We Are Busy Training Knights!

Yes, you read that correctly- Knights!  Swords, code of honor, the works.

Let's start at the beginning.  We have always been big fans of the tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.  My husband's long time mentor fanned that flame years ago when our oldest son was young and since then we have become collectors of all things King Arthur-y!  (yes, I made that word up!)  Our book cases overflow with tales of long ago and we admit to watching more than a few movies based on the same premise.

There is just something that speaks to a young boy's heart when he hears words like honor, courage, swords, code and yes, fighting!  You can just see their eyes light up and they seem to stand just a bit taller.  I love that!

When I was offered the chance to be part of a book release for Heather Haupt's new book, Knights in Training, I jumped!  And maybe begged!  I am, after all, training TWO knights!!  Ages 9 and 15!

Let me just tell you up front, moms of boys, you need this book!  Seriously.

I figured I would like it.  Instead, I loved it!

Heather has done her research, not only by raising two knights of her own, but really looking into what being a modern day knight means to our young boys.

Knights in Training is 277 pages long and is divided into three parts-

• The Boy-Raising Adventure
• The Chivalry Challenge 
• Continuing the Quest

The first part, The Boy-Raising Adventure talks about boys in general, how they are different from girls, (can I get an AMEN!?) and why we do not want to raise "typical" boys. A lot stood out to me in this part, hence the prolific highlighting in my book, but this is the quote that stood out to me, the one I needed to hear-

"Take boys as they are and provide them a context to grow into the strong, self-determined heroes they aspire to be..." p. 38

As a mom of two girls born first, I like quiet, orderly behavior.  I don't "get" rough housing and most things boys.  I am having to learn the value in those things and allow my boys to become the men God intended them to be.  Yes, they need to learn to be polite and courteous, and sometimes even quiet, but in most cases that is simply not their natural bent.

 

The second part of the book,  The Chivalry Challenge is where you will find the meat of the information.  Each chapter is based off the 10 points in the Code of Chivalry.  These include-

• Love God
• Obey
• Stand Against Injustice
• Protect the Weak
• Respect Women
• Don't Give Offense
• Speak Truth
• Be Generous
• Persevere
• Pursue Excellence

 
This part of the book is full of encouragement and ideas as well as a few challenges.  Each code is stated and then defined by Heather.  She tells what it looks like in practice as well as what it doesn't look like.  Using examples from her own family she tells what teaching these concepts might look like.  At the end of each of these chapters is a section called Throwing Down the Gauntlet.  Here she gives specific activities you can use to teach your kids the specific concept.

Sword fights?
Polishing silver?
Jousting?
Playing games?
Serving others?

These ideas and many more have made the learning so much more fun.  Well, maybe not the polishing part.  But by mimicking the chores a page or squire would have done, we can teach our boys discipline, hard work and patience.  We can teach them integrity and how to put others first.  By hanging up our Code of Chivalry poster we are reminding ours sons daily the behavior we expect from them.  And by loving them and embracing their "boy-ness" we are telling them that God indeed made them in a special way.

The final section, Continuing the Quest, is about just that!  How we can make these lessons stick!  Also included at the end of the book is a great chart of age appropriate chores as well as a fabulous resource list!  We had several of the books Heather mentioned, but have added a few new ones to our wish list!

Speaking of wish lists, you need to add Knights in Training to yours!

Knights in Training is now available to purchase and you can follow Heather on Facebook as she encourages you and others in the Chivalry movement!

May we encourage and love our boys daily, as we train them up in the way of the Lord!

 Blessings,

Knights in Training- Author Interview, my thoughts so far and more...

 

If you follow me on any social media, and if you don't - come join us, (Links at the bottom of the page!) you know that I have begun reading a new book called Knights in Training, written by Heather Haupt.  Well, actually I am almost finished with it.  A review of it will be posted next Friday but today I wanted to share with you a few quick thoughts from me and a few Q and A's from Heather.

Who is Heather?

Heather Haupt is the mother of three knights-in-training and a spunky little princess. She wants to be intentional during these years of parenting and raise children who will make a difference in this world. Heather is an educator, writer, and popular speaker. Recognizing the brevity of childhood and the power of a parent’s influence, she encourages and equips parents towards intentional parenting, pursuing God, and delighting in the adventure of learning. She is the author of Knights-in-Training: Ten Principles for Raising Honorable, Courageous, and Compassionate Boys as well as The Ultimate Guide to Brain Breaks. She writes at www.heatherhaupt.com.


Friends, let me tell you, Heather is a bold writer and a champion for boys and families.  It is obvious from page one of her book to the very end that this is where her heart is.  In Knights in Training she calls families to "inspire today's generation of young boys to pursue honor, courage, and compassion."  She is encouraging moms and dads to issue a Chivalry challenge to their boys, and she is equipping her readers with creative ideas to help them along the way.

It only took me one chapter to know that this was a movement I wanted to be in on and our two boys quickly gathered all the books we had on the subject!  Since then, well, things have been busy around here.  I can't wait to share some of that with you next week in our full review.

Until then, I want to give you a quick glance at the background behind this book and share with you details on how to buy it, and possibly win a copy!

Let me let Heather fill you in:

What was your main goal in writing Knights in Training?

I wrote Knights in Training to help parents tap into the heart of their boys and utilize a boy’s inner dreams and drives to propel them into a future of meaning and purpose. We all love our kids and want to be purposeful during this season of childhood – enjoying the little moments as well as preparing them to succeed in life, but sometimes in the busyness of life we lose sight of HOW to make that happen. My goal here is to provide a common language and a roadmap for this exciting journey of boyhood so that one boy and one family at a time, we can restore civility and courageous compassion to our communities. 

 Which part of researching Knights in Training was the most personally interesting to you? 
 I’m a history buff, so delving into some of the primary documents and really discovering how this idea of chivalry took shape and force during the middle ages was fascinating to me. Delving into the past also reminded me that there is nothing new under the sun. We see the same challenges with human nature, our bent to wander from the Lord, from the right path as well as the importance of inspiration and ideals in captivating our imagination and calling us back to the way we ought to go. When we step into the past, we discover that young men in the middle ages struggled with choosing the easy path, that younger sons in the nobility lost sight of their purpose and meaning and were tempted to take the easy path of living a life of listlessness and apathy and yet how deep down they all wanted to find purpose and meaning.

What inspired you to write Knights in Training?

Coming up with the idea for knight training was birthed out of a desire to be intentional in raising my boys. When I saw that their love for everything battle meshed well with my discover that chivalry was far more than how a man treats a woman. I knew I wanted to embark on a season of knight training and pursuing living by this code that for the knight’s of old was an entire way of living. Little did I realize that embarking on this initial season of knight training would alter the way we viewed our role as parents and forever shape the way my boys viewed these years of childhood. I wrote the book to really flesh out what it can look like to celebrate boys for who they are and cast a vision for a life of adventure embodying the spirit of a modern-day knight. Boys are getting a bad rap these days. Part of that stems from how we approach educating boys as well as a lack of understanding and appreciation for what makes them unique. Our world needs good men and my aim with this book is to strengthen the resolve and equip parents to reach their boys by appreciating who they are and how they are wired as well as inspire them to become the men they are meant to become.

___________________________________________________________________________________
 
Right now Knights in Training can be pre-ordered and you won't have too long to wait because it is almost release time!

 A Knights in Training Book Release party is scheduled for next week, Tuesday, May 30 from 9-11pm (EDT).  Be sure to join us for a chance to win some fun prizes and hear more from Heather!

See you back next week for our full review on this awesome book!


Family, Faith and Fridays Facebook page

Blessings,

TOS CREW Review- A Journey Through Learning

A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks is a delightful company created and owned by two best friends, Paula and Nancy.  Started on a whim to fill in the gap of much needed hands on materials for their own children, this company has since grown to include lapbooks, notebooking pages, copywork practice sheets and unit studies that support Apologia, Veggie Tales, Truth Quest History and more.  Between the $1.00 Quick lapbooks, a $5.00 lapbook of the month, and tons of amazing, reasonably priced lapbooks and unit studies, you can teach your children for years to come! 






For the past four weeks we have had the privilege to review FOUR of A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks using the downloadable versions.  The downloads are easy to use. Just download the product you chose, copy the pages on white or colored paper and go! New to lapbooking? You will need two to three file folders to make each lapbook. All it takes is a few easy folds, which are illustrated in the printed material for those who need a little guidance.

What we received-

Letters, Numbers and Shapes is intended for early learners.  This lapbook includes letter and number recognition, counting and shapes.

  Instant download-$13.00

  Printed-$20.00

  CD-$14.00

  Assembled-29.00

 

The Earth, a lapbook for grades 1st-4th, covers the Earth- from the layers of the earth to the layers to the atmosphere to everything in between.

  Instant download-$13.00

  Printed-$21.00

 

Knights and Castles, our favorite lapbook, is for grades 2nd-7th.  Here you will learn about the middle ages, and the knights that lived them.  From what they wore, to the weapons they carried, your child will soon want to become a knight!

  Instant download-$13.00

  CD-$14.00

  Printed- $21.00

 

Astronomy and Space Unit Study is a little different as it is not an actual cut and paste lapbook.  Instead it is a unit study intended for grades 2nd-7th, including sections to read followed by questions to answer.

  Instant download-$13.00

  Printed-$21.00

  CD-$14.00

 

How we used these products-

I was not sure we would use the Letters, Numbers and Shapes once we got the downloads, but since CJ had never done a lapbook before and because he wanted to do one like his older brother, we jumped in.  I am so glad we did!  Though he is on the upper age limit for this particular lapbook, we had such fun with it.  Each page provided an extra opportunity for him to review concepts he already knew, but they also gave him the opportunity to practice his cutting, gluing and coloring skills.  No small thing for a 5 year old BOY! 

One of the fun things about these lapbooks is that they come with several additional resources.  For Letters, Numbers and Shapes there were finger plays,  game suggestions and other related activities, recommended book lists and an A-Z list of things to do with each letter.

 

How do I know he liked it?  Once he was finished, he wanted to show everyone!  Now that we are done, he pulls it out frequently to look through it by himself.

 

For my 11year old son, currently a 5th grader, we tried out the Knights and Castles lapbook as well as The Earth.  Because of the higher levels these lapbooks are presented a little differently.  Each day you have a page or so to read teaching you the lesson for the day.  Then the child notebooks the facts learned into various little books which they will then cut out, assemble and glue into their lapbooks.  I love notebooking, but have found in the past that it can intimidate my son.  He just seems to look at a large piece of notebook paper and freeze up.  By having a smaller scale "book" to write in, he was more easily engaged and complained a lot less!  Yea!  The Knights and Castles Lapbook was, by far, his favorite, but we enjoyed doing both.  I even noticed that he had pulled out many of his knights books in his room once we began this study.  There is no doubt that the lapbook fostered a desire to know more and therefore could be used easily in a unit study.  Included also in these lapbooks are additional book lists and resource guides as well as additional activities to do to take your learning to the next level. 

Now that we have completed the first three lapbooks we have decided to continue on, starting today, with the Astronomy and Space unit study.  Again, I just printed out the study but this time bound it so it would be easy to use in a book form.  Why do I love this study already?  The very first thing you will see when you start is Genesis 1 quoted and then copy work using Genesis 1:2!  Trust me from experience when I tell you that finding a science program of any kind that teaches Creation is hard!  I was thrilled to find it in a unit study!  From the first lesson, your child will read a section of information and then answer a few questions about what they learned.  Some readings are followed by a fun activity such as making a diorama of outer space or making Sun S'mores.  Throughout the study are underlined vocabulary words that can be defined in the back pages of your study, resulting in your own little space dictionary.  There is also a book report template, with versions of it for older children as well as younger children.



So what do we think?
We have done a few lapbooks in the past with my two older girls, and quite honestly, I was not sold on the concept.  But, hey, a girl can change her mind, right?  I love this company!  I love their lapbooks!  I love that they have ones to go with holidays, historical events and other popular homeschool companies.  For my girls, I think we got to caught up in the artsy side of things and got distracted from the learning.  But this time around I found that the lapbooking helped my boys focus in on the lesson and what I was reading to them.  The smaller scale of notebooking in the mini books intimidated them less and allowed them to really enjoy what they were learning.  The cutting and pasting even encouraged them to slow down and pay attention to what they were doing!  The only complaint my oldest son had was that he thought the pictures on the mini books were a bit babyish for his age group. We would have loved to have seen more museum quality pictures, rather than cartoon type ones.

Will we do more?  You bet!  I already have a growing list of the ones next on our agenda!