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Beyond FIAR and CM
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I’m not new to CM, but i didn’t know where to put this. We have been using many of CM’s ideas/methods on and off for over 10 years. This year I will only be homeschooling two of my Children and I am thinking about using Beyond Five in a Row with my 9yo daughter (my son is starting 9th grade). Has anyone used this curriculum the CM way? I’m thinking it would work nicely, but I’d like to hear from others. Thanks!
I am new to cm and I also am looking into five in a row for my 6 yr old dd. Love the concept but not sure its cm. Have you used the younger year five in a row?
I have them all. I used them for part of my first year of homeschooling.
Strictly speaking, I would not say that FIAR is CM because it requires the teacher to create connections for a child as they are rowing. However, I think that the books are delightful and that FIAR can be a great literature base curriculum tool to use while learning more of CM and getting your feet under you while starting the homeschool life.
We also enjoy the occasional activities from them during the summer. Tristan has been using them for summer activities with her kiddos. Here is the post she did about one of the books:
http://ourbusyhomeschool.com/caps-for-sale-before-five-in-a-row/
I have been using FIAR a bit this summer with some of my children and they love it. Is it CM? No. While it uses great living books (CM) you introduce related topics or guide your children to observe the artwork in the book for specific things, which gets between the child and the author/illustrator (not CM).
The conclusion I have come to is that in the majority of our reading/learning we follow a more CM approach of simply reading and narration, for one picture book every week or two we’ll use this FIAR approach. Why? Because it is a wonderful way to keep myself accountable to offering new learning opportunities and activities to my younger children. Having 8 children ranging from 8th grade to 3 age 3 and under, with Mason’s medical needs taking a portion of my focus too, it is a constant balancing act. I’m engaged in discussions and higher level experiments with the oldest, I’m working one on one with the middles in some things, I’m doing daily learning to read practice with the current Kindy, and it’s too easy to leave things just at that for my 1st, K, 3, 2, and 1 yos. Doing FIAR my children now ask (beg!) for me to read the story again and do something fun together. The together is the precious part for me.
Are we CM purists? No. Are there CM police that will track us down and punish us for that? Nope. One of the reasons I love this forum is that people are so open to letting one another take slightly different paths to get through the year. I’ve been on other forums before where you are expected to follow the method or use the materials exclusively, and if you don’t, you’re not really welcome on that forum. With that said, I am trying to continue to implement CM principles more as we go along. It’s a process and we deal with situations and family realities that Charlotte never did.
I agreee with Tristan. I was not trying to discourage you from FIAR at all, just explaining that the philosophies are different. We all have different needs and different seasons, so we teach the child the best we can with what we have or are able to do. =)
FIAR isn’t CM other than the fact that it includes quality children’s literature. That said, my two girls (ages 6 and 5) are having a great time with it!
Thank you all for your input. I have used FIAR when the children were younger and they enjoyed it. This year the way I’m thinking I can use Beyond FIAR is to get living book from the library on the topics we will be covering each week and have my daughter do narration and copying/dictation from the books. We have been homeschooling for 16 years and we are eclectic but CM is my favorite method/philosophy and I incorporate some CM every year.
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