posted June 26, 2003 11:35 PM                  

i'd vote for picking one book and intentionally starting one of the suggested activities. for example, for the book 'the yellow ball' we did the art suggestion of painting one of the pictures (the title page or cover - i think they're the same). this sounded very simple. it was. but it led to days and days of colour mixing, then we moved onto shades. and it was the first time either dd had drawn a picture with a horizon other than at the bottom of the page. this now reappears in dd age 5's pictures from time to time. in the midst of that, we took a yellow ball and looked at it cloe up and far away. that led to lots of experimentation with perspective. our dd are 5 and 3.5, if that helps.

for us, each BFIAR activity has led quite naturally into another and another. (going on a bear hunt started us in on clapping to a beat, and we may just never stop.

we also walk/play/hike outside a lot - at least two hours morning and afternoon (except in summer when its just too hot!)) and play with pattern blocks a fair bit, too.

hth,
ann

posted June 27, 2003 06:33 AM                  

I'm going to agree with the other ladies here and say to pick one book and read it and do some of the activities in the B4 manual. If it helps, maybe "plan" out a week using a book and the activities for that book. I don't mean make a schedule, but instead decided on a book and then go through the B4 manual and pick out some activities (write them out if it helps) for the week and do them.

My just-turned-3-year-old DD has simply blossomed using B4FIAR She has learned and notices amazing things that I know came from the activities we've done with the books.

A preschooler's work is their play and that's how they learn, how they interact with their environment. B4FIAR helps me to channel some of that play time into activities that have helped my DD learn about her world and God's glorious creation.

Try not to get too caught up in the "preschool" thing and try more to just enjoy these few precious years you have with your DS and play with him, guide his activities and help him explore his world

HTH!

Heather

posted June 27, 2003 07:53 AM                  

Have you read through the manual yet? There is so much there, more than just reading the books. Don't try to "do Before FIAR" (or FIAR, for that matter) just from the booklist. The booklist isn't the key here, it's the lessons to accompany the books that make FIAR products what they are!

Don't get me wrong, the books are wonderful books, but the lessons Jane provides add so much depth, and will teach you how to teach your child, in such a gentle manner. Sometimes you will wonder how much your child is learning, but then they will spontaneously show you, while they are playing, or in conversation, just how much they have learned.

Also, realize, that when we first start feeding our babies meat, we don't hand them a steak to gnaw on. We cut off a little tiny piece, and then cut that into even tinier bits, so they don't choke. Then, as they grow, and get stronger and more coordinated, we give them slightly larger bits of meat, but we still cut up the meat for them. It's not until they are much older, and can handle the "cutting tools" (ie knife and fork, in coordination) that we put a piece of steak on their plate, and let them do it on their own. Just some "food" for thought...

posted June 27, 2003 09:34 AM                  

Here are some marvelous posts, which, I think, will answer most of your questions! Try this one first: http://www.fiveinarow.com/ubb/Forum12/HTML/000002.html

and here is another super post: http://www.fiveinarow.com/ubb/Forum12/HTML/000001.html

I think these will give you insight into the purpose of B4. You're new to homeschooling, and in any new endeavor there's going to be a learning curve. Homeschooling (particularly FIAR) doesn't look like school or feel like school. When we're used to thinking inside the box, it's hard to imagine any other way of doing things.

I'm not sure if you do have the Before Five in a Row manual or not, it was hard to tell from your post...
If you do have it but are at a loss as to how to approach a lesson, let us know - I know we'd all be happy to help and encourage all we can!!

Blessings,

posted June 27, 2003 11:52 AM                  

quote:

---

Originally posted by Heather in GA:
I'm going to agree with the other ladies here and say to pick one book and read it and do some of the activities in the B4 manual. If it helps, maybe "plan" out a week using a book and the activities for that book. I don't mean make a schedule, but instead decided on a book and then go through the B4 manual and pick out some activities (write them out if it helps) for the week and do them.

---

I will second doing some planning for a week. My experience has been that we have had more productive weeks when I planned the things I wanted to do (picking the book to row, then selecting 1-2 activities for the 2-3 days per week we will row), as opposed to the weeks I didn't plan, then we basically just read books.

HTH.

posted June 27, 2003 04:40 PM                 

If your son likes being read to that much why not get go-alongs to expand on that weeks lessons, for example if your rowing The Carrot Seed, can you find more books at your library to supplement for his reading interest? Like books on gardening, farming, etc.??

Make sense?
So maybe you can save the B4 stories for the week lessons?

Am I on the right track.

posted June 28, 2003 07:06 AM                  

quote:

---

Originally posted by Teri-Ann:
Is it okay to still read more of the books from the list for fun while we work on activities out of a particular book? Any reason to save the books until we're ready to do some activities? Thanks for all the advice.

---

Hi Teri-Ann!

We read B4 and FIAR books all the time...ones we've done the activities/lessons for and ones we haven't yet. The stories are such a treasure, they beg to be read! I don't think you need to "save" a book until you're ready for the activity. For us, reading it beforehand makes it all the more exciting when we do get to the activity!

We've used B4 with both our kiddos, and I implemented it differently with both children. My daughter is advanced for her age and thrives on structure & routine. She was always begging for more and more...so I used B4 more with a FIAR twist. (I planned out our activities and expanded on the lessons.) We actually started FIAR at 3.5 years old with her...we alternated between B4 and FIAR.

I've used B4 with my son in the way that I believe it was intended to be used. Lauri B. posted some excellent links above. We might read a story and later in the day pick an activity for that book. We've read the books at bedtime and done an activity the next day. We skip around from story to story depending on what suits our fancy that day. Andrew also joins us in our FIAR time with his sister.

I think by using the manual and planning out some activities with your son you'll be amazed at what he learns! After using B4 for awhile, I was amazed at what I'd learned. I look at books very differently now than I did 5 years ago.

Hope this helps!
Amy

------------------
Blessed to be the wife of Shane, and Momma to Elizabeth (6.5) and Andrew (a brand new 4)!

posted June 28, 2003 06:27 PM                  

quote:

---

Originally posted by Teri-Ann:
I guess I don't realize how much he's going to learn from the activites because they seem so simple. I'm going to plan this weekend for next week and see how that goes....Any reason to save the books until we're ready to do some activities?

---

Dear Teri-Ann,

I posted this last week in answer to a post of the FIAR board, but I think it might help. I gave a little peak into how we did B4 lessons with our 4 yo last year:

For instance, Caps for Sale. Easily one of my daughters favorite books of all times. We have a small version and a huge version. You might choose to do a book and activities only one day a week, and do some Readiness activities from the back of the book on another day of the week. This worked wll for us because she's my youngest! Not only do I need to spent time with the older children, she absorbs so much from their lessons - I call it the trickle-down-effect - that I find I "teach" things to the younger children far less than I did my eldest.

So, we read Caps for Sale once then decide to read it again and count all the monkeys. While we're counting, we decide to count hats too! We pull some US coins out of my wallet and I show her how to make 50 cents, her favorite being 2 quarters. I don't have a 50 cent piece, but wish I did. We count by 50s to figure out how much all those caps would cost, how much one might cost, two, etc. I made a scan of the man with the caps, then printed him out separately (thanks to Paint Shop Pro) and printed all the caps. She enjoyed playing with the man and the hats, stacking them to match the various arrangements in the book, then decided to glue them all together and slid him into the front of my Home Ed binder. (Where he still stands, BTW) We then talked about Monkey-See-Monkey-Do, which she'd heard before but hadn't really applied it to the book before! We practiced balancing with all her brother's hats on his head, then her sister showed her to try to walk with a book on her head and told the story Grandma told her. (About when Grandma was in school and all the girls had to practice book-walking for "posture" - during one of their classes!) We talked about the man at the beginning and end of the book, and read the book again, doing all the movements the man/monkeys did. Whew, this was enough! We skipped HALF of what was in Jane's lesson plans, but we can always go back to that, or we could have done a second or third day!

The readiness activities in the back are really amazing - Jane speaks as an experienced mother and her ideas are just the WONDERFUL kinds of things children need and love.

No, this is not a curriculum. I know with first children the thought is always "what's good at 8 is better at 6" kind of thing, at least that's how I was! I've found over the years that waiting until my children were almost "overly" ready for a lesson made them absorb it like a sponge, then spring past my lesson into their own knowledge! While it's true we can pour it in, it often pours right back out with the same ease. What a child digs for on his own volition, that's what he knows!

I hope that helps! I don't think you need to save the B4 books if you want to read them. Our home library is so big (we've been gathering children's books for over 13 years) that we have plenty of other super books to read, so we don't often read them over and over again, but I don't think you need to hide the B4 books or anything.

Hope that helps

posted June 29, 2003 02:22 AM                  

I usually don't post on this board but I had a similiar experience with my first son. I LOVE FIAR but B4FIAR didn't quite click with my son. It was like at first he was completely uninterested in books and then all of a sudden WHAMO! he wanted to read really complicated books! Who knows why? Everyone is different and learns differently!

After MUCH thought, I moved my son into FIAR sooner (age 3)and that has been wonderful He's almost 5 now and has learned so much at his own pace with FIAR! Because he was a little young for FIAR I was careful not to push him but let him lead. Whatever he could do was wonderful and whatever was too hard-we just save until he gets older. It was the right decision for him.

B4FIAR is working perfectly with my younger son and have a feeling that he won't be moving into FIAR as soon as his big brother.

BTW, as far as reading all our FIAR books (or B4FIAR) just for fun and not saving them...it is tempting because they are all so good. However, I treat my FIAR books like they are our "textbooks" and tell the boys they are for school-so they are extra special. I figure there are thousands of books out there-these need to be kept specifically for "school".

And remember that B4FIAR doesn't have that "OK, it is now time for our school lesson!!!" approach. I feel the learning takes place all day rather than that "scheduled instructional time". At first it feel like you aren't doing enough but keep going! You figure-how hard can it be to read a book about carrots and plant a few carrot seeds? You couldn't possibly be having fun while you are learning! We expect "school" to be so tedious and involved. Not So with B4FIAR/FIAR! When you least expect it your child will say the most amazing things and then you KNOW that he is learning! Most important-he enjoys learning!

Blessings,
Alice

------------------
Mommy to 3 Blessings: Nathaniel 9/98, Noah 10/00, Alise Faith 6/02
God Bless America

posted June 30, 2003 10:41 AM                  

My first son didn't like books-he wiggled and just plain wasn't interested. I tried pushing and then I STOPPED after thinking about all of the wonderful wisdom I have stored up in my brain from reading these boards. Pushing him will make him HATE books-not LOVE books. Instead, I showed him the pictures, left a lot of books lying around the house for him to explore,went tot eh libray and let him take out books on his library card and he always sees me with my nose in a book! In my quest to have a good reader I forgot that the joy of HSing is letting the child lead. It is my job to "set the stage for learning" and see where he goes with it.

At 3, what happened to him! He suddenly discovered the thrill of learning and the joy of books. I'm glad I chilled out for a while and didn't push him.

I thank God for these boards. Until a few months ago, I had never met a real live human HSer. I was doing it all through my "invisible friends" at FIAR.

Blessings,
Alice

posted July 02, 2003 09:16 AM                  

We started B4FIAR when dd was 2yo, and loved it. We basically used one book each week as our "theme", and did the manual activities and any additional ones (like Mrs. Shelton suggested). She thrived.

Just remember what ages B4FIAR is for (2-4yo). It doesn't have to be a "highly academic" time, just a time to foster a love of learning and strengthening your relationship together. B4FIAR does that and more!!