Homeschooling provides ample opportunity for creativity in the use of literature in the education of a child. Using the internet and your library alone you could create your own unit studies based on favorite books but you don't have to.
Jane Claire Lambert, a homeschool mom with 17 years of experience, has written a beautiful series of literature unit studies for children ages 2 to 12 , Five In A Row. She has picked the best of children's literature, using character building and literary prerequisites to base her hands-on lesson plans on stories that touch the heart and help to light a fire for a lifetime of learning.
We currently use Before Five In A Row since my children are two and four. But we plan to start using Five In A Row Volume 1 (for ages 4-8) soon. Before Five In A Row is written for use with children ages 2 through 4 and is different than the others in that it has light parent-child activities related to the stories to help a preschooler develop many skills. It is designed especially to teach reading readiness, using stories that lay a foundation for character lessons. The stories chosen have beautiful illustrations, which teach an appreciation for great art and open the eyes to beauty in the world around us, along with varying styles of art that is used by the artists.
The second part of the Before Five In A Row is a "Treasury of Creative Ideas for Learning Readiness". This section, simply put, could also be called "Creative Parenting 101". She shares pages full ideas for activities at bath time, in the kitchen, at the store and much more.
Five In A Row Volumes 1 through 3 are written for ages 4-8 but need not be used consecutively. Jane has written 55 complete lesson plans in this series. Each day is laid out carefully, with a weekly lesson for Social Studies, Language, Art, Applied Math, and Science.
