Post may contain affiliate links to materials I recommend. Read my full disclosure statement.

Two years ago when my grandson Eric was 5 1/2, Daughter Johannah started using Five in a Row — a homeschool curriculum for ages 4-8. Five in a Row was created by Jane Claire Lambert many years ago and continues to remain in high demand by young homeschooling families everywhere.

Five in a Row is one of the original “unit study” curricula, but instead of the units consisting of topics such as, “The Solar System” or “Italy” or “Animals of the Sea,” the units are actual classic children’s picture books. The family reads together one of the 70 books covered in the four-volume curriculum — like The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde Swift — and then does one or two (or as many as you like) of the suggested projects listed in the accompanying teacher’s guide. There are even long lists of additional books which fit with the theme of the primary classic book. Each unit can last one day or two days or a week or a month, whatever you like — whatever fits your family at the time.

The projects and the books make this a comprehensive curriculum, covering science, history, geography, literature, narration, memorization, and art. It is so simple and will especially appeal to families who enjoy reading aloud. In addition, if finances are tight, all the books, except the teacher’s guide, can be found at the library.

Students locate the setting of each book in the curriculum.

Johannah says she loves Five in a Row because she can do the curriculum with all three of her little ones, making homeschooling during these first years an enjoyable experience. During the week they can focus on the primary book and then observe how other activities and events of the week happen to relate to it.

This week the primary book is The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot July 25, 1909 by Alice and Martin Provensen.

Johannah reading to the two oldest

Doing the projects for The Glorious Flight — jet engine experiment, building a rocket ship, making a kite