Five In A Row for first grade?

[Littlebirds]

I have been using FIAR this year with my 5yr old and we are loving it but I am unsure about continuing next year. Its been fun and we love the book lists but my son is very interested in science and math and I am not sure if FIAR will be enough for him next year. We are with a Charter School and they like us to send them a PO for our next years curriculum by March so I am already trying to figure out first grade! 

I would love to hear form someone who has used it with older children as well!

Thanks!

[ebethmom]

We've used it through third grade so far.  It's a good fit for us.  Now that my ds is getting older, I have added time4learning.  I'm planning on doing Five in a Row for my dd's second grade next year, too.

My kids like math and science, too.  We've added some science experiments from the Usborne Big Book of Experiments.  Both of my kids enjoy math games.  We've been hooked on Math Vitamins for several months now.  It's out of print now due to copyright issues.  Hopefully it will be republished!  The RightStart games are great, too.

Have you been over to the FIAR boards?  There are many families there who use FIAR and Beyond Five in a Row for many, many years.

[Littlebirds]

Thanks! I will check out the FIAR boards. 

Is the FIAR volume 2 made for first grade or is it all interchangeable?

Thanks again!

[Plummeting]

I haven't used FIAR, but in your shoes I would just add a separate science curriculum. I've looked at FIAR extensively and I definitely think you ought to add a math curriculum for first grade. It's just not enough for math, IMO. I know it covers some science, but I wouldn't limit your son to only what's in FIAR, if he's that interested in it. There are some great, fun science curricula and books out there. Picture Perfect Science and More Picture Perfect Science are available inexpensively from Amazon and are full of fun science lessons. Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding is also a fantastic science curriculum you can get on Amazon, but it requires a little more planning than the first two. We do really love it, though. We also really enjoy R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey. It's very easy to use, but each option does only cover one area of science. We've found it a lot of fun to use along with BFSU. Good luck in your decision. Home schooling is so much fun! (Well, usually, lol.)

[Mittsy]

We have used BFIAR, and FIAR, but had to stop this year because it's not a great fit for us and bores DD(6 in Mar) to tears. It is NOT a complete curriculum, you need to add Math, Handwriting, and Reading, the rest is covered but I know many families who supplemented also for Science and Language Arts. Overall, I found it to be very simplistic, I could have come up with most of their stuff on my own. I personally wouldn't buy it, but good luck with your decision!

[ebethmom]

Originally Posted by Littlebirds 

Thanks! I will check out the FIAR boards. 

Is the FIAR volume 2 made for first grade or is it all interchangeable?

Thanks again!

The first three volumes are all at the same level and interchangeable.  Volume 4 is written for older children (although I've used Volume 4 for ds and dd just followed along).  It is definitely meant to be used with a separate Math curriculum.  The math included is simplistic, and just shows examples of math in everyday life. 

I use FIAR as a base, and add to it according to my kids' interests.  My dd would love to do science experiments all day long.  I wish I had the energy and time to follow along. 

[Littlebirds]

I have been using Singapore math as well as Explode The Code and they have both been great. I guess I fell like if I add in another curriculum ( science) then I will not really need FIAR!
Thanks again!