03/02/2016

The Dragon and the Raven {Review}

The Dragon and the Raven: A Review

Every mom knows that a quiet car ride is the thing dreams are made of. A few weeks ago, I had several errands to run that would mean being in the car with all six of my kids for several hours. I quickly thought to grab a new audio drama and put the disc in my vehicle’s CD player. I had no idea how effective this would be, nor how compelling the story would be. My family has been enjoying The Dragon and the Raven from Heirloom Audio Productions.

The Dragon and the Raven is one of many audio dramas in a series of the Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty. G.A. Henty was a famous storyteller who was born in the mid 19th century and actually wrote Dragon and the Raven in 1886. Not only is he a fantastic storyteller, but Heirloom Audio Productions did an amazing job with casting and producing this wonderful story. They truly do allow history to come to life and this audio drama will entertain and teach people of all ages.

Set in the 9th century, the story is that of King Alfred and the battles with the Danes (or Vikings) which eventually led up to the Battle of Edington and the conversion of many Vikings to Christianity. This is a story of adventure and courage, persecution and perseverance, faith and forgiveness. I sat there, riveted, listening to this fast paced exciting adventure along with my kids. I was especially inspired when two of the characters talked about how we can love our enemies.

The CD lasts for about 2.5 hours and we listened to it in the car as we ran errands. We listened to each segment for 30-45 minutes and my kids range in age of 3 – 13 years old. My 11 year old son especially enjoyed it. We had a few discussions about it later and I realized how very interested he was in the story.

Along with the CD of The Dragon and the Raven, we received access to some bonus features available on the Heirloom Audio Productions website. The bonus features include an MP3 of the drama, the soundtrack, an E-Book, a study guide, a poster, and special behind the scenes footage.

The study guide includes a lot of details and questions to ask and discuss with your children. This is especially good to use with younger kids probably 12 and under. The questions include a “Listening Well” section to make sure your younger children are understanding and listening to what is being talked about in the story. It also includes a “Thinking Further” section which helps kids use their minds to explore ideas further. And finally, there is a vocabulary section of “Defining Words” which were spoken during that part of the story. This study guide would be very helpful if you were using this as part of your school as either literature or history. I think the amount of comprehension questions that are available would help to ensure that your kids were following the story and learning from it.

The Dragon and the Raven {Heirloom Audio Productions Review}

In conclusion, this is an amazing product. I will be ordering more audio dramas from Heirloom Audio Productions. I loved the dialogue between the main characters and how they explored some of the truths of Christianity and the fruits of the spirit. This was done in a natural way throughout the story and truly will get kids and parents thinking deeper about what it means to love and to forgive. I became teary eyed in more than one part of this story. As a mom, I feel that there aren’t enough “good” types of entertainment out there for our kids and not enough “heroes” who are also heroes of our faith. The Dragon and the Raven is an awesome way to get your kids interested in history, literature, and to teach them biblical truths.

Find Heirloom Audio Productions On-Line:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeirloomAudio
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeirloomStories The Dragon and The Raven product specific Facebook page:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDragonAndTheRaven

The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty specific Facebook page:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheExtraordinaryAdventuresOfGAHenty

Click the banner below to find other reviews of the Dragon and the Raven:

03/01/2016

Faith Builders Bible {Review}

Faith Builders Bible Review

I remember my very first Bible. My mom had picked it out for me. It was pale pink and she wrote a little note to me on the inside cover. It was so special. I had that same Bible for most of my childhood until I became a teenager. It was for this reason that I was so excited to use Faith Builders Bible from Zonderkidz as part of our daily Bible reading. I wanted my kids to have a Bible that was for them and written on a slightly younger reading level.

Faith Builders Bible {Zonderkidz Review}

Faith Builders Bible is a unique Bible, featuring Lego style brick building creations of popular Bible stories. It is written in New International Reader’s Version which is perfect for elementary aged kids. The NIrV is a version based on the NIV but it is written using some shorter words as it is written on a 3rd grade reading level. Because my 11 year old has dyslexia and struggles to understand more complex text, this version is right on his reading level and perfect for him to do his own Bible reading.

My kids have truly enjoyed this Bible. Other than using it as part of our Bible reading, I also let my kids explore this Bible on their own. My 11 year old son, 8 year old daughter, and 5 year old son worked together to create some of the same scenes found in this Bible. They are huge Lego building fans, so naturally, they had fun recreating Peter and Jesus walking on water, Samson in jail, and part of the 23rd Psalm.

I like that after we read through the story of Samson they had a visual to show how his story ended. This Bible would be an especially good fit for kids with either a visual or kinesthetic hands on learning style.

I loved that it seems very well constructed, which is very important if it is being given to young kids. It has a hard cover and good quality pages on the inside.

One of my favorite aspects is a two page spread of the different books of the Bible and what type of book they are. For instance, it states which are “Law” books and which are “History”. They also state which are “Poetry” and which are “Gospels”. I like this visual representation of the books as stacked building bricks. This even helps me sort through the various books of the Bible.

Another thing I like is that each glossy brick building page features a “Building Block Verse” on the bottom. This special verse has a direct correlation to the building block creation that is shown on the page. I think this would be a fun way to teach Bible memory: have your kids build the creation as they are learning a memory verse. For some kids this is just the concrete solution they need to get these verses ingrained in their mind.

I definitely recommend this Bible if you have a Lego fan in the house! It is a great value and has made for a lot of fun and some good Bible study in our home.

To read more reviews by the Schoolhouse ReviewCrew click the banner below!

02/28/2016

St. Patrick’s Day Books for Kids

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure page.

It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day and what better way to have some family fun than to cuddle up with a book? Here are 32 St. Patrick’s Day books to read to your kids this year. Enjoy! 🙂

St. Paddy’s Day Books for Kids

1. The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day by Natasha Wing

2. Ten Lucky Leprechauns by Kathryn Heling

3. Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Curious George Board Book by H.A. Rey

4. The Luckiest St. Patrick’s Day Ever by Teddy Slater

5. St. Patrick’s Day by Gail Gibbons

6. Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie dePaola

7. That’s What Leprechauns Do by Eve Bunting

8. St. Patrick’s Day by Anne Rockwell

9. Jack and the Leprechaun by Ivan Robertson

10. The Story of Saint Patrick by James A. Janda

11. Hooray for St. Patrick’s Day! by Joan Holub

12. St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning by Eve Bunting

13. The Leprechaun’s Gold by Pamela Duncan Edwards

14. O’Sullivan Stew by Hudson Talbott

15. Tim O’Toole and the Wee Folk by Gerald McDermott

16. Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie dePaola

17. St. Patrick’s Day Alphabet by Beverly Vidrine

18. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover! by Lucille Colandro

19. The St. Patrick’s Day Shillelagh (Albert Whitman Prairie Paperback) by Janett Nolan

20. Green Shamrocks by Eve Bunting

21. The Story of Saint Patrick’s Day by Patricia A. Pingry

22. The Leprechaun Who Lost His Rainbow by Sean Callahan

23. The Leprechaun Trap: A Family Tradition for St Patrick’s Day by David Clinch

24. A Berry Lucky St. Patrick’s Day (Strawberry Shortcake) by Mickie Matheis

25. Fin M’coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill by Tomie dePaola

26. Leprechauns Never Lie by Lorna Balian

27. Discovery in the Woods: A St. Patrick’s Day Surprise by Sandy Barton

28. The Story of the Leprechaun by Katerine Tegen

29. Lucky Tucker by Leslie McGuirk

30. Brigid’s Cloak by Bryce Milligan

31. A Fine St. Patrick’s Day by Susan Wojciechowski

32. Clever Tom and the Leprechaun: An Old Irish Story by Linda Shute

02/21/2016

Large Family Laundry: Choosing a Washing Machine

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure page.

Laundry. The homemaking task that keeps on giving. Just when you think you’re caught up – you start back at the beginning. I remember struggling when I had 3 kids. Now I have double the amount. About 5 years ago when we were preparing to build our last home we decided on a floor plan that would allow us to include two washers and two dryers. Our goal was to have ample amount of room to do the laundry and to create a “family closet” to put away all the kids clothes. Our children, at the time, were 8 and younger. We chose to get two LG front loaders which were stackable. We loved this set up and it worked for us for a long time.

However, recently we were preparing for a move and realized we wouldn’t be able to have two machines in our new home. Although I knew it would be an adjustment I knew we could make this work. I began my search by posting on my Facebook page and asking a simple question: What is your favorite washing machine?

My friends wrote in and the majority told me online and in person that they preferred the new HE top loaders. While a few of my friends like the older model (which includes an agitator) and a few like the front loaders more voted for the top loader minus the agitator.

As I began to look into the models that are available now at various stores I realized it is is harder and harder to find the kind with the agitators. They just aren’t widely made anymore. Although they are still available in small degrees, most of them are still HE (which means they use less water and should use less soap as well) and they don’t come in the large capacity I would prefer. I’ve only had experience with the old fashioned top loaders and front loaders.

I also did some research on the newer styles of front loaders. While I did really truly like our LG models I knew that some front loaders had the yucky reputation of harboring mold and stinky smells. I also knew that sometimes clothes didn’t come out of our machines smelling as fresh as I would like them to. I attributed that to the low water levels. From what I was told by an employee a local home improvement store, the front loaders use less water than even their HE top loader counterpart.

That led me to look further into the top loaders that are currently being made and sold without an agitator. One caught my eye almost immediately. It was the Samsung 5.2 Cu. Ft. White With Steam Cycle Top Load Washer. I liked that it was very large – it could fit a king size comforter and bed sheets. I like that it includes a sanitize feature on the washer and a steam sanitize button on the dryer (along with a steam wrinkle releaser on the dryer as well). It has many wash cycle choices. It also comes with a sink that allows you to hand wash delicates or soak items that need to be soaked. After reading the reviews on this machine, I was sold. Still, I was a tad bit nervous as I hit the “buy” button. I was wondering if this machine was too good to be true.

It was delivered the day after we moved into our new home. When the delivery guy was setting it up he was going through the different functions with us. He happened to mention the “active wash” feature which basically means the water comes out with more force to help strip dirt from the clothes as it fills the wash tub. This was something I know our front loader didn’t do because at times I would have to rewash entire loads because of smells or out and out dirty kids clothes.

I like that it spins the items very fast (1,100 RPM Spin Speed) to get them dryer before placing them in the dryer. The dryer does a great job and is extra large, as well. I couldn’t believe my eyes (or my nose) when I washed a large load of kids bed sheets and comforters and they came out of the wash smelling great! They didn’t need to be rewashed and the washer and dryer was able to hold two full size comforters and extra bedding!

I couldn’t be happier with this mega-sized washer and dryer. I love that it gets our clothes exceptionally clean but even better it fits tons of clothes! I can get all of our boys clothes done in one load! I’m so excited to share this with you all because I totally get how getting laundry done and done efficiently is so important!

To read more about our large family laundry:

family closet

large family laundry routines

How do you do laundry? Do you prefer the top loader or front loaders? Leave a comment…I’d love to hear from you.

I did not receive compensation for this review. All opinions are my own.

02/17/2016

Home School in the Woods: U.S. Elections {Review}

Every four years our country becomes engrossed with politics as we prepare to elect the next President. Like most families, we have been watching all of the debates and political commentary and my kids have been asking questions about the process. I recently learned about a new curriculum and was thrilled to be able to use it with my older children. HISTORY Through the Ages Hands-on History Lap-Pak: U.S. Elections from Home School in the Woods is the perfect solution for teaching your children about the political process in the United States.

My children and I used the downloadable version of this program. Included was a printable text, images and graphics to make the lapbook and detailed instructions. It was very easy to download and to use. You will need a good printer because this is a printable download. We didn’t have any trouble downloading or printing our pages. This product works with both a Mac and PC and is geared toward grades 3-8. I used this with my 3rd grade daughter and my 5th grade son.

This curriculum includes a choice of a 24 page booklet that can be printed and placed in the lapbook or a set of full page printable pages that can be placed in a binder. I opted for the full page size edition. The full size pages are divided up into the paragraphs each with its own header which makes it easy to decide how much to teach in one day.

Every day as we worked through this curriculum, I read through several paragraphs and discussed them with my kids. This could easily be done one paragraph a day if you want to do it at a slower pace. After I finished reading I asked a few questions to see how much they understood. I also allowed them to ask their questions before we started the next steps. I then passed out the coordinating lapbook printable pages and they got to work coloring, cutting, taping and creating their lapbook. I like that at the end of the study they have their own lapbook filled with reminders of all they have learned!

I have to say, this was a lot of fun. The last time we did a lapbook was when my 11 year old was in Kindergarten. It’s been a long time and before now my daughter has never had the chance to make one! I think we might be making more after finishing this curriculum. They were both delighted with it and I loved the mix of reading and hands on.

The only extra supplies we have used (other than what comes with the curriculum) are some file folders, cardstock, colored pencils, double sided tape and packing tape. We had all these supplies handy in our homeschooling bins, so this was super easy to do! The directions are very detailed. They come with pictures of all the different steps and detailed written directions. This is so helpful if you are like me and new to lapbooking. This leaves the guesswork out of it.

While this curriculum has a section on political parties, it doesn’t to go into any type of political ideology or lean one way or the other. In fact, I appreciate that it leaves this out altogether. It talks about how the two main parties came about and some of the third parties which have evolved over the years. My children and I were able to discuss the different candidates who are running this year and some of the differences between them on our own.

This goes into detail about Suffrage, the Election Day and the Electoral College. It also goes into depth about running a Presidential campaign from speaking and raising money to winning primaries and elections. Even though my kids have had limited exposure to the political process and this text contains lots of information – using a lapbook to teach this has been perfect.

Hands-on History Lap-Pak: U.S. Elections has spurred many discussions about different types of governments and the way our government was set up to work. We’ve talked about how we vote, the types of government positions we vote for, who can run for office, the responsibilities of various government officials, and the different branches of government. We also learned about the process of running for President and everything that goes into this. While both of my children enjoyed this study, I think my 11 year old has truly enjoyed finding out more about this process. This entire program has been great and has been so easy to implement as part of our day. I definitely recommend this study and I can’t wait to check out other lap-packs from Home School in the Woods!