Redhanded Homeschool High Fives ~ Our 2017 Crew Favorites

It's time once again, as the Homeschool Review Crew year comes to a close, to choose our Redhanded Homeschool's High Fives for 2017.  I can't believe another year is behind us.  There were about 75 vendor "runs" this year.  My family reviewed 47 products to share with you.  Plus two single reviews for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.

For the 2017 Homeschool Review Crew Blue Ribbon Awards, voting is very difficult in some categories.  We must choose *just one* vendor or product in each of the Crew's categories.  I've relaxed that rule for my blog.  'Cuz it's my blog, natch!  So where the punks or I loved more than one thing, I'm giving them all High Fives.

As usual, there are old favorites, new treasures, and things I've "had my eye on" for someday.  These favorites are all products that I would, actually have, or might again really pay money for it.  I think it's important that you can trust that when I tell you we absolutely loved something, I really mean it was *that good*.

Malachi's High Five
Carole P. Roman.  We really like her If You Were Me and Lived In... series, but Mal especially enjoyed our first fiction book from Carole, Oh, Susannah: It's in the Bag.  Actually, they all did and we have since read the second book and they're hoping for more.  The reading level is a bit below the older punks, but they love the stories, just for fun.

Xavier's High Five
First, Xav tried to choose Stopmotion Explosion again.  I told him he had to stick to products we reviewed in 2017, so he voted for The Brinkman Adventures - season 4 (see Merrick's High Five below).

Merrick's High Five
The Brinkman Adventures - season 4.  The Crew reviewed season 2 in 2014.  Since then, I've purchased seasons 1 and 3.  These fictionalized versions of real life missionary stories are always a hit.  They have a curriculum out for season 1 that I want to check out at some point, too.

My High Five for Moms
Homeschool Rescue from Only Passionate Curiosity.  I only managed to get through part of the program during the review period.  Now, I'll have a bit more time and I intend to finish it through once.  Then I want to work through it once each year to update our homeschool plan.
SchoolhouseTeachers.com is way more than just classes for the kids, though it certainly is that.  We've used this off and on since, I think 2011, when it started.  Back in those "olden days" if you had a subscription to the print Old Schoolhouse Magazine, you were given SchoolhouseTeachers.com access until your subscription ran out.  I had over a year of it.  About a year after it expired, I won another year in 2013.  In 2014, 2016, and 2017 I received access as a reviewer for the Homeschool Review Crew.  Hey, we're all family.  :)  I have decided to not return to the Crew in 2018 for various reasons, so I purchased two years during the BOGO sale last week.

These curriculum favorites are products we are still using, have completed this year, or will continue to use in 2018 and beyond.

Language Arts High Fives
Crafty Classroom's Learn to R.E.A.D. program - Merrick loves having his own school stuff that no one else does and the notebooking pages are so much fun for a Kinder.
Channie's Handwriting and Math Workbooks - I only reviewed the one handwriting workbook for littles, but I liked it so much, I ordered handwriting journals for the bigger littles and several math workbooks.
Reading Eggs - We've had Reading Eggs before.  I liked it so much, I was willing to pay for it when the bigger punks were littler.  Now Mal and Merrick are happily using it.  Merrick also likes to dabble in MathSeeds, though it placed him lower than I thought he should be.  I consider MathSeeds "just for fun" school.

Math High Fives
CTCMath.  Always.  And it's now a complete math curriculum for grades K-12. Another curriculum I have happily paid for and will again.

Science High Fives
Think Like an Engineer from Innovators Tribe is so much fun with all the hands on challenges.  I love that we are encouraged to include the whole family in this subscription.

Social Studies High Fives
Drive Thru History - The Gospels.  The Drive Thru History series is fantastic.  We're also using the American History videos for part of Xav and Mal's history this year.
Heirloom Audio ~ In the Reign of Terror and Captain Bayley's Heir.  While I have reviewed other Heirloom Audio titles for the Crew, I have also purchased copies of other titles in the series.  These audio dramas are crazy good.

Extra-Curricular High Fives
Creating a Masterpiece.  I wish we had been able to fit more of Sharon's lessons in before our subscription expired, but we really enjoyed learning how to make real art while we had it.
Doctor Aviation with Daryl Smith.  This one expires pretty soon and we enjoyed it a lot, though we didn't get through as much as we would have liked.

My Bonus High Fives
Lamplighter's The Secret Bridge.  While this wasn't the best book I ever read, I enjoyed it and it opened up a whole new world of literature for us.  Since this review, we toured the Lamplighter Ministries Book Bindery and purchased five or six more books and three audio dramas.  I especially recommend Sir Malcom and the Missing Prince and Teddy's Button.
Northern Speech Services' Color My Conversation was one of those "didn't know I needed" kind of curriculum.  We did set this aside, but will be picking it back up and starting over after the holidays.


Check out the *Official* Homeschool Review Crew Blue Ribbon Award winners and look in the Linky to read about my Crew Mates' family favorites.

Kid Niche ~ A Homeschool Crew Review

I wanted to teach the punks The Lord's Prayer this year.  I feel like I'm getting on this a little late, actually.  But this is great timing for Weave Your Word in Me -- Part 1 from Kid Niche Christian Books.  Weave Your Word in Me is a two part Bible and prayer curriculum for tweens, using a reworked rhythmic version of The Lord's Prayer entitled My Whole Self Before YOU (which also happens to be the name of a book and Bible study for younger children, also from Susan Case Bonner). 



Weave Your Word in Me is compatible with six Bible versions; KJV, ESV, NKJV, NIV, NASB, NABRE.  The answer pages in the back of the book provide the correct answers to each of these versions.  Many are already the same, so there may only be two or three correct options.  Weave Your Word in Me - Part 1 consists of 36 Biblical lessons for children in grades 4-6.  Part 2 has 44 more lessons, for a total of 80 lessons.  Each child will need a book of his or her own, as the pages are consumable, not reproducible.

The booklet arrives in shrink wrapped plastic with heavy paperboard to prevent folds and tears in shipment.  The weighty paper is three-hole punched and ready to be put into your 1/2" binder.  There's even a cover page for binders that have a pocket on the front.

Many of the pages are covered with colorful illustrations that enhance the lessons.  Each lesson is clearly numbered and is one or two pages in length.  Students look up between one and four verses in each lesson.  They then answer questions based on the reading.  Much of that is a fill-in-the-blank format.  There also are some underlining, true or false, open ended "think" type questions, as well as some other question and answer types.

Most of it was very straight forward, but personally, I needed a bit more direction with the My Prayer sections.  I like to know the "how" behind a lesson, not just the "what."  I'm sure it's quite simple for most people, but Mal and I struggled with this part.  We just discussed that part of the lessons and I led the prayers.  I think it will become easier for him as we continue through the lessons.  He has a tough time putting his thoughts into words and talking about what he is learning.

I planned originally to use the curriculum with Xavier, but after receiving it and looking it over, I decided to start working through it with Malachi.  He is doing well looking up verses on his own now and these prayer lessons require quite a bit of that.  It's fun to watch him explore the Bible more on his own and discover the answers in there by himself.

Author Susan Case Bonner includes her email throughout the website and in her book.  She seems very open to receiving questions about the lessons.  She has written Weave Your Word in Me to help guide children to a relationship with God, not to just talk to God in our prayers, but to build a foundation of real listening and understanding.  An open and teachable heart is required to develop that relationship, and that is the main purpose of this curriculum.

This prayer curriculum is not just the booklet lessons.  I also found a complimentary list of activities on the Kid Niche website.  There is something for every lesson in Weave Your Word in Me - Part 1 and for much of Part 2.  We enjoyed watching videos, coloring pages, and word puzzles through this activity section.  I think this website definitely enhances the lessons for children who are more visual and hands on than the workbook crowd.  As a child, I would have enjoyed the book on it's own very much.  Well, my boys are not me and they definitely prefer the activity area.  I did keep forgetting about the activities though and had to make myself a note to get in there and take a look at them.  Also, this section can be used by the whole family.

When I first saw this curriculum come up on The Crew, I was unsure how I felt about The Lord's Prayer being rewritten for children.  Well, I guess I am unsure about it still, as a replacement for learning The Lord's Prayer ("If it was good enough for Jesus..."), but it is a lovely prayer, though maybe a bit simplistic for upper elementary.  The classes are a nice assortment of important lessons for tweens are included to help them understand the character of God and learn to understand and build that relationship.  The page samples on the Kid Niche website are what really drew me in.  I liked the content of the lessons, the variety, and the color illustrations.

Mal used his NIV Bible for teens and did a great job finding and reading the verses he was directed to look up.  Some of his answers were incredibly short, but when we discussed the information he was more forthcoming than he was with writing.  Through this curriculum, Mal is learning to pray more clearly for his relationships, with others and with God.  I'm very thankful for that.

The lessons were fairly short, with the bulk of the time spent looking up the verses.  He also is a slow writer.  Though this curriculum would work well in a group setting; co-op or Sunday school, it probably wouldn't fill an hour for one lesson.  The added activities on the website, though, would definitely add quality to the group lessons as well as to individual lessons at home.


Part 1 and Part 2 of Weave Your Word in Me are $20 each, but if you purchase the complete package, you save 25%, receiving all 80 lessons for $30.

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Worthy Publishing Secret of the Hidden Scrolls ~ A Homeschool Crew Review

New author M.J. Thomas has written two fantasy adventure novels for children.  The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Beginning (Book #1) and The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: Race to the Ark (Book #2) were just released by WorthyKids/Ideals.  These are the first books in the series, The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls.

In The Beginning, we meet nine year old Peter and his sister Mary, who is ten.  They, and their dog Hank, have just said goodbye to their parents.  They're spending a month with great-uncle Solomon.  I am supposed to tell you now that the punks think he looks like Albert Einstein.  Uncle Solomon doesn't know much about children, but he has a big, old house full of cool archaeological finds.  He also has a locked library and a secret that involves a glowing earn full of sealed scrolls.  He can't open them, only the chosen ones can.  But a poem tells him there is great adventure for those who follow the lions roar.


In the middle of their first night, the children are awoken by a lion's roar in the hallway!  They find that the library door is now open and the hidden scrolls in a secret room.  Maybe Uncle Solomon can't open the scrolls, but they accidentally do, and are immediately transported to...  Where?  They don't know.  It's pitch dark and they are floating!  Until a voice booms. "Let there be light!"  Now brightness fills the...  everywhere?

After another day and night of floating, the voice booms again, and they splash into the water!  There's no land in sight!  Now what do they do?  Well, thankfully, the angel Michael has been dispatched with a little rowboat to rescue them.  And that's when he lays out the rules.

1. They have seven days to solve the secret of the scroll or they are stuck "there" forever.
2. You can't tell anyone you are from the future.
3. You can't try to change the past.

Here's the problem with the scroll.  It's written in Hebrew.  And they've already been "hanging" around for three days!  Well, God creates dry land the next day, and trees and plants (which is *wonderful* because they are sooooo hungry!), then He hangs the lights in the sky, and still they don't know any of the three words on the scroll.  Time is getting short.

The children have adventures with dolphins and a shark, a charging (playful) rhino, a mischievous monkey, the loss of the scroll, and a snake.  Thanks to Mary's book smarts, the kids' karate lessons, and a reappearance of Michael, the snake is defeated and the puzzle of the scroll is solved.  They're whisked back to Uncle Solomon's house and find that they've only been gone a few moments.  He is excited that the children are the chosen ones, then tells them how the story in the garden ends.

In Book #2, Race to the Ark, we find bored children several days after the first adventure, waiting for the lion to roar again.  We don't have to wait too long, but this time Uncle Solomon has quickly packed a bag for them to take.  Too bad he didn't send them any food.


They end up in the woods and decide to walk north, using the compass in their bag o' stuff.  They find a walled city full of angry people.  When they mention God, they find out that the Dark Ruler who lives in the temple in the center of the city doesn't much like for people to talk about God.  Jakar and Darfus, two child-thugs with a wolf, try to steal Hank and the bag the children are carrying (which now holds the scroll!).  Using Uncle Solomon's hatchet, they are able to get away and God sends a strong wind to blow a gate closed, protecting them.  The angel Michael, helps them find a safe place to sleep in their tent, also from the bag.  The same three rules apply, but this time, they have to puzzle out SIX words. 

That night, they hear a lot of loud noises and in the morning, their tent is surrounded by hundreds of footprints.  They follow them to Noah's ark!  Noah and his family all welcome them and the help they offer, and they are happy to feed these children, finally!  The children learn that the earth has become covered with darkness and evil, and that God is going to wash it clean.

The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.  Genesis 6:5 NIV

The children can't help but think about how beautiful and perfect Eden had been.  As the ark is prepared and God tells Noah the time is near, they help the family load the animals into the ark and care for them.  (There's a lot of poo scooping with that many animals.)  But wait!  The door has been broken by an elephant and Noah needs a new hinge.  The children go to the city to get one and are captured by Jakar and Darfus and taken to the temple where the Dark Ruler rewards them and locks the children in his dungeon.  He tells Peter he met them before.  He had been a snake.

Michael frees the children, grabs the hinge, and they get to the ark only to have to battle the Dark Ruler and retrieve the scroll before the rain comes.  As the water swirls around them, they struggle to figure out the last word in the scroll.  As soon as they do, they return to Uncle Solomon's library, where he gets out his red Bible and tells them what happened during and after the flood.

The prologue in book two gives a brief synopsis of book one, so it can be read as a stand alone story and still be understood what is happening.  Each of the books is a paperback, just over 100 pages long.  After the stories, there are Bible references so your children can read the actual accounts in the Bible.  M.J. Thomas wrote these books for his own son to learn about the Bible in a fun, exciting way.  I would say the 6-10 year old range is a good age to enjoy these stories, but I don't know if a six year old could actually read these books.

The punks had a lot of fun trying to figure out the words in the secret messages.  They would get so excited when they guessed right.  I am teaching a spy training class at co-op and I bet the kids would enjoy solving puzzles like these.

I think the stories would be a fun, safe way to explore about the Bible's exciting accounts.  I would definitely recommend discussing the factual details against the fantasy aspect of these books.  The stories are easy to understand, not scary for the littler listeners, and they get to see good overcome evil again and again.


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Heirloom Audio Captain Bayley's Heir ~ A Homeschool Crew Review

Heirloom Audio Productions has done it again!  I love to say that.  Their audio dramas are spectacular and we {bigfatpuffyheart} listening to them all.  Again and again.  This time, a young, British gentleman travels to America and experiences the gold rush and the old west.  In Captain Bayley's Heir, Frank is accused of a theft at school.  He is about to be publicly expelled and humiliated.  Unless he confesses.  Well, you know how kids are.  Be falsely accused of a crime and decide to go to America to clear your name!

This installment of The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A.Henty actually has a bit of a slow seeming start, as it isn't until track 8 when Frank finally heads to America.  When I say "slow start" I don't mean the beginning is boring, only that it seems somewhat unrelated to the whole traveling to America thing.  Only it wasn't unrelated.  We have to meet all those important characters in Frank's life and understand their relationships with him and the kind of young man he is.  And though the story is about Frank's coming of age in America, we never leave behind his British family and friends as they struggle to understand *why* Frank ran away and just *where* might he be. 

There seemed to be a lot of foreshadowing in this installment.  Maybe there always is and I just never noticed it before.  I kept thinking, "Ah-ha!  I knew it!"  It made me feel very smart.  Although, I didn't tell the boys certain things, sometimes when we'd pause the CD I'd mention something and ask them why they thought it was included in the story and what they thought it could mean in the future.  It was kind of fun to see them thinking through all those hints.

Of course, in a series of amazing coincidences, we do find out just *who* is Captain Bayley's heir.  This is where there was a bit of that foreshadowing, because you know all these seemingly unrelated incidents have to tie into the story in some way.  Once you figure it out, you just keep waiting for the players to finally piece it all together.

All through the audio, Frank would interact with new people and my "stranger danger" alarms would be triggered.  Someone had to be the antagonist, right?  Thankfully, most of the people he happened across were good people, even some godly people, and were helpful in ways that it seemed they were put together by providence.  At one point, Frank receives $200 for something helpful he did.  The boys were shocked to know that was nearly a year's pay for the employment he had at that time.  Aside from Frank, my favorite characters (and were they ever characters!), were the trio of Abe, Rube, and Dickens.  Abe becomes a wonderful good friend to Frank after he and his friends take him under their wings.  They teach him all he needs to know about survival in the west, and surviving the trip to get them there!  Their colloquialisms had us rolling!

Mal was very disappointed that they were in the old west, but there were no trains.  The timing for that was just a wee bit off, but he quickly decided he could enjoy the amazing adventure even without a steam locomotive!

There was relatively little death in Captain Bayley's Heir (mostly characters we don't actually know), which was a nice change after In the Reign of Terror!  But near the end, someone important is said to be dead and the punks and I were all wracked with grief.  I may have felt a flash of anger at Henty at that moment.

I promise it all turns out alright in the end!

Brian Blessed, as GA Henty, has become the voice of Heirloom Audio Productions for me.  Every time I read one of their Facebook posts, I "hear" it in that voice.  The cast, as always, is phenomenal.  There are always a few regulars in these Heirloom audio theater productions.  Some of the voices, I recognize in each drama.  Some actors portray more than one character and they are so incredibly talented, that I never confuse their characters by voice.

This particular Christian audio focuses very much on God's grace and forgiveness and we are treated to listening a bit to Amazing Grace a couple of times.  It is hands down one of my favorite hymns.  I always prefer it with bagpipes, but any singable version will do.  Now that I've heard it on a solo violin, though, bagpipes might have some serious competition.

The bonus content for Captain Bayey's Heir includes

• A study guide
• Captain Bayley's Heir e-book
• A printable cast poster
• The official soundtrack
• The quote poster, which this time features a line from the hymn "Amazing Grace."
• Desktop wallpaper download
• Access to the actual script on Live the Adventure Club.

The bonus material is part of the new Live the Adventure Club that Heirloom Audio Productions now offers.  While there is a fee to join this community, it includes three physical CDs each year, shipped to your home, as they are released.  The club is much more than that, though.  My Library at the Live the Adventure Club includes access to all the extras for each CD that I own, either through reviews or personal purchases.  I am also able to purchase access to the remaining two audio dramas at a discount right through that library, if I decide to do that.  I also have the ability to listen to the Old Time Radio Vault which houses hundreds of historical radio broadcasts.

A Constitution course, a recipe for Hangtown Fry that miners ate (they had me until oysters!), Kids' activities (coloring pages, crosswords, and more, all related to the audio dramas), inspiring stories and devotionals, and an active forum all round out the Live the Adventure Club content.

I highly recommend using the study guide as your children are able.  There is so much more to them than just the Listening Well comprehension segment for each track.  Some of the things we accomplished because of the study guide

• John Newton and Amazing Grace (Newton was a slave trader for decades, who many years after becoming a Christian, was greatly grieved by his prior career.)
• Important names from the Gold Rush era (These included John Sutter and Wells & Fargo.)
• How the men lived on the gold fields (Miners staked claims and lived in tents or shanties
• The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 (Interestingly enough, it became federal law under Vermont's own Chester A Arthur.  Something we can all be proud of.  *eyeroll*)

Firstly, the study guide has a credits page, a bit about GA Henty for those who are unfamiliar, then the main study guide begins.  Generally, we listen through the entire recording over several sittings.  This usually happens in the car because the punks focus so much better than they do at home where there are so many distractions.  The next time we listen, we employ much of the study guide.  Each of the 20 tracks on Captain Bayley's Heir has a page or two spread.

The first section is Listening Well, which is the comprehension segment.  While older kids might have no trouble pausing the CD after each track and answering the questions, we still have a bit of trouble with this.  I often give the boys an idea of the topics they should be listening for before we listen to the track, then we pause it and answer the queries.  The Listening Well segment, is fact based and is mostly not up to interpretation.

Next is Thinking Further.  Here, some more abstract questions might be asked that require a deeper kind of thinking and making inferences.  The Vocabulary includes words like "incorrigible," "oblige," and "affirmation."  Normally, I have the punks put at least a couple words in their ongoing, personal dictionaries after looking them up.  This time I was much too slacky for vocabulary.  Nobody wants summer to end.  The randomly placed boxes for Expand Your Learning have some great topics to research or discuss: such as manifest destiny, money in Victorian England, and mining camps  There's also a great book list to learn more about Victorian England and the American West.

Usually, there is a recipe in the study guide, but there was none in Captain Bayley's Heir.  It's just as well, I guess.  None of the punks would eat beans and I have not found a cornbread recipe I really have liked, though I have eaten good cornbread.  I'm not sure campfire food would be a hit here!  *smile*

You can even read along with the script and complete the Listening Well section online as a graded quiz.

God's Grace was a major theme throughout Captain Bayley's Heir.  The first Bible study in this study guide focused narrowly on the topic of grace.  The second study was about becoming a Christian and the third directs children to honor their parents.  An abundance of verses is at the heart of each study, making it very sound.

The one thing about the study guide I do not like, and I say this every time, is that the pages are not black on white.  You will use a considerable amount of ink if you want to print it, because the pages are a dusty, kind of brownish color this time.  I prefer to have paper in hand, not try to juggle the computer while pausing and starting the CDs.  I might could try to think up a better way to handle it, but the CD player is in a different area from our school stuff.


The two compact disc set runs for about 2 hours and 40 minutes total.  The actors, sound effects, and musical score complement each other so perfectly.  Captain Bayley's Heir and the other Heirloom Audio Productions audio dramas are a super fun way to get in some history.  Malachi recently told a friend that history is his favorite subject.  I'm pretty sure that is, at least in part, due to Heirloom Audio Productions and the immersive style of audio dramas.

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Barbour Publishing ~ A Homeschool Crew Review

Today, Xavier and I are writing to tell you about Barbour Publishing's new Imagine Series for the middle grades.  We were given Imagine. . .The Great Flood for review.  You can read an excerpt from Imagine. . .The Great Flood by Matt Koceich at the Barbour Publishing website if you'd like to get a feel for the story.

This 112 page paperback takes place at the time of the Flood of the Bible.  This chapter book is fiction for ages 8-12.  I found that to be an accurate range for readability and content, though there are a few short, intense sections for younger readers.

Normally, I would read a book like this aloud to all of my punks, but this is how it came down in our house this time.  I read the excerpt ("read a chapter," which is linked on the book page), which is actually about 2.5 chapters.  I let Xavier (age 10) read the download as well, to gauge his interest.  The sample ends just as the book is getting exciting (clever), so he certainly did want to finish reading it.  When the book arrived, he took off with it and finished it in about a day.  He is turning into a voracious reader.  Then I never saw it again until a week ago when I told him I also needed to finish reading it for this review!  I then finished it up in an afternoon of several interruptions.  All that to say, it is not a long or difficult read, but you may need to help a bit with some names and words.

The book begins in modern day Texas with Corey, his mom, and their dog Molly.  Corey is unhappy about his family's impending move to Florida for his dad's employer.  Corey's mom wisely tells him, "... sometimes things change, but God never changes."  Shortly after their conversation, Corey falls in the woods and hits his head.  He wakes up in Mesopotamia 2400BC.  He is quickly joined by Noah's son Shem who immediately welcomes him into his family and the ark, then enlists his help guiding the animals to Noah.


Shem and Corey are attacked several times by the nephilim (giants) and later also by Elizar, some sort of sorcerer.  They even face betrayal!  When it begins to rain, all of the local people also want to enter the ark.  Obviously, that isn't going to happen!  Corey is drowning and the story allows us to think it is Noah pulling him out of the water, but in the end, he is waking up in the forest where he was first injured.  We immediately are whisked to Florida three months later, with no further information.

Corey's adventures help him to see many parallels between his real life and what he was experiencing both during the adventure and after, in his new home in Florida.  He learns to rely on God and he often prays in times of trouble, throughout the book.  His reliance on God is definitely a main feature in the story.

I was left wondering what exactly was the point, though.  Many questions were left unanswered.  Here are a few:

• Who did Corey see and hear in the woods when he blacked out?  He sees a man near Molly and hears someone say, "Open his eyes," and yet, the book takes us, not really back to the woods, but to a beach in Florida three months later.

• Why did Elizar, the bad guy, want Shem's staff so badly?  Shem mentions that as long as he holds the staff the animals will obey him, but that staff is broken.  I'm assuming the replacement staff has the same quality, but by this point in the story, it is obvious to *everyone* that the world is going to be completely flooded, just as Noah said.  (I'm *pretty* sure Noah and his family did not need a staff to control the animals.)

• *Why* did this whole thing even happen?  I get that the story is meant to show Corey relying on God even when it seemed it would do no good.  Several times parallels are drawn between his modern situation and the Mesopotamian adventure.  I didn't think it really exposed a solid reason for the events Corey experienced.

All in all, it was a decent "kid adventure."  I had to reread the Biblical account due to the amount of embellishment, but any time you are sent to read the Bible isn't really a bad thing.  In Genesis 7:11, we can read that "...all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened."  So while the nephilim's fight with Noah's family is fictitious, the broken earth with water gushing from it seems to be factual.  Elizar was made up, but he mentions his master, presumably Satan, and multiple gods which were certainly a terrible influence on people of that time.




What did Xav think? 

It was a good book.  It was easy to read.  It was about how hard it was for Noah's family to build the ark even though other people made fun of them and wanted to destroy it.  I liked it when the giant got bit on the leg by the lions protecting Corey.  It was exciting when Corey went down the rapid river.  I think the giants died on the river bank when they tried to catch him.  I think Corey got sent back to the flood time so he would think about moving and that other people sometimes have to move, too.  But Noah's family relied on God.

I'm not exactly in agreement with all of his points, but I can understand where he picked them up.

About the Author
Matt Koceich is a public educator, living with his family in Texas.

Imagine. . .The Great Flood is not as much Biblical fiction as fiction that just happens to be set at a Biblical event.  And, yes, there is a fine line between the two.  *smile*  If that detail is "no big whoop" to you and you are looking for some clean, wholesome reading, there are more books planned for the Imagine Series.  The second release in this Bible adventure series for kids, Imagine...The Ten Plagues, will be available in March 2018.

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Steamtown Part 1 ~ Field Trip Friday {AKA V is for Vacation}

A couple of weeks ago (or way more now!), I told you about the trip we took to Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, NY.  While we really enjoyed seeing April the Giraffe, Oliver, and Tajiri, and the other animals, the main vacation destination was Steamtown in Scranton, PA.  I may have mentioned a time or two that the punks [warning: understatement ahead] like trains.  Dad planned the whole trip as a surprise.  And happily, Xav is a fourth grader and Steamtown is managed by the National Park Service.  That means we all received FREE admission through the Every Kid in a Park program.  Truthfully, admission isn't that high anyway.  The entrance fee was, surprisingly, only $7 per person for ages 16+.  Extra charges applied only to the Scranton Limited train ride which was $5 each, ages 6+.

Today, I'm just sharing the basics for this destination.  There was FAR too much to cover in one post.

First, we drove to Scranton on the 4th of July.  It was not as terrible as you might imagine and that was probably due to the fact it was a Tuesday.  We stayed at a hotel with a pool and that is basically enough to keep the boys happy.   HOWEVER, we were able to see multiple firework shows throughout the town from both the pool and our room.

The punks didn't actually know in advance where we would be going.  We told them before bed that night and, let's just say the response left a lot to be desired.  They were so "meh" about the whole thing.  All I did was hope they would be way more excited when they actually got it.  Merrick also got a little surprise that night.  He got a cute little indoor tent in which to spend the night.  Three boys in a queen size bed is a no go.  Two in the same bed leads to plenty of kicking, pushing, and growling until sleep is finally reached.

In the morning, we had breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts just down the road, then we headed straight to Steamtown.  I wish I had a video of the punks' reactions!  My preteen boys, literally, squee-ed when they got the first glimpse in the parking lot.  "It's the Big Boy, the Union Pacific Big Boy!"  Sadly, I thought the Big Boy was in pretty rough shape.  The boys thought it was the most incredible thing they'd ever seen.  Maybe it was... so far!

We didn't stay outside for long, though.  We had a train to catch!  Xav got his official "every kid in a park" card, we paid for our train tickets and headed inside.  We didn't have long to wait for our train ride and since that was almost the first thing we did there, I'm including it here.  Everything else we did will be in next week's Steamtown Part 2 post.

First, let me tell you, I was *shocked* to learn that, until the 1980s, Steamtown was located in Vermont!  Then the funniest thing happened.  Our guide turned out to be from Vermont and, until a few years ago, worked for the same company Daddy did.  Small world.

This is what happens when you wait too long to write up your post, you forget details.  I could research these details, but since I'm not finding them quickly, I'm just going to have to let them go.  *tries not to sing*  You can thank me later.  Anyway, we learned about the family who ran the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.  This was one of the earliest rail lines in northeastern Pennsylvania.

This Ramada Inn used to be the Train Station.  We didn't go inside, but did see some pictures online.  The family certainly believed in doing things up lavish-like.

We need a Part 2 post because I took so many pictures of our day, it wasn't even funny, but I knew I'd need them for the Train class at our co-op.  *justifies*



Homeschool Discount -Discount for 4th graders and their families, but not for homeschoolers specifically.  Reasonably priced, either way.
Educational - History, Science, Technology, Art, Math (in the gift shop!)
Family Oriented - Yes.
Duration of Visit - 6 hours+.

Progeny Press, The Silver Chair ~ A Homeschool Crew Review

Progeny Press is a company which produces quality literature study guides written from a Christian perspective.  The Gilleland family homeschools and operates Progeny Press.  Some guides are written by the Gillelands and some by others.  Each unit study is peer reviewed by pastors and teachers before release. 

My punks are getting older, and the literature they read should also be aging with them.  We enjoy the Narnia series and were happy to read one book of C.S. Lewis' famous saga for this unit.  The Silver Chair E-Guide (Grades 5-7) by Carol Clark, is an interactive guide, as are all the electronic titles in grades 4-12.  This means that the 52 page file can be opened in Adobe Acrobat or other PDF reader and filled out on the computer.  The student can then use the Save As feature to save the e-guide with their work in the document.  A parent or teacher then can use the included answer key to check the students answers.  Many of the answers are in a short essay style and could not be automatically graded, regardless.



It was simple to download the interactive e-guide and answer key.  A copy of The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis is required to complete the e-guide.  You can order a copy of the book from Progeny Press or elsewhere, check the library, or look on your shelf at home.  I have learned the hard way to check my bookshelf first!  Though you may want to save the money by borrowing from the library, due to the time commitment it would make more sense to borrow from a friend or purchase a copy.   You'll also need a Bible, a dictionary, and a thesaurus.

The Silver Chair Study Guide is available as the instant interactive e-guide, on CD, and as a printed workbook.  Each version has different aspects that you might want to consider before making your purchase.  The e-guide provides instant access and is reproducible within a family or classroom.  It cannot be resold like a book, nor can it be returned for refund.  I really appreciate the instant access of the e-guide and that I can use this again when Merrick is older.

The length of time required to complete a Progeny Press Study Guide is approximately two months or more.  The earlier grades do take less time than the upper grades, though.  In The Silver Chair E-Guide, you cover two to four chapters at a time.  If you are new to Progeny Press, I do suggest you read over the short Note to Instructor.  It's only a page or so, and will give you a rough outline of how the guide is intended to be used and how to use them for high school credits, as well as a bit of other information about usage.

The first few pages also include a brief synopsis of the book and an author biography.  Prereading Activities are suggested for the first week.  In this particular middle school level e-guide, reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is recommended as one of the main characters in The Silver Chair happens to have already visited Narnia in that installment.  Other ideas include learning about caves and researching "allusion" and related places/things from the novel.

Then the lit guide really begins with five pages covering chapters 1-2, with "Vocabulary" written in context, "Questions" about the actual text of the story (#5 List the four things Jill is to remember.), "Thinking about the Story" (foreshadowing, simile, etc), "Dig Deeper" (which requires a bit more thought to answer and also brings in Bible ties), and two Optional Activities.  Each week is similar, sometimes requiring Bible readings, dictionary searches, or suggesting discussion or writing topics.

The e-guide ends with some after reading activities which include writing, drawing, and designing activities.  This is followed by a list of related book titles.  Some are other of C.S. Lewis books and others are just books that readers of The Silver Chair might enjoy.  Several of the books in the list also have corresponding guides available from Progeny Press.

The nine page answer key arrives as a separate file.  It is just the answers.  While some of the answers can only be right or wrong, some of the answers are a bit more essay style and will be up to a bit of interpretation.  To grade the subjective answers, a parent or teacher would be required to also be familiar with the book.  I always enjoy these questions with Xavier.  He (ALWAYS) has a lot to say, but it's nice to chat with him about how he felt about an event that happened or how a person behaved, rather than Lego or Minecraft!


We did not use The Silver Chair E-Guide every day.  It was summer after all, and though we school year round, the punks definitely deserve some short days or even days off in this very abbreviated Vermont season.  We do sometimes do more than one page in a day, though, so having finished reading chapter nine and completed the corresponding section of the guide, we are more than half way through the study guide in about 6 weeks.  We discuss different parts of the book as well as completing the work in the guide, but we don't really do much with the Optional Activities section.  The activities look great and I'd love to do them, but the punks are on the low end of the range for this e-guide and I opted to keep us moving through the book (which keeps them attentive) rather than have them spend a considerable amount of time on the extra things.  You know your family best and I'm sure many fifth graders would enjoy that part.  I know *I* would have, once upon a time.

I read the book out loud, completing the chapters for the section before we started the Q&A parts.  Many of the questions, we answered orally as we sat together.  Sometimes, this works great for us and other times, Xavier monopolizes the question and answer session and I have to be very intentional about giving Malachi the opportunity to give his answers.  He tends to automatically answer, "I don't know," without giving it any real thought, while Xav is chomping at the bit to respond.  I have to back one up and just sit and wait while the other thinks it through.  Do you have that one kiddo who just wants to answer everything like it's a race?  Having them write answers is more time consuming, but often gives my "reluctant to answer" child a chance to shine.

Another thing we do a bit differently with the literature study e-guides from Progeny Press is *not* using them on the computer.  With two of them working on the computer, it would take forever as they are not good typists yet.  But Mal has a real issue with writing spaces and oversized letters.  Last time I reviewed a Progeny Press study guide (The Sword in the Tree), I realized I could add lines in the editable section of the file.  Then I save it that way and now when I print the pages, lines are already there for him to write on and guide him to consistently size his letters.

We're enjoying The Silver Chair and the Study Guide for Literature.  The punks are improving thinking, vocabulary, and writing skills.  I was surprised how attentive they are becoming as they get older.  As soon as I mentioned that the woman with the knight wore a green dress, Xav shouted, "Wait a minute, a green dress?" and the wheels were turning.

Others in The Crew are also reviewing The Silver Chair E-Guide as well as several other Progeny Press literature study guides.  Click the banner below to see what they thought about these guides.

• The Bears on Hemlock Mountain E-Guide (Grades 1-3)
• Charlotte’s Web E-Guide (Grades 4-6)
• Macbeth E-Guide (Grades 9-12)

I previously reviewed an upper elementary e-guide written for The Sword in the Tree by Clyde Robert Bulla.  While the guides are very similar, there is a marked difference in the reading and comprehension level required for the middle school level e-guide and book, The Silver Chair.

The Mission of Progeny Press
"To teach our children to think clearly, to understand literature, and to rely on the scripture for truth and values, and enjoy themselves while they do it!"


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Carole P. Roman, Author ~ A Homeschool Crew Review

It's fun when a vendor I enjoyed comes back to The Crew another time.  Carole P. Roman
 is one of those well loved authors in this house and the punks were happy to read more of her If You Were Me and Lived In... Historical series.  They received two surprise books as well and one of them has also been added to the "well loved" bookshelf.

The four paperback books we received are:

• Oh Susannah: It's in the Bag
• Can a Princess Be a Firefighter?
• If You Were Me and Lived in... Elizabethan England
• If You Were Me and Lived in... Viking Europe

Oh Susannah: It's in the Bag
7-12 years old, 34 pages, illustrated by Mateya Arkova.


Poor Susannah has an awful day.  It starts with *oatmeal* for breakfast and ends with a terrible nightmare about a giant, stinky backpack.  When Susannah's parents comfort her and give her practical help getting through all that *stuff,* she finds out that taking care of the small things when they are small saves us from a stressful mess later.

The punks really enjoyed this story.  I read it aloud, even though it's a very short book (a nice change of pace for a read aloud).  I felt so bad for Susannah, as I read about her day, especially her interactions with her parents.  I self-consciously worried that the boys were comparing our sometimes busy days to Susannah's.  Just when I was feeling terribly guilty, one of the punks mentioned how lucky he was that our family isn't like that.  *whews*

Don't worry.  They work it all out in the end.  And there is a sequel.  Xav was very disappointed that the book ended in somewhat of a cliffhanger.  "That," she explained to her mother with a sleepy yawn, "is another story."   I guess I'll be getting part two, Oh Susannah: Things That Go Bump, soon.

Winner of:

NABE Pinnacle Award 2017 - Best Book in the category of Children's Chapter Book

2017 Reader's Favorite  Children's 4th-6th Grade  Bronze

Can a Princess Be a Firefighter?
5-8 years old, 36 pages, illustrated by Mateya Arkova.


I didn't expect much interest in this very girly tale, what with a houseful of punks.  Mal picked it up, after I placed it strategically on top of a book pile.  He glanced through it.  Xav asked where it came from.  Then they said, "Please finish reading It's in the Bag."
Winner of:

Back to Homeschool Resource Award winner
2017 Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorites - Children's Inspirational
2017 International Book Awards Finalist - Children's Picture Book: Hardcover Fiction
2017  Gold Medal Reader's Favorite Children Concept

Now, a few things about the If You Were Me and Lived in... series.  The illustrations are by various artists throughout the series.  We really get a lot out of the books.  The books answer pretty much every question you might have about each time period: how families lived, what people wore, what they ate, and how they made a living.  Each book has a sort of main character, who is a young boy or girl.  Unfamiliar words are shown somewhat phonetically.  "Your name might have been Knut (Kah-noot) or Ulf (Ul-uff) if you were a boy, and Sigrid (Seeg-freed) or Hilde (Hill-da) if you were a girl."  The book after that is specifically about this boy or girl and their family.

This series is suggested for ages 8-15.  I don't think that children much over 12 will really get a lot out of them, if the time or place is at all familiar to them.  The writing is large and covers, at most, 1/2 of a two page spread.  These are *great* books for the younger end of the range, though, and are packed with a ton of topics.

If You Were Me and Lived in... Elizabethan England
8-15 years old, 50 pages, illustrated by Paula Tabor.


I was really excited to receive this edition of the If You Were Me... series.  We attend a renaissance faire every summer and I share a birthday with Good Queen Bess.  Not the same year, obviously!  Suffice it to say, this specific book was high on my list last year as well as this year.

In this installment of the If You Were Me and Lived In... series, we meet the child of a busy baker.  You learn how she lives in the city, how her grandmama lives in the country, and how the wealthy sometimes built their houses into an E shape in the queen's honor.  She attend a St. Bartholomew's Fair (which really reminds me of the Sterling festival), you learn about the currency of Elizabethan England, and there's a certain scandal about her brother!  Shakespeare's Globe Theater gets a brief mention as does the changeability of religious denomination, depending on the current ruler of England's beliefs.

At the end of the book there is a brief biography of eight important people of the time, including Francis Bacon, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir Walter Raleigh.  It finishes with a glossary with over six pages of important people, events, places, and items of import mentioned in the book and pertaining to the Elizabethan Era of 1588-1603.

Winner of:
Back to Homeschool Resource Award winner
2016 Homeschool Review Crew Blue Ribbon Awards - Favorite History Supplement
Shelf Unbound 2016 Contest winner for Best Series
2016 Foreword INDIES Finalist

If You Were Me and Lived in... Viking Europe  
8-15 years old, 76 pages, illustrated by Mateya Arkova


You've heard of vikings having a surname after their father (Ericson - son of Eric), apparently, daughters were also similarly named (Ericdottir - daughter of Eric).  I had no idea.  In this book, Carole talks about the travels of Vikings, to start new settlements, to trade with other civilizations, and to conquer new areas.  There are three classes in Viking Europe, you'd really not want to be a thrall.  The boy in this book can't wait to be old enough to go on an adventure on the seas upon his father's ship.

The foods were *very* different from anything I am used to eating, especially the meats.  Men and boys hunted and fished, and girls gathered and grew some food.  Then the women would put up the food for the very long winter.  Looms and spinning wheels were an important part of every household.  Older boys were fostered out to other families to create bonds with allies.  Girls married in their teens, and though they had no say in the matter, it seems they could divorce their husbands if he was abusive.  Six of the Norse gods are mentioned, and a grandmother who makes potions and casts spells.  It's all very matter of fact and limited to a few sentences, so didn't bother me, but I did want to give a heads up about it.

The book finishes up with a bit about eight important Viking men and women, followed by the nearly seven page glossary.


Winner of:
2016 Homeschool Review Crew Blue Ribbon Awards - Favorite History Supplement
Back to Homeschool Resource Award winner
Shelf Unbound 2016 Contest winner for Best Series
NABE Fall 2016 Pinnacle Book Achievement Best Books in the Category of Writing Winner
2016 Foreword INDIES Finalist
2017 Reader's Favorite Silver Medal Nonfiction Historical

I previously reviewed If You Were Me and Lived in Ancient Greece and three other If You Were Me... books.


A nice bonus for these books is included on Carole's blog.  Some of the books in this series have a set of questions for discussion and even writing prompts for deeper thinking.  I found these very helpful on the second read through of the books.  I don't consider them worksheets, per se, but you could use them in that way, if you wanted to.  I LOVE this book series.  I think it is a fun way to pack a lot of information into a small package and could be used for a jumping off point for many, many rabbit trails for curious learners.

Carole P. Roman has authored more than 35 children's books and series.  Carole's books have, collectively, won over 100 awards.  She started writing on a dare and began the Captain No Beard series, in which the captain and his crew learn to navigate relationship issues like patience and bullying. 

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The rest of the Crew read some of Carole's other books.  You can check them out through the banner below.