We have been so blessed with the audio dramas from Heirloom Audio Productions, so I was definitely excited for the opportunity to share our The Cat of Bubastes review. Adapted from the book, The Cat of Bubastes, by G.A. Henty, this latest audio drama shares a tale of mystery, intrigue, and suspense as the main characters are challenged in their faith and loyalty.

For our review we received The Cat of Bubastes 2-CD set as well as special bonuses that include an MP3 download of the story, a downloadable Study Guide, an E-Book, a printable copy of a related inspirational verse, a printable copy of the cast poster, access to the behind-the-scenes documentary, and access to the Live the Adventure Letter E-Newsletter.
As with other Heirloom Audio Productions we’ve been using the method that works best for us. We listen to it all the way through the first time and then break it into 1-5 tracks for reviewing the material and using the Study Guide. I do this because I find it’s been easier to understand the story when we’ve listened all the way through rather than breaking it up into tracks from the beginning. Then, breaking it down into sections and answering the questions for smaller sections is definitely best for our kids.
The Study Guide is 47 pages and is broken down into parts. It is broken down into these sections:

• Listening Well with comprehension type questions.
• Thinking Further with questions for a deeper understanding.
• Defining Words which are vocabulary words from the story.

The Study Guide really helps to reinforce what we have been listening to. Our kids are ages 10, 8, and 6 and all have special needs, so open-ended questions can be challenging. So I mostly stick to the Listening Well portion and give a little help here and there to spark their ideas. The open-ended questions continue to get easier for them, though! The Heirloom Audio Productions have really helped with this!

The Cat of Bubastes Review

Our kids have really been enjoying The Cat of Bubastes. In fact, I would say they’ve really “gotten into” this one a little more than the others. This is saying a lot because they really get into all of them! I think the concept of this story of testing loyalty and faith is a concept that is easy for them to grasp. Plus, they are constantly on the edge of their seats as follow the story of the young prince, Amuba, and his friend Jethro. They get trapped into a plot to attack the family of their Egyptian friend. Their loyalty is tested, and they discover more about God’s character as well.
Once again, I was impressed with the audio quality, sound effects, and acting. The Cat of Bubastes has an amazing cast including: Brian Blessed, Anthony Daniels, Sylvester McCoy, Elizabeth Counsell, Russell Boulter and John Rhys-Davies.
Once again, Heirloom Audio Productions really delivered. I love that we can listen to this exciting story and know that it offers a great faith-based story while tapping into history. Once again we have definitely “lived the adventure!”

Connect with Heirloom Audio Products and The Cat of Bubastes

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Members of the Homeschool Review Crew had the chance share their The Cat of Bubastes review as well. See how they used it with their families and what they thought by clicking on the banner below!

We have really enjoyed the audio adventures from Heirloom Audio Productions. It really brings history to life in an exciting way. They offer stories that take children back in time and introduce Christian Heroes for Christian kids. Their latest in The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty is Beric The Briton. I was definitely excited to share our Beric The Briton review!

Beric The Briton offers two hours featuring a story of grace, sacrifice, and redemption. From our previous Heirloom Audio Production reviews, we have found the best way for us to approach studying the great stories is to listen to the entire audio production at once. Because it is two hours, we do only listen to one hour the first day and another hour the second day. It is an audio CD so it can be used in a computer that plays audio CD’s, DVD players on audio, and in the car with a CD player! We love listening to them in the car!
Although the audio CD alone offers a great story and lesson, Heirloom Audio Productions offers a variety of great bonuses including: a Study Guide & Discussion, the Beric the Briton MP3 Set, Beric the Briton E-Book, Official MP3 Soundtrack, Printable Cast Poster, an Inspirational Verse Poster and Live the Adventure Letter.
We have always found the Study Guide & Discussion to be so helpful in really ensuring the kids are comprehending what they’re learning. Open ended questions can be challenging for our kids. As they get older, though, (and we work on it more), it has become easier. Alternatively, I can ask the questions more in a way that gives them options to choose the answer. Of course, I have to make sure I’ve been listening well, too!

Beric The Briton Review

After we’ve listened to the audio production completely through, we then break it up by track as it does in the Study Guide. Generally, listening to only one track at a time is best for our kids (ages 10, 8 and 6). The Study Guide not only asks comprehension questions but also stirs discussion in Thinking Further and even offer Defining Words. We all listen to it together and participate in the questions and discussion together as well.
Overall, we have followed the patterns we’ve used with previous audio productions, but I did find Beric the Briton was a little harder for our kids to get into. Our summer has been quite overwhelming, though, so it may simply be stress is making it harder to concentrate. The overall quality of the audio and cast is fantastic as usual. Beric the Briton is overall of high quality and engaging.
I always love what Heirloom Audio Productions has to offer. I appreciate their desire to bring history to life and “ignite a passion for living boldly in God’s world.” They want families to learn and pass down stories from history as they are and not how they’ve been changed.

Get Connected with Heirloom Audio Productions/Beric The Briton

Beric The Briton Facebook, The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty series Facebook, Heirloom Audio Productions Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+.
Other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew had the chance to review Beric The Briton with their families as well. See how they used it and what they thought by clicking on the banner below!

 

 

Something we have been lacking in our homeschool is a solid resource for learning about our state – Ohio. The resources I find are either geared for younger children or are too complicated. Recently, though, our daughter has been learning about Ohio with State the Facts: a Guide to Studying Your State from Laurelwood Books.

For our Laurelwood Books review we received the State the Facts: a Guide to Studying Your State workbook. It is a 58 page workbook designed to guide children to learn about their specific state. It can be used for any U.S. state. It’s not a book full of facts or even questions or answers about your state. Instead, it is just as it notes – a guide to studying your state.
I was actually surprised by the type of information it covers. It covers topics I expected like government, state history, facts about your state, etc. It really goes into great detail, though, to not only include questions about your state but to also know where to find resources to learn about your state. It even includes conversation scripts for talking to the librarian as well as your Congressman and Senator.

Laurelwood Books Review

Our daughter (age 8) has been working her way through State the Facts. It is recommended for ages 8 and older, but I did find it to be too much information to take in on her own, and I gladly helped her through it. I love that she’s not only learning about Ohio, but she is also learning how to research and obtain this information for herself.
State the Facts has also opened the door to numerous conversations that have allowed us to dig deeper. She has not only been learning about Ohio but government as well. It opens up the door to discuss our government – who each person is, how they represent us, etc. Of course, I also appreciate that they encourage them to learn about how to contact them as well! It opened up the door to explain instances where you may need to contact them in addition to obtaining information.

Another thing I found unique is that it provides scripts for contacting people to get more information. As she worked through it, we used the internet as our guide for finding information mostly, but I explained how I used to use the library. It has a script to call the Librarian to ask questions as well as government officials. So it goes beyond just looking up information to encouraging them to go straight to the source!

Learning About Ohio

Of course, she has been learning more about Ohio in general. She has learned how and when it became a state, how it got its name, the Ohio (and US) flag, important people in Ohio history, and more. We haven’t finished yet, so there is still so much more to learn! It encourages reading books and learning about laws and not only learning these things but forming an opinion on them. I really find it’s a thorough resource!
State the Facts includes unique information like local nature, weather, resources and travel. Throughout it encourages hands-on and in-person activities to gather information. Sure we could continue to just look things up online, but it’s not the same as getting out there! So this is definitely something I appreciate!
State the Facts does provide some key information in the back of the workbook including the list of presidents and a map of the United States. It also encourages them to draw (or trace) their own map and mark various items. It has definitely filled that gap in our state history and so much more!

Get Connected with Laurelwood Books

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Fellow members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewed a variety of curriculum from Laurelwood Books including Latin and Penmanship. Learn more and check out their Laurelwood Books review by clicking on the banner below!

 

 

Heirloom Audio Review

Over the past few years we have been blessed with the opportunity to review various audio dramas from Heirloom Audio Productions. Recently we had the opportunity to add The Dragon and the Raven to our resources, which is a 2 CD Audio Drama with over 2 hours of non-stop action!

The Dragon and the Raven offers yet another great story that helps tell true history while offering an example for our children of Christian heroes. It is presented as an audio drama with amazing acting that is exciting and enjoyable for kids (and adults) that keeps us on the edge of our seats! We have found for lesson purposes it’s best to break it down into one or two tracks at a time, but you can’t help but listen to a lot of it at once, which is the routine we have gotten into with the Heirloom Audio Productions Audio Dramas – we listen to the whole story first and then break it down into sections when we begin lessons. In fact, we love listening to it in the car!
The Dragon and the Raven audio drama is adapted from the book The Dragon and the Raven by G.A. Henty. The story follows Edmund and King Alfred of Wessex as they stand against the Danes (Vikings). It’s a story of adventure and great faith.

The Dragon and the Raven Single Package that we received includes the 2 audio CD’s as well as an e-Study Guide, and printable copy of Proverbs 21:31 and the audio download of The Dragon and the Raven.
I really appreciated the audio download because this allowed me to leave the CD’s in the truck while I still had full access to the audio drama on my electronic devices. This made it easy to have it available no matter where we were!
I also downloaded the e-Study Guide to my phone and iPad. When we first began our journey with Heirloom Audio Productions, our children (ages 5, 8 and 9) were still having challenges with the depth of the questions. Because of their special needs, open-ended questions in general can be challenging. I have found a way to adapt this by asking the questions in more of a multiple choice way rather than open-ended, but now that they are getting older, I am challenging them more.
The e-Study Guide includes information about the Cast and Crew, and Introduction, brief history, lessons that correspond with each Track and Bible Studies.

To use the e-Study Guide, I first began by reading the introduction and then we proceeded to break down the audio drama into 1-2 tracks at a time. To make it easier I really try to stick to just one. We have a short discussion after we listen to it, and I let that lead us into the questions. Some we naturally have answered through our discussion, so I ask the other questions and dive into the Thinking Further. This is where I still have to modify a bit or even skip a few because they just aren’t at that level of comprehension.
The e-Study Guide also includes Defining Words, which are a great way to learn the definitions of the words we’ve been hearing in the story and better understand them. I generally write them on the white board for the kids to copy so they can become more familiar with the words.
I think that’s what I love most about Heirloom Audio Productions – the audio dramas are ideal for a variety of ages. There is no right or wrong for how you use the resources, and you can use them in a way that fits your family best. Our kids always enjoy listening to them, and they do so intently. They have learned quite a bit, and I’m always surprised when it’s our youngest who answers the questions so thoroughly. It’s a style they really enjoy, and I enjoy that they are learning this piece of history as well as Christian values.
For more be sure to connect with Heirloom Audio on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+. Learn more on The Dragon and the Raven Facebook Page.
To see what other members of The Schoolhouse Review Crew thought, click on the button below!