This Planner’s for Me?

     I have a planner that I use.  It is from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and is FULL of information and pages to plan your entire life.  I have pulled from this planner so my daughter can make a planner of her own.  Well, no more, because The Old Schoolhouse has come up with a planner designed specifically for High School students.

     This student planner really does “have it all”. It is written to your student, not the parent.  When I asked Sarah (13) to use it and see what she thought this is what she said.

“The TOS High School Planner is  brimming full of information. It is divided into five sections. My favorite sections are Calendars, Informational Must-Knows Lists, and Organizational Forms. What I like about the calendar pages is they give you four different styles of calendars. My favorite calendar is the blank one you can fill out on your own. Some of my favorite informational must-know lists are: Famous Authors and their Works, the Newbery Medal, the Caldecott Medal, Kitchen Conversions cheat sheet, and Seven Wonders of the Ancient world. A couple of the Organizational forms that I like are the Daily schedule, One of these Days, I would like to, My Daily Chores, and Dates to Remember. The High school planner has a lot more that I like but these are  the major ones.”

     My Sarah has always been a “planner” girl.  She absolutely loved this planner. She really liked that it was for her, not me.  We created a folder on the computer and she can access this planner whenever she needs a new form or to look up information. Then she simply prints it out and puts it in her 3 ring binder.

     Major Features

• Articles specific to High School planning
• Calendars – multiple styles
• Informational Must - Know Lists
• Homeschool Forms
• Organizational Forms

     One of the best features, in my opinion, is the ability to either print out each page and fill in by hand, or type the information in the PDF format and then print. The abundance of styles is also an asset. This way if one page, such as a daily schedule, is not working for you, there is another style to try for the next week.

     Being a planner specifically designed for homeschool high school students, there are pages dedicated to helping plan their high school careers.  Other pages let your student become involved in knowing what courses they have to look forward. They can begin to track what grades they have in certain courses on their own. Transcript pages keep track of classes they have taken. Also included when you buy this planner is a Parent Pack with articles for parents of high school students.

     Overall Sarah and I are pleased with The 2010-2011 High School Schoolhouse Planner.  We have only begun to use it, and keep finding  forms and information sheets that have been overlooked.  It has been a positive asset to our school day and beyond.

The 2010-2011 High School Schoolhouse Planner is available from The Old Schoolhouse Store. It is an e-book download with a cost of $29.00.

I received The 2010-2011 High School Schoolhouse Planner for free from The Old Schoolhouse Store in exchange for my honest review of their product.

Tag, Your It

Last week I was tagged by All American Family.  This consists of answering a few questions and then tagging someone else to answer questions.  Thanks for tagging me.

     Now for the questions:

1.  Why did you start homeschooling?     We started homeschooling our son when he was 8 and starting 3rd grade.  He had a wonderful kindergarten teacher, a good 1st grade teacher and an okay 2nd grade teacher.  I kept getting notes saying I needed to work more with him on his math facts. There were times that he watched movies that we didn’t approve of and when I complained were told that they did not need to inform me because the movies were on an approved list.  There were times when my son was called into the principal’s office, not because he was in trouble, but because there had been a fight on the playground and she knew my son was not involved, but had seen it and would tell the truth about what happened.  That bothered me quite a bit. And the final kicker was when we received a letter from the district attorney that a child molester had been in my son’s classroom. It happened to be the teacher’s new husband.  The letter said an investigation had been done and found that there were no problems, they were just informing me that it had happened.  This was the final straw, and we did not send him back for 3rd grade.

2  How long have you been homeschooling?  We have been homeschooling or 9 years now.

3.  Do you have pets? What kind?  We have one dog.  He is a Golden Retriever/Siberian Husky mix also known as a Goberian.  HIs name is Loki, which my son informs me is the Norse God of mischief.  It used to fit him better, but now that he if 4 he is pretty mellow.

4.  What is your picture perfect day like?  My picture perfect day is one where we are all up on time, chores done, nobody fusses at their schoolwork, and everybody finishes on time and happy.  Still working on this perfect day, but I know, one day it will come.

5.  What is your favorite season?  My favorite season is: Fall and Winter.  I love the changing colors of the season in the Fall.  I like the cooler temperatures of winter, although it is a love/hate relationship. I love the snow, as long as I don’t have to drive in it.

6.  What is your favorite dinner or meal to make for your family?  My family is not very picky. They like almost everything I make.  But I think their favorite is Taco Soup.  Every time I make it they attack it and then say, “You should make this again next week.”

7.  What is your favorite activity to do with your family?  With all different ages, we don’t always seem to do everything together like we used to.  But, when a new movie comes out on DVD, it seems that we can find time to watch it together.

8.  What is your favorite indulgence?  My absolute favorite indulgence, that I do not get very often would be: pumpkin cheesecake.

     Now for the questions that I am going to ask.

1.  How did you meet your husband?

2.  How many places have you lived?

3.  What is your favorite place to visit?

4.  What is your favorite dessert?

5.  What is your favorite animal?

6.  What household chore do you dislike the most?

7.  What is your favorite subject to teach?

8.  How long have you been blogging?

Now I have to pass this on to other bloggers. So I am passing this on to:

Tumbleweed News

Lisa's Lighthearted Library Log

William Tyndale, God’s Smuggler

Quick Quiz

Who was William Tyndale? What is he known for doing?

Τι θα συμβεί αν η μόνη Αγία Γραφή έπρεπε να διαβάσει ήταν σε μια γλώσσα που δεν ξέρατε; Αν έπρεπε να επικαλεστεί κάποιος για να σας πω τι η Βίβλος και οι δύο εν λόγω και τα μέσα; Τι και αν λατινικά ήταν ο μόνος τρόπος για την Αγία Γραφή διαβάστηκε στην εκκλησία; Και δεν καταλαβαίνω τη Λατινική, (Greek)

מה אם בתנ"ך רק אתה צריך לקרוא היה בשפה שאתה לא יודע? אם אתה נאלץ לסמוך על מישהו? שיגיד לך מה התנ"ך הן אמר ואמצעי? מה אם הלטינית היו הדרך היחידה בתנ"ך היה לקרוא בכנסייה? ואתה לא מבין הלטינית, (Hebrew)

Quid si ita tu biblia legere linguam in nescisti? Si mihi niti quis narrabit biblia et per dicta? Quid si Latine una ratio est biblie in ecclesia legatur? Et non cognoverunt Latine (Latin)

     What if the only Bible you had to read was in a language you did not know?  If you had to rely on someone to tell you what the Bible both said and means?  What if Latin were the only way the Bible was read in church? And you did not understand Latin,

(By the way, the first paragraph is what is written in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. At least that is what Google Translator told me it said.)

     During the 1400’s the Bible was only read by priests and only in Latin, not the common language of the English people.  William Tyndale believed this should be changed.  He believed everyone should have the opportunity to read the scriptures on their own.  William Tyndale gave up his freedom and eventually his life for this belief.  In his brief life, 42 years, William Tyndale was able to translate Scripture from the original Greek and Hebrew into English.  A famous quote of his is, “I defy the Pope and all his laws. If God spare my life, ere many years, I will cause a boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Scripture, than he dost.”.

      William Tyndale, God’s Smuggler is a unit study, written by Kim Kargbo of Soli Deo Gloria Resources.   A unit study is the study of one topic, that covers most or all subjects.  This unit study is designed to be a “starter'” study.  One that is written so that someone who is just beginning unit studies can understand and learn how to use them. It is also deep enough of a study that seasoned unit study users will find it a nice “filler” for between longer units.  This study covers the subjects of, history, science, geography, character study, Bible, art, and language arts.  It is designed grades K-12. This study is available in e-book format for $8.00 from Soli Deo Gloria Resources. 

Our Opinion

     My kids and I had a great time studying William Tyndale, God’s Smuggler.  I had heard of William Tyndale, but could not have told you any details about him.  This study has changed that.  I can now tell you details of his life and the important work of translating the Bible into English. 

     I have done some unit studies in the past with my kids, but I have never used one that included my 7,8, and 13 year old all at once.  It was fun to be together studying the same topic.  My kids said the same thing, they really liked the study.  Learning about the plague fascinated them. Talking about William Tyndale being a martyr brought about interesting discussions of the common practice of being burned at the stake.  We watched a Torchlighters video which was very informative as well as being interesting to watch.  Sarah was particularly intrigued with the Renaissance and the artists of that period.  Ben and Rebekah loved the “printing press” experiment/art lesson we created.  We were also startled to realize that William Tyndale lived during the same time period of Martin Luther and the Reformation.  Being Lutherans, we study Martin Luther each October and this unit study was a perfect accompaniment.

     The only part of this study that I really had trouble with was finding some of the materials.  The videos recommended were easy to obtain, as we received them from NetFlix.  It was the books that were harder to get.  I searched our small town, the “Big City” of Boise and finally had to order them from Amazon.  I also felt that, while we had a great time, it was a little “light” for Sarah (13), although she did not complain at all about that. 

     I would recommend this study, especially for someone who is just starting unit studies.  We found the information to be fascinating. It also gave us a greater appreciation of being able to read God’s Word for ourselves.

Check out what my crew mates are saying about Soli Deo Gloria Resources by visiting our Crew Blog.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received  the William Tyndale, God’s Smuggler e-book for free in exchange for my honest review of their product.

Great Times, Great Memories

    The Blog Cruise for this week is about Field Trips.  We love to take field trips. They may not be elaborate or to some fantastic place, but we always seem to have a good time. Oh, and learning occurs as well ,even if it is just learning how to change a flat on the way to the Capitol.

     I find it hard to talk about field trips we take now, without remembering wonderful field trips that we took a few years back.  They were not wonderful because of the places we went or the things we learned. They were wonderful because of the friends we were with.  Part of being an Air Force family is that you meet people, get to know them and then have to move. We have since moved away to different parts of the country, but the memories of good times remain.

     When we moved to Great Falls, I had a 10, 6, & 2 yr. old, and a 6 month old.  The first time I went to the library I met someone who homeschooled and had four kids herself.  We just seemed to “hit it off”. Then for the next 3 years the fun and games began.

     We had great times going to the Children’s museum together.  The hours the kids spent playing dress up, digging in the sand for dinosaur bones or playing store are priceless.  We would go to Giant Springs along the Missouri River and watch the kids play at the park, roll down the hill and play “Pooh Sticks” on the bridge.  And who could ever forget the learning that occurred at Giant Springs about squirrels. We learned about feeding the squirrels and if they accidentally bite you taking the food out of your hand, you won’t get rabies because a squirrel is classified as a rodent, which do not carry rabies.  We also learned that sledding down hills with trees may be why nobody else joined us and we had that spot to ourselves.  The kids got really good about steering their sleds around trees.

    I want to say Thank You, to Sarah for making such wonderful family memories with us. Thanks for playing “The Game of Life”.  Anyone for Peanuts?

     Have field trips stopped since we move? No but we have slowed down a little.  We have taken a wonderful, informative trip to our state Capitol. We have gone to sand dunes for climbing and to the river just for fun.  We have been able to watch a river crossing complete with horse and wagon and a few cattle.  We have been to an interpretive center for the Oregon Trail as well as art museums and the zoo.  Most of these trips have occurred as part of family visits, but we find it is very fun to share these trips with Grandmas and Grandpas.  Our next field trip will take place this week as we get to visit an apple orchard and hear a presentation and pick our own apples.

Visit the Crew’s Blog Cruise, to see what other people have to say about field trips.

Talking Fingers

     Nine years ago my oldest son, Matthew (now 17), loved to play Reader Rabbit. This was a computer reading game and he had a great time with it.  Now, 9 years later his brother, Ben (8), and sister, Rebekah (7), have been playing Read, Write, and Type! by Talking Fingers.  They love playing it as much as Matthew liked Reader Rabbit. I only mention Reader Rabbit because I have found out from the website that one of the developers of Reader Rabbit also helped develop Read, Write, and Type!

     Read, Write, and Type! is a phonics, spelling, keyboarding, and word processing program.  Using the characters, Lefty and Righway, kids work their way through 12 levels.  Within these levels  kids will “free” letters from Vexor the Virus.  They then progress to spelling, reading and story writing all while practice their typing skills. 

FEATURES

• Identify sounds
• build words by typing sounds
• read and write simple stories
• create your own stories
• send simulated e-mail stories
• play games for extra help
• practice sound recognition
• extra help in reading comprehension
• parents can print out reports of student progress

 OUR OPINION

     My kids really enjoyed the Read, Write, and Type! program.  They were both very excited when they learned they were going to learn to type.  With the way this program is structured kids can progress at their own pace. If they need extra help, they do not move on to the next level. They are not told they need extra help, they just continue to play games until they “get it.”  They both also really liked getting the certificates that can be printed out after each level. Ben and Rebekah are at two different reading levels, so I was interested to see how each of them liked the program.

     Ben reads above his grade level and is a terrific speller.  I wondered if he would be bored with the program. I found out that he loved it. While he did not need the reading or spelling help, he did not know how to type.  I found that he did not get bored in the early stages because his attention was held by having to concentrate on his typing. Did I mention he does not like to get any answers wrong? This aspect of his personality also did well with this program as he could do well from the beginning and easily transition into the more advanced aspects.

     Rebekah also reads above her grade level, although reading is not her favorite subject.  She also has quite a bit of trouble spelling.  She thoroughly enjoyed Read, Write, and Type!  I knew it was a winner for her when she asked to play on Saturday and Sunday.  Rebekah caught on to the typing fairly quickly. She is not like her brother in that she does not mind getting answers wrong. She just says “Oh, well” and presses on to the next thing. There were two features that I feel really helped Rebekah in her reading and spelling. The first is when she would have to look at a picture and then read 4 or 5 sentences and pick which one was about the picture . This forced her to slow down and read each sentence carefully before making her choice.  She also improved her spelling by having to slow down, listen to the word and concentrate on the beginning, middle and end sounds.

     I liked that this program captured my kids attention.  I would find them singing the opening jingle at various times during the day. (“I talk and my fingers obey”.)  They each were able to learn and practice very important skills of reading, spelling and typing.  I liked how the program paced itself to each individual student.  I also liked that I had a parent screen where I could monitor their progress. I could see what the grades were at each level. Ben was making 90’s and 100’s, but Rebekah was getting a wide range of grades from 70’s to 100’s. I was able to adjust the program so that she would not pass a level until she achieved an 80%.

     One thing I did have to monitor at the beginning with Rebekah was making sure she was using the correct finger position.  I found her just using one finger from each hand. Once we corrected that and had her older brother or sister sit with her a few times, we have had no more problems. 

SOFTWARE FORMAT AND PRICING

Read, Write, and Type! is available from Talking Fingers. It is geared toward kids from grades Kindergarten to 3rd grade.

There are two ways you can buy this program.

ONLINE VERSION –five year license (This is what I reviewed)

One user	$35
Two users	$55
Three users	$70
Four users	$85
Five users	$100

HOME BOX EDITION- yours forever

Multiple user

$79

The Home Box edition includes 2 CD Rom’s and many features. To see all the features visit the features page at the Talking Fingers website.

Visit the Crew Blog to see what my other crewmates thought of Read, Write, and Type!

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received  Talking Fingers, Read, Write, and Type! online version for free in exchange for my honest review of their product.

Rugby

     Matthew starts a new job. Two days later, he comes home and says, “Hey, I was asked if I want to play rugby. There is a new team starting in town.”  He has been going to practice for a month now, whenever he is not at work. Well, today was the day. The day that the team had a home game and he was told he would play. 

     I have never seen a rugby game.  All I know about rugby is: it was invented in Australia and it is a rough game, with no pads or protection.  Matthew had already described to us how if you are tackled you are to lie in a fetal position and cover your ears.  So, needless to say I was a bit “concerned”, but he has been so happy about being on the team.

     Let me tell you, was I in for a surprise rugby education.  We arrived at the game and the first thing I observed was, most of the other players were men five to ten years older than Matthew.  The other surprise, the majority of them outweighed Matthew by at least 100 + lbs.  My first thought was “He is going to be squashed flat.”  (To let you know right away, he was not squashed nor did he hurt anything.)  A rugby game is two 40 minute halves and let me tell you rough is not the word for it.  It is absolutely frightening how hard these men run at and tackle each other. 

 

     My fears were slightly relieved when Matthew went into the game and I realized that he would not be one of the players on the front line.  Those players are the biggest guys. Matthew played in the back and his job was to wait to receive a pass and run for a goal, or tackle the opposing team when they had the ball and were running toward him. 

     Matthew’s feelings after the game were that he did not play very well. My feelings are that for never having played rugby or even seen a game prior to this one, he did just fine.  I can’t say that I am looking forward to the next game he plays, but I will be there to support him nonetheless. 

Digital Frog

WOW! 

     This is the best way for me to describe Digital Frog software The Digital Field Trip Series DVD disc.  The Digital Field Trip Series has three award-winning programs on one disc.  Explore a Wetland without having to wear rubber boots. Visit a desert without the stifling heat (unless you live in one, like us). Travel down to Central America and marvel at the diversity of a Rainforest.  All of this can be done from your home computer.

     We have had this DVD for about a month now. We have used it multiple times and we have only scratched the surface on the information contained on it.  In a nutshell, there are three separate ecosystems to “visit”.  For the Wetlands, you will visit Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada. The Rainforest is located at the Blue Creek Rainforest Reserve in Belize, Central America.  The Desert Field Trip explores the deserts from Sonora to the sand dunes of Death Valley.

   

      In order not to write a book on this review, I will attempt to describe the depth of information at Post one of the Rainforest field trip.

     The activity starts out with a bit of geography as you have to find and click on Central America, Belize and finally the Blue Creek Rainforest Reserve.

     The first thing you see at Post one is a Beautiful Rainforest scene. You can zoom in and out, click and drag to look left, right, up and down. Then click on “Learn about Tropical Rainforests”. This takes you to a page that tells about what  a Tropical Rainforest is. From this page you can click on “Experience the Forest” There you will find a narrated slide show, helping you through sight and sound to experience what it would be like to walk through a rainforest. After you experience the rainforest, you can then learn about “Tropical Rainforest Types”.

     Back at Post One, click on the blue word Jaguar. There you can scroll through 5 pictures of jaguars, and watch a short video clip on jaguars. You can read about where the word jaguar comes from. How big a jaguar is. Then discover the habitat and behavior of a jaguar. Learn the life cycle and food sources along with the range for a jaguar.

     Each post is this detailed or more.  There are 28 posts in the Rainforest field trip.

General Features on All Field Trips

Interactive activities

Definitions galore

All words defined

Spoken pronunciations of scientific and technical terms (in addition to definitions)

Student Study Guides

Teacher Guides

Outline graphics (to print and color)

Technical Information

Hybrid Disc (works on both Windows and Mac)

Minimum System Requirements

Windows

Pentium II with Windows 2000, XP or Vista. 32 MB of RAM (64 MB recommended QuickTime 7

Macintosh

G3 300 with OSX 10.3.9 or later, 30 MB of available RAM. QuickTime 7

Price: Digital Field Trip Series

$125 for Home License

Age Range: Kindergarten on up through High School

Our Opinion

     My kids loved this program. They spent hours looking and reading and playing the games.  It was simple enough my 7  and 8 year olds could use and understand it and complex enough my 13 year old was kept enthralled.  Sarah (13) played again and again the games that required her to build her own habitats. Her favorites were building a tree in the Rainforest and building a habitat in the desert. These programs are so detailed and involved that kids can use them over and over and find new and interesting information. 

     One word of warning that we have is: this Series comes from an evolutionary standpoint. For our family who believes in a literal 6-day, young earth creation, this stood out.  This was not a deal breaker for the Series as my kids take great delight in finding evolutionary references and refuting them through the information that they have learned in their science programs.

    I would highly recommend this program. As mentioned above the only caution I would give is about the evolutionary slant.  For more extensive information and samples visit Digital Frog.

To find out what my crew mates thought of Digital Frog  click here.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received  The Digital Field Trip Series  from Digital Frog for free in exchange for my honest review of their product.

LanSchool

     Do you have more than one computer in use during school?  Are they all in the same room? Do you ever wonder what your kids are up to when they are “supposed” to be working on their school assignments?

    

Technical Aspects

LanSchool is downloadable software that helps parents:

● Monitor real-time thumbnails of their home computers
● Limit distractions such as the Internet, games and
instant messaging
● Track Internet history
● Log every keystroke typed on a computer
● Limit computers access by locking out the computer
● Provide help through remote control
● Chat with family members

There are any many more features of LanSchool v7.5. Click here to download an informational sheet.

Our Opinion

     In all honesty, when I received the announcement that I would review this product I was not all that excited by it.  My thought was, “More trouble than it is worth, another thing to keep track of.”  Was I wrong. I really like using LanSchool. In my homeschool.  I use LanSchool for monitoring and for teaching.

     As far as monitoring goes, I am able to easily see what my children are doing while they are on another computer.  I simply click on the LanSchool icon and can see exactly what my child is looking at or doing.  I can go through and see what they have done in the past, even track every keystroke.  While I like to think that my children are always obedient and are never messing around when they should be working, I know that is a naive thought.  With LanSchool it keeps them accountable for their actions, and I can monitor them easily.  They may not know when I am looking at their screen, but we have talked about what the software does and how it works, so they know it is possible at all times.  When we first started using it, I found that while I thought they were working, they would occasionally take a break and play an online game.  Using LanSchool software I was able to limit the sites they went to, while still allowing them internet access for other school purposes.  Another feature I like is the ability to “blank” out their screen with a message.  I have used this at times if I see something they should not be doing,as well as just for fun to tell them “God loves you, and so do I”. This software also enables them to quickly type me a question, if they know that I am on my computer, and I can answer without interrupting anyone else.

This is a picture of LanSchool  in the “Show Student” mode as seen from the teacher computer.

     For my younger kids that do not have the same access to the internet that the older ones have, I  used LanSchool to help teach them  to use the internet.  In the past, I would pull up the website for them, get it all set up, and then they would play the game.  With LanSchool, I can “co-browse” with them. This means that I can watch every move they make and jump in and help when necessary.  I am able to see what they are typing or about to click on. This has done wonders to teach them how to use the internet, without me being frustrated standing over the top and then taking over for them. 

     For other school purposes, it is really nice to be able to see the same thing on two screens instead of crowding around one.  I can pull up a website and we can look at it together. I choose whether I want to let them have access to the mouse (co-browse) or to keep control myself.  The only thing that LanSchool cannot do, at least on our computers, is to watch a video together.  When we tried this we found that the student computer lagged behind the teacher and made it difficult. 

     LanSchool is award winning software that has been in use in schools for many years.  With the home version, you can have the same benefits to monitor up to three computers.  The product is a perpetual license and costs $99 dollars, including 3 years of updates and support. LanSchool Home v7.5 supports any combination of computers running Windows 98, Windows
2000, Windows XP-32, Windows Vista-32/64, Windows 7-32/64, Mac OS 10.4 and higher. LanSchool offers over 20 video tutorials on their website as well as technical support through e-mail or phone. Technical support is free to their customers.

     As I said at the beginning, I was leery of this software. But, I have found it to be a wonderful edition to our school.  I will continue to utilize the software.  To investigate this program for yourself visit the LanSchool website for more information.

Check out what my crewmates are saying about LanSchool here.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received a download of LanSchool for free in exchange for my honest review of their product.

Foundlings

     Are your kids looking for an adventure book? A book where you have to fight off dragons and giants and get out of deep, miry mud bogs? Where you have to be wary around every corner? Where the good guys are truly good and the bad guys are really bad?  A book that contains all of this, but no evolution, humanism or magic? This is what the book Foundlings provides, an adventure/fantasy story.

     The book Foundlings was written by Matthew Christian Harding. It is book One in The Peleg Chronicles.  This is Historical Fiction set in the time after the tower of Babel.  “In its pages we meet dragons, giants, false priests, the death hunt, and under-city of the Dwarven Brotherhood (note: dwarves are depicted as human beings, who just happen to be short, and who were driven into slavery), and many memorable characters.”  “Foundlings weaves together the Biblical principles of  chivalry, truth, courage, duty, faith and love within the framework of Genesis, and a bold adherence to its historicity. It’s an exciting page turner that leaves you wanting more, but more importantly it leaves the reader with Godly heroes to think on and emulate, and a young earth creationist view of history that conforms to the Word of God.” (taken from a Summary of Foundlings, by Matthew Christian Harding) You may purchase the book for $11.95 directly from Zoe and Sozo Publishing.

      In our family, I had myself and three of my children read the book.  We each read the book separately and talked about what we thought. Foundlings has received mixed reviews from our family.  Sarah (13) and Benjamin (8) enjoyed the book. Sarah stated she really liked reading a book with no evolution that had Dwarves, Dragons and Giants in it.She also was riveted by the descriptions of how the animals were trained to interact with humans.  Ben liked the adventure and all the different animals in the book. He especially liked the wolf called, Horatio. He also liked the rescue from the mud bog. I liked that they were reading a “fantasy” book that came from a young earth, creation perspective. Having read in the Bible about behemoth, leviathan and giants, it was a change to read a book from a Christian perspective that included this time period.  Matthew (17) was not as thrilled with the book.  He found the main characters a little “too good”. My stumbling block with the book was: It was disconcerting  to read exact words of scripture, (spoken by various characters) knowing those verses biblically come from a later time period.

     Overall, I have two children that would recommend the book to their friends and one that would not.  I will be able to let other mothers know that within the pages of this book their children will not be challenged to a worldly view of an old earth and evolution. They will instead be challenged to think about the time after Noah and the Tower of Babel in a different light. It is presented as a time of knowledgeable people with great ingenuity.

To see what my other Crew Members are saying click here.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received Foundlings from Zoe and Sozo Publishing for free in exchange for my honest review of their product.