Sue G in PA Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I've been looking at FIAR and wondered if anyone could tell me more about it. It looks fun and like something that would benefit my ds6. Is there much prep time? Does it take long? I sound lazy, I know, but I just have so many to teach and not a lot of time to prepare or spend ind. time w/ each child. I already do MFW K w/ ds5. So, please tell me more about what looks like a good "fit" for ds6! TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in SC Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 This is the general format: Pick a book (you don't have to read books in any particular order or sequence). You will then read the book (or "row" it, as they say :)) every day for 5 days. In the guide, there will be specific activity suggestions for each book in various subject areas. I believe they are Social Studies, Language Arts, Art, Math (this is really applied math, not an actual complete math program), and Science. You do need to add in at *least* a math and language arts (spelling, grammar, writing) program. Whether or not you add in anything else would be up to you. We would definitely add quite a bit if we used this during regular 'school.' You are, of course, free to do things in whatever way works best for you, but the suggested way to use the material is to pick a different 'subject' for each day. So, you may do a LA-related activity one day, an applied math activity the next, art the next, etc. Often, there will be too many activities in any one subject area to get to in the course of one week. In that case, you simply pick the one(s) that you want to cover and move on. We use it over the summer or on breaks, and for us that works well. The activities and books are absolutely enjoyable, and we all have fun. However, for us, it's too unsequenced and, well, "light" to use as our main curriculum. There are many people who do use it as their main program and love it, so it really just depends on you and your child. I don't know if I was any real help, but I hope I gave you at least an idea of the way FIAR is set up. Have a great day! Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Indeed Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 We use FIAR here and love it! I use it for Pre-k- about 2nd and then they are more interested in what the other siblings are doing. Some people really get into planning this and that to go with each book, doing lapbooks, etc. We just use it as a pick up and go manual with the occasional lapbook. I really like the program and have used it with all my children. My children learn tons from it, and it can be used as a main program. I love the snuggliness (is that a word?) :) of it all. Here is a website where some of the users of it have written similar types of unit studies and they are free and quite a few of them have lapbook printables already made to go with it. http://www.homeschoolshare.com I have written several and we even use the chapter book ones for older children. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I currently use FIAR for a 1st grader and a PK/Ker. I plan about 2 weeks in advance so any books or videos I order from the library are here before we row. It takes me about 15 to 20 minutes to plan for a book. I look for science and social studies (usually geography or history) resources from the library to round out and beef up those areas. I do the math straight from the manual, choose 1 or 2 of the LA activities to discuss and make sure I have any needed art supplies (the right color paper, chalk, pastels, nothing too elaborate). My kids have really enjoyed FIAR and what they learn sticks. They will mention things we covered months ago without any prompting from me. If you have several kids in the 4 to 7 year old range, I would combine them for FIAR. The main reason I chose this route for this year was that we could include my dd in lessons, something that wouldn't have happened with SOTW and WTM science. The kids look forward to FIAR time and we have covered a lot of topics at an early elementary level. The trick is to pick a True book, Magic school Bus, Let's Read and find out, etc. type book for the science and geography topics. Videos can also be a great choice to round out the FIAR topics. Homeschoolshare is a great resource both for FIAR books and to add in more books on other topics. In fact, some of the units are even better than FIAR. Happy rowing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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