Five in a Row

by Heidi
(New York)

Product: Five in a Row
Subject: Unit Study
Levels Used: B4FIAR, FIAR (vol 1-4), Beyond
Dates Used: September 2003- current

Likes: We have used most of the Five in a Row products and love them. We love the picture books the lessons are based on. We have read many of them over and over again and they have become family favorites.

The lessons are gentle and there are many too choose from and cover social studies, language arts, art, mathematics, and science. Each week we pick one book to read for five days in a row and then choose one lesson from one of the subject areas. Each unit has lots of different lessons to choose from.

Five in a Row volume 4 has been our favorite volume! We spent 2 weeks with the lessons from volume 4 instead of 1 week.

Beyond Five in a Row is a little bit different. The units are based on chapter books instead of picture book. We read one chapter every few days and work through the lessons for each chapter. We usually do about 2 lessons a day and move on to the next chapter when we have finished each of the lessons. Each volume says it can be used for one semester but we have found that one volume lasts an entire year. We are currently working through our seventh book.

Dislikes: One of my daughters tells me she is bored by the story around the third day. Some of the books in B4FIAR and FIAR are out of print and very difficult to find. There is at least one book that I've been unable to find.