Five In A Row

[Melinda]

So I was thinking of ordering FIAR to start when we "let out" of school. Which of these options do you like best (or something different I hadn't thought of)?

 

1. Start Before FIAR now (as soon as the order comes in) and continue through the summer, finishing with it before we officially start up our full load the last week of August.

 

2. Stop buying stuff, Melinda. You are overloading your kids as-is and this will be too much!

 

3. Forget Before FIAR and start on FIAR one either now or at the end of August.

 

Is there a point to doing Before FIAR first, or would it be a waste of time and money? I was mostly going to get it so that Nathan feels more included, but use it with everybody at once.

[chiguirre]

IMHO, B4FIAR will only work for your youngest. The older 2 will like the stories, but the activities will be a little light for them. I would start in on the easier books in FIAR with them and have a special time with your 2yo with B4FIAR. The first half of Before are book-related activities, the second half is general preschool activities that are hs friendly. You will get your money's worth for your 2 yo for sure, but it would be hard to combine the whole crew.

 

The easier books in FIAR 1 and 2 are:

 

Madeline

Mike Mulligan

How to Make an Apple Pie

Katy and the Big Snow

Peter Rabbit

Mr. Gumpy's Motor Car

Harold and the Purple Crayon

[prairiegirl]

My dd just turned 6 in Jan (she is in K this year) and I am doing FIAR with her now. We are having no problems. I believe FIAR is written for ages 4 to 8. So I would start with FIAR now if I were you. BFIAR would be more for you two younger ones.

 

I don't know if you are aware of this but Vol. 2 has more Spring titles in it that are fun to do like Peter Rabbit, Make Way for Ducklings and Miss Rumphius. You don't have to do the volumes in order. Volume 1's titles are more for fall and winter and they also deal with more around the world settings. Vol 2 is more for Spring and 3 is more for Summer. Not all of the titles deal with the respective seasons but there are a few. I thought I would just explain that in case you didn't know.

 

We have returned to FIAR this past month and we are enjoying it so much.

[mamaof2andtwins]

We did just FIAR with my first grader and 4 yo preschooler. It worked just fine. Given the ages of your older two children, I think I would skip over using B4FIAR and just start with FIAR.

 

We used it as our regular curriculum in kindergarten, first and second grade along with math, phonics and handwriting.

 

Jennie

[Aurelia]

I would do FIAR only. B4FIAR is mostly activities, not lesson plans, and you could probably come up with them on your own. We did FIAR with my 4 year old and it worked very well. She would have been bored with B4, but YMMV. I suggest looking at the book list for each. If your 2 younger children really like those books, then do them, but Ariel had BTDT and didn't really want to read books like The Little Rabbit again. I think if I had a toddler and wanted something formal, I would go with something like Berry Best Preschool's toddler program or PEAK with Books at 3 or 4.

[ABQmom]

My dd just turned 6 in Jan (she is in K this year) and I am doing FIAR with her now. We are having no problems. I believe FIAR is written for ages 4 to 8. So I would start with FIAR now if I were you. BFIAR would be more for you two younger ones.

 

I don't know if you are aware of this but Vol. 2 has more Spring titles in it that are fun to do like Peter Rabbit, Make Way for Ducklings and Miss Rumphius. You don't have to do the volumes in order. Volume 1's titles are more for fall and winter and they also deal with more around the world settings. Vol 2 is more for Spring and 3 is more for Summer. Not all of the titles deal with the respective seasons but there are a few. I thought I would just explain that in case you didn't know.

 

We have returned to FIAR this past month and we are enjoying it so much.

 

I've been checking out FIAR, and never heard this before! Very helpful info--thank you.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Well, I have a 4.5yo, a 3yo, and a 1yo. The older two still do enjoy the activities in B4FIAR, and even my youngest dd tags along sometimes. I have ordered FIAR and plan to start it late summer. Maybe you could do both. I'm sure that's what I'll be doing by this time next year. I suspect that the older two will still want to tag along when I do B4FIAR with dd. :)

[Angel]

#2 and #3 :lol: Begin FIAR in August. Let the summer be free for whatever comes up. I would not do BFIAR just because of your youngest, he is only 2 and he will listen in when he is ready. Your kiddos are little. There is plenty of time for FIAR in August. Plus, that gives you all summer to plan it out;)

 

We have enjoyed FIAR the past two years. We quite often spend 2 weeks on a book because we get interested in something (usually science). Don't be afraid to go off on bunny trails and follow the kids leading. Do you already know about http://www.homeschoolshare.com ? It has a ton of stuff for FIAR books. The Draw Write Now books and Evan Moore's Giant Science Resource Book are also great go-alongs.

 

Have fun next year!! The kids will enjoy it.

[Angel]

I don't know if you are aware of this but Vol. 2 has more Spring titles in it that are fun to do like Peter Rabbit, Make Way for Ducklings and Miss Rumphius. You don't have to do the volumes in order. Volume 1's titles are more for fall and winter and they also deal with more around the world settings. Vol 2 is more for Spring and 3 is more for Summer. Not all of the titles deal with the respective seasons but there are a few. I thought I would just explain that in case you didn't know.

 

This is true, but keep in mind that most Vol. 2 books are longer and the activities are more advanced. Vol. 1 books are (mostly) shorter and the activities are shorter/easier. IMHO. ;)

 

This is the archive pages of the FIAR message board. It has lots of extra planning ideas, too. http://www.fiarhq.com/~gbprnhrz/forum/archive/index.php/f-2.html

 

There used to be a link putting FIAR titles into Season/Geography/Theme, but it looks like it is gone now. In Vol. 1, "The Story About Ping," "Lentil," "Storm in the Night," and "Night of the Moonjellies" are all books that can be done in the springtime. There are a couple others that could go anywhere. You don't have to do the books in order inside the volumes either.

 

Just thought I'd mention it.

[Moxie]

Could someone give me an example of the activities in BFIAR and FIAR? Are they crafty activities?

[alegnab]

I had B4FIAR and hardly used it. I used FIAR, though. I suggest you get that and make lapbooks along with it. I sure wish there were lapbooks available for some of the books when I was using FIAR many years ago with ds#1.

[Angel]

Here is the sample page for Five in a Row from the website

http://www.fiveinarow.com/FIAR/FIARLESN.html

 

In the volumes it is more of a lesson to read, and then you follow up with actually activities or crafts (or lapbooks or worksheets) to go along with the lessons. Well, that's how I tend to use it :001_smile:

[dirty ethel rackham]

I don't have BFIAR, but from what I remember of FIAR, they are not really crafty activities. There are activities that are across the curriculum. You don't have to do all of them, but pick and choose what you feel would be helpful for your family.

 

For example, from the Story About Ping:

 

Social Studies: Discernment (what did Ping do wrong), Geography (find China and the Yangtzee river on a map - what is the river like, culture of china - hair, clothing, houses, etc.)

Literature: What is a classic story? What is fiction? Literary devices - repetition

Art: Medium (colored pencil), Drawing water, viewpoint, unity of theme, composition,

Math: counting skills - counting the ducks in the family

Science: Animal Kingdom - ducks and what they eat, Buoyancy, Health and Safety, reflection of light.

 

This list sounds intimidating, but it is all presented in a very gentle, conversational, organic way. I just love this program and wish I was more organized to have made better use of it. Also, don't be afraid to adapt it. Some of the books just didn't click with us, so we only read them a couple times and did just a few of the activities. We just skipped the books that were unavailable (out of print.)

[jellogirl]

FIAR is great. I say, go for it!

[Woodland_Mom]

I would do Before FIAR beginning now! Your kids are young! Enjoy the easy readers and activities!! Do Before FIAR through the summer at your leisure. If you don't read a book 5 days in a row, don't sweat it! Enjoy a title two or three times a week (or more if it works out), but enjoy the WONDERFUL books and the magic of reading together!

 

Some of the books in FIAR are difficult for a young one to listen to! Begin FIAR when you're done with your favorite Before FIAR. Your kids will love

 

• Goodnight Moon
  
• Ask Mr. Bear
  
• Runaway Bunny
  
• Angus
  
• We're going on a Bear Hunt
  
• The Red Carpet . . . and MANY more!
  

IMHO, you should cater to your younger kids this summer! It seems that we homeschool moms are always bringing our younger children along on the ride with whatever our older kids are doing! Your 5 year old will still enjoy the activities and the light hearted books!

 

We LOVE FIAR!! Before FIAR is terrific too! You won't want to miss it!

[profmom]

I remember thinking there was a big difference between B4FIAR & FIAR. FIAR is surprisingly academic, and B4 is more about having fun with the books. (FIAR is fun too! B4 is just much lighter.) Both are great for developing a love of learning and a love of books! I also remember a stage where I thought B4FIAR was too light and much of FIAR was too academic, although I can't remember what age that was now -- maybe 4?

 

When we did FIAR at co-op, we had a mixture of ages and chose to alternate FIAR & B4FIAR books. This might work well for you too, given the ages of your kids!

 

My youngest just turned 4, and I am really looking forward to using FIAR again! I have B4FIAR too, but I've been too busy with the older kids to add much of it in -- yet! I will though! (So far, we've just enjoyed reading the books.)

[Melinda]

Well you guys twisted my arm and I did it...haha I found someone who was selling B4FIAR, volumes 1-3, and the character supplement for $80 with free shipping and someone else who was selling the cookbook and holiday book for $40 or so with like $3 shipping. I'm looking forward to trying it out.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

I wanted to share how we are doing B4FIAR with a 4.5yo and a 3yo (both advanced) with a 1yo sometimes tagging along:

 

I look through the manual and pick ideas that I think the kids would enjoy and I also look through the picture book and sometimes come up with more ideas. Then I write each idea on a slip of paper and put it in a small paper bag with the book's name on it. Then when we read the book I let one of them pick an idea out of the bag. I also put some ideas from the second half of the book into a separate bag and we pick papers out of there too. They love the surprise and have fun doing the activities too!