BFIAR versus PWB

[greenemami]

I am trying to decide between Before Five in a Row versus Peak with Books to use for dd. Dp really wants to start doing a more formal "preschool" with dd this fall (she will be 3.5 in October). I am more inclined to not do anything formal until the following year (when she would be 4.5), but I think that one of these programs might be a nice compromise, since we love going to the library and reading anyway. We are trying Letter of the Week now, but I feel like we are not really getting into it, although she enjoys it for a few minutes a couple of times a week. She loves "doing school" so it is not an issue of forcing anything on her.

I did do a search to read about these two programs, but thought I would throw the question out again as I try to decide which one I'd like to go with. I think I can find PWB used for about the same price as BFIAR. It seems like the books for PWB are more current and less religious (we will be secular/spirititual, not Christian based homeschoolers). Anyone have any firsthand experience? TIA!

[justthinkn]

My short answer is that I would do BFIAR for the gentlest possible intro, a younger child, and PWB for a little more depth, an older child... I have more on my blog if you're interested.

[kristin0713]

I haven't looked at the curriculum guide for PWB so I can't comment on that. We have BFIAR and most of the books. IIRC, only a few...maybe two? of them are religious, If Jesus Came to My House and Prayer for a Child...maybe there is another one...but the majority of them are well-known and wonderful children's literature books. I think that the Prayer for a Child is pretty general, too...but it has been a while since I looked at that one. The curriculum guide itself suggests Bible verses and stories to complement a particular theme that a book might address, but, again, the majority of the guide is not religious. I will say about the curriculum guide that I'm not crazy about it. There are some really wonderful ideas in it but I do not like at all the way it is laid out. You need to really read through a few pages for each book, pull out what you want to do and plan a lesson. I've seen other pre-school guides (not literature based though) that are just organized in a much easier fashion where you can pull the book out and go as opposed to spending time the night before reading up on the lesson and "planning" for it. If you have the time and don't mind doing that, it is a wonderful collection of ideas for this age. My kids have enjoyed all the activities that we have done from there. But I do view it more as a resource that a curriculum.

In terms of literature, I love the books suggested in BFIAR and my kids love them as well. We have found many favorites. I've looked at the books used in PWB and some of them overlap with BFIAR and many of them we also have and LOVE. I also use the booklists from Sonlight's website. That is another Christian curriculum but most of the books for each level are not religious, they are just awesome children's literature. I take the lists to the library with us and always reference them when we are picking books for the week.

This got kind of long, sorry. I guess the main thing is that you need to figure out what type of curriculum guide you want. You can use all the books lists from BFIAR, PWB, and Sonlight and expose your child to amazing literature and all sorts of learning and then use something else for phonemic awareness, arts and craft projects, etc.

[kristin0713]

Another thing I just thought of, you could use the book lists at the library and also get a few pre-school "workbook" type things that focus on letters, numbers, etc. for when she wants to "do school" and then maybe get a seasonal pre-k curriculum guide for fun projects that she would enjoy.