I am a very frugal person, mom, and homeschool parent so I thought I would share some book alternatives for Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? that I discovered that I own. You see Before Five in a Row and Five in a Row is a great curriculum but buying the story books can get very expensive very quickly. Yes, you can purchase the entire books sets on various websites but when you have a tiny budget that might not be the wisest choice for your family. Or if you own a few from each volume like we do then just piecing the book collection together might be cheaper. I scour Goodwill, garage sales, and homeschool used curriculum sales but SHOP your OWN book collection as well!
While I begin to plan for our 2016-2017 homeschool year, I realized I need to be a little more intentional with planning and gathering things for Lil’ Red (preschool) and Big Red (1st grade). I have some things already collected from a few years ago that I totally forgot to use-oops! Then I realized how few of the B4FIAR books we really own. Yes, I can borrow from the library but then we have to be sure they are returned on time or checked out before we need them to have access to the ones we need. Then it hit me WHY NOT substitute with another book very similar.
I realized that I do not own Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? but we do own three great alternatives! You see I am going to be flexible with the story book choices as long as the stories have similar learning concepts. WHY? Because I do not want to stress out over not owning a book or having access to the “exact” book but I really do want to give Five in a Row a try!
Here are the Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? Book Alternatives:
1. What Will Little Bear Wear?-Meet Little Bear, a friend to millions of children. And meet Mother Bear, who is there whenever Little Bear needs her. When it is cold and snowy outside, she finds just the right outfit for Little Bear to play in. When he goes to the moon, she has a hot lunch waiting for him on his return. And, of course, she never forgets his birthday.
This classic from Else Holmelund Minarik and Maurice Sendak was written in 1957 and remains as beloved today as it was then. An ALA Notable Children’s Book, this Level One I Can Read is full of warm and lovingly playful stories that are perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences.
2. I Know My Things to Wear-It’s amazing how quickly a child begins to learn. Their sense of wonder, imagination, and discovery develop almost immediately. We have created the I Know My… series of books to encourage the early learning of small children. Follow these cuddly colorful bears as they lead your child through a fun introduction to basic learning skills.
3. Bear Gets Dressed– The book follows the decisions Bear makes when he gets dressed in the morning. Three articles of clothing are given to choose from and then we find out what Bear picked. His decisions are based on how the weather is. I think this is a good book to help young children learn how to chose appropriate close for the weather.
I hope this post encourages you to look around at the books you own and not be stressed about getting your hands on THAT ONE BOOK! You can make your homeschool year great with some creative thinking and a little patience and ingenuity! I will be sharing more Before Five in a Row resources as I create them or collect the supplies so keep an eye out.
More posts that might interest you:
Before Five in a Row Free Resources post
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