Easy Homeschooling with Five In A Row

by Donna H
(Evansville, IN)

Guess how much this veteran home educator loves Five in a Row homeschooling unit studies? She's keeping her FIAR books for her future grandchildren!

After homeschooling for 18 years, I can say that my favorite curriculum by far has been Five in a Row and Beyond Five in a Row homeschooling unit studies.

The things that we read and then do with our hands are the things we remember most in our education. Five in a Row has you read the same wonderful children's picture book five days in a row to your children. The book becomes a dear friend, as you grow to know and love it more. Then each day you also choose an activity to do that will help you learn more about a facet of the book. It might be a cooking activity, a science experiment, sewing, drawing, planting seeds, or a field trip.

With my youngest child, we also made a 'Lap Book' for each Five in a Row book we completed. A Lap Book is a colored file folder highlighting the book you've just completed. We attached photos, maps, drawings, etc. that had been a part of our FIAR study for that week to the file folder, and it created a simple yet attractive scrapbook for our enjoyment and review.

Beyond Five in a Row homeschooling unit studies is a wonderful way for middle/upper elementary students to enjoy a great book about a person in history or a classic, and then do meaningful activities to further learn and implement the details from the book you are enjoying. The Childhood of Thomas Edison was one of our favorite book studies with BFIAR.

I hope this review has been helpful. I am keeping my FIAR books for my future granchildren! That's how much I love it.

Donna, I love Five In A Row too and highly recommend this easy-to-use homeschooling unit studies curriculum. Your FIAR review is very helpful - thanks for helping others! Blessings, Heather :)

Five In A Row Tips

by Angie Gallagher
(Minneapolis MN)

Homeschool mama shares some helpful Five in a Row tips to help you save time and money homeschooling your young kiddos...

Our family is using the "Five in a Row" unit study curriculum for the second time now because we loved it so much! We used it for our first son for first grade and are beginning it with our second son for Kindergarten. We will likely use it for our daughter, but she has a ways to wait for that. :)

The basic premise is reading a classic children s book five days in a row while focusing on a different subject each day. By the end of the week they have studied the book & learned math, science, social studies, reading etc... It's incredibly flexible & once you get the hang of the lessons you can pick and chose topics easily, and wing it :)

FIAR is very affordable if you check the books out from your library. We scour our library's online catalogue and order them in advance. We also have a modest supply that we have found by watching the shelves at several of our Half Price Books (most cost from $1-$3 each).

Angie, we love Five In a Row unit study curriculum too! Thanks for sharing this fun, easy-to-use homeschool program with other parents; its much appreciated! Blessings, Heather :)

Would you like to leave a comment, or write your own online homeschool programs review? Use the links below...

Fun, Flexible Five in a Row

by Jessica McMaken
(Denver, Colorado)

Five in a Row (FIAR) is a storybook based homeschool unit studies curriculum designed for 4-8 year olds. I've been using it with my 2.5 and 5 year old and it has been great for us.

The premise is that each day for five days you read the same story book. After reading the book, you do a lesson based on the book. The curriculum gives you options for a number of different lessons in a variety of subjects - social studies, science, art, math, literacy. You can expand the curriculum infinitely as it strikes your fancy.

Some of the books have led to huge explorations of exciting topics (flight, the ocean, the Arctic) and others have been less of a hit. But all of the books chosen are wonderful children's books. My one criticism is that many of the books can be pretty "heavy" for young children. But I've just stuck with choosing the lighter topics until my kids are a bit older.

FIAR is a complete curriculum for kids not yet ready for formal phonics and math instruction. You can do the lessons in as little as 5 minutes a day (plus the time it takes to read the story) as many of them are conversation based and you only cover one subject a day. The thing is, your kid will really remember what you discuss in that 5 minutes because it's related to a story they enjoyed while snuggling in your lap.

On the other hand, if you want to fill a week with fun and exciting activities, you can easily plan field trips and cooking projects and science experiments to go along with the unit.

Once your kids are older and/or ready for formal instruction in reading and math, FIAR still offers an incredible jumping off point for science, social studies, art, applied math and literacy. You'll just need to supplement with a separate phonics and math curriculum.

I find FIAR to be a really fun and flexible program. And my kids are learning a ton!

Jessica, thanks for the well-written and informative FIAR curriculum review! Other parents who are looking for a hands-on homeschool unit studies curriculum will definitely find your input helpful. Blessings, Heather :)
P.S. Our family LOVES FIAR too! :)