Young Hearts Longing For God

As Christian parents we know the importance of our children reading God's word on their own.  Thankfully my children do enjoy spending time reading the Bible- but they often have a difficult time figuring out where and what to read.  We have tried several devotion type books over the years- some we have enjoyed- others were simply the same thing every day.  My children really dislike the ones that have you find the same thing each time- such as finding a promise from God, etc.

We were recently given a free copy of Young Hearts Longing For God by Soli Deo Gloria Recources in exchange for my honest review.  We received this in e-book form and were then able to print copies for two of my children.

My oldest two children, ages 13 and 11, used this devotional book for several weeks (they are continuing to use it).
Here is what we thought:

I encourage you to go HERE to see a sample page of this book.

WHAT WE LIKED:

• Checklist- the very first thing is a checklist to mark & keep track of daily progress.  We kept this attached to a clipboard since we had the printed e-book form.  If you order, you will have the book.
• Read the same passage daily-  This book is a study of various Psalms.  The first chapter covered was Psalm 8.  The child is to read Psalm 8 daily for 5 days.  Days 6 and 7 are for answering questions and journaling.  
• Questions-  They were different every lesson!  There was a similar format, such as using colored pencils to underline or circle particular things, but those things were different for each week.  This made it much more interesting to my children.   
• Memorize-  By the end of the first week my daughter mentioned to me she pretty much had Psalm 8 memorized simply from reading it daily.  What a great benefit.  Memorizing with little effort.

My kids really appreciated the checklist.  They could easily see when they forgot to do their reading- which they did after dressing, chores, and breakfast.  I never had to remind them (well, once for my son).  They went right to their beds and did it.  


My daughter did answer the questions the last two days of the week as scheduled.  My son preferred to answer a question or two each day.  


I asked if either of them got bored reading the same passage each day, and both said they actually preferred it this way.  They were really getting to understand the chapters.  


I also wondered if using the colored pencils to mark the passages would make them feel childish.  They both enjoyed this part as well.  It kept them active and involved.  


This book sells for $16.00 and is labeled for use from 4th-8th grade.  You could use it for younger than 4th.  I would prefer something a bit deeper for an 8th grader, but it would be a nice, short devotion to get the morning started if you used a Bible study text at another time during the day.

You can purchase this book HERE, and be sure to check out their many other products.  They offer products related to geography, history, science, and other resources.

I recommend this product and this company.  I am hoping they will produce more Bible Study books in the future.  I will be looking forward to purchasing from them.  


To read what fellow reviewers of this product have to say about it-  SEE HERE

Digital Frog International- The Digital Field Trip Series Review

I was recently given the privilege of reviewing The Digital Field Trip Series CD-ROM from Digital Frog International.  The following is my review. 


"WE BELIEVE YOU CAN'T CARE ABOUT A WORLD YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND"


With this being the motto of Digital Frog International, they set out to create award winning educational natural science software.  They started out in 1995 with their virtual frog dissection software (Digital Frog 2.5).

Their company produces high-quality educational multimedia CD-ROMs with an ecological focus.  The following is their current product line:

• Digital Frog 2.5
• The Digital Field Trip to the Wetlands
• The Digital Field Trip to the Rainforest
• The Digital Field Trip to the Desert
• The Digital Field Trip Series 
• ScienceMatrix: Cell Structure and Function

The company claims to help you LEARN:

• L ure the user into the subject
• E ncourage inquiry, exploration, and discovery
• A ctively involve students in meaningful learning
• R einforce with positive feedback
• N ourish a lifelong love of the spirit

 AND I PROMISE YOU-    THEY DELIVER ON THEIR CLAIM!!!

We received the Digital Field Trip Series which includes a virtual field trip to the rainforest, desert, and wetlands.  I cannot tell you how immensely my children enjoyed this product!  They spent many hours over a period of days locked up in their bedroom watching and learning from this software.

Here two of my kids are watching the Rainforest CD-ROM

There are hundreds of photos to view, videos to watch, and sources to read.

Clicking on the photos often reveals more information- usually with a humorous tone.

Here you can see your main screen as you "walk" through the Rainforest on your field trip.

You click and drag your mouse as you explore, clicking on items as you find them to view more info.

You can see the route map along the bottom of the screen.  You can use this to jump ahead.

When you are finished viewing and learning from the screen, you simply click the "Go Back" button.

This will take you back to the route map.  

There is also a map that will show you EVERYTHING included on the Field Trip.  

This is showing the Rainforest. You can jump to any of these sections.
(And each of these sections contains even MORE information)

This software works with Mac or Windows, and contains a WEALTH of information.  If you are a homeschool teacher, public school teacher, or just a lover of science-  you will LOVE this program.  My children ate it up, and learned so much in the process!

I had a 5 hour trip out of state.  I took my MacBook Pro and this CD-ROM along, and  spent hours of the trip with my headphones on- enjoying the desert field trip.   Of course, I had to share what I had learned about the burrowing dessert owl with my in-laws when I got there!  (They live in the country and have their share of noisy owls in their woods).  

You can purchase the Digital Field Trip Series for single educational use HERE for $199.00

You can also purchase for home use HERE  for $125.00  or for $135.00 to be used on up to 3 computers.  

There are also options for purchasing for homeschool groups.
The CD-ROM also contains printable worksheets.

My 7 yr. old would like to leave you with this message...

Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have about this wonderful program!

Find out what others on the TOS HOMESCHOOL CREW think of this program.

I was given a free CD-ROM in exchange for my truthful review

The Peleg Chronicles~ Book One The Foundlings

Normally, based on the author's writing style, I can tell if I will continue reading a new book or set it aside.  This book was different.

(For a synopsis of the story click HERE)


At times I was a bit confused while reading the first few chapters.  The author, Matthew Christian Harding, wrote with many fragments for effect but they tended to frustrate me.  Some of the fragments did not make sense until I read a bit further and their meaning became clear.  This is not a negative of the author- merely just a difference in taste and style.  My 11 year old son became frustrated too and handed the book back to me.

About a third of the way through the book, the writing style seemed to change.  The sentences and paragraphs were more developed as the plot thickened.  I enjoyed the rest of the book more fully.

I will break my review into two categories- Writing Style & Content:

WRITING STYLE:
I addressed this somewhat in the previous paragraph.  This book was not written in the style that I prefer.    The beginning was a bit choppy with the fragments, and I felt the information was not explained or developed enough.  This is simply my bias as a reader.  Further into the book I felt the sentences were more developed, and I found the book more enjoyable.

My reaction to the author's writing style surprised me.  Though his style was not what I prefer, I did not want to put the book down (once I got past the first few chapters).  Matthew Christian Harding has a natural ability to draw you into his story.  At times I really felt part of the adventure- almost as if I were holding my breath to see what would happen next. I really appreciated the way he tied the Scriptures into the story naturally.  It was not a cheesy novel where the author threw in some verses in odd places to call it Christian.  Nor, did the story give you the impression you were reading a Bible manual.  It was naturally and beautifully woven in.   This leads me to my next category.

CONTENT:
Once again, this book perplexed me.  It had the beautiful use of Scriptural truth displayed by wholesome characters on one side, and the appalling behavior of ungodliness, portrayed in the acts of evil villains, on the other.  These evil characters were bent on human sacrifice.  While I appreciate Harding's use of  evil to highlight the brightness of righteousness, I found some of the content to be unnerving (for children).   I am not opposed to my children reading of evil. They have read Tolkien's The Hobbit, and my daughter has read The Trilogy.  I feel one can show characters with moral virtue fording the evils of darkness without revealing so much of that darkness.

The book contained several incidents of drinking, getting drunk, and attempted human sacrifice. In once instance a priest, foaming at the mouth due to a drug he had taken prior to preforming a human sacrifice, falls to his knees throwing up at the feet of a statue.

I found the content and plot well thought out and highly compelling.  Each reader must determine if the content is suitable for himself and his children.  I think this book is different than most you will read.  I like that about it.  I believe the author has a true talent at storytelling.  He certainly draws you in.

I believe this book is better suited to the older child/teen- simply due to its content.

I will tell you this is a two part saga.    I am really curious to know what becomes of our courageous characters!   

You can purchase book one from Zoe and Sozo Publishing for $11.95  (Terrific price for this beautifully covered book!)
You can also purchase Book Two for the same price.

Read more about the author HERE

In case you are wondering:

ZOE=  Life
SOZO=  save, deliver, protect

To read more reviews of this product from The Old Schoolhouse Crew click  HERE

I was given a free copy of The Foundlings Book One of the Peleg Chronicles by Zoe and Sozo Publishing in exchange for my honest review of the product.