Secret of the Hidden Scrolls Book 3 & 4 ~~ A New TOS Review!

Last year my family, specifically my son, was introduced to The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls written by MJ Thomas. When we heard they were on the list for the review crew again this year with two new adventures, we signed up right away. The Hidden Scrolls books are a part of WorthyKids, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, and we had the privilege of being able to review the next two books of the series. 

The next two books of The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series, MJ Thomas leads us from Genesis and the Ark of the Covenant on to some of the greatest Bible stories including The Great Escape (Book #3) and Journey to Jericho (Book #4). Your children will be enthralled as they learn these Bible stories in a new and engaging way with entertaining characters and adventurous plots.

My son started reading The Great Escape (Book #3) soon after we received it. He decided he would put a ten minute timer on and use these book as his required reading each day. Some days that ten minutes got him through a chapter and others it would take 2 days. I was very proud of his effort and reading each and every day. 

The Great Escape (Book #3) tells us the story of Moses and the Israelites leaving Egypt during the time of the plagues that we can read about in Exodus.  Peter, Mary, and their trusty dog Hank, hear the lion roar which signified it was time for another adventure! As they travel back in time they land in the Egyptian desert and find the Great Pyramids. As they explore the Pyramid they are startled by a black panther who chases them to a river and to escape they jump in!

My son then tells me each day a little summary after he reads. Here is his summary of the rest of the book. " The river begins to flow and they swim with it and when they come out they meet a princess named Shephara, who helps them. She is also kind to them by protecting them from the guards who want to capture them. They children meet Sharphara's dad, the Pharaoh, who is meeting Moses. 

Moses is trying to get his people to be released from Egypt, but Pharaoh does not agree and then the plagues come. We see blood, frogs, boils, flies, lice, and even animals dying , plus more. All through this time Peter, Mary and Hank are trying to discover the clue to unlock the secret of the scroll so they can return home." Will they be able to escape the guards and get the scroll back? You will have to read more to find out how this adventure ends. Here is a little excerpt, read by my son!

In Journey to Jericho (Book #4) of The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series we catch up with Peter, Mary, and Hank the dog headed to Jericho of the Bible.  They meet all types of characters including Caleb and Phinhas (the spies who went into Jericho), Rahab (who hid them),  and even Joshua. As we have become accustom to, we find Michael with them again trying to protect Peter, Mary, and Hank. They have just 14 days to solve the secret of the scroll or else they'll be trapped in Bible times forever. The secret they have to solve helps the children (and even the readers of the story) learn about the Lord.  The children and their dog have to make a daring escape from Jericho, hide in the mountains, and cross the river Jordan, then go back to march around the walls of Jericho -- all while trying to solve the secret of the scroll before time runs out. Will they? At least this time they have 14 days and not just 7 like they have in prior adventures.

Inside of Book 3 and a black and white drawing.

As we have discovered, The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series all contain a secret and a truth for the readers to discover.  The message of the 3rd book tells us that God is POWERFUL and will Set you Free. We learn in the 4th book that God ALWAYS Keeps His Promises is the secret we are trying to discover. These truths are at the heart of each story and as your child reads they will come to these revelations on their own just as Peter, Mary (and Hank) do in their adventure.

Seanan reading aloud to the family.

I caught my eldest daughter reading them as well. She loves all kinds of stories and since she had heard and read the first two she was intrigued to find out what happened in these two as well!

She LOVES to read!

We highly recommend these books for young readers and know that once you start your child will be hooked. Don't just take our word for it, but be sure and read the other Crew Reviews by clicking the link below. You can find WorthyKids, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

IXL Learning -- A New TOS Review!!

Did you know that IXL Learning has more then just math drills? I didn't, but I hadn't done much research into this company. However, when we were blessed with an annual subscription to IXL we found out that it includes math, languages arts, social studies, science, and even introductory Spanish! Plus you can get your subscription in Spanish if your household speaks Spanish as your primary language. We have been reviewing this program for that past several weeks and we are having a lot of fun using it.

What is IXL? It will not be your core curriculum, but a very thorough and full supplement to all your studies for both review and to gain mastery. The full annual subscription will include math and language arts for K - 12, social studies (history) and science for grades 2 - 8, and also Spanish!

It is a comprehensive online program that learns and adapts to each student individually. My three children (4th, 7th/8th, and 10th) were able to really focus on some areas they were needing extra practice and have continued to progress with motivation of awards, online stickers to add to their collection, as well as certificates when they have reached milestones.

At first you will set up your family account with a individual avatar and password for each student and one for parent access as well.

IXL is divided into two main sections - analytics and learning. Within analytics you can glance at each student's progress over time and once they have completed some (maybe not all since it is very comprehensive and long) of the diagnostic test there will be recomendations to help determine where your student should start. Or you could have them start in the grade level they are in and pick and choose from the plethora of skills and topics they want to learn or you want them to study. IXL is alligned to common core and also to your state standards, if this is something you are concerned about.

State Standards

As they go through lessons you can keep track of their progress by looking at the colorful graphs and charts, see their improvement, even check where your student might need additional help by looking at the questions log. As the parent of the account I get emails when my children have reached milestones (and can print the certificates straight from my email) and weekly about their progress the past week.

The second and predominant area of IXL is the Learning. As you see when you are are logged in as a student you will first see your recommendations. This is based on either the diagnostic testing or what skills and topics that your student has worked on. The next tab is the diagnostic testing. The more questions answered here the narrower the recommendations will be and the program will be able to pinpoint exactly where your student is in math and laguage arts skills, specifically by major areas within each subject. This is helpful to see where they might need extra practice and review as well as to know what areas they have completely mastered.

And since you have access to all the levels and grades you can choose whatever topics or skills in any order. So if your child struggles with language arts but is on grade level with math you can choose the skills they need more practice on or review from lower grade levels and help bolster their skills with practice until they master those topics.

The lessons are adaptive in that as the student progresses the program learns where your student needs more practice and then adapts by having them continue to answer similar questions in that area until the topic has been mastered. When a question is answered wrong they get immediate feedback and an explanation of why they question was wrong.

The award stickers, collections, and certificates makes learning fun and meaningful for the students. You can earn rewards for mastering skills, time spent learning, and for the number of questions they answer. Aren't they cute?

I asked my kiddos to chime in with what they thought of IXL Learning and these are some of their thoughts:

My eldest was using it primarily for learning Spanish and working on areas that she needed extra practice for in Geometry.  She says: "The Spanish helped her remember the words and numbers better then other programs she's used in the past for languages. She actually could remember the spelling and the way you say the words. There's a speaker button so you can hear the word said properly and be able to learn it. For Geometry the math seemed more for review and practice not for learning the skill or having it taught to you. But since I was reviewing some skills I needed extra practice for it worked well for me.
IXL turns learning into more of a game rather then just stale learning. It makes school more fun while you are reviewing skills."

My younger daughter (who's not really that young anymore) has really taken to using IXL. She did NOT like having to take the diagnostic, but we sat together while she did it so in case there were things she didn't understand she wouldn't worry about hitting the wrong buttons. That makes her nervous with tests of sorts. But last night she got a certificate for having done 500 problems! She's gotten a few other certificates also (so have the other two) but she was very pleased with all her work.

She has been using a mixture of recommended courses and then picking something she wanted to learn about either in math or language arts. Since she is slightly behind in some areas we used it to help get extra practice especially for fractions in math. Her diagnostic level isn't fully narrowed down, but she really doesn't like taking those (as I mentioned) so every few days I have her take about 15 minutes to answer a few more of the diagnostic so that we can get a firm level of where she is in math and language arts across the board. However, the diagnostic does not really focus on history or science even though you can choose those subjects as well in the grades.

My son was not happy at the length of the diagnostic (which seems to go on forever), but we did enough to get some recommendations for him. It seemed to also land him in roughly his grade (about 4th) but some things were way higher in his math skills. He says: "I think IXL is fun because you get to do a bunch of different subjects in what they recommend for you. And once you do all the problems you can get a prize sticker that matches the subject you do your work in. That is cool, because we get opportunities to look at what you've earned and see how much more you need to work on to get more rewards."

With all that  IXL has to offer you will want to be sure to checek it out for yourself. You can also reach IXL on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and You Tube.  And don't forget to read all the other Crew reviews since  IXL Learning covers PreK through 12th grade, just by clicking the link below!

For the Temple by Heirloom Audio -- A New TOS Crew Review

One of our favorite things to do while driving is the car is to listen to audio books. So, when we had the opportunity to get the lastest Christian audio drama from Heirloom Audio we JUMPED at the chance! This newest selection of G.A. Henty's audio theater is called For the Temple and it was a fantastic audio presentation of how some of the Jewish people in and around 67 - 70 A.D. defended the Temple from the Romans.

For the Temple is a 2 CD set that contains about 2.5 hours worth of dramatized adventure based on the book by G. A. Henty. We also received a 51 page downloadable study guide that went along with the story. The cast that helps bring the radio theater production to life include Brian Blessed, Joseph Reed, Cathy Sara, and many more ...  a fully star-studded production!

Within the story we follow John, later know as John of Gamala, who is passionate about protecting and saving the Temple from the destructive path of the Romans on their road to control all of the land within their power. As we listen to the story unfold we hear names like Vespasian (the current Roman emperor), Nero, Titus (a future Roman Emperor), even Josepheus a Jewish historian who also wrote about Biblical happenings as well as what was going on in the world at this same time.

In the end you may know that the Temple does get destroyed, but we find out more about how John of Gamala becomes a man, while being challenged on how to protect the Temple while not being discovered by the Romans, with a small pact of men that really should not have done as much damage to the Romans as he did. We follow him as he courageously steps in where many other Jews were more concerned with in-fighting. But we aso watch as he gets captured, possibly dies, and continues to press on due to his love and family with the idea that if he does his job (prtecting the Temple) he can go back to being a farmer. Will he make it there? You will have to find out for yourself when you listen to this historically accurate dramatized reenactment of a mostly overlooked time in the Jewish history. It was fascinating!

As we listened over a series of rides in the van the kids would always want to listen longer and we would sit in the driveway to at least come to a better stopping point ... you know when there's a break in the talking. The story definitely captured our attention from the very first to the end. As you listen to the scirmishes and battles, you feel as if you are surrounded by clashing swords and javelins whizzing by your head! It's amazing how 'in the moment' you truly feel!

Now I mentioned earlier that For the Temple also came with a 50+ page study guide created by  Heirloom Audio to help parents talk through the story as well as have essays and other writing assignments for older students. There are also recommended reading on the historical time period as well as 3 short Bible studies to help focus you and your students on the themes you ran across while listening.

There are sets of questions for about each 4-8 minutes of listening, roughly the same for each track on the CD. The questions are divided into three catagories:

1. Listening Well -- the easiest of the questions and really have to do what your student heard or remembers from the listening.
2. Thinking Further -- here your student will have to infer and think a little more, speculate about why the characters did what they do, draw a conclusion, look something up, etc. There isn't a true "correct" answer, but you will have to also help your student by telling them what resources they will need to use to answer these.
3. Defining Words -- essentially what it says you expand your students vocabulary and could use these as your spelling words for the next few weeks as you listen to the story multiple times and research.

As I mentioned above there are also some Bible Studies to explore more the Biblical implications of the production. The ones included for For the Temple are labeled No Other Savior (only one way to know Jesus); Proper Worship (the true way to worship our Lord and Savior), and Christ our Temple (We are a body and that we are all living stones of His Temple). These provide great opportunties to teach and discuss with your children where they are in their own faith and how they can continue to grow just as we see the character of John and Jonas grow in this story. 

I love how when we are listening to these rich audio dramas that my entire family is experiencing them and that the discussions keep coming even weeks later. We generally keep some of our favorite audios in the van for "longish" trips (sometimes just the 20 minutes to karate or horseback riding) and that they find new and interesting tidbits they may have missed the first time. 

I also love when they re-enact some of what they heard in their own play. That is a mark of a good story. My favorite part of the story was the end when John tells his wife he wants to go find a man he met many years back that was a follower of The Way (the Messiah, Yeshua) and then he goes to Rome and talks to his old friend, Titus, now the Emperor of Rome and tells him of The Way. 

I hope you read about what others on the Crew thought about this fantastic audio drama, For the Temple, by clicking the link below. You can also find Heirloom Audio on Facebook, Twittter, and Insagram.

What's New in Schoolhouse Teachers?!

As many of you know I talk about SchoolhouseTeachers.com A LOT! I love it for all that it is - an all around complete homeschool curriculum for all the students in your home all for one low price. I have even reviewed this awesome all in one curriculum in the past.

So I did not want to miss the opportunity to tell you some new things that have come to SchoolhouseTeachers.com since last year. One of them is that there are now 3 courses (of many more planned) that have interactive content and the ability to self-grade (although not for essay answers). Another great feature is that they have compiled full grade guides to help teach you how to homeschool with just Schoolhouse Teachers for your student. That's amazing!

You will also find access to World Book Encyclopedia, Right Now Media, lots of homeschool resources from parent help to planners to recordkeeping. And with over 400+ courses for K - 12 you are bound to find at least 1 thing for each of your children to try out. I know in just a short while you will be hooked!

And now you can use the code CREWFOLLOWER and get one year of Ultimate Annual Yearly Membership for just $90!  This is an amazing deal and a wonderful full curiculum to use for your homeschool. Don't forget to check out all the wonderful reviews being posted now on the Crew blog - just click the link below!!

Current Reading in our Home - February

I figured I'd take a few pictures and give you a glimpse of the current reading we are doing in the house.  

These are on my side table.  Two are being read by my son out loud and the other one is one I'm reading ... slowly. Can you figure out which is which?

This one is the read aloud I'm doing for the whole family.  We are going to go through all of Narnia into spring. After each book we'll watch a movie and then discuss the similarities and differences and work through the RAR study guide.  Later this month we'll be joining a live podcast with a Narnia expert. 

These are on the side table of my eldest daughter.  This top book both my girls and son are reading for church. I think my son and I will be reading it together and discussing.  It's for a financial planning class at church.  

This book is one my daughter randomly picked while at the library. She's chosen to continue the RAR read Aloud challenge for the rest of the year ... reading 10 min a day for fun ... her choice.  This is HUGE!! Keep letting (and sometimes making)  your children read even if it's easy or under their age/ability. It really does help their mindset change about reading. 

This last set of books are those we had gotten at the library for last month RAR book club about Snowflake Bently. Then we had a cold snap and part of the Polar Vortex swing by, so we got some more books on snow and I tried to capture snowflakes on camera ... which is WAY harder to do. 

What are you reading?