If you are looking for a literature-based curriculum that is easy to use, pleasant, full of variety and very interesting, then look no further than Five in a Row.

Created by a homeschool teacher, designed for 4-8 year olds, Five in a row has the ability to take some pressure off mom and provide a wonderful learning experience for the child.

Five in a Row begins with outstanding children's literature and uses a unit-study approach to teach Social Studies, Language, Art, Applied Math, and Science.

The basic premise of Five in a Row is that the book sected will be read to the child for 5 days in a row! Each day after the book is read, choose one or more activities to do. Studies are always based on the book. For example, the book may be set in Michigan, so you would find Michigan on the map and learn a little about it. For language arts, you may find some interesting words in the book and learn what they mean (We absolutely LOVED doing this – no dictionary is required, the words are listed along with their meaning, right in the FIAR manual!)

There are 3 volumes of FIAR, which include 55 lesson plans altogether. In each volume a Table of Contents lists the books used. Many are classic children’s books that can be found at your local library. However, they are such wonderful selections, you may wish to add them to your own home. The books do not have to be studied in order; each unit stands alone and can be completed when desired.

Also included in each volume are tips for using the program. I find Jane Claire Lambert (the author) to be very encouraging and thoughtful in her use of words, and feel that Five in a Row would be suitable for even the newest homeschool mom.

Lesson plans are written for each book. In fact these are really more than lesson plans, because so much information is included that there is little need for any supplement. Mom can read straight from Five in a Row! The information covers a wide variety of topics, and more than one option is included for each. This means that under language, you will find a number of different lessons for the one book. You get to choose which one would be best for your child and may even wish to use more than one, depending on your goals and the child’s ability.

We truly found this program to be delightful. It really is easy to use and lots of fun. I was interested to see if my children, 4 and 7, would grow weary of reading he same book each day for 5 days straight, but they didn’t, and I don’t expect many children would.