational subjects, parents are given an overview of what needs to be taught and how to teach it, followed by specific suggestions for implementation by grade (K-3). You don't really need to go much further than this book for these initial grades, since students who master the basics are in a much better position to proceed to more diverse learning. A quick and easy read, this is a must for parents beginning to teach young children.

This book is a compilation of three booklets:

• An Easy Start in Arithmetic
• A Home Start in Reading
• A Strong Start in Language

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.