My Five in a Row post

Five in a Row?  I know, sounds a little strange.  But, if you are considering homeschooling in the early years, you will want to take a look at the Five in a Row curriculum (also referred to as FIAR). 

When I first came across this curriculum in my early research I was very intrigued.  The more I read about it the more I liked it.  It was actually the curriculum that got me really excited about homeschooling.

I know a couple of friends who have preschool children or younger that are considering homeschool for the first time, if that is you, I highly recommend researching this curriculum...I think it would actually be the perfect place to start even before Kindergarten.

So what is FIAR?  I would like to share a summary (found here) that I think explains it well:

HomeschoolShare.com - FAQ - What is Five in a Row?

...It's a wonderful curriculum that pulls lessons from classic children's literature. In the original FIAR curriculum (ages 4-8), you will read a book for 5 days "in a row" and each day you will do different lessons and learning activities related to the story.  FIAR also offers curriculum for preschool (Before Five in a Row) and for upper elementary grades (Beyond FIAR and Above and Beyond FIAR).  We strongly encourage you to check out Five in a Row  and to use it with your children before jumping in to the units at Homeschool Share.

A note from Celia:
FIAR changed our whole homeschooling journey.  My public-schooled mind thought that my children had to be sitting at their little school desks to do all their work from workbooks; FIAR taught me that we could all snuggle together on the couch and read a great children's story and learn far more!  It taught me that school could (and should!) be enjoyable and exciting.  FIAR feeds the natural interests of a young mind...causing students to want to learn more about God's great big world.

I completely agree with Celia.  The school that we work with uses FIAR (which was one of the selling points for me) and it is actually the main work that K-girl does when she is on campus two days a week.  At home we work on the core subjects but at school they teach using FIAR.  I think this curriculum is so effective because it allows the child to learn reading, math, science, history, geography, art, etc. in a fun way and allows the parent to impart a love for reading and literature.

K-girl just recently finished the first unit study at school using FIAR.  They studied the book "Madeline" by Ludwig Bemelmans.  They studied it over the course of a couple of months, spreading out the lessons, but it would normally be compressed into one week of study.  They were able to study Geography by learning about the France; Math by discussing symmetry; Science through studying the parts of the body (Madeline gets her appendix removed), as well as balanced eating and hygiene; and English through vocabulary, rhyming words and even a little French!

I would recommend looking at what Homeschool Share has to offer, they so many great  lapbooks and unit study resources.  I was giddy when I found this site!!

I am planning to work with Before Five in a Row (for preschoolers) with Josh this coming year.  I look forward to sharing that journey as well!