As I mentioned previously, my copy of Five in a Row (Volume 1) arrived a couple of weeks ago, and I'm trying to plot out a course for Moose's first season of schooling. It's turning out to be both simpler and more difficult than I'd anticipated. For those who aren't familiar with Five in a Row (FIAR), the premise is that you read the same book aloud with your child every day for a week, focusing on a different aspect of the book each time. Lessons might involve social studies, language arts, art, applied math, or science. Because Moose is so young, I'm picking some of the simpler suggestions for each topic, and we aren't supplementing with a more rigorous math or phonics program like parents of older students would. The suggested age range is 4-8 years, and Moose won't be 4 until a month after we begin, but Before Five in a Row, the book recommended for children ages 2-4, seemed too simplistic.
Fortunately, Moose loves to read. And by "loves," I mean begs to be read to frequently throughout the day. He's by no means an inactive child; he would probably spend his a third of his day reading, a third playing with his toy trains, and a third running around outside if he were given a choice. Actually, throw in an extra third for singing and playing music, dancing, making Sprite laugh, helping me cook and fold laundry, and coloring. By "active," I guess I mean that he crams more activity into any given 24 hours than is technically possible. But like I said, he loves to read, so choosing a literature-based program is likely to work well for us. I like that it's one that we can fit easily into our days; I'm assigning us only one or at most two tasks per day. He needs time to play and be a small child, and I need time to care for Sprite and, provided we follow through with our plans, a foster child sometime later in the year.
However, FIAR is such that it's almost not school. That's great! I mean, it's exactly what I think he needs at this stage in his life. However, Moose wants to "do school," and to him, that means sitting down at a table with a pencil and doing his "work." To that end, I've ordered Rod and Staff's ABC series, and I'm looking forward to its arrival. As with my used copy of Five in a Row, if we end up not liking them, we haven't lost much money by trying. The Rod and Staff books are only $3.25 each, and they came strongly recommended. I figure we'll work our way through them at whatever pace seems enjoyable.
At some point, I'd like to post my proposed schedule through Christmas, but I still have a few books to plan out. I'd like to slowly add in Bible verse memorization and a few other things over the course of the year, working our way toward Charlotte Mason's list of attainments for a child of 6 (link to an excellent page at Ambleside Online). In my own scheming way, I have a plan, but my larger plan is to chill out and enjoy my child. He's learned so much already without any sort of school, and I have little doubt but that he'll continue to do so.
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