BFIAR/FIAR without ... the manuals?

[eloquacious]

I just noticed that Homeschool Creations is releasing new preschool packs to go along with the BFIAR books. I also know there are TONS of other free online resources to go with those books, as there are loyal communities.

 

With all this, is it even necessary (dare I say it?) to "row" the books with the manual? Or can we just do it on our own?

 

http://homeschoolcreations.com/BeforeFiveinaRow.html

[campmom]

Sure you could read the books and do lap books or other activities along with them but I would say you would not be doing FIAR. The manuals are where all of the great info is. There is a rythym to FIAR, going through the same types of activities for each book. There are different things to do for math, art, science, geopraphy etc for each book. Also there are literature elements to discuss characters, setting etc.

Personally I think you would miss some great things on the other hand your dc would enjoy the books and other activities that you do I'm sure. Its really what do you want.

HTH

[campmom]

I just wanted to add that I did not find the BFIAR manual to have near as much content as the FIAR manuals. But it is also for younger children.

[WyoSylvia]

I did FIAR with my son. the books are great but, for us, the extra information in the manual made it into the fun program that it was. I learned a lot from it.

[jenangelcat]

I looked at the BFIAR stuff for awhile before deciding I could easily write a similar program myself. We're using a lot of the same books but I've added some others in to fit different holidays/themes etc.

[Hunter]

What general skills does FIAR teach well? Literary devices? What else?

 

Are those skills taught so well that the student is able to use them when reading more advanced books?

[blondeviolin]

I think you could very easily skip the BFIAR manual as it is not nearly as meaty as FIAR. I also believe, however, that you'd miss a ton if you tried it with FIAR.

[Tracy]

I did FIAR with my son. the books are great but, for us, the extra information in the manual made it into the fun program that it was. I learned a lot from it.

 

:iagree: Yes, with the suggestions in the manual, FIAR became our core program.

 

What general skills does FIAR teach well? Literary devices? What else?

 

Are those skills taught so well that the student is able to use them when reading more advanced books?

 

Geography, mapping, vocabulary, literary devices, art techniques

 

I did FIAR with my dd when she was 4yo, and within a few months, she could identify literary devices in other books (Hey, Mom, that was onomatopoeia!). She could find countries on the map that we had read about. She recognized vocabulary that we read in other books that we had studied in FIAR. And I started to see the art techniques that we learned in FIAR pop up in her art.

[momoeight]

I would highly recommend the FAIR(not BFAIR) manuals for ANY age. I have used them for ages 4-14. There is so much you can do using them as a springboard and modify for almost any age. I have found that even teenage boys love the terrific classic picture books and cannot resist sneaking in and listening when I read them outloud!! The manuals are not, strictly speaking, necessary. But they are so affordable, why not?? They are the best deal for curricula out there, IMHO. You can even find them used on ebay, etc. The FAIR forums are also a great source of ideas.

 

And to address the question of skills...well the only thing it does not teach very well is math. Again, IMHO, you could use only FIAR and Saxon for 1-3 grade and your kids would be wonderfully educated.(Well and some sort of phonics/reading program. But Starfall.com would more than adequate for that) I highly encourage the use of the free lapbook ideas on HSS. And let your imagination run wild and explore what ever themes catch you and the kid's interest for each book. You can really go hog wild. For example, when we rowed The Story of Ping we learned about ducks, different kinds of boats, China (flag,map, culture, customs, money, etc) we made handmade paper, made our own Chinese food, went to a Chinese restaurant, studied other Chinese animals, Chinese calligraphy, read some other books that take place in China and because it was the year of the Olympics in Beijing, we watched the Olympics, studied the history of the Olympics, learned about new-to-us sports like curling and more!! As you might have guessed, we often row for more than a week. But you don't HAVE to do a huge deal like that if you don't want, it is designed to be simple and short. I just love the idea of following a learning thread and exploring it out.

Edited August 14, 2011 by momoeight

[Stellalarella]

The first time we used FIAR, the manual was very helpful. The manual showed me what to teach the children but it was also teaching me how to teach a unit study. :001_smile:

Now when I want to row a book, but don't have the manual handy (either it's loaned out or not purchased yet), I just do an internet search for a unit studies on that book and piece together my own week of rowing.

Sometimes I take a book from the SOTW literature list and "row" that book.

I think Vol. 1 demonstrated for me how effective this method is for the younger crowd, so it makes me want to keep it up.

It's the pits, though, when I can't locate a book on that aged list. That "ducks-in-a-row" part of my brain starts short circuiting. I realized that if we were going to do FIAR, I would need to be able to make our own unit studies because we just couldn't get all the books.

 

My two cents is that Vol. 1 is definitely worth borrowing for a first time rower, and worth buying if you love it. And actually, they have great resale, so if it wasn't your fave, it would resell easily. (I have preferred the older copies over the newer version with unreliable spiral binding that likes to unravel. And by the way, the newer edition is only a new cover. It's exactly the same copy--down to the years and years outdated mail in order form in the back.)

As for other volumes, you may be able to go on your own.

 

If you get

[Susie in MS]

I agree that it all depends on what you want. I also agree that it would be easy to just use the printable with B4, but after having and using both B4 and FIAR....I wouldn't even try to do FIAR without the manual. There is just too much too good in there to be missed.

 

As to the question of what is actually taught well enough to actually be applied outside the the FIAR lessons by the child......I can't count the ways! All subject areas except phonics. Math is only touched on, but you can ride with that if you want to. They other subjects are so well covered. One FIAR mom took the S&S of another well known publisher and compared it to what is covered in FIAR, and it was all there. I challenge anyone to do the same.

 

When my dd was 4 she was telling her dad what personification is. He called me in the living room, "Mom, this little girl is saying big words, and I don't know what she is talking about!" She then proceeded to give her dad a lesson on that literary technique that neither of us learned in our 13 years of public education! When she was 4 she learned what buoyancy is and how to say it! She knows where the Great Lakes are and that Michigan is made up of 2 peninsulas ! I never knew that! She knows how to identify poisonous snakes ( a little rabbit trail we took because of FIAR). She can draw water moving and show speed in her art. She knows that a Kingfisher slaps a fish on the tree to kill it and swallows it head first to keep from getting finned. She knows the moon phases better than I do. Egypt is her latest obsession and we are having such a good time with rowing Zarafa.

 

I really could go on forever. And I haven't even started on the character and Bible lessons we have covered with FIAR.

[Rivka]

I would say that no, the manuals can't be dispensed with. The printable materials that you find on the web for FIAR are lapbook components, not lessons. There isn't a component for every lesson in the manual, and the printables are oriented towards the kind of thing you can put in a minibook - not more subtle or involved lessons.

 

For example, when we did Katy and the Big Snow, one of the best things we did was build a city out of blocks in the basement, drawing in roads and labels with chalk on the basement floor. The whole time we built, we talked about the resources cities need, the way cities are designed, and how people in cities depend on each other. Then we drew in a compass rose and my daughter practiced moving toys around the city following compass directions.

 

That kind of activity, in my opinion, is the heart of FIAR. There's not a printable for it at HSS, though, because it was a big activity that built out of conversation and creative play.

 

You could, I suppose, read about the activity on my blog and then copy it yourself, without buying the manual. But I think that would be stealing.

[lorisuewho]

I am just starting out with FIAR and BFIAR. I love all the resources available on the internet, but I personally am relying heavily on the guide books for most of what we are doing. Much of it is going to be teaching, discussing, and doing things that aren't really related to paper activities.

[Rivka]

What general skills does FIAR teach well? Literary devices? What else?

 

Are those skills taught so well that the student is able to use them when reading more advanced books?

 

For skills (as opposed to content), I think the strongest ones are literary devices, elements of a story, and art techniques. And yes, my child definitely applies them outside of FIAR. She often wants to discuss whether a book is fiction or non-fiction, the setting, and the plot climax. Those are all things we studied in FIAR. The art lessons are also excellent - she's learned how to look at a picture and identify the medium, and she's learned some beginning skills at perspective drawing, showing motion in pictures, etc.

 

But mostly I think of FIAR as a content curriculum, not a skill curriculum. It kind of has to be, because it's aimed at such a wide age range (4-8). We do math and writing separately.

[Hunter]

There are an increasing number of books being written, that teach middle school teachers to use picture books as mentor texts, to teach students SKILLS. So far all these books are a hodge podge of ideas that are a lot of work to try and organize into any sort of schedule or plan.

 

I don't think any of authors are brave enough to write a full middle school curriculum CENTERED on picture books, even if would be academically sound. It makes sense that FIAR is content based, not skills based. Having never see it, I thought I would ask to make sure I wasn't missing something.

 

I guess I'll stick with my middle/high school level hodgepoge.

[MadsandLilysMom]

I love the manual and I could not row without it. It has so many good ideas and the great part is most of the ideas focus around discussions. I find it much easier to incorporate a short discussion into an already full schedule then another lapbook or other hands on activity. I do love reading the FIAR blogs and we do quite a few hands on projects as well, but I could not live without the manual.