Before Five in a Row

Years ago, when my youngest daughter was kindergarten age, I had my first experience with Five in a Row products.  I was hooked from the beginning.  Before Five in a Row  is the preschool version of Five in a Row. It is a literature based curriculum for children ages 2-4.  Written by Jane Claire Lambert, Before Five in a Row, uses classic children's stories and builds entire unit studies around those stories.  Here is what Jane had to say about preschoolers in a recent article:
First Things First: Suggestions for Working with Preschoolers
by Jane Claire Lambert
Homeschooling Today Magazine, September/October 1997
Jane writes, "... these few, precious preschool years are so much more than just a season of waiting for school to begin. This is a special season when we have the opportunity to prepare our child for the life long adventure of learning; when we can equip him with the tools he'll need to tackle learning successfully." ...
Before Five in a Row contains 24 (plus 1 bonus) mini-units.  Each of these units are filled with activities related to the story for that unit.  Activities range from simple craft activities, to fun in the kitchen activities, to Bible activities, to Geography and Science activities, and the list could go on and on.  There are many more activities for each story than you could possibly complete.  It is wonderful to have so many well thought out and explained activities already provided for each unit.  All you have to do as the parent is assemble any necessary supplies.  Conveniently, most supplies needed are common household and school supplies.

Our family is beyond preschool years now; but, I have a dear friend who teaches a 3-4 year old preschool class.  She was so excited to be able to implement the Before Five in a Row curriculum in her classroom.  The books used were either already in her collection or easily available in the library and the supplies were easy to obtain.  She was able to pick and choose activities based on the needs and interests of the children in her classroom.  She loved Before Five in a Row and is going to keep my copy as a gift for using it and giving me her opinion on it.  I am so thankful she was able to use and enjoy the curriculum.  Before Five in a Row is a great curriculum for beginning homeschoolers to use.  It is a gentle way of getting into the process of parent directed learning.  As the parent, you are able to schedule and select activities based on the needs of your child.  Before Five in a Row can easily be used with more than one child.  This makes it very economical for the family with more than one preschooler.  Before Five in a Row is available through Rainbow Resources for $35.  If you do not have access to the books used in the units, you may also purchase a complete set of the literature used in Before Five in a Row here for $97.50.  Many of my TOS crewmates have also been able to use and review Before Five in a Row.  To read their reviews, go here. I highly recommend Five in a Row resources for families with preschool or Kindergarten age children.  They are quality products fostering creativity and age-appropriate play and interaction.  Exposing children to the beautiful and exciting world of literature at a young age can be the springboard to a lifetime love of reading. 
**I was not compensated in any way by TOS or Five in a Row.  The opinions expressed are my own.**