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kozitza.family
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| Posted: March 20 2012 at 10:17am | IP Logged
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has anyone used this before? Is it protestant bible based? I need something to get me through until september seeing as my kids are almost done with the year. We currently use seton, chc, and some of my own stuff, as well as baltimore catechism. any advice?
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stellamaris
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| Posted: March 20 2012 at 12:44pm | IP Logged
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The Five in a Row curriculum has been around for quite a few years. There are several volumes, including a Before Five in a Row geared to the under-5 or 6 crowd.
This is not what I would consider a full curriculum. It is more of an enrichment program, but it is very engaging and my children always loved it. We used the Before Five in a Row as well as Volumes 1 and 2 when they were 4-6 years old. They still enjoy reading these books from time to time on their own! The idea is to read the same picture book five times over a period of five days. Sometimes people call this "rowing" a book. For each book, suggestions are given that expand different topics mentioned or pictured in the book. For example, in one of the books there was a picture with a patterned floor. This was the springboard for a learning activity using shapes and patterns. The learning activities covered areas such as vocabulary, social studies, geography, math, science, and art.
All of the reading is usually done aloud by the parent. There is no direct reading instruction, and most of the books are too difficult for a beginner reader. There is no writing/handwriting element included if I am remembering correctly. You could add this element using a copywork. You could also add narration after the first reading of the book. Math instruction is not included, either, just some exposure to math topics, usually weights and measures, time, money, patterns. Not so much basic addition and subtraction.
Because only a week is spent on each book, the program is not very in-depth and does not allow enough time to develop fully any one topic.
You don't mention the ages of your children. If they are very young, under 6, this could be a substitute for another curriculum for a term and I don't think you'd have a problem, although you might add math. If you are talking about older children or a longer period of time, then you would definitely have to somehow add a few more pieces to this program, such as reading instruction at the child's level, writing, and math.
I'm sure this has been discussed many times on these boards, but I don't quite have time to search! So, I hope this helps you out!
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In Christ,
Caroline
Wife to  dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
Flowing Streams
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stellamaris
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| Posted: March 20 2012 at 12:48pm | IP Logged
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Oh, and while there are some Bible lessons, they are basically just Scripture references and basic character discussions. Anything you find questionable, you could just skip over. FYI, the author is Protestant, so this program doesn't include any saint books or references to Catholic matters.
Another option is to use the Catholic Mosaic books in a "Five in a Row" way, but you'd need to really spend some time working on setting that up and getting familiar with the FIAR approach. Catholic Mosaicis wonderful, but geared to older children and focuses exclusively on language arts. Also, there aren't enough books in it to be more than a supplement.
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In Christ,
Caroline
Wife to dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
Flowing Streams
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kozitza.family
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| Posted: March 20 2012 at 1:59pm | IP Logged
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My children's ages are dd 7 dd 5 ds 4 ds 2 1/2 ds 15 mo. and dd 31 1/2 weeks gestation. I'm just using this as a filler until september when the new school year begins with maybe some practice books from the dollar store. dd age 7 only has phonics and math left and dd 5 is done with her kindergarden for this school year. So I just want to reinforce everything we've learned and add something fun and new. I will be totally informal because we've already finished the school year and can just have fun with it. More of a "summer" program because I don't like leaving the kids to occupy themselves for days at a time and september is a long way away. I like this philosophy because you can make it so the little ones can stay for much of the time then go off for play or nap while the older one goes into more detail on a subject.
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stellamaris
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| Posted: March 20 2012 at 2:29pm | IP Logged
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I think it would work what you want to use it for! 
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In Christ,
Caroline
Wife to dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
Flowing Streams
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: March 20 2012 at 2:31pm | IP Logged
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I used Five in a Row for years and loved it. We didn't use it as written, taking more than one week for each book, reading each book only once, and heavily supplementing with additional projects and literature. It sounds like it would be a great program for your family right now. The volumes don't have to be used in order so I'd try to pick a volume that would allow me to use mostly library books.
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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knowloveserve
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| Posted: March 20 2012 at 3:30pm | IP Logged
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Lindsay... I'll be emailing you some good stuff shortly. :o)
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Ellie
The Bleeding Pelican
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4Real Forums : Picture Book Discoveries
Topic: five in a row
