Any Before Five In A Row or FIAR users out there?

[hisleading]

Is there anyone on here who has done or is doing, Before Five In A Row or Five In A Row?

 

I have a few questions.

 

~ can you call this curriculum?

~How does the Five In A Row Kitchen book fit in? When do you use it?

~Do you do it daily?

 

Any tips advice, or experiences are greatly appreciated!

[Handmaiden]

Is there anyone on here who has done or is doing, Before Five In A Row or Five In A Row?

 

I have a few questions.

 

~ can you call this curriculum?

~How does the Five In A Row Kitchen book fit in? When do you use it?

~Do you do it daily?

 

Any tips advice, or experiences are greatly appreciated!

 

We've used both B4FIAR and FIAR and have enjoyed both.

 

B4FIAR is not really a "curriculum" but a very gentle approach to good literature and hands on learning. We loved it for preschool. You do not have to use it daily, but some do.

 

FIAR is a unit study approach for kids ages 4-8, but it is not complete. You would have to add math and phonics. We enjoyed it, too.

 

The FIAR cookbook is optional and goes along with the FIAR books. Each recipe is tied to one of the books.

 

Looking at your kids' ages, B4FIAR would probably be more appropriate. By the way you can visit the FIAR forums for more tips:

http://www.fiarhq.com/~gbprnhrz/forum/index.php

 

HTH!

[Mamasteff]

For Before, I can't say. For regular FIAR, can't say about the kitchen book, although it would have been loads of fun.

 

We used it to do "language arts" while working through Sonlight (their language arts didn't fit our style or level). FIAR is not an upper-level grammar, spelling, vocab or anything like it.

 

LOVED IT for 1st and 2nd grade reading aloud and lots of fun hands on activities.

 

I am not a repeat reader. After using this series of books, I realized dd is a repeat reader, and she truly did get so much more out of the stories after we read them. Often I would see her writing stories the next week with herself as the main character in last week's plotline. That was so much fun to see that she had ingested the lessons. There are a LOT of activities - I suppose you could plan them ALL in and make it a curriculum, but we just chose one or two each day. Best suggestion in the book was to make sure you don't always wait until Friday for art. I would DEFINITELY add in some other math besides their suggestions, if you are teaching anything above pre-k.

 

I haven't done these for a couple of years but am hanging on to all my books so I can do it again with the baby in a few more years.

[Free Indeed]

Yes I have used it for 8 years now! LOVE it for the early years! Yes FIAR is a curriculum, but B4FIAR is not. All you have to add is phonics and math. The cookbook is just an add on, not required. We sometimes do a recipe on Friday as a fun end to the week. Yes FIAR you do daily, b4 is not necessarily meant to be daily. You can get a taste for it by visiting http://www.homeschoolshare.com and trying some of the free unit studies that other FIAR moms have written. Level A would be best for your age group. I would not trade my FIAR- it has definitely stood the test of time around here. It really ignites a love of books and learning in my children. :D

[Patricia in WA]

I used BFIAR when my children were 3-4 and FIAR when they were 4-5. My oldest was reading and writing at these ages. My middle was reading but not writing and my youngest was not reading fluently but could write (mostly copywork) fairly well.

 

The way I planned it was to take an index card for each book and plan everything I wanted to cover for each book. These cards became my guide and later when I discovered lapbooking it became what topics I included in each book. If I remember correctly (as the cards are somewhere in strorage boxes):

 

Monday was lit analysis, narration lite stuff, illustrations, etc.

Tuesday was any geograpy, country study, flag study, state study, etc.

Wednesday was any math, sorting, story sequence, etc.

Thrusday was any science topic I could squeeze out of the book.

Friday we covered any extra topics and finshed up the lapbook.

 

Actually reading the story took no time at all as they are picture books, but the topics to cover probably took about 30 minutes. This was harder with my youngest as his attention span was not like the others but we would split it up into two sessions. Fridays were a bit longer as we would put together our lapbook. Sunday nights I would organize the book and all my resources for the week. I would also put on hold from the library the books from the following week's lessons. I usally gave myself a 3 week lead incase any were on back hold. I could also rearrange the order we studied them if they were not available when I needed them.

 

For the lapbook I had all the graphics and booklets made. It was ready for them to glue, color, write a word or two, etc.

 

It was part of our curriculum as we also did things like HWT, Singapore Early Bird Math, ETC, Phonics Pathways, and lots of other reading.

 

I never used the kitchen one, but you could probably make a recipe for snack time, or Saturday night dinner. Doing it this way, your child can share his study witht eh whole family perhaps showing off his lapbook (if you do that). I am not sure if you could do that as I have never seen it.

 

Also the FIAR message boards are VERY helpful!!!!

 

HTHs,

[mom2mea]

We used Before Five in a Row and the kids loved the fun activities. We read together or my oldest would read to me and we all participated in the activities. Very informal and light, which we liked.

[chiguirre]

I'd say both B4FIAR and FIAR are a curriculum in the way that SL PK 3/4, PK 4/5 and K are curricula. It's a different style, but it's everything you need except for learning to read and do math.

 

I have the cookbook, but you don't really need it at all. I'd just google a recipe from the region you're covering that week.

[muffinmom]

We just finished FIAR (vol. 1 and part of vol. 2) for my kindergartner. Yes, it's a curriculum. We added a few things that I wanted my son to learn (see my sig line), and we planned to supplement the math more, but never really did.

 

But it's great for that age--gentle but opens their eyes to so many things. I realized early on that kindergarten is really a time of introducing your child to things and concepts, not really mastering anything (other than numbers, letters, etc.). The books were great and my son loved them. And he learned a ton.

 

We did either 5 days in a row or 4 days, doubling up science and math on the same day. I had a great experience with it and would do it again. See also homeschoolshare.com for other FIAR ideas. Also, I was able to get all but one or two books from the library with no trouble at all.

[Momto5]

Jumping on the band wagon here.

 

From the ages of your kids I would start with B4FIAR. Some of the books may seem easy for a 4 1/2 year old but once you get into them and do some activities it can become much more. The books in B4FIAR are just too good to miss.

 

You will need to supplement math and reading (letter recognition, etc). The second half of the B4FIAR manual has lots of wonderful activities to do with young kids. You should definitely check it out.

 

The reason we loved B4FIAR was that it is a wonderful introduction to "school." It really emphasizes a love of learning and introduces them the idea of living books.

 

Good luck.

[oceandaughter]

We use FIAR as a supplement. Occasionally it's a nice and welcome break from our regular routine.

[tonya in sc]

with my 5yo ds. I have never done FIAR before, but am excited. Thanks for homeschoolshare!! What a great site!

BTW, we are also planning on ETC, SOTW (just read aloud and color, when he feels like it), and MUS. Of course, with a 5yo boy, I am letting his exercise level determine how much we actually do each day.

 

Blessings,

tonya

[Laura W.]

I'v been using B4 and FIAR for about 8 years.

 

B4 can be done daily or not, as you wish. You could use it as your only preschool curriculum (especially for 2 and 3 year olds). If your child is interested in letters, numbers, extra science or read-alouds (or whatever), it's easy to add in because B4 is not time-consuming.

 

FIAR is meant to be done daily, and for the most part, I've done it that way. Right now we're only doing it 4 days a week, and combining art and math into 1 day.

 

FIAR is a complete curriculum, except for needing to add math and phonics instruction. The author designed the lessons to be taught orally, but I've found (at least in the areas of social studies and science) a simple factual picture book on the topic is helpful (I'm a visual learner, as some of my dc are). Definitely visit the website for more information. If you have dc who are visual or kinesthetic learners, making use of a few suggestions in the FIAR message board archives can be helpful, but don't overdo it, or you'll burn out.

 

I have the recipe book. It is not necessary, but some families find it an enjoyable activity. It gives you one meal where that week's learning can be spotlighted. If you like to search out things on your own, you could probably find recipes that go along with that week's book, but it's handy to have several recipes available in one place (there are 3 recipes for most of the FIAR titles).

 

One thing I've used on and off has been the FIAR Christian Character Supplement. If Bible/Character is something you want to teach in a very simple way, this can be a good resource.

 

Blessings,

 

Laura

[EricaB]

I just finished BFIAR this year with my 2 and 4 year old and yes, homeschool share is a wonderful thing. I still found myself doing a lot of prep work for ones not listed on homeschoolshare.com. This is the only reason why we are not going to continue with FIAR this year and have moved on to using Hands of a Child lapbooks. We are doing a few titles from homeschoolshare.com found in FIAR this summer, but I am not using the FIAR manual. As far as the cookbook goes, I bought it and was really disappointed. I thought a number of the recipes were a bit of a stretch and most did not fit into our diet. There were a number of high fat ingredients that we just don't use, but then again, it is a kids book so I wasn't too surprise. Instead, I have opted to use a number of bible based cookbooks that incorporate recipes with their bible curriculum this year that involve more grains and less fat. Let me know if you want these titles.

 

Don't get me wrong, my whole family LOVED BFIAR and you really can't beat the titles. I included about 18 of the titles here in my blog:

http://theboughfamily.blogspot.com/

 

I think I have all of them labeled under "Before Five in A Row".

 

I would have to say that this was definitely a curriculum for us, but I did a ton of planning to make it so. I don't feel like the manual gives enough info and there is SO much to add. My apologies to the Lambert Family, but this is just my opinion. Thank you, Lamberts for providing us with ideas on such wonderful titles. There were some that I just had to buy for our library and my son adores is lapbooks we made while retaining almost every activity and story we did this year.

[Ummto4]

FIAR is a complete curriculum, much like sonlight. It covers soc studies (heavy on geography, relationship/character, occupation, but light in history), art, applied LA, applied math, religious studies and science. You have to add at least math and phonics into the mix.

 

I love love love FIAR. I used the easy FIAR books with my kindergarten son conversationally. Whenever appropriate, I also showed him google images and youtube videos to enhance the conversation. I find that my son (and dd 4 yo) retains a lot just from our conversation. I'm recently drawn to AO because of the use of high quality books. But after seeing the effect of FIAR to my children, I know I can't let FIAR go. They so enjoy it and retain a lot.

 

This August, my son's going to be at the first grade (6.5 years). His comprehension is now better (he's a late talker, starting to talk at 4 ), his fine motor skills increase and he can write & draw (can only do these 2 months ago !). We're going to do the more difficult FIAR books plus adding copywork, art, coloring activities, cutting and pasting, etc into the mix. I'm planning to do FIAR 1 hour each day after the core is done. Consider this a treat !!

 

I'm planning to use a combination of FIAR 1-4 and homeschool share at least up to 3rd grade, and adding AO/WTM book recommendation for our bed time read aloud (Mon-Fri), where I'm going to ask my son to do either simple narration or at least answer questions with a complete sentence.

[cajunrose]

Thank you for this thread. I have been looking for a comprehensive curriculum. I think this might work perfectly for us. Is it easy enough to use secularly?

[orangearrow]

We're using it this year for my ds (kindy). I'm adding Abeka Phonics and Math. We might make a few lapbooks, but we'll mainly keep everything in a notebook (with some lapbook elements, but in a 3-ring-binder). So far, we really love it. I have older children too (10 & 7), so we all take turns reading the stories with him. All 3 of my kids work on the art topics.

 

FWIW, I pre-plan the books before we get to them. I have a folder for each book title. I print out anything relating to that book (maps, project pages, pictures, and even the book, if we own it!) and put it into the folder. (I do a search on the FIAR board and homeschool share for printables/ideas) Then I make a checklist with the topics I want to cover for each book (she has several options for each subject, so I pick out my favorite one or two options and type them up in my checklist).

 

On my checklist, I also add a supplemental book title/topic list. So, a week or two before we "row" a certain book, I can just pull out my checklist and reserve books from the library on coordinating topics (a certain person, place, or animal for instance). I often get some of these books for my girls, so even though they're not doing FIAR, they can read some nonfiction books relating to some of the topics.

 

We're also doing Galloping the Globe this year, so I found a list that puts the FIAR books into their countries - so we'll "row" those books while we're "galloping" that particular country with the older kids. :)

[Ummto4]

Yes, stephanie. The curriculum itself is secular (with good values thrown in, though). It has a bible supplement book for those who want to add bible studies.

 

Dian

[Titus.Two.Five]

Is there anyone on here who has done or is doing, Before Five In A Row or Five In A Row?

 

I have a few questions.

 

~ can you call this curriculum?

~How does the Five In A Row Kitchen book fit in? When do you use it?

~Do you do it daily?

 

Any tips advice, or experiences are greatly appreciated!

 

I'm using B4FIAR with my 4 yr old, FIAR with my 7 and 9 yr olds, and getting ready to start Beyond FIAR with my 11 and 13 yr olds.

 

Yes, I would call them curriculum, B4 however, isn't really a curriculum per se, but it is a wonderful, rich guide for preschool. You would need to add phonics and math to FIAR, and maybe some math readiness games and beginning letter work to B4FIAR.

 

I try to use the Cookbook a few times per month, the kids really enjoy: 1) cooking with mom and 2) trying foods that correspond to the study, but certainly not neccessary.

 

We use B4 FIAR 2-3 times per week, FIAR 4 times per week, and Beyond, also 4 times per week.

[profmom]

It really ignites a love of books and learning in my children. :D

 

This is exactly what I always say about FIAR! FIAR is surprisingly academic and effective too! I especially like the geography, art, science, and language arts. I like that phonics and math aren't included because I can add those at the level of my dc, instead of the whole program being wrapped around learning letters (like many pre-k & K programs).

 

I plan to use B4FIAR with my youngest this year and into next and then switch to FIAR when she's ready. I'm looking forward to it!

[HomesteadMommy]

We LOVE FIAR!! I started using it last year when my oldest two were 5 and 3. They both loved it. :001_smile: We did easer things for dd3, but she loved most of the ideas in the books. We did Ping, Madelaine, Lentil and Katy and the Big Snow last year.

I just picked up B4 FIAR and will be using that with our dd2. Dd4 will use some B4 and FIAR and my oldest now 6 will keep working with FIAR.

It is a complete curriculum except for math (it does have applied math though) and phonics.

We do add in extras just because the kids enjoy it but you really don't need to. We enjoy notebooking/lapbooking and make good use of homeschoolshare.com Also Hands of a Child has some lapbook kits to go with B4 and FIAR. We did the Ping one last year and it was great!

My kids always want to reread the books and remember so much from the lessons!