Raising Real Men Review and Giveaway

Raising Real Men is the brainchild of Hal and Melanie Young - authors, publishers, and parents of  6 boys and 2 girls.  This phenomenal company has raised the bar in homeschooling and public school families alike, challenging parents to become heavily involved in the rearing of their children.  They provide books, audio tapes, and online seminars and also speak at many homeschooling conferences to help you along.  My favorite resource - the incredible book, Raising Real Men, which was awarded 2011 Book of the Year by the Christian Small Publishers Association.


Oh where to even start?  I gave a copy of this book to my husband for Father's Day several years ago and have recently enjoyed reading it myself.  If you are raising boys, this should be on your must read list!  Really!  There are plenty of books out there about raising children, many very good, but let's talk about B-O-Y-S.  Well, they are just wired a little differently and therefore you may have to parent just a little differently.  And trust me, Hal and Melanie know how to parent boys.  They do have SIX after all!

Raising Real Men is broken into two parts - the first titled Virtues in the Rough and the second, Civilization for the Tough, each covering 7 chapters.  The chapters are packed with information, hence all of the yellow highlighting in our copy. Seriously, get out a highlighter...you will want to remember much of this stuff.  Written in an easy to read and conversational tone, Hal and Melanie write from their hearts and from a Christian perspective.  It is like having a conversation with a friend.  From helping your boys find appropriate heroes, and no, superman does not count, to teaching them about stewardship and winning, they address topics that are essential to guiding our boys to be Godly leaders of their homes as well as their communities.

So what were my favorite chapters?  It is hard to stop at just a few but here are some things that really stood out to me-

"Our focus must be on leading our sons into Godly manhood, not just trying to manage them to make our lives convenient and more pleasant."  (page 21) hmmmm, blush, probably guilty of that! You know how boys are.  Compared to our girls they are messier, louder, more intense, louder.   But I love how the authors gently remind us that the Lord made them that way for a greater purpose and that when we embrace those characteristics rather than fight against them, we will bless and be blessed.  I am working on it!

"...we have an absolute responsibility to give our children physical protection..  That protection shouldn't become the unmanning of our sons, though.  Boys need to have the freedom to take reasonable risks." (page 51) ummmm, guilty again!  But they are so right!  And I am working on that one too, promise.

"...setting time limits and seeing that subjects which ran over the allotted time were finished during 'free time later were very motivating" (page 153)  OK, I realize that not all of you homeschool, but take my word on this, this is BIG!  And can be applied to things other than just schoolwork.  What is up with boys and procrastination? 

"You have got to raise boys that know when to get filthy and when to clean up.  It's all about appropriateness." (page 180) YEP!  'Nuff said.

I could go on and on with gems after life changing, yet practical, gems of truth. I told you...yellow highlighter is a must!

Got boys in your life?  You need this book.  Think you will have boys in your life?  You need this book.  Go on and get a head start.  Sometimes they are a little complicated to figure out.  But, they are worth it!

You can buy Raising Real Men with bonuses for $15.00.  You can also get it for your Kindle, in ebook form, and in audio!  A FREE study guide is included with each order.

In addition, the Youngs have graciously offered to give one free book to one of my readers!  THANK YOU Hal and Melanie!

Enter now!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The fun has begun!

Look what we get to do for the next four days...

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, having fun, can you tell?

Check back with me on Wednesday...if all goes according to plan, I will have a book review and a giveaway for you from Raising Real Men.  You won't want to miss it!


Blessings and boxes,

Fun Friday- Our Second Love!

The second child.  Easiest child ever.  Seriously.  She asked US if it was bedtime.  Easy birth, sweet temperament.  Funny beyond belief, keeps me laughing and the most devoted friend someone could ever have.  And have I mentioned, TOTAL opposite of her older sister and yet they are best friends.

Where were you born, oh military child of mine?  
Florida, the land of beaches and Disney World. I really like Disney World.

What has been your favorite place we have lived and why? 
North Dakota. I had great friends there. I loved ice skating and riding horses. Playing with the neighborhood kids was a blast. It was a simpler time in my life. (That sounds very poetic.)

What is your pet peeve?  Just one please!
My goodness Mom, I don't have tons! My biggest pet peeve is when people try to talk to me when I'm in the shower. For the last time, I can't hear you.

What do you love doing?
Singing, dancing, reading, acting, and writing.

What is your favorite book?
Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie Tolan. Yes, I realize it's a middleschooler book. Yes, it's still my favorite.

What is the best thing about your mom? (just thought I'd slip that in)
Your humor.

What do you want to be when you grow up...because I KNOW that is your FAVORITE question people ask you?
I feel like Marius from Les Miserables when people ask this:

minus the 15 francs part, I've got a little more money than that.

Do you have a favorite animal and how much do you want daddy to get you one?
Cats are my favorite animals! and I would love Daddy to get me a cat(;

Describe yourself in three words.  OK, you can use more, cause you're my favorite!  ;)
 Dreamer, funny...adorable? I'm pretty adorable.

If our house was burning down and you could save four movies, after you saved your family, which ones would you save?
I'm now panicking over movies. I really like watching movies. I'd probably grab the Prince of Persia, Tangled, Phantom of the Opera, and Return of the King (which is the last Lord of the Rings movie)

What is your favorite thing about your father? (pay attention, gentlemen)
His laugh and his hugs. Daddy gives the best hugs.

What family rule did you dislike when you were younger, but come to understand and respect in your old age of almost 16?
Thank you for calling me old, Mom. Uhm....I suppose don't talk to Mom while she's on the phone. It was annoying when I was younger, but now I know how obnoxious it is when someone (ahem, CJ) tries to talk to you when you're on the phone.

Mountains or beach?  Never mind!  City or country?
Mountains on a beach! ahah.
And city to live in, country to visit. I think. Hard question.

What is your favorite memory?
Of all time? Jeez.
Visiting Yellowstone with the family. That was amazing. And we didn't get eaten by bears. Always a plus!

Any last words?  Make them nice, please...
Thanks for interviewing me Momma. I'll remember all you peasants when I am rich and famous.

me and my boyfriends back in 2011


Pop on over to read about our first princess!

TOS Crew Review- Geography 1

Do you ever just want to start over with homeschooling?  OK, maybe not start over with the years, but with the curriculum?  Occasionally I get that crazy thought- and the company Memoria Press would be one of my biggest temptations!  Have you seen their foreign languages?  Have you seen their complete curriculum?  I love it!  All! 

So yes, I was thrilled to be able to review Geography I, for grades 4-8, from Memoria Press. Geography of the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe covers the area that we know as the ancient Roman Empire.

Here's what it came with:

Geography Text (text sample)

Geography Workbook (workbook sample)

Teacher's Guide

United States Review- Student

United States Review Key, Quizzes, and Tests

What is this-

Let's start with the Student text. There is a great little introduction to Geography and then the rest of the book is broken into geographic regions- Middle East, North Africa,  and Europe.  The last few pages of the book have full color photos of each country's flag.  For each country (44 total) there is a full page map, Fast Facts section, History Headlines and Tour of Today.  The fast facts include the capital city and any major cities, language, population, religions, landforms, bodies of water, climate, resources and flag information.  There are also several pictures of places, people or things of interest.  The History Headlines is a brief description of the country's history while the Tour of Today gives some facts that are more currently relevant.

 

The student workbook then contains a one page spread per country for your child to list the country and capital, ancient name, a few fun facts they learned and has a smaller map to label with key features such as the capital, neighboring countries, rivers and landforms.  At the end of each region there is a review map to fill in with all the countries learned thus far and then a page to list the countries and capitals. 

 

The teacher's guide contains all of the answers you will need as well as quizzes and tests.

 

The Student workbook for the United States Review is slightly different as it is truly map work only, dividing the United States into 8 regions as well as space to write the states and capitals on each page.  Again, the teacher's key contains the answers, quizzes and tests.

 

How we used this program-

I used this program for our 5th grade son.  He has been studying the Eastern Hemisphere this year and has just completed his studies, so once again the timing was perfect for us to review this!  It gave him a chance to review what he had learned, solidify his map and capital knowledge and learn a few new facts along the way.  I had him do one page per day, though the teacher guidelines recommend 2-3 countries a week.  He would read the worktext on his own and then find the corresponding page in his workbook to complete.  Once he completed each section and its review,  he would let me know and then I would give him the test to take.  Students are tested on the map work only, not the facts learned in the text.  We opted not to do the quizzes.

 

What we thought-

We really liked this product, though I should not be surprised...I have liked everything I have ever used from Memoria Press.  Their workbooks are great quality and well organized.  One of the things my son and I found refreshing for a geography program was that this one did not just concentrate on maps alone.  It's not always fun to just memorize a map, but when you can throw in some fun and interesting facts along with the map it just seems to hold a student's attention better.  At least mine!  Not once did he complain about doing Geography and more than several times he came in to share things he had learned in the reading.  I love that this program is able to be used by the student alone with little guidance and has built in reviews before test time.  We did did not begin the United States Review book yet, but are going to make that our Geography for next year instead.  While it does not have the reading text included and really is to be used as a review, I think it is still an excellent way to learn states and capitals, which we have not done yet, as well as the map work. 

This is a good, solid program and for the price

I think it is more than worth it!

Geography I complete set, as we reviewed it, can be ordered for $48.00.  You can also buy the components separately if needed.
       

 

On a Mission with our Bucket List

Time is of short order here these days!  Have I mentioned we are moving next week?  In case not- WE. ARE. MOVING. IN. TWO. WEEKS!

Ok, now that you know, moving on!

Our time is at a premium.  And our calendar is filled.  BUT - as I said when we first decided to join The Happy Family Movement and create our own Bucket List, we are determined to make the most of our time and be deliberate in making memories.  We do not want to waste or regret a single moment of our summer. 

With that in mind, and after Plan A got rained out one day, we decided last minute (for those of you who know our family well, you know that is BIG) to drive to...

It was a fabulous day!

*The weather could not have been more perfect!  Sunny, nice breeze, not too hot!
 

*The children could not have been more excited.  Well, maybe if we had friends joining us, but that was plan A and the rain messed that one up!

*CJ was a dream.  For the record, if you do not tell the 5 year old the plan until 5 minutes before leaving he has no time to drive you crazy asking when you are leaving.  Just saying!

*There were no lines.  I think the kids said the longest they had to wait to get on a roller coaster was one car in front of them. 

** Note to you all- the first two weeks in June apparently is THE time to go without crowds.  It felt like we had the park to ourselves and it was great!

 And why so many pictures of little man and not the other kids?  Because when you have kids in two distinct age groups, you end up dividing and conquering.  So he and I hung out a lot together! And I had my daughter's camera with me.
 

I am not a roller coaster kind of gal.  Never have been, never will be, but what a fun day!  Watching the older three run off with their daddy to ride the rides with grins on their faces and watching the little guy play in the water and ride the kid rides with a huge grin on his face made for a pretty perfect day.  With some pretty perfect memories!
 

What have you done on your Summer Bucket List so far?  I would love for you to take a minute and share your fun!

 

Not sure what's next for us, but we will be sure to post when we decide!!

 

 

Blessings,

 

This post is link up with Amy at Raising Arrows!

 

We are also joining in on the fun with the Hearts for Home linkup!