FIAR -Anyone using this for older kids (7-ish)?

[Osmosis Mom]

It has been many, many years since I used this curriculum, but it occurred to me that my almost 7 year old twins might really, really enjoy this. I am not looking for anything dumbed-down; they are awfully smart, but love books and would love a CM-approach to fx. lanuguage arts. Can anyone give me hints as to how to actually approach LA this way.

 

TIA>

[8filltheheart]

Sure.....it is the way I love to teach. Simply choose books that you want to read together (anything from picture books to chapter books). Pre-read enough of the story to determine what geography/science/history/art topics relate to the book and plan your activities from there. For example, if they read a book like Little Pear, you could map China, read about Chinese culture, read other books about China (like Ping), make Chinese food, etc.

 

You can alternate books like that with stories like the Tales of Peter Rabbit and study rabbits and maybe learn to read about authors like Beatrice Potter.

 

HTH

[chiguirre]

I'm using FIAR with my 7yo 1st grader and 4yo. Although my 7yo is autistic, he's on level academically and I chose FIAR so that both kids could listen in. Ds does get a lot more out of FIAR than the 4yo. We've covered a lot of ground with the 20 books we've rowed this year from geography to basic literary terms to lots of interesting science topics.

 

FIAR's strengths are the introduction to basic literary analysis (onomatopeia, alliteration, poetry vs. prose, story arc, etc.), science and social studies. You can get a lot done in about 20-30 minutes a day and since my kids have loved the stories what they learn sticks with them. They still talk about Japan and Mako's red clogs, the difference between steam shovels and diesel shovels, and what onomatopeia is.

 

I plan a FIAR unit in about 20 minutes about 2 weeks in advance so that I can get my materials from the library. I choose a science book and video to go along with the FIAR topic (Let's Read and Find Out and MSB are very useful as is Schlessinger and Bill Nye) and look for geography non-fiction (True books or similar series and travel videos). Sometimes I get a few go-along books, but since we're also reading through SL Core A and B, I don't stress about adding a lot of story books. Others do add 4 or 5 fiction books and do a theme week. Lists of go-along titles are available in the FIAR archives at

 

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

 

I check to make sure I have any supplies needed for the art suggestions. Some hsers also do lap books for their FIAR studies, but my ds has fine motor challenges and cutting and pasting is a lot of work so this wouldn't be fun for us. You can find lots of free suggestions at homeschoolshare here

 

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/FAQ.php

 

HSS also has lots of FIAR style studies for other books, they're very well done and FREE. This is a great resource is you like rowing.

 

If you think you might like FIAR and you don't have a manual yet, I'd try out a HSS unit and see how it goes or borrow a FIAR manual if you can and test it out. I wouldn't worry about how "rigorous" it is or isn't, since most of the rigor for first graders is in learning to read, write and do arithmetic. FIAR makes school fun and it's been a great motivational tool for me. "Finish your math so we can read Mike Mulligan, " works like a charm with ds.

[RoughCollie]

I used FIAR for grades 1-3. The kids and I loved FIAR. We did everything suggested in the FIAR books and I would supplement it with additional books a lot, just for fun. I also got children's dvds from the library to go along with themes and settings in the books. It took us about an hour a day to do FIAR. We were also using SOTW and literature suggestions from TWTM, but the kids loved reading and being read to, so the huge numbers of books they read were welcomed by them all.

 

I used ETC, Spelling Workout, and Zaner-Bloser handwriting for language arts.

 

If FLL had been out then, we would have used it. The kids *hated* whatever grammar book had been suggested in the first edition of TWTM, so I ditched it and didn't start grammar until 3rd grade. I used GUM in grades 3 & 4, and switched to Rod & Staff in 5th because I thought it was a superior program.

 

I didn't use a writing program until 3rd grade, and I started with Writing Strands 2.

 

The FIAR forums are a great resource. http://www.fiarhq.com/~gbprnhrz/forum/index.php

[Free Indeed]

Everyone else has already said it all- I just wanted to say we use it too! :D

[Lori C- Texas]

We just started using this with my 6 1/2 year old son. He loves it. He can read most of the books himself. We have started to make lapbooks using the resources at http://www.homeschoolshare.com. Lots of fun. He can read pretty good but it is not his favorite thing to do. I started this as a way to see if I could get him excited about reading. Hope your kiddos enjoy it!:)

[Osmosis Mom]

Thanks, ladies. Love the enthusiasm! I ordered the first two volumes. We still have a few of the books from years back. I would love to do lapbooking -but fear the creativity involved....- and ordered Tammy's book from Tobin's Lab. I do want to make school more fun for these girls especially language arts so please do continue sharing what I might do instead of regular workbook-style lessons.

 

Thanks.