Five in a Row.....

I'm sure, if I keep at this blog, I will probably be doing lots of posts about our adventures with the Five in a Row books....so here's a little introduction.....btw, I LOVE the Five in a Row books!!!

"Five in a Row is more than just a set of lesson plans. It's an approach to learning that will forever change how both you, and your children view education, books and teaching."

Five in a Row is a series of books that provide lesson plans using outstanding children's literature as a tool. I have been "rowing" with the boys for years. These books are very dear to my heart as they have guided me in choosing wonderful children's books to discover and share with the boys. The FIAR lesson plans expand on each book bringing them to life and providing an education in such a fun and interesting way on not only literature and literacy but science, social studies, history, math and art. I LOVE these books and highly recommend them.

I first discovered the FIAR books when Eddie was about 3 years old. We began with Before Five in a Row which is geared toward ages 2-4. It was here that we discovered one of my favorite childrens characters and series, Jesse Bear, which was the very first book we ever "rowed."

Since then we have rowed....
The Story of Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese
Lentil by Robert McCloskey
The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills
Who Owns the Sun? by Stacy Chbosky
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
The Glorious Flight by Alice and Martin Provensen
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman
Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say
Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin
Papa Piccolo by Carol Talley (my favorite!!)
The Clown of God by Tomie dePaola
Three Names by Patricia MacLachlan
Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Palacco

I was planning to do The Giraffe that Walked to Paris next. But then I realized that I totally missed Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, one of my mother's favorites! I have this beautifully illustrated children's edition of the poem on their bookshelf right now! I'm excited!

The last one we did was Mrs. Katz and Tush and beyond all of the wonderful things that they learned while "rowing" that book (and all the books) are the conversations that they open up for us. For instance, one of the things we touched on in that book, in a child's way, was how throughout history different types of people have been persecuted (along with watching some wonderful videos of polish dancing that my friend sent to me, Poland, the Jewish culture including learning some Yiddish! and more!). We touched on Moses and the Exodus. I asked the boys to imagine what it might have been like for the Israelites (and others throughout history) who had been made to be slaves. Christopher said, "if that happened to me I would sneak away when everyone was asleep!" to which Eddie responded, "I wouldn't do that! Then you would be leaving everyone else behind! I would either wake up everyone and we would go together or I would just stay behind with everyone else and make another plan."
That's my boy! :-)

I LOVE the Five in a Row books!!! The boys and I have learned so much from them in a really fun and interesting way!