Before Five In A Row

The past few weeks, I have been developing our homeschool curriculum and lesson plans, ordering books and supplies, and doing a whole lot of research! 

It's a lot of work, but this is the type of work that I love. I thrive on this kind of stuff. I can't get enough of it... to say program development is my passion would be an understatement. 

A few of my friends have asked about the curriculum and lesson plans I have been working on, so I have decided to post a few samples here. Obviously, these are what work for "Bean" and I, and you will probably want to adjust/change/modify to suit your family's needs... but, that's the beauty of homeschooling! 

I am following the Before Five In A Row curriculum. It is a literature-based homeschool unit study. It is very different from most traditional homeschool curricula, but that's what I've absolutely fallen in love with! 

The "five in a row" refers to the fact that you read a certain children's book five days in a row and do an activity that relates to the book  after reading it. It is easily tailored to your family's schedule and interests. You can also read the book every other day over the course of two weeks, rather than once a day for an entire week. 

"Bean" and I will be doing our "structured school" three days per week, we will make time to read the book every day (Monday thru Friday) but will only do pre-planned "school activities" three days per week (on Monday, Wednesday & Friday). FIAR is a child-led, whole child approach... the BFIAR curriculum shows you how to deliberately spark and build on your child's natural interest with simple activities and discussions that cover a vast amount of academic knowledge.

The Before Five In A Row volume covers 24 children's books, providing suggestions for activities in Art, Music, Bible, Science, Math, Language and other subject areas. The idea is to engage your child's interest through the story, and then follow where it leads.

What I really love so far about BFIAR is that it is incredibly flexible and works well with all types of educational philosophies. It also seems like it will keep Bean's interest high and engaged. A lot of pre-planning is actually not necessary, but I'm a planner - I can't do much of anything without planning, so of course I have every book that we will read planned. But since I truly want this experience to be child-led, I'm sure not much will actually work how I've planned... and that's okay!

Before Five In A Row is also CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP!! My volume of Before FIAR cost me $30. That's it. The twenty-four children's books that are outlined in the BFIAR curriculum can be found at the library or you can choose to purchase them for yourself. Bascially, FIAR can be done anytime, anywhere, briefly or as deeply as your child desires.

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