What does FIAR look like?

[Slache]

A lot of people seem to like this program, but I can't imagine what it actually entails. What does your day look like? Or your week?

[Eagle]

This is my favourite FIAR blog. It should give you an idea of what you can do with it:

http://www.delightfullearning.net/p/five-in-row.html

 

This family does FIAR, reading and math for their whole curriculum for grade 1 (as far as I know). They do BFIAR for ages 2-5 and FIAR for 5+. I love reading their blog for ideas of how they implement each book. It is a great inspiration. We do many other things in addition to FIAR so we don't have time for all they do, but it is a good look at what is possible if you want to make the most of the curriculum (and add a few extra ideas too).

[My4arrows]

We used FIAR when my older two were younger and those were some of our favorite times!  They still remember them and love them!  What I love about FIAR is you can make it what you want it to me.  I did it very similar to how the blog PP posted (got a lot of my ideas from there!).  

 

A basic day for us was calendar time followed up with reading the book of the week (we sometimes would even spend two weeks on the book).  We would cuddle on the couch and read the book, pointing out the things we learned previously and other things they noticed.  The manual has several suggestions of activities to go along with the book covering social studies, language, math, science and art.  Typically you choose one of those activities to do each day (but you wouldn't necessarily do all the activities for each book, just a few you choose).  We did a lot of hands on things, experiences that went along with the books and I also added in more geography and the study of cultures.  We had such a fun time and learned so much!  I can be more specific if you want.

[My4arrows]

Also I just noticed you are currently using sonlight p4/5. We also I'd that the year before FIAR 😀 One thing I though FIAR taught us was how to look at literature differently. Now that I'm using p4/5 a second time I've found we are reading the books differently and jumping into them further

[Dramorellis]

I just love FIAR for the Pre-K-2 stage. It's some of the best times we have had and has been a perfect fit for my daughter. It's geared to her level (5, almost 6) right now but my 3 year old and 9 year old sit in with us and they all enjoy the story. We don't really use it as written but it works for our family. So we "row" a book for 2 weeks at a time instead of one. We read additional books that go along with the themes, maybe make a meal associated with the region and do an art and science theme. It's quite loose and I am not married to everything lining up perfectly every single time. This year we have been using the books as copywork as well. She has a Waldorf lesson book and does a passage from the book and maybe one original sentence about the book and then draws a picture. We've been able to read a lot of quality picture books that I may not have even considered otherwise. This year we are much busier so I did go ahead and write down the relevant themes for each book ahead of time in my planner so whenever I am at the library I can just pick up some related books quickly. Separately she does math, phonics/spelling and geography/history is often related to the book we are rowing.

[Susie in MS]

Agreeing with the above poster that it is what you want it to be. 30 families will give you 30 views. Those were absolutely some of our very best school days. FIAR gives you the foundation and enough meat to supply all that is really "needed" for that age group. IF you have a child like mine who thrives off of hands on then you -may- want to add ideas found in the archives, pinterest, or google search. I had a file box where I collected ideas I knew I would use with the rows. One file per book. At other times I used the manual as is and never added one thing (well, except math and phonics). FIAR doesn't take a huge chunk out of your day, so you have time to add an activity if you wish, but it isn't necessary. It will fit families with a very busy life or one that has time to get creative. The best thing you can do to see what it would be like for you is to download the free Ping unit from the FIAR website, get the book from the library and have a go at it. I really liked adding Big Bird goes to China vid.  Most of all smuggle with your little ones while they are little. =)

[dirty ethel rackham]

We used it for Kindergarten.  We planned to read the book and do at least one activity from it per day.  Some weeks we did that.  Some weeks, we only got around to the book a couple of times that week.  Sometimes, we didn't like the book enough to revisit it more than once.  But most of the books were excellent.  I love that it changed the way I look at children's literature.  I learned a lot about language use, art and the use of illustration, etc.  It made me much more discerning about choosing children's literature.  There were several books that were no longer available, so I was able to substitute other books and make up my own activities. 

 

We still did math separately and did some gentle reading instruction and whatever else my kids were interested in at the time (they loved science so we always had lots of books on animals, nature, big machines, etc.) 

[mamamindy]

We LOVE FIAR. :001_wub:  I choose a book for the week and we read it together.  I have looked through the manual ahead of time and we have a conversation covering different topics each day, but not all the ones in the manual. Daily, when we read the picture book again, they/we recall the lessons from the day before.  My kids learn so much, talk about the books LONG after we've read them, and it's a great family-building time.  You could add a ton to it, fleshing it out as much as  you want for your homeschool.  I don't (although my oldest children do other school reading.)  For my 4 & 6 year olds, they do some phonics and math (completely unofficial for my 4yo, she's just ready) and that's pretty much all they do for "school".  I have loved "doing school" this way for my early elementary years!! 

[Slache]

Okay, okay! I'll buy the guide. You can all chill. ;) Thanks for the feedback. It sounds perfect for him.

 

Eta: And little miss has to do everything big brother does.

Edited February 2, 2016 by Slache

[Slache]

Do I want to do Before Five in a Row first? He's 5 but I don't care. How long (weeks/months) does that take?

[freemanfamilyof6]

We have used both FIAR and B4FIAR.  We used B4FIAR with my youngest when she was 3 and 4.  I am using FIAR with her this year for Kinder.  I used FIAR years ago when my older three were K, 1, and 2nd as well.  We are big fans of FIAR and unit studies in general.  If you have 2 youngers who can do school together B4FIAR might be a great option to do first.  It is definitely a lower level than FIAR.  There are some concepts in FIAR that are above my Kinder's level, but we just choose to skip that item and do one of the others instead. 

[Hilltopmom]

I found my kid did much better with FIAR in grades 1-2 than K:)

[freeindeed]

I'd go with FIAR for a 5yo. I used it when my children were younger. We made some of our best memories during those years. We added in extras, too. It's enough to stand alone, but I always found lots of fun things to add! I have a blog with our activities as well as some Pinterest boards for a lot of the books. If you're interested, I'll link them for you.

[Slache]

I'd go with FIAR for a 5yo. I used it when my children were younger. We made some of our best memories during those years. We added in extras, too. It's enough to stand alone, but I always found lots of fun things to add! I have a blog with our activities as well as some Pinterest boards for a lot of the books. If you're interested, I'll link them for you.

No that's ok. I'm pregnant and trying to keep it simple. Thanks though. :)

[My4arrows]

I personally found beforeFIAR to be too basic for my kinder. I prefer vol 1 for kinder age

[2Peanuts]

Hi all,

 

I'm thinking about using FIAR with my DS --- if I decide to homeschool him, that is.

 

Question: How much grammar does FIAR cover? From the sample Ping lesson I saw online, it doesn't look like it covers much, or at least it wasn't in that particular lesson. Curious if I should supplement with something like Daily Grammar or FLL.

 

Thank you!

Carol

[Slache]

Hi all,

 

I'm thinking about using FIAR with my DS --- if I decide to homeschool him, that is.

 

Question: How much grammar does FIAR cover? From the sample Ping lesson I saw online, it doesn't look like it covers much, or at least it wasn't in that particular lesson. Curious if I should supplement with something like Daily Grammar or FLL.

 

Thank you!

Carol

From the website: For preschool or Before FIAR you’ll need nothing else. For FIAR for ages 5/6 you’ll need a good phonics program and a simple introduction to math. For children who are already reading successfully, you’ll need to supplement daily math and spelling as well as penmanship and grammar IF you choose to teach those as individual subjects.

[2Peanuts]

Thank you, Slache! I guess I should learn to read more carefully.  :laugh:

[Slache]

Thank you, Slache! I guess I should learn to read more carefully. :laugh:

I probably went to the website 3 times before I found that. I really just couldn't get a feel for it. :)

[908874]

 I bought B4FIAR a while back. I used it for a couple of weeks and now it sits forgotten on the shelf. I did buy a number of the books at a used book store and for the most part they are very nice books. To me, B4FIAR seemed like a collection of ideas on what I could do with the kids based on the book we were reading. It just didn't work/clicked for us (me, mostly). Because of my experience with B4FIAR I did not buy FIAR. I still think their book selections are really nice and I know it works for a lot of people...

 

I always like to hear why a product doesn't work for someone so, I decided to contribute   :)

Edited February 6, 2016 by 908874