danybug Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I know there is always a ton of requests about preschool curriculum, but I have one more ;) Maybe it will help if I first state what I am looking for: My dd will be 3. I want something that gives me creative ideas to implement with reading books. She love loves being read to, so I want something that gives me a ton of great books and something to enhance them with in terms of projects. I am going to have a newborn come fall and a 4th grader, so I want it to be open and go type stuff. And I need the creative implementation ideas, because that is just not my forte. I was leaning towards SL P3/4, but am reconsidering since I did not like SL this year with my ds. My main thing was that I thought the IG was too basic and we did not grasp the whole picture with the various readings. I think FIAR looks good, but wondered what the book selections were like. And I like the look of Peak with Books, but wonder if it is better implemented in a group environment and for some one a little older. So, after this long spree of an explanation, what do you think sounds like it would be a good fit? Thanks gang! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairytalemama Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Check out the unit studies and lapbooking instructions on www.homeschoolshare.com which are free. They have it grouped by age and then by book title so if some of the FIAR or SL books appeal to you you can use those books and get some creative ideas there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALB Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 That is exactly what I was looking for and found in FIAR. At that age, you may want to use BFIAR, although even my ds2 loves sitting through the FIAR titles. I ended up purchasing SL P3/4 books and most of the FIAR books, and the FIAR ones are the ones we go through again and again. We use the manuals pretty loosely, but I do think they are great for giving me inspiration into activities and discussion, and I can't believe how many connections my dd4 has made just from the readings and conversations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissKNG Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I decided on using Before FIAR for my small girl, who can sit for extended lengths of me reading to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessed2fosteradopt Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I use a combo of BFIAR, www.homeschoolshare.com and I absolutely love this sweet program that a blogging mom has put together. http://www.walkingbytheway.com/blog/?cat=87 . My littles love their letter books and play with them over and over again. I love how she puts together everything for you. We just did letter Z and my kids love Goodnight Gorilla and act out the story with the animals we made. We attached craft sticks to them. Whatever you decide, have lots of fun. Blessings, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 That is exactly what I was looking for and found in FIAR. At that age, you may want to use BFIAR, although even my ds2 loves sitting through the FIAR titles. :iagree:We adore FIAR! And even though my dd was a very bright 4yo when we started, I kind of wish we had done Before FIAR first so we would have 2 years of material. I love FIAR for its range of lessons. I prefer open-and-go lessons, and there are always many to choose from. But there are also lessons that require some preparation, and sometimes when I have the time and energy, we do those, too! Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 (edited) I'm the odd one out, but we didn't care for BFIAR. ;) We are going to try Sonlight 3/4 this year with my 3 year old, along with Saxon K. I love the stories in Sonlight 3/4. ETA: If you don't like the simplicity of the Sonlight guides, you really won't like 3/4. It's basically just a reading list to check off. Another thing we tried and liked was Story Stretchers (check Amazon). It's similar to BFIAR, but we just liked it better. Edited April 23, 2010 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordFamily Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I LOVED FIAR at this age...BFIAR is great too. I like that you can read a variety of books at your choosing. Enjoy the times that you CAN have variety and not be stuck to a TM for the early years. (IMO) But, if you really like a plan for your day...HOD would be my second choice! HAVE FUN!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Kern Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I would encourage you to read fairy tales, fables, myths, folk tales, Narnia, poetry (for the music, not the understanding) and whatever else you can find that embodies beauty and then let your child play whatever you read. Be careful not to make them feel programmed in preschool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I think BFIAR would be a better fit than FIAR at 3. We did FIAR when Ariel was 4 and she enjoyed it. I don't think she would have gotten a lot of benefit out of doing FIAR at 3, even though she is accelerated, because there are a lot of activities/concepts that are covered that are not intended for preschoolers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn E Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 You might also check out this resource: Peak with Books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EppieJ Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Someone mentioned lapbooks, which would go great with your readings. File folder games are also a great way to work on different concepts. A google search will give you lots of ideas for those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devotional Soul Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 I just came across this that you may be interested in: http://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/book/bgroup.asp?i=8052 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cindie2dds Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 I loved Sonlight P3/4 and am still using he books for my youngest. I didn't care for FIAR or BFIAR either. I also bought and didn't like Hewitt, WP's PreK and HOD's PreK. I'm an odd duck, though. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 We Loved BFIAR and FIAR. They were perfect for the age you're talking about. The books have become easier to find, and the only thing I had to prepare was what activities we were doing on which day. BFIAR would be for 3/4 FIAR for K and up Blessings! Dorinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgreenaz Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 I LOVED the Sonlight pre-k program a few years ago. Don't know about it today though. Didn't like the K program so we switched to Winter Promise after that. However, I kept all the books from the pre-K for my youngest son to use. LOVE THEM! I would just use the SL or WP or www.simplycharlottemason.com books guides and do it yourself. Get books from the library if you wish. Or buy a few of the compilations. Loved them and we took them on the road when traveling. My youngest is four and should be in pre-K. But I'm not putting him into anything formal yet. We do our math (Singapore) and phonics program (Spell to Write and Read). Then we kept all our SL pre-K books and I read them to him now. And even the big boys love hearing the stories again! If you don't need a schedule and don't want to pay for one, then just find and read books recommended on the above-mentioned web sites. I have a friend who uses a free, Charlotte Mason site called www.amblesideonline.com. Best wishes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danybug Posted April 24, 2010 Author Share Posted April 24, 2010 Thanks for the suggestions guys! I think I am going to go with BFIAR, so I posted on the WTB board for the BFIAR And I have bookmarked the two websites for preschoolers that were suggested, they look awesome! Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devotional Soul Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 Check your library...mine has BFIAR! I used FIAR and both my 5 year old and 2 year old loved most of the stories. Don't forget about Homeschool Share! Happy Rowing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danybug Posted April 24, 2010 Author Share Posted April 24, 2010 Fabulous! I just looked on our interlibrary loan site and they totally have BFIAR. I would have never thought of checking. Now, I can look it over and make an informed decision. Many thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devotional Soul Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 I was surprised, too! Now I know to check the library before buying any book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in SEVA Posted April 24, 2010 Share Posted April 24, 2010 (edited) Preschool Plus from Hewitt (also sold at Rainbow Resource) sounds like it would fit your list of needs, because it fit my very similar list. I needed something open and go for my preschooler who is learning letters and sounds but nowhere near ready to put them together. I wanted stories to read, a list of activities to do, and not a lot of planning. Sonlight P3/4 was completely underwhelming to me. It was a great list of stories, but the activities it had were things like "Read The Princess and the Pea. Have peas for diner" and "Read (a story about an animal). Pretend to be that animal." It was NOT what I was looking for. I have had BFIAR on my shelf since my oldest was a preschooler, and with each child I have wanted to use it, but it just isn't a good fit for us -- it is not open and go for me. I don't want to go to a website and print out lapbooks, I don't want to have to visit 3 different blogs for ideas. I want to open a book and do what it says, and MAYBE look at the week ahead of time and see if I need to buy anything at the store. You can judge me all you want to :D, but between teaching middle school, teaching grammar stage, teaching a new reader, teaching preschool, and entertaining a toddler, I need something all planned out so he doesn't get forgotten in the shuffle! Plus, well... we don't like reading the same story all week. I understand why it is set up that way, but it just wasn't a good fit for us. The Preschool Plus plan is perfect FOR US. Each day I can open the binder, read the story it plans (many of which I already owned, the rest were worth owning), choose on the spot from the handful of activities for that day, talk about the vocabulary words of the day, and not have to think about it again until the next day. As an added bonus, there is a letter of the week, a character quality of the week, a new story or chapter each day with questions to discuss, and a list for each week on which books and which materials are needed. There are usually 6-8 activities for each day, none of which require advanced prep and any of which can be skipped on a busy day. You can see a 30 page sample here: http://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/pdfs/Preschool%20Plus%20Sample.pdf Edited April 24, 2010 by Colleen in SEVA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted April 26, 2010 Share Posted April 26, 2010 This sample looks like what we need! Thank you Colleen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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