Okieintx Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I'm trying to think about next fall and what it will look like. I want to get some input if I can. My youngest will be 6 this summer, and he has high functioning autism. This year I have used Before Five in a Row with him, and it's been great. He really likes it. I'm thinking about continuing with Five in a Row with him next year. I also have two older girls, 8 (this summer) and 9. I think they would enjoy FIAR, but I think they'll be too old for it. So I've been thinking about My Father's World for them. Am I crazy to think I could do both? I would love to incorporate my kindergarten son into the MFW, but he has enjoyed BFIAR so much, I want to be sure to keep his interest (autism, and all...makes it tough to do that...) Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 It's my understanding that FIAR (which I've seen but never used) is not an all-day curriculum. It would not be crazy at all to do both. (Own opinion--) People get so worried about combining kids to save time. It gets ridiculous how people will stretch something made for one age group all the way to a group it is NOT made for, all in fear of not being able to "keep kids together." News Flash--even if the same subject is studied (for example, the same time period in history), there's no way kids of ALL ages would be doing exactly.the.same.thing. It may feel like they are, but in essence, anyone with kids separated by several years will be doing two different "curricula" because the activities and goals will be so different. You'll be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 You may find you are better off not combining him, even if you could. It's easier to teach my spectrum and attention issues son one on one. The boys are the same age, yet I teach almost nothing together. I'm not sure whether you're considering adding MFW to his FIAR, or considering just doing MFW with all of them? I would do what works with him (FIAR), and I would not add anything to that (MFW). Keeping work with him pleasant and successful would be my goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco_Clark Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Combining has its benifits but it sounds like in your case doing two programs (MFW with your girls and FIAR with your son) will be easiest. Neither of those programs has a reputation of being time-consuming to implement, I don't thin it will be difficult to do both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 You could also try Beyond FIAR for the older two, if they read fairly well. I've heard it's not quite as much fun, but more meaty. You could also look into volume 4 of FIAR, which is made for slightly older children (I think ages 7-8), and has you "row" each book for 2 weeks. It is a little more challenging than volumes 1-3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okieintx Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 Thanks for the input. I haven't spent a ton of time looking over MFW yet. I just know a little about it and know lots of people that love it. But I did wonder how much they really were able to do together if each child has different math and language arts levels and such. But if they do activities and projects and experiments together, I like that. The problem is that my son could obviously join in with those things we do now. He's just not interested most of the time. My girls, however, think it's fun to do some of his preschool type activities with him. Which helps him learn and they're spending that time together. I just wanted to feel it out and see if it was do-able in real life (not just in my mind) to tackle both. And I need to remember that kindergarten is still not really intense. :) I think if they both have most of the teacher stuff planned out, I'll be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeindeed Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 You could combine them all in FIAR. It's easy to "beef up" studies for the older children. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bree Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 For us not combining my 2nd child makes life easier :) it does sometimes feel like more work, but the times we try to add her in it really can frustrate all of us :) for us she needs her time and quiet or she will struggle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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