I am overly excited to review Amanda White’s new ebook, Truth in the Tinsel, an advent experience for little hands!

I have been stalking Amanda’s blog Impress Your Kids for awhile now – picking up great ideas to do with my youngest son.  Nervous to introduce myself to Amanda at Relevant – I was so overjoyed to spend some quality time chatting with her.  Amanda’s heart radiates her desire to share Jesus with children!

When she asked for folks to review her ebook I jumped at the opportunity because I knew it wasn’t going to be a typical ebook but rather a hands on – project full fun activity book for little ones.  And I have a 4 year old ready to glue, glitter, and get to creating!

The ebook kicks off with my favorite – hand holding help, “How to Use this Book”.  (Thank you Amanda).  There are 24 “clues” – and if you are like me and do not own a fancy open-door advent calendar … Amanda suggests the good-old-fashion paper chains.  Then comes the reading scripture part and your child is interested because they are waiting to hear the day’s clue – and encouraged to “yell it out” whenever they hear it.

Next comes the crafts and thankfully Amanda relieves the stress and pressure of perfection.

 ”These ornaments are simply crafts with simple supplies you should have around your home.  You are not trying to make amazing ornaments to grace Macy’s Christmas Tree”.

For us moms who do not have these “simple supplies” around our home – the next page is the “Full Supply List” — print it out and take it to the store !!  If you are hesitant about crafts with your little ones I suggest printing the following page right away too – “Daily Supply List”  - prep your area early and you will not feel overwhelmed.  The crafts are simply, easy, and fun !

As you make your ornament we are encouraged to “talk about it” with helpful questions on the passage, people, or topics of the day’s reading to help our children think about it more.  (for older kids possibly check out some cross references / parallel scriptures).  There is very little pressure to create the “ah-mazing” moment every day!

“Don’t push conversation, but let your children discuss, think, and ask questions about the story”.

The entire process should not take more than 30 minutes!  If the discussion keeps going there are “Do More” activities – Amanda provides additional resources: songs, activities (an obstacle course - oh yes!), stories, etc.!

Does the idea of another advent project seem overwhelming because December is a little too busy to work on a project every day?  No worries – Amanda has a second schedule to work on Sundays!

“The little Baby is no longer in the manger but alive and sitting on a throne – waiting to have a relationship with you and your children.  Help your children get to know Him this Christmas!”

This book is fun, projects adorable, and keeps little ones engaged.  The quality time spent together is the perfect way to prepare our younger children’s hearts for Christmas!

Exciting affordable price – $4.99

You can keep up with Amanda and Truth in the Tinsel on facebook - or Amanda’s blog Impress Your Kids. 

* I received this ebook free in exchange for an honest review.

Scripture memory verses are a part of our daily routine around here.  I’m so glad that my kids enjoy learning Scripture . . . because my brain rebels at it.  Don’t get me wrong — I love the Word of God.  But I have ALWAYS struggled with memorizing His precious love letter to me.

 Clubhouse Kidz has created a fun and easy tool for you and your children to learn scripture memorization.  The concept is simple: read it, write it, sing it, recite it . . . ’till ya know it! Each video consists of three parts. In the first segment, Scripture is put to pictures with corresponding words. You are to watch that portion of the video until your child has memorized the Scripture. The next segment has parts of the scripture missing. Your child (or you!) fill in the blanks.

The third segment only has pictures set to music and your child is to recite the verse independently. (I exasperated my children at first . . . we watched the whole video in its entirety. This created a VERY frustrated little boy! But then we started over and kept repeating the first segment until we could move on to the second and third portions.)  And that is precisely what these videos do. 

My kids giggled and begged for more videos . . .

And then, when creator and owner Regina Yoder, sent us the Psalm 23 DVD for our viewing pleasure complete with some candy . . . they were overjoyed!

To see a sample head on over to the Clubhouse Kidz blog, where you can view several videos. Make sure to take a peak at the FlipIt! memory helps! And if your child aspires to be a movie star, you can upload videos of them reciting their verse!

Leave a comment below to win 5 free videos (downloads). Downloads are nice because there is no shipping & you can put them on your ipod/ipad to take with you!
* must be a homeschool family to enter
* winner will be announced November 4th

Thanks Clubhouse Kidz for allowing us the opportunity to watch and review your fun videos! *Our family was not paid for this post. All opinions and views our ours and honest!

Quick! What comes to mind when you think “foreign language”? Spanish, French or German, etc.? What about Latin? Does anyone even speak Latin? Well….no. Latin is a “dead language”, meaning no one speaks it like we do English, Spanish and those other languages.

Guess what! Our English and most all other languages get their roots from Latin. The last time you glanced at that last doctor’s prescription; yep, Latin. Studying plants and flowers, you more than likely ran into those Latin words too.

I’m not sure what it was that piqued my interest in learning and teaching my children Latin, but intrigued, I was.

When given the opportunity to use and review Visual Latin I was laetus (that’s Latin for “happy” y’all)!

“Visual Latin is a combination of short videos and exercises that work together to teach your children (or you) Latin. The curriculum is designed so that it requires no knowledge of Latin either by the student or the parent administering the class. Just hit play and start learning.” ~The Compass Store

What caught my eye about this program:

• Printable PDF worksheets that go along with each lesson
• Short video lessons (less than 10 min. each)
• Affordable price
• Ease of understanding

Visual Latin’s website has so much to offer the beginning to the advanced student, ages 9 and up.

Each lesson is divided into 3 pieces:

First: Grammar:  In the video lesson, one or two basic grammatical concepts are taught. This is then followed by a short pdf worksheet.

Second: Sentences: In this video lesson, students work on grammatical concept by breaking down sentences.  A pdf worksheet then follows.

Third: Reading: Students listen to the instructor, Dewane, read a Latin selection and they repeat it back. Again, a pdf worksheet is done.

My children did not see this as being a difficult task mainly because its so easy to listen to Dewane! He’s more like a friend speaking instead of a stern, no personality type of  professor.

I would like to invite you to take a Visual Latin test drive and enjoy Lesson 1 (it’s a complete lesson). Better yet, grab all 6 free lessons!

There are 30 Lessons (available as a download, or DVD). Prices and package deals can be found HERE.  Other free downloads and help aids are available also.

I can describe my experience with Visual Latin in a word…FANTASTIC!

Visual Latin is giving our readers a discount on their purchase this month! Please use the code HSVILLAGE to get $10 off your order. *offer expires Oct 31st

Kela home educates 6 children in South Carolina. You can find her blogging at Pursuing What Is Excellent  ** this review was provided to me for free in exchange for an honest review for The Homeschool Village.

** this giveaway is now closed. Jessica, Jessy, and Shirley won!

Understanding how the past has shaped our future will inspire young learners to make history for themselves! ~ Master Books

Sometimes the idea of “History” can be overwhelming.  Especially curriculum that is text heavy and visually unappealing. What if you can fill all of history in one book – 15 feet long with vibrant pictures, interesting facts, and a color coordinated time line … who can resist that type of learning fun?!

Master Books has upped the bar and all publishing companies should consider producing such grand History books!

I received the Big Book of History and immediately my boys were unfolding the pages and reading the wonderful “did you know”? snippets.  This book is fantastic for my visual / tactile learner!

The Big Book of History time line is packed with 4 different tracks: Biblical/Christianity, World Events, Inventions/Technology, and Civilizations/Empires.  Information for every interest!

Did you know …

• The flood caused the Ice Age? (read Case of The Missing Mountain for more research and fun!)
• The largest stone at Stonehenge weighs 45 tons
• The Trojan horse  only secretly held 30 soldiers and 2 spies
• Slings were effective weapons flung a quarter of a mile at 60mph
•  Olive oil was used for more than just cooking
• There is only 1 “Ancient Wonder of the World” still standing
• 1847 the 1st chocolate bar was created (thank you)
• and so many other interesting facts your kids will love learning history!

*giveaway is now closed, congrats Sandy!

I enjoy historical fiction books and we use them often to supplement our history curriculum. I was more than happy to check out The Adventures of Munford series by Jamie Aramini from Geography Matters along with several other HSV team members.

The Adventures of Munford series is a set of historical fiction books which view history through the eyes of a water molecule named Munford. Yes, a water molecule. This makes perfect sense since water cycles in various forms and is present in every time period. Why didn’t I think of this? What a clever way to transport readers back in time. Munford brings children along on his travels, teaching geography, history, science and more.

So far this series contains four books: Munford: The American Revolution, Munford: The Klondike Gold Rush, Munford Meets Lewis & Clark, and Munford Meets Robert Fulton.

I was sent Munford Meets Robert Fulton. This was perfect since my 9yr. old was going to be studying events in this time-period.

“In this tale of adventure, Munford meets a young boy in colonial America with a knack for inventing. The boy grows up to become one of the world’s leading inventors, Robert Fulton! Join Munford and Fulton as they race to create the world’s first commercially successful steamboat!”

One aspect I appreciated about this book was how so many different historical characters, places, and science concepts were cleverly intertwined in the story. These concepts could easily turn into unit studies, educational rabbit-trails and discussions. Here are just some of the topics I thought would make fun mini-units:

• Robert Fulton
• Rockets
• The water cycle
• Types of clouds
• Ben Franklin
• Napoleon
• France
• Robert Livingston
• The Louisiana Purchase
• The Nautilus and the Clermont

The Munford series would make a perfect read-aloud for the whole family, or would be good for independent readers in the 3rd – 5th grade. This book was a creative way to review events in history as well as science and geography concepts. We enjoyed reading Munford Meets Robert Fulton  and have the other books on our “wish-list”.

Be sure to check out what these Homeschool Village Reviewers thought:

Kimarie -The Cardamom’s Pod
Jenilee – Goodwin Family
Lana – I Love My 5 Kids

Here’s a special discount code for Munford Fans:
Buy 3 Munfords get 1 free  using  4MUNFORD43 – expires the end of Oct.

The HSV is offering a giveaway of an entire set of books!
Leave a comment sharing your favorite Historical American!

Maureen is a former elementary school teacher who now has a classroom of 6 at home. She blogs at Spell Outloud sharing toddler activities and homeschool highlights.  

** giveaway now closed congrats Rachel!

Do you love nature? Do you love God’s Word?  Ready to share both with your homeschoolers?

Now that fall is finally here its a perfect time to plan a family camping trip.  One book you’ll want to pack is S’More Time With God, by Nancy Ferguson!  Whether your family likes tent camping, community cabin, or backyard fire pit … everyone will enjoy the activities, worship, bible passages, prayer, and time with The Lord this book provides.

Nancy shares, “The purpose of this book is to guide family groups in activities they can do together outdoors, to tell biblical stories in a way that is accessible to children, and to help family groups reflect on the connection between the biblical story and the experience they just shared”.

The material is presented in five weeks – seven days per chapter covering themes like: Being happy, Caring for God’s creatures, Sharing the Good News of God’s Kingdom, God’s care and love for small thing, Know what is really important, God’s good gifts, and God’s creation reminds us of God’s love - among many others.

Nancy encourages you to share the bible stories with puppets, acting out skits, or creating comic strips and provides other creative avenues to present the information. Each day offers “Something to do” listing numerous fun activities or “ice breakers” to get everyone involved.

A sweet treat at the end of the book are a few pages dedicated to kid friendly camping recipes!

This book is intended to be used with older preschool and elementary-aged children and will be a great addition to your next camping trip!

If you would like to win a copy of this book – please leave a comment sharing your favorite camping spot!

Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post. I received a copy of the book for the purposes of this review. All opinions are my own. 

** giveaway closed – congrats Sheryl!!

Three of The Homeschool Village Writers were offered the Master Books SAT & College Preparation Course for the Christian Student by by James P. Stobaugh .  We hope you will enjoy these three reviews - below is an excerpt from each one - please be sure to click on the writer’s names to visit their full review at their blog!

Shannon-
An SAT Course and A Dyslexic Son  I never, ever, in my wildest dreams thought one day I would be able to use a course for SAT prep for my son. I am genuinely pleased that Master Books/New Leaf Publishing has issued this course. Well done, James P. Stobaugh, and I shall tell you why.

Tonya - 
SAT & College Preparation Course for the Christian Student. I found the lessons easy to implement and easily understood by my own children. Personally, I appreciated the devotions that began each lesson, enjoyed the literature selections and feel that the suggestion of studying Greek and/or Latin root words to be valid but not sure that the book is a stand alone “test prep”.

Lisa -
SAT Prep Review -  The strength of this SAT prep book over others is that the lessons are orerded, sequential and bite-sized. Each day is planned and the student simply turns to the page in the book and gets a goodly dose of practice without having to skip back and forth between sections or feel overwhelmed by the 100′s of problems persented. Each day follows the same basic format so the student knows what to expect, an emotional comfort, even while being intellectually challenged.

Phyllis -
Review of SAT Prep Course by James Stobaugh   Personally, I was very impressed with this course. As a Christian homeschool mom, I loved the emphasis on keeping a devotional journal and the assertion that having such Spiritual discipline will serve you will in all the areas of your life. It’s so true and very nice to have someone other than “mom” impress that upon the kids.

Master Books has generously offered one book to our homeschool community.  If you are a homeschool family and would like to receive the SAT & College Preparation Course for the Christian Student please leave a comment below.  

"Even the musically challenged will enjoy this course! It's perfect for grades 4-8 but is easily adaptable for younger and older students. Minimal teacher prep will return maximum enjoyment." Bright Ideas Press

Entries are now closed. Michelle T. is our winner!

True confession.  I had to pluck this gem from my bedside reading basket to begin writing our review of A Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers, by Melissa E. Craig and Maggie S. Hogan from Bright Ideas Press.  I found myself wanting to know more about composers I’d neglected, to be reminded of the enchanting souls behind compositions I’ve loved, to understand how they influenced one another across oceans.  My little musicians chuckled to discover Composers had wandered from the classroom to Mama’s room.

Music has an inexplicable allure.  It reaches the human mind and heart with a breadth and depth that still amazes educational researchers.  Consider for a moment the hum of  a lullaby as it settles the restless newborn cradled in your arms.  Without the exchange of language, assurance and love are freely communicated.  How many little ones learn their letters courtesy of “The Alphabet Song”? In our home, we’ve learned phone numbers, addresses, shoe tying, geographic landmarks, foreign language and so much more via music.  There is no question that music opens pathways to learning in a baffling, amazing, beautiful way.

Learning about the diverse personalities behind some of the most historic pieces of musical history is a cultural backdrop which may not only inspire a budding musician in your home, but will give root to a lifetime appreciation of a gift God, himself, commanded us to savor and employ.

Fine arts so often fall away from lesson planning due to time and cost restraints.  Authors, Melissa Craig and Maggie Hogan, know well your needs as a homeschooling family.  Each succinct, engaging lesson for all 26 composers from six eras of music includes Student Review pages with ten multiple-choice, true/false or fill-in-the-blank questions.  But this resource serves up a second main course.  A full third of the book is an appendix full of teaching resources: Composer Info Cards, Reproducible Composer Illustrations, Reproducible Timeline, Mapping Exercises, Games, Coloring Pages, Folderbook Directions (like a simplified version of lap books… love these!), Composers Resource List and Useful Websites.  (My family is particularly intrigued with discovering how these composers related to one another geographically and historically.) Listening suggestions for each composer can readily be found online at a moment’s notice, or if you are planning ahead many local libraries have impressive music collections.  Characteristic of the family-focused folks at Bright Ideas Press, they have even included a Certificate of Completion for your musical scholars!

Coloring Dvorak's stroll to church. "Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue." ~ Plato

While Melissa and Maggie suggest using  A Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers as a very doable 3-day per week component for a 32-week year, I might also add that the additional resources provided would make a fantastic springboard to yet another year of learning.  For example, in year two you could listen to the familiar suggested listening pieces and add new compositions to the repertoire.  After reviewing your folderbooks, gather fresh resources from the seven pages of suggestions offered.  A Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers is one of the most doable, resourceful, varied and economical music curriculum offerings you’ll discover!

If you would like to introduce your children to the amazing individuals behind the world’s musical treasures, enter to win a copy of A Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers by leaving a comment below with the composer who speaks your melodic language! 

In the meantime, view sample pages here and get to know the full line of outstanding publications at Bright Ideas Press on Facebook.

* please know The Homeschool Village is a community for homeschoolers.  We would like to bless our readers with giveaways and therefore ask that only homeschool families enter to win.

Twelve blogs. Twelve giveaways! That's a party!

Entries are now closed.  Our winner is Hope!

Pour a cup of tea, reserve a few quiet moments and drink in a truly special opportunity this week to become acquainted with the beloved authors of Apologia.  Twelve of your favorite homeschooling blogs will be hosting interviews with these inspiring writers and offering giveaways this week as a part of Apologia’s Meet and Greet Blog Hop.   We hope you’ll visit each one and enter to win fantastic resources for your family while getting to know the hearts and minds behind Apologia’s publications. 

The Homeschool Village is deeply honored to introduce to you Sarah Clarkson, author of Read for the Heart, a literature resource as unique and heartening as Sarah herself.  We posed a few questions to Sarah this week about her book, her layered love of the written word, and how you can go about creating a literature-rich environment for your whole family.

Question

Sarah Clarkson, author of "Read for the Heart", "is a freelance writer and avid blogger who wishes the whole world loved books as much as she does. Sarah is currently working on a children's novel and a collection of essays. When not writing. she can be found hiking, drinking English tea, and traveling the world with Whole Heart Ministries."

Within the early chapters of “Read for the Heart” you share with us how conducive your home has always been for not simply reading, but truly appreciating the fullness of literature as an integral part of learning and living. How do you recommend families intentionally set about creating a literature-rich environment for all members of their family?

Answer
I always liked the Anna Quindlen quote that goes “I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think interior decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.” This makes me smile, because it so reflects the value for the beauty and possibility of books that pervaded my own family home . But it also describes one of the first steps in creating a home environment that makes literature a value for a child: just have books around. Everywhere. All the time.

In my book, I write about that fact that, to this day, my family home is brimming with books. There are art tomes open near the fireplace, and picture books in huge baskets by the couches, and novels piled on shelves, and devotionals next to the armchairs. Books are everywhere, which means that when anyone plops down for a rest, a book is within easy reach. Madeleine L’Engle, one of my favorite authors, talks about how her family kept a dictionary and other books within easy reach of the dinner table so that a discussion could always be started. I think this is one of the first ways my siblings and I got in the habit of reading; books were just always available, offered, read, discussed, expected in our home.

Part of what sparked our interest though was knowing that my parents very carefully and consciously chose books they knew we would each love. One of the best things my parents did was to make each of us a book basket and fill it with books for our individual tastes, levels, loves, and needs.

Another part of a literacy-rich home is making reading a rhythm. Reading needs to be a regular part of life, one of the ways you enjoy and process life together. Family read-aloud in the evenings was one of the warm, gathering points of our day. We made hot chocolate and curled up on the couch to hear my dad read aloud from a good novel, so it was always a habit, and a beloved one at that. On an individual level, my mom gave us kids a choice when we were old enough to read: every afternoon, we could nap for an hour or read for an hour. Of course, we always chose reading, and that daily hour of reading was something my mom required right up until we graduated high school. We loved it. We would brew a cup of tea or get a snack and curl up in our rooms for an hour of imagination. So from an early age, the rhythm of reading and the presence of books was a constant, delightful, expected presence in our life and home.

Question
When you consider your most beloved authors and illustrators, is there a particular technique or style they employed which drew you into their work as a child?

Answer
I think different styles draw different personalities, but I was always drawn to the highly imaginative and slightly mysterious. I loved stories and pictures that invited me into a new, richly-imagined world. My favorite stories were ones about adventures like the ones in “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “At the Back of the North Wind,” or “The Wind in the Willows.” Or stories like “The Secret Garden” or “Anne of Green Gables,” that infused the daily world with a sense of wonder and gave me eyes to see my own little existence as full of possibility. It’s probably no coincidence that some of my favorite illustrators drew the pictures for those books. I love the works of Golden Age illustrators like Jessie Wilcox Smith, N.C. Wyeth, Arthur Rackham, and Edmund Dulac.

There are some marvelous modern illustrators too though; a few of my favorites are Michael Hague, who has illustrated a number of classic tales for children, in addition to the darling bear books written by his wife. A recent favorite discovery is the illustrator Robert Ingpen, who I have found just browsing bookstores. He has done illustrations for classics like “Treasure Island,” and “Peter Pan,” and I find his pictures to be full of movement and mystery, and they cover most of the pages of each classic he illustrates. I’m collecting his works for my library. P.J. Lynch, and Inga Moore are also some favorite, modern illustrators.

Also, I am really drawn to picture books that recreate the past for children. I always loved books that let me get a taste of a pioneer or colonial or farm life. I love the woodcut illustrations of Mary Azarian, in her picture books about rural New England: “A Christmas Like Helen’s,” “From Dawn Till Dusk,” and others. Also, the piquant drawings of classic illustrator Barbara Cooney have a charm that few can match. My favorites by her are “Miss Rumphius,” and “Ox-Cart Man.”

Question
What words of guidance would you share with children who aspire to become published authors?

Answer
I will say the same thing I’ve heard classic writers say over and over, and truly, it’s the best advice I know: read tons of great books and keep a journal. Read constantly and write a little every day. The art of writing is one that I think is best taught by the experience of great writing. There is nothing like reading Dickens, Tolkien, or even Lucy Maud Montgomery to teach you what it means to write in an excellent way. Sit down with a pencil and consider their sentences; weigh each word, question why they phrased something a certain way, make note of their use of symbolism or allusion. When I was first trying my hand at fiction, I would sometimes try to consciously write in the style of a favorite author, just a paragraph or two, but it helped me to perceive how to craft a strong sentence, or choose just the right adjective.

Journaling, on the other hand, doesn’t have to be formal or carefully considered, it just needs to be regular. In fact, too much self-consciousness in a journal hampers the flow of thought. A journal is a place to practice the flow and rhythm of regular writing. If you make a steady habit of recording your thoughts, of capturing your insights into human nature or the events around you, you will train yourself to both the habit of articulation, and the ability to write succinctly. Also, journals are an excellent place to gather ideas, to try a paragraph or two of new story or foray into an essay. The possibility and freedom of a journal is an endless adventure for a writer. Enjoy it.

Question
When a child struggles with reading, frustration can so easily take root. How would you advise homeschooling parents to infuse joy in reading when a child finds reading difficult?

Answer
Read aloud, first and always. I think when a child struggles to read on their own, the relief of a parent taking that stress away and just doing the reading for them can be immense. It gives them the freedom to listen and enjoy great stories during a time when reading alone may cause them a lot of upset and stress. The great thing though is that read-aloud does the same thing as quiet reading: it builds that treasure hoard of words and ideas in a child’s growing mind that is so necessary to every area of their education.

As part of that, I would choose stories that bring great delight; get a book that draws a child into a world they look forward to entering time and time again. I think it is easy to fall into a way of thinking that places a false dichotomy between education and enjoyment. Education and the skill of reading are really about sparking wonder in the heart and soul. Education ought to be about opening a child’s eyes to what is beautiful, true, challenging, and good in this world, and giving them the skills and spirit needed to pursue it. We are driven to do what we love, so let reading times, especially in the early years, be full of adventure and delight. Read what sparks curiosity, creativity, and passion, and let that begin the journey into deeper ideas and harder books.

The last thing I would say is to let a child who is struggling to read choose a book they are truly interested in mastering. I remember when one of my brothers had trouble with even ten minutes of reading alone. My mom prompted him to choose a book he would enjoy working on, and he chose a dense biography on Colonel Travis that was far beyond his reading level. My mom was flummoxed, knowing this would make the reading times even harder. But my brother was determined, so every day for fifteen minutes, he and my mom sat together as he slowly and painstakingly made his way through the difficult words. His triumph and confidence in himself when he actually got through the whole thing was immense. The fact of the matter was that Colonel Travis was his hero at that time, so the book kept his interest and gave him a challenge worth taking.

 Question
In your chapter, “Reading Lost: The State of Literacy in America” you discuss the impact electronic media has had on the literacy of this generation in our nation. What statistic or trend uncovered in your research for Read for the Heart did you find most staggering?

Answer
I was most staggered by the realization of the sheer amount of time kids now spend in front of screens (of any sort), instead of reading, creating, writing, playing, exploring, crafting, etc. I am not against using and understanding electronic media and think it is a necessary skill in our time. But what saddens me is the way electronic media replaces the age-old childhood occupations of exploration, reading, and “bored, nothing to do” outside time that so fosters creativity in the heart and mind of a child.

I spend a lot of time thinking about what it takes to form richness and depth of soul, what it takes to keep wonder alive in the hearts of children (and adults for that matter), and I am convinced that it takes great times of quiet and deep thought to begin. Kids need to be bored, to have times when there is nothing to distract them. They need to be out in the beauty of the earth, or in the middle of a good story, or have the time to sit around with pencils or guitars in hand until a song or picture comes to life in their minds. Screens provide a constant, noisy, mind-immersing distraction that leaves no room for the growth of creativity and wonder. That staggers me most and makes me yearn to get kids back into a way of learning and life that cultivates wonder and imagination.

The other thing that really struck me as I did my research, was to realize that children are trained to experience and interact with ideas through the mediums in which they receive them. Put simply, an idea received through reading a book affects a child differently than an idea received through an hour of TV. The written word requires a high level of mental work and involvement from a reader. One of the researchers I read described the incredible, multi-level activity that goes on in the brain when a person is reading. Your brain has to interpret the black and white letters, then it actually hears the words spoken in your mind. As you read, your mind is constantly considering the veracity of the ideas presented, and is comparing it to other ideas you have encountered in the past. So basically, a child who is a daily, trained reader, will have a highly active mind. Electronic media on the other hand, is usually something that the brain receives, or consumes, in a passive way. A child who spends most of his time in front of screens will be trained to interact with information and ideas in a far more passive and receptive way than one who is mostly a reader.

Question
Would you share with us some creative suggestions for literature projects which might be more engaging than traditional book reports or reviews?

Answer
:: Write a letter to the author- describe what you love (or hate, or want to debate) about the book, and ask the author all the questions you might if you could sit down before them with a cup of tea.

:: Write a dramatic, alternate ending to a story.

:: Write the life history of a lesser character – be creative!

:: Write a short story in the style and tone of the author you have just read. Consider why he/she used the words, phrases, settings they did.

Question
With the plethora of literature available to readers of every age, how would you advise parents to evaluate and select pieces of literature for their families?

Answer
Find reviewers and resources you trust. I know that’s pretty simplistic, but if you can find a few bloggers whose opinion you trust in book reviews, they will prove a treasure. Goodreads is a great resource as it is basically the personal reviews of countless readers and there are reviews constantly being uploaded for new titles. Log onto the site and find a few like-minded “goodreaders” and follow their reviews.

Another ideas is, in the words of Robert Frost, to let “way lead onto way,” in your reading. If you loved one author, google some reviews of their work and see which other authors are consistently compared to them. Go to Amazon and see what books people often buy in company with a book you love. I’ve discovered several gems in this way.

Last, get a couple of good guides to literature. Of course, the reason I wrote my book “Read for the Heart,” was to provide parents with a beginning, basic guide to the best children’s literature, so hey, take a look at my book and see what you think!

We know you will indeed be excited to take a look at “Read for the Heart”! Leave a comment below with your favorite childhood book to enter to win one of two copies offered by our friends at Apologia this week!   Winners will be announced on Friday.  In the meantime, visit all twelve participating blogs and giveaways in the Apologia Meet and Greet this week!

And Sarah, thank you deeply for allowing us to get to know you a bit today at The Village.  There will always be a bit of tea and book banter awaiting you among us here.  “Read for the Heart” is unquestionably a gift from your own heart to the very hearth of our homes.

(this giveaway is now closed)

Educating Layton

“His Truth is something we crave in order to satisfy our spirits, just as water satisfies our physical thirst”.

The Complete Aquarium Adventure is a unique book unlike one I have ever seen before!  The “field trip in a book” preps you long before you ever step foot into an aquarium!  Days before your field trip read together daily devotionals about God’s unique creation!  Each day offers an Exploring the Depths section which touches on observation, obedience, searching for God in the natural world, and other heart deep topics plus scripture memory verses!

The ample pages leading up to the  field trip experience are just a taste of excitement for the next sections of the book!

Like all Master Books, The Complete Aquarium Adventure has been beautifully illustrated!  Each page created to offer the most useful information and always leading the direction back to The Creator!

This book is such fun because you do not have to leave your couch to experience a real aquarium – the aquarium comes to you!  You and your children will be an expert on birds, fish, sharks, mammals, and reptiles.  Bring the book to an aquarium to discuss each animal further and share truth for those “evolution” statements.  Merilee and Bill Clifton do not neglect to give adequate reason to believe in Creation!

After your aquarium visit keep reading and enjoy the fun crossword puzzles, word hunts, connect the dots, and coloring pages to enhance your learning experience.  You can check out a few of those pages online and download them today thanks to Master Books free chapter downloads.

My boys love the treasure chest in the far back of the book.  Open the flaps to unpack the educational flash cards (don’t forget to pull out those Bingo cards and enjoy a game of Bingo Ocean at your aquarium visit) and quiz each other on the animals in this book!  Can you answer: how is it named, how big is it, how much does it weigh, what does it eat, where does it live, what does it look like, how do the males differ from the females, what is its unique behavior, what are it special survival features, and what are its special reproductive patterns?  As you can see – this book is fantastic for students of all ages!

You can follow Master Books on facebook or twitter for latest and greatest new releases! (giveaway ends Friday – free chapter downloads will only be available this week)!

(this giveaway is now closed)