Adventure is Waiting

My older kids grew up on audio adventures, so it has been neat for us to continue that tradition with my youngest son, age 11.  Reviewing the digital version of Season 6: Underground Rising from Brinkman Adventures  was a treat that brought a big smile to his face.  Let's face it, who doesn't like a good adventure?

The Brinkman Adventures is a faith based adventure series featuring a family of missionaries, the Brinkmans.  Each story, about 26 minutes long, is based off the lives of real life missionaries. Some are recorded in two parts, as were two from this season.  Founder Ian Bultman and his production team hope to one day be able to support missionaries through their ever growing Beachglass Ministries which produces the Brinkman Adventures, both on CD and in digital version. In the meantime, they are inspiring future missionaries one story at a time.

Titles from season 6 include-

• Dutch Underground (parts 1 & 2)
• Twice Born Fly
• I Wonder Why?
• Free Burma Rangers (parts 1 & 2)

This 2 plus hour season is a change from their previous 4 plus hour sets, but I think is a more manageable series to listen to.

One neat thing about Brinkman Adventures is that by going to their website you can get the back stories to all of the adventures in each series.  This area often includes interviews from the real missionaries involved, pictures, videos and more.  In our favorite adventure in season 6, Twice Born Fly it also includes a video of a fly metamorphosis!  Also on the website you will find podcasts to listen to that will expand the adventures even more!

Our Use and Our Thoughts-
After a quick download of the adventures to my computer we were ready to listen!  Because of the relatively short length of each adventure, it has worked out well for the two of us to listen to these either right before or right after lunch, in between school subjects.  Despite the still hot weather here in Arizona, it provides some snuggle time with my boy.

I have to admit, I am not an auditory learner like my boys and have sometimes struggled with listening to audio dramas in the past.  This is not the case with Brinkman Adventures.  I do not know if it is due to the length of each one or how exciting and intriguing they are, but like Colby, I often find myself sitting on the edge of my seat to see what happens next.

My boys have never struggled with their listening skills (with audio dramas, that is) and love listening to Brinkman Adventures.  Colby will often listen to them while he is playing in his room, and even occasionally while reading a book, go figure.  They are also great for longer car rides around town or while off on an adventure ourselves.

We often differ on picking our favorite episodes, but such was not the case this time.  We both agreed that our favorite story from Episode 6 was Twice Born Fly.  For me, I just loved that the gospel was so clearly pictured using a story that the dad told his kids about a dream he had, and that it eventually led to the decision for his young son to be saved.  The conversation between father and son and what it means to be "born again" is precious and brings back memories of a conversation we had with our own son just a short year ago.  Colby loved the dream part of the story the best.  Not surprising as it involves a prison break out!  What is it with boys and their sense of adventure, right?!

Our second favorite was the I Wonder Why? adventure.  While the family involved started with heartache, the story follows their adventures of following God's lead to sell all they have and move to another country to help orphans.  Because Colby was adopted as a small child, this story gave us much to talk about!  We were not only able to discuss how hard it would be to sell all we have and move away from friends and family, but also what it means to help others and how that can look different to different people.  Orphan stories are sometimes hard to listen to, but for our family, it is another opportunity to discuss how the Lord has blessed our family and many others we know through adoption.  Another central theme to this story was forgiveness and changed hearts once we are saved.  Again, a great way to introduce some pretty deep discussions to your family time.

Ever so generous, The Brinkman Crew is offering our readers a discount through the end of this month!  Think about Christmas, my friends, it is just around the corner, and these would make great gifts!


Friends,  you need Brinkman Adventures in your life.  You don't have to just take my word for it- over 70 of our Homeschool Review Crew members reviewed Brinkman Adventures as well.  Click on the banner below to read what they had to say.

G.A. Henty Audiodrama- Wulf the Saxon

With the new year before us (can you believe it is almost March?) there are many things to look forward to!  One of my favorites, of course, is the opportunity to do some reviewing for the Homeschool Review Crew: first up- Wulf the Saxon Audio Drama from Heirloom Audio Productions.

It seems fitting that this would be the first review I have the honor of doing this Crew year, as we were introduced to Heirloom Audio Productions a few years ago and have been a big fan since.  In our stack of audio dramas you will find Under Drake's Flag, With Lee in Virginia, In the Reign of Terror, The Dragon and the Raven, In Freedom's Cause, Beric the Briton, and Captain Bayley's Heir.

Wulf the Saxon, like all of the other audio dramas from Heirloom, is an reenactment of one of the many classic G.A. Henty books.  By taking books that could take days or even weeks for some young readers to finish and putting them into a approximately 2 1/2 hour audio drama, these classic tales have become more accessible and even a bit more understandable to newer generations.  These are not word for word translations and some liberties are taken in the story line, but your child will none the less get the main ideas and plots of the G. A. Henty books.


So who is Wulf?
The story itself is told from "George's" (G. A. Henty) point of view to entertain and teach two unruly brothers whom have been caught arguing.  He begins to tell the story of a tapestry he holds and the adventures pictured on it.  The tale takes the reader back to 1065 and the time surrounding the Battle of Hastings.

At the beginning of the story we are introduced to Wulf , a young Saxon who is sent back to his home away from his service to the earl to learn "It is not always good to let others know what we think."  As he rules over his land and those who work for him,  he grows, matures, and learns many lessons.  When he is called back into service the real adventure begins.  Shipwrecks, battles, castles and sacrifice on many levels will keep you in suspense as you follow Wulf and his Christian friend, Harold, along the way.

What did we think?
We, of course, really liked this latest addition to the Heirloom library! I will, however, say this has been the hardest one for us to follow.  There are many characters and scene changes and you have to be paying attention to keep up.  Trust me I know!  After the boys, ages 16 and 10, listened on their own, I popped it into my computer to listen to while I worked.  Bad idea!  After about 20 minutes I realized I was lost and had to try again.  I found if I listened while doing nothing else, or even listened to it in the car where I was less distracted I followed much better.

Beware if listening in the car though- there are loud noises that will make you jump if you are prone to that kind of surprise.  I am and several times have had to will my heart rate back into the normal zone!

The boys, however really had no problem keeping up; maybe because they felt they knew the story better or maybe because at least one of them is an auditory learner.  They love audio dramas and often listen to these at night before bed, or just while doing something else in their rooms.   Their love of Heirloom also explains why I listened to Wulf the Saxon last- as soon as it hit the mailbox it was whisked away to their rooms.


And speaking of noises!  One of the things we love about Heiloom Audio Dramas is their use of popular actors.  Many of you will recognize the actors' names from Star Wars, Les Miserables and more.  Each actor is carefully chosen to match the voices, so you will find no fake accents here.  It does make it challenging to understand the dialog sometimes, but once you get used to it, you will find yourself thinking in those accents and deciphering easily.

If you are concerned there is all fight and no love to interest your girls- no worries!  One of the reoccurring themes is "Fortunate are the few who marry for love,"  which you see played out by the end in the life of Wulf.  I don't want to spoil the fun, but let's just say love is good, despite my boys saying YUCK! ;)

A Warning-
While intended for slightly more mature audiences, we know lots of younger kiddos enjoy audio dramas.  I would advise you to use caution with younger listeners with Wulf the Saxon as there are a few pretty intense scenes including intense battles and even an amputation.  It is not for the squeamish!

Whether you are looking to expose your children to the classic writing of G. A. Henty, find a new way to teach history, or even enjoy some subtle teaching of character traits such as loyalty, duty, and perseverance Wulf the Saxon will be a great addition to your audio drama library!

You can join the Live The Adventure Club on Heirloom's website and get access to all these great adventures.  Membership includes getting two CD sets in the mail each year, daily devotions, activities and games, and lots of recorded fun.

Learning American History With a Horse

Being a part of the Homeschool Review Crew provides so many neat opportunities for our family, but one of the most exciting for the boys is when books hit our steps.  It's pretty hard for us to say no to book reviews, so when we heard we were going to get the full set of Adventures of Rush Revere #1 New York Times Bestselling Book Series by Rush and Kathryn Adams Limbaugh, we may have just done a happy dance.  Yeah, we did a happy dance! So excited about the Adventures of Rush Revere Book Series!

The Adventures of Rush Revere is actually a five book series written by Rush Limbaugh.  If you did not already know, Rush Limbaugh is a wonderful story teller.  I for one was not aware of that and so I admit, I was a bit doubtful of the story credibility.  Boy, was I put in my place!

Not only are these books well written and entertaining, but are loaded with a wealth of historical information about American History.  Written at a middle school level but appropriate for older and younger kids, Rush takes you on adventure after adventure with the help of the main character, teacher Rush Revere, and trusty magical horse Liberty.  With a simple chant, Liberty and his friends can time travel to different events in American History and witness first hand what took place while interacting with the people as well. 


Book 1- Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims- In the first book of the Adventures of Rush Revere, the prologue begins the adventure with school teacher Rush Revere and his horse, Liberty, on the Mayflower.  After capturing the attention of the reader, additional characters, Tommy, Freedom, and Elizabeth are introduced when their new substitute teacher, Rush Revere, comes to their class. After introducing the students to his talking horse who can help them time travel by jumping through portals, the adventures begin.  They get to meet Squanto and William Bradford, as well as watch the First Thanksgiving.

Book 2- Rush Revere and the First Patriots- Again, the prologue sets you in the appropriate time in history, this time with the first patriots and the beginning of the American Revolution.  The excitement builds as you meet Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry and see if Elizabeth will change history.

Book 3- Rush Revere and the American Revolution- This book is about, you guessed it, the American Revolution and is MY favorite of all the books.  This book focuses on the character Cam who has been acting differently since his father was recently deployed.  Since we are a military family whose dad has been deployed several times, this one just tugs at my heart strings as you read about Cam and his struggles.  I also love how the book shows an adult outside of Cam's family reaching out to care about him.  It takes a village sometimes!

Book 4- Rush Revere and the Star-Spangled Banner- This was the first book that Colby read.  He says it is about the time Rush Revere took his students on a train to Washington, DC.  They visited famous places like the White House, Washington Monument, and the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials.  They also time jumped to the time of the War of 1812 to learn about when Francis Scott Key wrote the song The Star-Spangled Banner.

Book 5- Rush Revere and the Presidency- This was Colby's favorite book in the series and actually the one he read second! He has a strange obsession with presidents so the name captured his curiosity immediately.  He said this book talks about the first three presidents "a lot!"  Because two modern day characters, Cam and Elizabeth, are running a school campaign for student body president, Rush Revere and Liberty take them back in time to learn how to prepare and run a race better.

Our thoughts- Well, if you couldn't already have guessed, we loved these books!  I admit to being pleasantly surprised at how well they are written and the amount of historical content in them.  Being history buffs around here, we are pretty picky when it comes to historical fiction and these books meet the mark for sure.  

Colby, age 10, was easily able to read them on his own, taking about 4-5 days to complete one.  He loved the humor of the horse, Liberty, and he said the time travel was his favorite. When I caught him laughing out loud several times, he said that it made him laugh when Liberty made himself invisible and confused people. 

Rush Limbaugh and his team also blessed the leadership of Crew with the audio dramas as well.   Since my youngest is an audio drama nut this has been a HUGE blessing to us.  Yes, he has read the books, but he has listened to the CDs just about every night since they arrived.  It has gotten so bad that he can now quote parts of his favorites.  My husband and two of the older teens listened to one of the CD sets on a recent road trip, but they did say that the talking horse was a little much for them.  Party poopers!

A cool addition is that on the website you will find activities, games,  and even quizzes that correspond to the books.  You can submit things to the site and even win prizes.  While I do not let my 4th grader on random websites without supervision, this is one he has free access to.

If American History and adventure are your thing, or you just want to get your kiddos reading quality historical fiction, the Adventures of Rush Revere Book Series is a great place to start!

The Familyman- Homeschool Review Crew Audio Drama Review

There is finally a chill in the air and yes, my heart has started yearning for Christmas.  Yes, I know it is only October and I promise I will not put up one Christmas decoration until December, but let's just say I am counting the weeks.

It doesn't help that my family has been listening to The Familyman's Christmas Treasury- Audio Collection containing 6 CDs from The Familyman.  What a fun review!  In addition to the 6 stories that are included in the Christmas Treasury, The Familyman, whose real name is Todd Wilson, also blessed us with two additional stories to listen to.

Each individual story in the treasury is available in Digital Downloads, which is how we have been listening.  I just saved them to our laptop, and we pull them up to listen to when we have some extra time, when we need some quiet time, or as my youngest drifts off to sleep.  Additional stories, including ones with an Easter theme are also available.

The stories are a perfect way to wind down at the end of a busy day and can put you in the Christmas mood! Written by Todd, they all carry a beautiful theme of the real meaning of Christmas, focusing on Christ and what He has done for us.


The 6 CD set includes- Cootie McKay's Nativity Captain Chaos and the Manger Blaster Gladys Remembers Christmas Harold Grubbs and the Christmas Vest The Stranger and The Bishop's Dream We also downloaded It's Called Christmas and The Secret of Snow Village.
What do we think? Fun, fun!  Quite honestly, audio productions are a little hard for me to follow.  I don't know if it is just that I cannot shut off my mommy brain or what, but I tend to zone out pretty quickly.  This collection was not as big of a struggle for me.  The voices are clear and strong and therefore easy to listen to and follow, and the stories are lively and engaging.   Both of my boys, ages 9 and 14, are auditory learners, so audio dramas are the perfect fit for them.  As a matter of fact, they can easily listen to them and multitask as well, no problem. Me, not so much.  My 9 year old has been especially enthralled with these stories, his favorite being Cootie McKay's Nativity.  When I asked him why it was his favorite he replied- "It was fun! It made me laugh when I was listening to it!"  In his words, "Cootie McKay's Nativity begins when a older lady from town crashes into the town's Nativity.  Almost all the pieces are broken and they need to have a town meeting to decide how to fix it.  Someone suggests that Cootie should be hired to fix the Nativity, but most of the townspeople think he will ruin it.  Each night he meets with the family and begins to learn what the true meaning of Christmas is about.  His best discovery is that Jesus is alive!"   The Stranger did have some suspenseful times in it and he did say it was a little scary, but it did not keep him from listening to it again!  I would recommend that if you have younger children, you may want to listen once by yourself to determine if your child is able to handle the suspense.  Every child has a different level of tolerance!  The Stranger tells of a town that is visited by someone they do not know on Christmas Eve.  All reject him except Sam' family, who has a lesson to teach them all. Captain Choas was another favorite of Colby's.  This story tells of a boy named Jason who is determined to make the Nativity a more exciting story as he reinacts it.  He truly believes his story can be better than the Bible.  His sister tells on him and he is sent to his room.  Once there, he is "visited" by Captain Chaos, who shows him that by changing the story the world is quite a different place, void of God and love! Even though it was the shortest of all the audios, I have to admit that Harold Grubbs and the Christmas Vest was my favorite.  This sweet story tells of a dad recounting to his son, how and why he aquired the bright red plaid Christmas vest he wears every Sunday between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The Harold Grubbs in the story is a mean spririted old man who eventually comes to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior and the town who gets to witness that transformation.  This collection would make a great addition to your family's Christmas traditions, as well as a fun gift for a special family in your life.  Each audio is about 13- 30 minutes in length. Merry Christmas in October!

The Brinkman Adventures- Schoolhouse CREW Review

Yes, you have seen me review Brinkman Adventures Season 2 before!  Yes, I still begged to review the third season.  Yes, we LOVE Brinkman Adventures!

Ok, now we have established the fact that my family has a slight obsession with Brinkman Adventures.  The kids (especially the boys) love audio adventures of most kinds, but these are the ones we enjoy the most as a family. Yes, our family of 6, ages 8-45 enjoy following each new addition of The Brinkman Adventures.  When you can find something that appeals to everyone, that is family fun at its finest.

The Brinkman Adventures: Season 3 consists of 4 CDs that contain over 5 hours of missionary adventures.  Each adventure is based on a real life missionary or missionaries, with a little poetic license added in. Told by the Bultman Family, with the real Bultman kids playing the parts of the Brinkmans, the stories show the amazing power of God and how He can use ordinary people and circumstances to advance His Kingdom.  (The Brinkman parents are played by actors.)

If your curiosity is piqued after an episode, and I guarantee it will be, you can get the full, real missionary story details and behind the scene peeks on The Brinkman Adventures website.  You will not want to miss those details! Ian Bultman, head of the family, has a heart for missionaries and it shows in every space of their website!

How we use this and what do we think-
If I can steal the set away from the boys (who tend to hoard them in their rooms), we love taking these on road trips, as we got to do during this review period.  I do admit, you better be hanging on to the steering wheel just in case. Between the dramatic music and the excitement I did jump a few times. Each of the 12 episodes is filled with excitement and suspense and let's just say my old heart was racing a few times.

The funny contrast is that the boys also frequently listen to them while doing other things in their rooms and have no trouble multitasking.  Both are auditory learners so I wonder if that make a difference.  Where I tend to have to really pay attention to not miss anything, they tend to take it all in by osmosis.

What I love most about The Brinkman Adventures is that my kids get to hear stories of how God is still working today in the lives of missionaries who devote their lives to Him.  I love that they see these real-life people as heroes and know that they too could be used at any time in the ministry of God. With each adventure, the kids are exposed to different culture and traditions around the world -  it's like a geography and cultural lesson all rolled into one.  The adventures teach things such as faith, faithfulness, honor, and bravery.  What better character attributes to emulate?

And our favorite episode?  Well, that is hard to say.  I admit the episode God's Mule was my favorite.  I just love hearing how time and time again the missionary Tomas was able to smuggle Bibles across the boarder without an incident and that each time he did so with more help and more Bibles.  Can you just imagine doing that and seeing a guard pull back his hand from a suitcase like he was hurt and wave them through, or watch a whole security station be abandoned as you walk through with suitcases packed with illegal Bibles?  I am awed at the thought.

My boys say they like the A Saint's Story episode the best.  Actually, this one a two part-er. I could have called that one probably!  To say we have a fascination with Steve Saint is an understatement.  We were also blessed to hear him speak years ago.  His stories and the stories of his famous missionary father, Nate Saint, will forever hold a special place in our hearts. What's really cool about these two episodes is Steve actually played himself.  Yes, that is THE Steve Saint you hear and these particular episodes are as close to accurate as possible.

Steve and his wife Jenny with Ian.

There is just no other way to say it, other than we adore The Brinkman Adventures and highly recommend them to anyone who wants to add faith-filled missionary stories to their library.  These audio adventures will keep you on the edge of your seat and fill you with stories of God's love, year after year!

You can download three FREE episodes and sign up for a quarterly newsletter at this link

https://brinkmanadventures.com/schoolhouse-review-crew-offer

Enjoy!

With Lee in Virginia- Schoolhouse Crew Review

It is always a pleasure to team up with Heirloom Audio Productions and review their products!  This amazing company has taken on the monumental task of taking G.A. Henty's books and making them come alive.  We have enjoy Under Drake's Flag and In Freedom's Cause previously, and now have been blessed with their newest release, With Lee in Virginia.

With Lee in Virginia is an exciting tale of a band of friends and their adventures in the Civil War. Complete with plantation owners, slaves, and cannons blasting, this audio drama is sure to keep your whole family on the edge of their seats.  After a gentleman by the name of George takes responsibility for two young men riding a train without tickets, he sits them down and tells them a story of two men he thinks are much like them. The tale begins with Vincent (a young southern man who has lost his father years past) defending his neighbor's slave.  This leads to a tension that ensues for the rest of the story.  His own faithful servant, Dan, follows him through a series of twists and turns that even lands him in the enemy's prison. As usual, Heirloom Productions has hired some of the best actors out there.  Names like Sean Astin (who plays General Jeb Stuart) and Kirk Cameron (who plays General Stonewall Jackson) are sure to draw in listeners of all ages..

This two disk set provide over 2 1/2 hours of adventure.  Be ready- this is no quiet bedtime tale.  The audio includes sounds of guns and cannons, slaves being beaten and troops fighting.  Because of the intense subject matter, I do recommend you preview the drama before allowing younger children to listen to it, though I can tell you that our 8 year old loves it.  The intense scenes are often sandwiched in between humor that allows for comic relief. 

Also included with the purchase of With Lee in Virginia is a study guide that is over 50 pages.  Like the releases before, this study guide allows you to take one step further and use this audio drama as a springboard for learning and digging deeper into history.  After quick bios on author G.A. Henty, General Robert E. Lee, and General Thomas Jackson, there is a great map showing the major cities and battlefields that are talked about in the audio drama.  After that there is a page dedicated to each track on the 2 disks.  The track is broken in three parts- Listening Well, Thinking Further and Defining Words.
Listening Well asks a handful of questions that help you check for listening comprehension.  These are the who and where and why type questions. Thinking Further digs a little deeper and gets you and your child to think outside the box a little. There is not a right or wrong answer to these- they are intended to get the creative juices flowing. Defining Words are to help build and expand your vocabulary and will often have to be looked up. At the end of the study guide there is an additional reading list  provided as well as two Bible Studies to help you further study some of the Biblical themes that are addressed in With Lee in Virginia. Our favorite quote from With Lee in Virginia-

The How's and What's! As soon as our family received With Lee in Virginia my 13 year old took off with the CD!  He is a huge history buff and loves anything war related.  Luckily, I was able to get it back from him for a trip we had and we listened in the car as a family.  (Warning to the driver- loud sounds may cause you to jump! Ask me how I know this?!)   We are now currently working through the Study Guide for fun to see who can remember the most.  I love that the open ended questions in the Thinking Further sections encourage lots of lively conversations.  If you were doing a unit study of the Civil War, this would be a great addition to your curriculum! We love listening to all the Heirloom Audio Production releases, but this one may be our favorite so far. I love that my family can listen to something together and all ages can be equally entertained.  I also love that we can listen to true stories that encourage honor and truth and determination and have a focus on God!

Heirloom's mission is "To engage our listeners' imaginations by taking them back in time and immersing them in history."   They do just that and so much more!   You can find these great products here-

With Lee In Virginia (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/WithLeeInVirginia

Heirloom Audio Productions (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/heirloomaudio

Heirloom Audio Productions (Google+): https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/114534826166314080647/114534826166314080647

Heirloom Audio Productions (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeirloomStories

In Freedom's Cause- Schoolhouse Crew Review

Do you have a history lover in your home?  How about a kiddo who loves audio dramas?  Me?  I have both.  Actually, I have several kids who love both.  

Enter, In Freedom's Cause Single Package, a historical audio drama produced by Heirloom Audio Productions.  Yes, we were blessed by the second release from this God centered company, our first being Under Drake's Flag, which we had the pleasure of reviewing last year. With over 2 hours of exciting adventure, In Freedom's Cause will have you sitting on the edge of your seat and sometimes holding your breath! As one of the producers says, "This is the God story behind Braveheart."

Based on G.A. Henty's book by the same name, the true story of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce is told with riveting accuracy!  It is a story about how an ordinary man, but one of intense faith, changed the course of Scottish history.  It is a tale that will inspire and enthrall you and your children. While the recommenced age is from 6 to adult, I firmly believe that this is a family friendly production.  However there are some pretty intense scenes, so if you have a sensitive child, you may want to preview it first.

Many will recognize the vocal talents of favorites in the film industry such as Joanna Froggatt from Downton Abby, Billy Boyd from  Lord of the Rings, Skandar Keynes from Chronicles of Narnia and James Cosmo from Braveheart.

Our experience-

We listened to In Freedom's Cause on yet another car trip.  Hey, it is the one place we have a captive audience with minimal interruptions.  Like our previous experience with Under Drake's Flag, after our family listening time, the CDs were whisked off to my son's room.  It has become a favorite, though I must say probably not the best bed time listening due to the intense scenes and excitement. ;)

Why do we love this?

• These CDs are top quality!  
• They bring history to life and make learning fun.
• They tell the story from a Christian perspective.
• They are just good, clean entertainment.
• The study guide can be the start of a family conversation, or be a unit study for a homeschooler! This 44 page downloadable guide includes Scotland history, 3 Bible studies,comprehension questions, vocabulary and more. (answers are NOT included in the study guide)

The In Freedom's Cause Single Package includes- In Freedom's Cause 2 Disk CD Set
In Freedom's Cause Study Guide  Free Digital Download
In Freedom's Cause Soundtrack MP3 Download
Printable copy of The Prayer Of William Wallace. Digital Download

Under Drake's Flag- Schoolhouse Crew Audio Drama Review

Heirloom Audio Productions has made us a happy family!  Their new two disk audio drama Under Drake's Flag barely hit our front porch before my 7th grade son whisked it off to listen to.  For days all we heard about was how great it was.  Did we know this and did we know that.  Then, we headed off on a family vacation and the whole family got to listen to it together.  What a great way to pass the time!  Since we have gotten home, ironically, the disk set is most often found in my 2nd grader's room, where he is still listening to it over and over!  And over!

Under Drake's Flag is a Christian Audio Drama presentation about the life of Sir Francis Drake, the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe.  Originally a book written by bestselling author, G.A. Henty, Under Drake's Flag is an adventure that I know will put you and your children on the edge of their seat.  Shipwrecks, check!  Pirates, check! Heroes, check!  And then amidst it all, the power and sovereignty of God.  A perfect combination!

Under Drake's Flag is geared for children 6 and older.  This, I am sure, is because there are a few intense dramatic scenes, but other than that, nothing we found questionable or offensive in any way.  This 2 hour set comes with a short study guide and outline for three Bible studies, but you can also download a longer version of each from the site in PDF form, which is what our family chose to do.  The study guide gives a quick biography of GA Henty as well as Sir Francis Drake, followed by the study guide.

The study guide follows each "chapter" of the story with three sections to use, Listening Well, Thinking Further and Defining Words.  The Listening Well section includes comprehension questions about each chapter.  Here you will answer basic questions about the who, what, where and when of the story. The Thinking Further section stretches your child further to think about their connection to the story.  Such questions include things like "what would you have done?" "who are you more like?" and "Would you rather...?" and a lot more "why?" questions.  Defining Words is just that.  Words listed are more challenging words that were used in the story and may need to be looked up in a dictionary for your child to really understand what they mean.

The three Bible Studies included focus on Godly Character, True Manhood, and Confessing Christ.  While they are not lengthy, they do talk about characteristics of all, and have scripture references listed to look up for further study.

Because we listened to this Historical Audio Drama together as a family, we used this study guide as a conversation starter only.  In hindsight, when the next set comes out I will do it differently, to incorporate the activities into our school.  Since the guide is broken down into chapters that follow the chapters of the CD, I will have my son write down the answers for all three sections in a notebook during our literature time.  I figure there is no better way to make sure my kids have strong listening skills and comprehension than to "quiz" them on what they have heard.  Yes, I think it is great that they are listening and having fun, but it is a bonus for us as homeschoolers if they actually glean information about not only history but themselves while doing so.  A win-win situation, in my book!

And speaking of a new drama- yes, there is one on the way!  Keep your eyes open at the beginning of November for the release of In Freedom's Cause, the story behind William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.  You can even pre order it!

Under Drake's Flag 2 CD set can be purchased for $29.95
 You can find Under Drake's Flag on facebook- http://www.facebook.com/UnderDrakesFlag