Jan. 16, 2008
The Middle Ages, Great Fiction, and a Mock Primary Election for Kids!
Posted in How we are using My Father's World Curriculum
|
We have finally reached a point in our Rome to Reformation study where we are out of Rome and studying the Middle Ages. We've been in this time period a few weeks. In the beginning it was slow moving, then we took a break for a few weeks for the holidays. If you read one of my posts from December you know that I gave the kids some assignments on the Middle Ages based on some library books we had checked out. That seemed to kick off a little deeper interest in our studies than we had previously had. Perhaps it was because we hadn't really gotten to the meat of the Middle Ages yet. One thing that really helps us as we are studying a people group or time period is if we have a little historical fiction to read along with our studies. That always seems to make a real impression. Well written historical fiction really makes you feel as if you know and understand the characters and the situations they face. I think it helps us to feel as though we are experiencing real life along with those who lived in the time period. It becomes more "real" to us. This week we began the book The Door in the Wall  by Marguerite De Angeli. It is shaping up to be a great book and I'm excited to see what lies ahead for Robin in this story. Already we are reading about monastery life and understanding the relationships of Lords and Ladies to the King and Queen under the feudal system. I think this will be an exciting adventure.We just finished reading book one from the Terrestria Chronicles series, The Sword, the Ring, and the Parchment by Ed Dunlop. This book has been an awesome book to read. I read the book before reading it aloud to my children, and I wrote a review of this book for my book reviews web-site (recently updated with more book reviews!). Once you read my review you will know why I loved this book. It is an awesome allegory of the Christian life set in the Middle Ages, but written simply enough that kids get it! The books are geared toward ages 10 and up, but even my 8 year old really understands the representations and the life applications. I've been reminded of so many wonderful truths from God's Word as well while reading these books. This book will remind you Whom you serve, and why you serve Him. Just this week we began the second book in this series, called The Quest for Seven Castles by Ed Dunlop. We are almost halfway through this book and I have to say WOW! Again, like the first book, this book is full of scriptural truths. It will very simply define for readers, through an exciting adventure story, how to practically apply God's Word to our daily lives . As soon as we are finished reading this book I plan to write a review for it on my book reviews website, so stay tuned. I will also strongly recommend that you get the study guide for this series called "Visits to Terrestria". This one study guide covers all seven books in the series and provides some great questions and suggested activities to go along with the reading of the books. I just found today that there is a free answer key for this study guide that can be downloaded from the web-site, which makes it so simple for us. In addition, I also learned today that Ed Dunlop has begun a new series related to Terrestria Chronicles called "Tales from Terrestria". In this series the author shares with us some additional stories that were not told in the Terrestria Chronicles series. Here is a bonus for you! At this time the first book in this new series is being offered for FREE (YES! I said FREE!!) as a download from the website!! What a great opportunity to continue offering phenominal reading material to your children. Please do take advantage of this offer and let the author know how much you appreciate his work and his generosity. You will be blessed greatly by these books.
Mock Primary Election for Kids?
During this election season many of you may be looking for ways to get your kids involved to help them learn about the election process. If your kids are like mine they are already asking questions about the things they are hearing in the news or the debates. HomeschoolEstore is now offering a Mock Primary Election for kids ages 7 to 17. Along with the opportunity to vote your students will also have opportunity to learn about the election process through a couple of links posted on the site. This opportunity will only last until February 4th, so you don't have much time to work this in to your students election education. In order for your students to vote you must have an account with HomeschoolEStore. If you don't it's free to sign up for an account.
I would also like to take this opportunity to say that if you are not a registered voter please go register today! This is one of our greatest freedoms, but it is also a great responsibility. We need to take seriously our responsibility as American Citizens to make our voice heard. Too many lives have been given so that we may continue to exercise our rights and freedoms, and the privilege of voting for our government officials is one of the greatest we have. Blessings! Missy | ||
Comments
Jan. 24, 2008 - Untitled Comment
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by Jan. 29, 2008 - Untitled Comment
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by Feb. 9, 2008 - Thanks for sharing
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by