Need a Break From Family Movie Night? Give Audiobooks a Try! Here's One to Start With...

The entire family just finished listening to Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein which we downloaded using our Audible account, and I couldn't resist posting my review because we absolutely loved it. I figured, why reinvent the wheel when I (think I) already said nearly everything I had to say in the review I left on their website?

If you don't have an Audible account already and have any sort of device you can download audio books to, I highly recommend it as a valuable resource for home educating (and any) families. Audio books can be entertaining, educational, and excellent for keeping the kids (and parents) happy on road trips or during prolonged errand days.

Also, lately, Audible has been adding some awesome new content, such as many of courses from The Great Courses company...and they are all one credit each. Now that's an amazing deal for homeschoolers, especially high schoolers, and for the many dads (and/or moms) who have to commute to work each day, too.

They also have shorter books (as well as longer ones) which are on many of the commonly referenced homeschooling book lists, such as Paddle to the Sea, Tales from Shakespeare, and Parables from Nature.

If you are interested in giving Audible a try, why not try a fun and motivating book like Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein first? You can read on for my recent review of this enjoyable adventure...and please don't forget to check your favorite deal sites or do a Google search for free book or reduced cost promotions before signing up. It never hurts to save a bit of money. You can always turn around and invest it in buying more audio books!

*FYI: I am not trying to promote Audible for any personal gain. It simply happens to be the service we use. If you  know of any others that are good, please feel free to share in the comments below. Thank you!

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Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

UNABRIDGED

• by Chris Grabenstein
• Narrated by Jesse Bernstein
Reviewed: 8/5/14

"The Most Fun We've Had Listening to an Audiobook in Ages"

Overall

Performance

Story

What did you love best about Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library?

The story line was riveting from the very beginning. The characters were varied and interesting. The plot was rollicking fun in the form of a mystery/game/scavenger hunt held in the most amazing library ever. It was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwieler wrapped up in a scavenger hunt and a game of Clue. Lots of fun all around. Most of my family, the children ages 3,5,8,10, and 16, plus my husband and I, all thoroughly enjoyed the story. In fact, the kids didn't want to get out of the car as we were running errands until we finished each chapter, and then we had to take the Kindle inside to finish off the story before bedtime.

What did you like best about this story?

I absolutely loved all of the literary and cultural references. The overriding message of the value and appeal of books and learning in general was well-integrated throughout the story in a way that drew my kids into wanting to read many of the titles that were mentioned. As a parent, I loved how it emphasized families and friends playing board games together, the pleasure derived from reading good books, the benefits of being friends with all types of different people, fair play, and teamwork. As a teacher, I can't wait to get a print copy for my older home educated kids to go through so they can highlight some of the books referenced that they have not already read and put them on their reading lists. I really hope that a few of the games mentioned in this book will actually be marketed. They sounded like a lot of fun!

Have you listened to any of Jesse Bernstein’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I haven't listened to his other performances, but after hearing this one, I'd be glad to listen to another. The only performance I've heard that was better was Brendan Fraser's reading of Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. That's our family's other favorite audio book (because his voices are hilarious). I don't know. This one might top it because the story is so much fun and a bit faster paced.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Twelve children. Twenty-four hours. One huge, state-of-the-art library. Who will solve the mystery and win the amazing prize?

Any additional comments?

Don't miss this book. I am not sure why some folks called this formulaic or accused it of copying other works...sure, it references many works of literature and uses traditional literary devices, but it is it's own excellent work of children's fiction (yes, as an adult, I figured out some of the clues ahead of my kids, but they sure had a blast and it didn't bother me one bit to have caught on more quickly). Teachers would do well to incorporate this one into their curriculum, or at least, their recommended reading list. It is excellent as a read aloud/audio book, and would be perfect to pass time on a road trip. Enjoy!

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On an additional note, other audio books we have greatly enjoyed together include: 

• Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke read by Brendan Fraser (also InkHeart, but it is darker and I only listened to it with my oldest two years ago)
• Urchin of the Riding Stars: Book One of the Mistmantle Chronicles (it is the only one available on audio, but it will get your kids jazzed to read the rest on their own) by Margaret McAllister. Great story.
• Ella Enchanted, The Fairy's Mistake, The Princess Test, Two Princesses of Baumarre, and any other books by Gail Carson Levine. Most of them are VERY amusing. A few have serious lessons they teach with the same engaging storylines.
• Eight Cousins by Lousia May Alcott...good classic with wonderful vocabulary. Even my boys liked it.
• The Boxcar Children books (1-3 are available as a set on Audible)
• The Magic Treehouse Books
• The Henry Huggins Collection by Beverly Cleary
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• And, of course, any of the Adventures in Odyssey stories, the entire Jonathan Park series, My Own Stories (most of them), and the Uncle Rick stories from the Boyers (not technically all audio stories...some are retellings of scripture, and wonderful for nighttime listening)...check CBD or Library and Educational Services for the best prices, though the My Own Stories collections are now available on Audible. Adventures in Odyssey and MOS can also be found online for free in limited quantities if you want to try them first.

**Please let me know of any of your favorites in the comments below...especially ones you have found for free download or on Audible or another downloadable audio book service. 

And, of course, if your budget is limited, please don't forget one of my favorite sites, My Audio School (MAS), which for a VERY minimal yearly subscription rate provides links to quality stories and audio productions that are available online for free (and many lovely pictures to complement each selection). 

Quite a few of the selections MAS suggests are difficult to find on your own, plus they categorize them for you, which saves tons of time. Most of them are on homeschool (and some other schools') recommended reading lists. This excellent method of "reading" quality books works very well for children with special needs (such as reading delays or autism), as well as expanding the options for early readers to books which are good for them, but beyond their ability to read independently.

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Lately I've noticed lately that Amazon is providing low cost narrations for many of the books you may choose to download to your Kindle (including free ones, which are numerous). This gives you a much nicer option to listen to than the text-to-speech voices. This feature has really been great for my one struggling reader who loves to read harder books, but benefits from following along as someone pronounces the more difficult words for her. The text-to-speech voice often mispronounces the same words she would (such as reading the word read the incorrect way), so having the option to purchase the narrated audio copy for a few dollars if I already own the book is something I find especially advantageous (and Audible keeps track of what you own on your Kindle and will make you offers based on your purchases). 

You are also able to sync your devices, so you can start listening on one device in the car (such as the cell phone), then pick up with reading and listening on the Kindle or computer later on at the same place. That's awesome. It's especially good when we've run out the battery on the phone listening to the book in the car, and the kids are insisting that we MUST finish the book before bedtime, so we pull up our Audible account on my computer, snuggle on the bed and chairs in my room, and have a bedtime story all together. 

I love family time. 

I love good books. 

Family time + good books = priceless.

Well, that's much more than I planned to say, but I am excited about all these new options for appreciating literature using technology (it can do so much more than be a tool for playing video games). 

I am not saying I will ever give up my many beloved REAL books (no way, not ever!), but I think I am finally ready to embrace the various new ways to get the content of those books into the hearts and minds of myself and my family (and it's not bad to be able to give your own voice a rest once in a while and just sit back and enjoy the experience of listening to a good book, either, is it?).

Have fun exploring the options!

Many blessings to you,

Heather

Teach With Grace and Truth

I love books. You know I do. In fact, I love books so much that I am starting a homeschool resource library in the back room of my house to justify my book collecting (and because it helps make sense of my urge to collect good books other people sadly discard)! So you know that when an opportunity to try out a book from Christian book distributor, Grace & Truth Books, arose, I was one of the first in line requesting to be able to try out one of their products. There were many worthy choices, from Seven Favorite 19th-Century Children's Stories  to Of Knights and Fair Maidens by Jeff and Danielle Myers, but the title that caught my interest was With the Children on Sundays: Through the Eye-Gate and Ear-Gate into the City of Child's-Soul. 

This 330 page book has 52 chapters, one for each Sunday of the year. Each story is a self-contained lesson on some point of Biblcal doctrine, yet is fascinating enough that you will not have to worry about your child losing interest. The stories are designed to intrigue your children, yet are meant to explain clearly and simply enough that even your youngest children might understand at least part of the concepts contained therein.

From their site:

"A giant volume, which ranks as one of history's greatest Family Worship books ever composed.  A limited number of copies are available of this book, which has been out of print many decades and is currently not being printed by anyone.  Filled with many of the most delightful family readings you'll find anywhere, from an author with great skill in presenting Bible truths in a  form which grips the eye, holds the mind's attention, and wins the heart of a child for Christ.  Many call this the finest book for family worship they have ever used."

Sounds amazing, doesn't it??

We have been using another title offered by Grace & Truth Books as our devotional during the week on and off  for a while now. The book Long Story Short is a great way to learn about the Old Testament and see how its major events and stories all point to Christ and God's Plan of Salvation. It is designed to be used for ten minutes a day, five days a week. 

With the Children on Sundays by Sylvanus Stall is an excellent option for reading together on either Saturday or Sunday, as while the stories take a little bit longer to get through and discuss, they are completely different from your usual Bible readers...they are stories about people and events outside the pages of the Bible that also point to Christ's plan and His love for us.

Our favorite story so far has been one that eloquently explained to children how God can "find" us, even after death. I know that my kids have asked the question, "But what if there's a fire or an explosion? What about all those people in the Towers at 9-11? How will God find those people?" Kids want to know these things, and while I understand what I know to be true, I am not always an expert at explaining things. This book uses the story of the scientist, Michael Faraday to explain this concept. It tells how if you dropped pure silver into acid, which would break down and completely dissolve the silver, he could pour in the correct chemicals that would cause the silver to gather together in a ball, allowing the acid to be poured off and your pure silver to be regained and collected. That is a picture of how no matter what, God can find your spirit, and bring you to Him in Heaven. WOW! I loved it...and so did my kids.

The follow-up questions helped to make the concepts more clear and allow you to turn the lessons in the book into a full-blown Bible lesson, or you can just work the questions into conversation and keep it casual. Many of the lessons have actual activities worked into the stories that you can do to illustrate the concepts even more clearly, but you always have the option of simply reading the description and picturing it in your mind, if you want to keep your lessons less formal and more like just reading together. You may find that it is your children who want to run around and find the materials, like paper clips, a magnet, a piece of paper, and then do the mentioned demonstration...just because they are interested. How exciting is that?!

Each of the 52 stories contained within this book is exceptional in its craftsmanship and message. The stories are heartfelt and very moral. Some are more adventurous than others, but all are interesting. While instructive, the stories are not what I would consider to be overbearingly preachy or off-putting. You could use them in many settings from your home, to your Sunday School, to a Co-op, or a Bible study group.

Because the stories were written in the 1800's, you can expect the vocabulary to be more challenging than the average book today. Personally, I love that aspect of the book, though some parents of very young children might find it somewhat intimidating. Being an English teacher by pre-homeschooling Mom trade, I am generally the resident dictionary, but keeping a Webster's 1828 dictionary (or other version you might own) on hand for quick look-ups solves the issue either way (though you may find some terminology that is out of date...to me quaint, not irritating). 

I have very fond memories of a summer visit to the kids' grandparents' house (when we lived in Florida and it took about 20 hours to go either way) when we listened to Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott. My boys (ages 7 and 13 at the time, Ladybug was under 1) LOVED the story (all the cousins are boys, though the main character is a girl), even though they were yelling, "Stop the tape! What does afflicted mean? What does usurper mean? What does countenance mean?" throughout the tale's reading. This did not reduce their enjoyment of the book any, but it multiplied mine, as I noticed them using their new vocabulary words frequently in the ensuing weeks.

I am thrilled that I now get to add this wholesome and useful new title to our Lifetime of Learning Library, for others to see and appreciate, and then want to purchase their own copy. The truth is, though, I will probably be keeping it in our personal library for a while...at least until we have finished all 52 of the stories! In the meantime, I am recommending that if you are on the market for wholesome titles, ones you can trust to be quality reading for yourself and your family, then head over to Grace & Truth Books and check out what they have to offer. With a name like Grace and Truth Books (three of my favorite words!), how can they go wrong?

If you'd like to check out what others on the Schoolhouse Review Crew have to say about this and other titles from Grace & Truth Books, check out the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog and read some more reviews. Other reviewers will have noted the titles they reviewed under their thumbnail photos.

Blessings,

Disclaimer: I received a copy of With the Children on Sundays for the purposes of completing this review. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own.

Changing the World, One Book at a Time

Me with Emily (on the left) and Liz (on the right)

I was blessed to have the opportunity to attend the Homeschool Librarians Conference at the home of Liz and Emily last weekend, and have been on fire, ready to set up our library ever since.

If you don't know these ladies, I'd like to introduce them to you. Liz is a lovely lady with a passion for great books. She is mother to Emily, another lovely lady, equally enamored with the written word. Most of all, though, these ladies have a heart for sharing the special books they collect with others, so that others may benefit from the wisdom of bygone eras. These brilliant and enterprising ladies collect not just any books; they collect Living Books.

If you are a long-time homeschooler, or a curriculum junkie, educational blog prowler, or book hoarder like me, you will no doubt know that Charlotte Mason used the term "living books" to describe books written by someone who was both knowledgeable and passionate about their topic. This term does not apply to most textbook type books (though I have found a few older texts that seem to fit this definition), and it does not really apply to many of today's flashy and colorful books with lots of pictures (mostly photos or computer generated pix), headings, and info bytes, but little to no personality or "heart." (Check out the book comparison pictures on Michelle Miller's site).

While I personally find that having SOME texts and reference materials might be good for researching a topic very specifically (and sometimes those pictures help certain learners relate to the ideas presented by good text), having nothing BUT those kind of books can turn a kid (and an adult) off of reading and learning...it can also make them lazy learners instead of lifelong learners...and regurgitators instead of relational and reactive readers.

This is the group of ladies who attended the First Homeschool Librarians Conference.

What an inspiring, intelligent group of women...

I was blessed to have the opportunity to meet them all.

I had a lot of time to think on the six hour drive to their quaint family farm in the hills of Appalachia, and I remembered something I hadn't thought of in a long time. The bare bones truth is that I will be one of the first folks to raise her hand in a group when asked, "Who doesn't really like history?" This is a fact I have known about myself for a long time. I mean, dates of battles, births and deaths, and terms of office (or reigns) don't really interest me. And I for sure do not connect people and their ideas with relevant or related events in any way. My teachers never required anything but memorizing the facts, so memorize the facts I did. Then I forgot them.

I also forgot that once upon a time (it was sixth grade, I think) I spent an entire year checking out biographies from the school library. Back then school libraries had really good books in them. Biographies of noble heroes and brave women were my favorites. I think I liked Dolly Madison, John and Abigail Adams, and Clara Barton the best. For a whole year I pretty much checked out nothing else but those biographies, and an occasional autobiography and I loved every book I read (pretty much). How could I go from loving history (biographies) to being bored with it? 

Well, I am not knocking my 7th grade history teacher...not really anyway. I know he meant well. He did thoroughly teach me how to outline, and I've used that skill enough to make the lesson a useful one, though I doubt it has been as useful as he thought it would be. Every DAY we walked into his American History class and we had an outline of the day's lecture to copy into our notebooks. Our copied outlines were a large part of our grade. He'd give us fifteen minutes or so to copy, then he'd go over more specific points so we could practice notetaking by filling in some of the letters and numbers he'd intentionally left blank. 

Sure, he introduced us to some silly history songs on an old LP he had. That was great. He told some funny stories, too, and we played a game like RISK, or something, as I recall, but overall, I was completely over history by the end of that year. Actually, before the end of the year, if I am being honest.

 I went from excited to bored in just one year. Sad, but true...and all because the STORY got taken out of the hiSTORY. And so did the people...and everything else that might have interested a student who wanted to truly understand what was going on, but after that one blissful year of reading biographies, never really did ever again.

Show me some book love...stacks of browsed books left behind means that

book hunters have been by to borrow more books...Bravo!

Now I've seen the books I read back then in living color once again. They are all residing in Liz and Emily's Living Books Library! Well, maybe not the exact books, but books just like the ones I used to read... Books such as The Childhood of Famous Americans series, the Landmarks and the Signature books, the Garrard histories and the Messner biographies. There are loads of interesting, intriguing, inspiring, not boring books out there...somewhere...but they are not easily found these days.

A cozy nook in which to find a book...or read a book...

or buy a book. Check out Liz and Emily's book sale page

for loads of lovely books you can buy to stock your library shelves.

As I walked up and down the rows of books Liz and Emily have painstakingly collected, most published between 1930 and 1970, or during the "Golden Age of Children's Literature," I was reminded of the precious books I checked out from my school libraries as a child, or from the public library. One summer I decided that I was going to read every horse book in the public library. I read all of the Black Stallion books first (easy choice), then I started in on every book that had a horse sticker on its label. After that I headed to the card catalog and figured out other books with horses in them, but no stickers on their spines. I managed to read them all, and then I proceeded to hound the librarian to order more horse books.

Another year, I decided to read all mysteries. Those books had cool stickers on the spines, too (Sherlock Holmes' head), and were easy to spot. The Nancy Drews were an obvious first choice, then some more obscure titles that I liked, and several I did not like at all. I quit my quest to read all the mysteries once I realized that there were those that were a good story and those that were just quite simply creepy.

Row upon row of beautiful books...something for you, if you will but look.

The sad thing is that if you go into your average library today, the only place you might find many of those good books is at the Friends of the Library sale. They are being discarded for more "modern" and "appealing" books like Captain Underpants and a myriad of books about vampires and  zombies. Sigh. How sad.

Last year I reviewed Before Five in a Row by Clare Lambert, the author of the Five in a Row series. The premise of FIAR is that you read the same book daily for five days, doing different activities to broaden the book's scope and appeal. BFIAR leaves out the necessity of reading the book that many times (there's a younger target crowd), but still has gentle suggestions of supplemental activities to go with its list of lovely books. Unfortunately, I was only able to find three of the twenty four books listed available in our town's library. We may be a fairly small town, but we are not THAT small. 

Earlier this summer I came across one of the books I had been unable to preview due to its being unavailable everywhere I checked. God was good and I found Prayer for a Child by Rachel Field on the FREE table at our state convention. Hooray! What is even funnier (odder) is that it came from our very own town's library and was marked "DISCARD." 

I think that proved to me right then and there that these special living books, the ones that will excite our children, teach our children, and incite our children to love learning are a true endangered species. 

Libraries are ridding themselves of these older, well-read and much-loved books to make room for more Manga titles and books about why farts smell (seriously, it is what is on the shelves of our library under the heading "Books Boys Will Love"...I ask you, is this what you want your boys to love to read? Seriously??)

Lovely books on shelves in tidy lines...check out the way

the stickers match on all the spines. ;-)

Some people will insist that as long as their son is reading ANYTHING they are happy. Really? Do you really want your son reading things that convince him a short attention span is a good thing and that understanding bodily functions is appropriate intellectual stimulation for the day? Do you want your child to think that reading is something done only for the purposes of passing a test, understanding a brief article, or for senseless, pointless entertainment? 

Have you ever heard the sayings, "Garbage in, garbage out" or "You are what you eat?" Those both apply perfectly to what you read, hear, and see every day. Think about it.

Have you ever read the books Think Big or Gifted Hands by Ben Carson? If you have not, you should. They're good ones. In them you hear about the tough life Ben has. His mom is a single mother, and unbeknownst to him, she can't even read. She works hard all day to bring home enough money to take care of him and his brother, but her long work hours leave the two of them alone for hours after school, which is plenty of time to get into trouble by hanging out with the wrong crowd. She realizes what is going on and that something must be done, so she decides to start taking her boys to the library every week. Yes, I said the library. She tells them they must check out certain kinds of books: a biography, a non-fiction book, a historical fiction title. I forget exactly what her parameters were, but you get the idea.

Then she tells the boys to write book reports on each one in their time after school, once they finish reading their books. Oh yeah, and no TV, except for a favorite show every week (I think...it's been a while since I read it). Then, she pretends to read the reports herself and asks the boys to tell her about what they learned (that folks, is called "narration" by Charlotte Mason) and she praises them appropriately. Over the course of time, the boys develop more diverse interests, Ben starts to feel smarter and less disadvantaged, and his whole world changes...one book at a time.

Today Ben Carson is the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Center, and has published four books telling about his life story and personal philosophy. There is a very good movie about his life, Gifted Hands, you can check out, but of course, the books are better. If you'd like a modern-day uplifting story about overcoming tough odds, especially overcoming tough odds because of the power of literacy, this one is one you should read. (That movie and one called The Reading Room are two very excellent movies that teach about the influence of books on lives).

Mrs. W., my friend from two towns over who just happens to have

a 12,000 title living book lending library...lucky me!!

She told me about the library conference and we drove over together.

What a marvelous way to spend a weekend...books, books, and more books!

So my point with all of this is that books are powerful. They are remarkable tools in the right hands. The can influence individuals and nations. They can bless us. They can curse us. It all depends on what goes in, and what you do with what you have. 

I don't claim to know exactly the right books for any one person to read. I am absolutely certain that my bookshelves look very different from yours. We might have some similar titles, but where I think a little light magic (think Narnia and Lord of the Rings) is not a problem, you might either think even Raggedy Ann books (talking dolls) are bad, or you might go the other extreme and love Harry Potter (which I think are remarkably well-written, but we choose not to read) or Twilight (not a chance).

Only you (and your spouse) can decide what is BEST for your family, and for each of your individual children...BUT if you are starting from a place where the only books you read come from the public library (unless your library is very special and unusual) you may find yourselves straying off the path you wanted to be on more frequently than you'd like. Some of the best of children's literature just isn't out there any more. Libraries of today are feeding kids on the Mr. Popper's Penguins movie rewrite instead of the original book (and they are sooooo different...read the original, please!). 

The Living Books Library offers totes for all the 

Before Five in a Row and Five in a Row books. 

These totes contain the noted books as well as related titles

that make the studies multi-disciplinary and multi-aged.

One thing FIAR suggests is to have a map and mark where each book "takes" you. 

In this way, you will keep track of your reading journeys and your kids will start to 

really make connections and get excited.

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Why am I telling you all of this and what are you supposed to do about it?

Well, I am glad you asked! 

First of all, you MUST start your own home library. Scour online sources and book sales for your favorite good books as a child. If you are closer to my age than your kids' ages, it is likely that you probably read a few good ones in your time, even if you weren't a bookworm like me. Think about not only your kids, but think about what you will have to read to your kids' kids once all of the good, quality books are gone from the public and public school libraries. You need to build a legacy of books for the children. If you don't, who will?

Then, see if you can suggest better titles to your public librarians. Book budgets are tighter than they have been in a while, but if you can get a few good friends to get together and all request the same titles, maybe they will listen and it will benefit not only your kids, but other people's kids, too. You can use catalogs from companies that use literature-based studies as a good start for in-print (reprints) of quality titles. 

If the public library is a bust, check out your church library. Perhaps a group of like-minded individuals will help you build up the supply in there for the common good. If there isn't a library, you might consider starting one, with help, of course. You can start with reprints and see where the Lord takes you from there.

You can also try checking out a history/literature-based curriculum such as TruthQuest (my favorite...written by the one who started the original Children's Preservation Library, Michelle Miller), Biblioplan (looks good, but I have not tried it myself), or Ambleside Online (online and FREE!) for excellent listings of older books that go with a historical era of study (these lists will often include some newer reprints..."out of print" books are usually marked as being OOP and will be more difficult to find) . 

You should also try the books by Jan Bloom of Books Bloom titled What Then Should We Read? (volumes 1 and 2). Jan is another lovely lady who adores books and wants to share them with people (she and her husband, Gary, travel all over searching for special lost books that need good homes). Her books are an excellent and entertaining source of information about living books and their authors. Her insights are honest and revealing, and quite often funny (even funnier once you've met her, I must say). You will greatly enjoy perusing these books if you like children's books even a little bit.

 You can also check out Living Book's Library's post on Books About Books for more great ideas of places to find good book suggestions.

You might also consider giving good book lists to grandparents and others who buy your kids gifts and ask them to help you build up your library of good books at birthdays and holidays...it will make their gift giving a legacy instead of clutter. Oh yeah.

Next, try adding more enjoyable reading of living books to your daily schedule. Even if you follow a "boxed" curriculum, you can still have read-aloud time with your kids, old and young...and you can do this more than once a day, if you like! You simply choose a book, either a chapter book OR a related picture book, and read it to the kids, and sit back and watch them enjoy it. Later, you can get them to tell you about it. That's narrating. It's as easy as that. Soon you will find your kids will want to spend more time reading, or at least have you spend more time reading to them, and that is all right. You may have to invest in some soothing herbal tea, however. 

You will discover that you will all learn the most interesting things from old children's books, and I guarantee that you will wind up wanting to learn more, if you are picking the right books. Over time, you and your kids will tie the characters in the books to the events that are happening in their studies and things will seem more real to them...you will all finally get the education I wish I had had...all from reading good, quality books. *grin*

If you have a "hard sell" child, you can always start your reading aloud journey by listening to a good book on tape during a long road trip. A captive audience, so to speak. My crew liked Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott. Sure, the main character is a girl. But all of the cousins are boys. Little Women and Jo's Boys (same author) are interesting and full of old-fashioned morals and excellent vocabulary, too. My personal favorite as a child was E. Nesbit. Her stories, like The Enchanted Castle and Five Children and It, are fantasies, and I sure did love them. If you object to fantasy, her book, The Railway Children is a good one, too. We listened to it on tape during one trip. You can listen to good audio books at sites like Books Should Be Free, My Audio School, and others, if you don't have access to a reliable library.

Reward your kids (if necessary, or just for fun) for reading extra books above and beyond what is in your regular curriculum. Mine get excited over inexpensive toys and "new" (used) clothes I get off of the local kids' consignment store's $.50 rack...seriously. I buy the unwanted craft projects and long skirts the other parents aren't buying (they buy the electronic toys and the midriff-showing tops I don't), and turn them into rewards for every fifteen books (or chapters) read. We keep track using free reading charts we print up off of the internet. Yes, they'd read anyway, but this is more fun for me (I love to see them all happy over such simple things), and it does keep them hopping from book to book, loving every minute of each rabbit trail they follow.

Tonight Cowboy got to choose TWO things from the box and he picked a hardcover copy of a How to Draw Creepy Crawlies book we've checked out from the bookmobile about five times (it was only ten cents!) and three wooden insect models to assemble. They have one model put together so far and plan to complete the other two tomorrow, AND go on a bug hunt to replace the cricket I made them turn lose at dinner time.

Getting advice from a well-read friend is an invaluable tool 

when choosing good books to share with your family.

Lastly, if you are blessed to live near one of the sweet and dedicated ladies who already owns and runs a homeschool heritage literature library, then praise God, thank Him for the blessing, and go and join up this year!! You will likely pay a fee to defray the costs of keeping the older books in good condition and making the circulatable (maybe not a real word??) by adding bar codes and such (it's not cheap, for sure), but every penny spent will be worth it, especially if your child winds up loving to read and to learn. Most of the ladies who run these libraries are ardent students of books and will be happy to help you and your students find choices that suit your tastes and curricula. They may even be willing to purchase a few of the titles you need, if they seem to be popular ones. 

If there is nobody like that near you and you already have a fairly large collection, consider starting a library of your own. Contact the very helpful ladies at the Living Books Library and I am certain they will be thrilled to help you explore the possibilities. They have an excellent audio on how to teach without textbooks, and may be adding information on how to develop a "living books library" in the future.

If you are on a strict budget, but would like to get a taste of what quality literature is really like, I can suggest that you try the Heritage History website. I reviewed one of their cds earlier this year, and they offer many titles you would find in Liz and Emily's library as e-books for your Kindle, Nook, or as pdf files. You can actually read the books online for free, so you can try books for various curricula before deciding to go out and hunt for the ones you particularly enjoy (all of them!).

You can also find other living books and quality literature (usually longer ones, not necessarily the ones for children...you can find some links to books online at my other site) online SOMETIMES, but it takes work to find them and it is just NOT the same as cradling a treasured old friend in your hands...but it will do in a pinch if you just can't find that certain book, no doubt (our local library did not have The Hobbit and our personal copy was missing...it took Tex ten minutes to locate an online version). You can get a start by checking out my post on Character-Building Christian Literature.

Thank you Liz and Emily for such a marvelous weekend. 

You taught us all so much. 

What a blessing you both are to so many...

and what a wonderful family you have, for they are an 

incredible blessing to you and to others, too.

(PS. Please send more ice cream and Key Lime Pie soon...they were delicious!)

Now all of you, go and find a GOOD book and READ...and change your world (and maybe someone else's), one book at a time.

Blessings,

Building Your Homeschool Library? Start Here.

Library and Educational Services has been offering quality educational and inspirational items to educators, churches, libraries, and wholesalers for over thirty years. Ranging from quality oldies-but-goodies, like the Moody Science Video Classics to newer additions such as the Drive Through History dvds, there is something for everyone in your family at a price that even dad will like. Price cuts range from 30% to 70% off of retail, and you can begin shopping immediately after completing a short free registration process. You will receive e-mail notifications of specials and new arrivals in your in-box, and you can customize the frequency and content of what you receive.

I've been using LES for about nine years now. I discovered them when someone gave me a catalog after I mentioned my oldest son's love for Adventures in Odyssey audios. You can imagine how pleased I was to find them greatly discounted---about 50% of what I was paying at the retail stores. We still listen to sets of tapes we ordered back then.

The Adventures in Odyssey complete set of 54 compact disk albums

retails for $699, a savings of 50%. Boy, would we love to get that for Christmas!

Over the years, I've added to our homeschool library using LES during sales or around holidays. Last Christmas, my grandmother was not feeling well, but wanted the children to have something more personal than money in a card, so I suggested that I could find each child something out of the LES catalog and she could pay for it. I sent her the catalog with the items circled so she could see what she had "chosen," filled out the order form and an envelope for her, and all she had to do was to write a check and put it in the mail (though they do take Internet orders, my grandmother does not!). Needless to say, the children were thrilled when they opened their gifts of books. The girls received the Circle C Beginnings books and the Mike's Inspiration Station art dvds. The little boys received the new Adventures in Odyssey Imagination Station series of books and a Bible devotional and hymn book and cd set. Tex received an entire set of Christian adventure books for the same price as one hardcover book bought from the store, and I was the lucky recipient of the Adventures in Odyssey Bible Eyewitness Collector's set, which the kids have LOVED listening to in the car.

I was excited to be asked to review something from Library and Educational Services since not only would it give me a cool product, but it would also give me to opportunity to tell about one of my favorite online distributors. I was even happier when it turned out they wanted us to review not one, but TWO, science videos from the Go Science series. The series teaches about science through demonstrations of experiments and my kids LOVE science.

We have been sincerely trying to go through our video/dvd and book collections this year to take out not-so-good and even just plain "good" stuff, but keeping the better and the best things. One of the areas we are particularly convicted in is the need to get rid of more and more of the video "fluff" we have lying around. We got rid of cable about three years ago, and I can't say I miss it. We limit the children's viewing of videos, and do our best to make deliberate decisions about what is being watched rather than letting them default to some old not-really-good-for-much show that makes no effort to teach or enrich in any way. In fact, the eventual goal is to have only educational videos, and those that have a deliberate and obvious character-building theme to watch on a very limited scope. 

Well, the Go Science videos are definitely going to get to stay!


Not only do they educate, but they also may a Biblical connection with every experiment. My homeschooled children, ages 2-14, liked them enough to ask for them when given an opportunity to choose a video. I liked them enough to utilize them in our homeschooling day. We used viewing the experiments on the two videos we selected to teach certain principles, and then we also used one experiment to teach the younger children the process of the scientific method and how to write a lab report.

The videos are simple. There are no astounding effects or amazing feats of technology included. The scientific principles which are demonstrated, however, are fascinating enough on their own to not need a lot of glitz to interest me. Filled with examples of how God incorporated so many intricate and precisely coordinated mechanisms and functions into our wonderful world, the straight-forward and to-the-point episodes will clearly explain many scientific principles to your children in a way that will make it possible for them to take what they learned and then go out on their own and explore the new ideas. The presenter also gives a brief tie in to a principle of God's word, the Bible, that each experiment reflects, at the end of each episode. Sometimes it seems a bit hurried, but it is always heartfelt.

Both of the volumes I ordered had fourteen episodes, and each dvd ran for 52-59 minutes (we ordered episodes 2 and 3). There are six volumes in all, each of which has 12-14 episodes with run-times of 29-60 minutes. The topics include: motion, machines, magnetism, force, electricity, design, weather, flight, chemistry, matter, sound, water, space, engineering, gravity, and life science.

The short episodes (about five minutes each, sometimes a bit less) have a PBS sort of feel to them. The presenter, Bob, is warm and friendly, and talks to the kids in a way reminiscent of Mr. Rodgers. There is a studio audience of kids ages about 4-12, and they are all well-behaved, wearing matching science tee shirts (kind of like science camp).

The video series is definitely targeted toward the younger end of the age spectrum (perhaps 2-8), but Tex watched them through once and felt like a few ideas/demonstrations he'd only read about were clarified for him (seeing them in action helps). The younger crowd at my house (ages 4-10) all liked them, especially Cowboy and Ladybug. I ordered the disk with the Tornado Tube experiment specifically because Cowboy has been begging to do that one, and I've been putting it off since I didn't want to have to figure out how to explain what it was demonstrating.

GASP! Can you believe I said that? A homeschooling mom admitting she told her student "no" when he wanted to do a hands-on activity simply to avoid having to explain it (and try to look smart about it, too)? Sigh. It is true. While I do pretty well with biological things, physics and engineering are not my strengths. This is one of the BIGGEST benefits of these dvds. If you have ever felt the same way, these demonstrations will give you the ability to meet the needs of those inquiring minds without having to become a science experiment genius. Yay! You can either watch the video and then just talk about it, OR you can watch the video and the explanation, then reproduce the experiment on your own with more confidence. Nice!

Sweet Ladybug always does her best with a smile!

 The blue you see all over their fingers and faces is from all of the mulberries they 

were eating off of our bush/tree just before I called them inside.

We chose to give the experiment a try. Actually, I asked Tex to run things for me, and he did a great job. After watching the video, they talked about the ideas, made a tornado tube, saw it in action in person (though since we couldn't find Daddy's duct tape, the seal wasn't perfect, so the cyclone was not as impressive as the one on the video), and then talked about how and why to write a lab report. We used FREE printable lab sheets from Homeschool Notebooking, and they completed and understood the concept in about a half and hour. That's a nice science lesson!

The dvds are available for just $8.97 at the time of this post, or can be purchased as a set for $47.95. The normal retail for the set is $79.95...now that's savings!

Another thing I like about LES is that years ago when I ordered some items from them, once they packed the box incorrectly. I called and explained that I had received several items I had not ordered, and that a few of the items I did order were missing. They offered to put the correct items in the mail the next business day and I asked how I should go about returning the wrong items to them. They told me that I could either be blessed by keeping them for our family or that I could donate them to a church library. Needless to say, I was impressed!! That, to me, is the ultimate in Customer Service. Thank you, LES.

Boo didn't do much but watch and be silly, but he seemed interested...

at least he was until the camera came out, then all he was interested in was being a ham!

If you'd like to read what others on the Crew have to say about LES and the Go Science videos, please check out the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog.

Blessings,





Disclaimer: I received two Go Science dvds from LES for the purposes of evaluating the product and the service of their company. I received no other compensation, and the review you read here reflects  my own honest experiences and opinions about both.