Book Club: Book Review of Britfield & The Return of the Prince

 

I received a COMPLIMENTARY copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

Do you enjoy suspenseful fiction? Perhaps you are looking for a new series of books to read fall under action-adventure and juvenile fiction. In 2019, I reviewed the first in the Britfield series. This book was a hit with our oldest (who doesn't really enjoy reading). Last summer, I reviewed the second book, Britfield & The Rise of the Lion. And now I am sharing my thoughts about the third book — Britfield & The Return of the Prince.

Background Information 

In the first book, we meet Tom and Sarah as they escape from an orphanage, travel in a balloon, and move through different parts of England. Just like the second two books, Britfield & The Lost Crown is packed with action and adventure. There is intrigue and mystery as we discover that Tom is actually the Britfield heir and the Britfields are the rightful heirs to the English throne. 

Britfield & The Rise of the Lion is set in France. Again Tom and Sarah, along with the other characters who are attempting to help them (the members of the Resistance) face danger as they fight their way through the cities and countryside of France. 

The Plot of Britfield & The Return of the Prince 

During the second book, the Resistance releases information regarding the evil organization known as the Committee that is trying to maintain its power and control over the world. The Committee is trying to get a hold of Tom so they can maintain their control over the English throne. They do not hesitate to use force and violence to try and succeed. 

At the very beginning of Britfield & The Return of the Prince, we see Tom and Sarah learning and working alongside Fontaine at an elite school. All does not remain well as the Committee strikes the school in an attempt to kidnap Tom. At the same time, they are attacking Devonbury Academy in Switzerland, the Committee hits numerous Resistance operations, computer systems, safe houses, and more. The Resistance is left attempting to keep their men and women safe. 

We follow the main characters in the third book as they travel from safe house to safe house in Italy, attempting to find the second Britfield Codex and Tom's parents. They are also trying to reconnect, but a team of assassins and others in the Committee are making that near impossible. The Committee is no longer afraid to operate in the open to some extent, as they are using the police for blockades throughout all of Italy. 

What Places Do We See? 

There are many famous locations shared in Britfield & The Return of the Prince. This leaves homeschool parents with the opportunity to dig deeper into European history, especially that of Italy and the Roman Empire. 

Some of the cities and locations you can study include: 

• Lake Como
• Genoa 
• Pisa
• Florence 
• Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo 
• Rome
• Colosseum
• The Forum 

What Art Is Mentioned? 

As many of the famous locations and art pieces are merely mentioned in the story, you could spend time studying them in greater detail with your children. A few of the artworks mentioned include: 

• Rogier van Der Weyden's Lamentation of Christ 
• Michelangelo's The Holy Family 
• Leonardo da Vinci's Adoration of the Magi 

My Thoughts 

I am going to be completely honest. While I read both the first two books rather quickly – being unable to put them down – I did not feel the same urge to keep reading Britfield & The Return of the Prince. With the three main groups of characters separated for the majority of the book as they ran from the Committee, the chapters jumped back and forth between scenes. And we also meet new characters - both good and bad.

I felt that, at times, the descriptions were too verbose. I did not need to read how each individual fight and skirmish took place especially since the Committee was often on the heels of the Resistance members in each chapter. Another specific example of something that seemed to bog down the speed of the action and adventure was the lengthy discussion of how Kate, the technical/computer expert, was trying to hide the various Resistance members' journeys through Italy.

While I understand that the book is not a work of Christian fiction, I felt that maybe that is what was missing. Perhaps that is why it was difficult to read through the constant struggles of Tom, Sarah, Gowerstone, Henry, and the others. If the good characters had expressed their faith in God, their belief that He would see them through, it might have been easier for me to read Britfield & The Return of the Prince. 

Even with my reservations, I do think this was a good addition to the series. Fans of the first two books will want to know what happened to Tom and Sarah. And they will definitely want to meet the new characters introduced. I would recommend parents read at least part of the book prior to handing it over to their children. There are assassins hunting Tom who will stop at nothing to get him. And if the assassins do not succeed, the Committee has no problem executing them. So, there is a lot of violence in the book.

Read my reviews of the first two books here: 

Book Club: Book Review of Britfield & The Lost Crown

Book Club: Book Review of Britfield & the Rise of the Lion

Book Club: Book Review of The God Shot by Tara-Leigh Cobble

I received a COMPLIMENTARY copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

Over the past several years, I have enjoyed reading the Bible in a year using The Bible Recap by Tara-Leigh Cobble. I was excited to have the chance to review another book by the same author. In The God Shot: 100 Snapshots of God's Character in Scripture, Cobble presents different characteristics of God through New Testament quotes.

The God Shot is a high-quality, 216-page hardcover book with a ribbon for you to track your place. After a brief one-page explanation of the book, Cobble takes readers through 100 days of New Testament quotes and examinations. Every day looks at a name or attribute of God. These "snapshots" are geared towards directing the reader to the Word of God - to Scripture.

There are 27 different names or attributes of God examined in The God Shot. We see quotes from the four Gospels, Acts, all of the letters of the New Testament, and the book of Revelation. Some quotes are explained over more than one day, while others are only explored for one day.

Just what names or attributes of God does The God Shot examine? Here are just a few: The God of Peace, The God of Love, The God Who Protects Us, and The God Who Saves.

Some of the important truths shared: 

• "Prayer is a conversation with God" (31)
• "The three persons of the Trinity - Father, Son, and Spirit - are eternally united and eternally distinct." (37)
• We are all part of God's family.
• Satan wants to mislead us.
• God equips us with the tools we need in our everyday lives.
• We are God's forever.

I would recommend The God Shot to anyone looking to dig deeper into Scripture. You do not have to be familiar with Cobble's other works to enjoy The God Shot. My only recommendation would be to include space to take notes or reflections in the book. But even without that direct space, one can take notes in the book. I really think The God Shot is a valuable resource for your Bible study. 

Five Fun Ideas for Homeschool Science

 

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For every homeschooling family, there are one or two subjects that fill them with dread. How will we teach that in our homeschool? They might say, "I'm not good at math," or "I don't like to read." Or maybe they are concerned about art because they feel like they don't have the necessary talent or materials. And what about science? How can you possibly do science experiments in your homeschool? Today, I want to share five fun ideas for your homeschool science lessons. 

Crafts 

Sometimes, homeschool science lessons come with built-in crafts and activities, and other times we are inspired by books we read. We have created multiple volcano crafts and experiments over the years, including a painting that was part of a Natural Disasters Unit Study, and created a craft that showed the process of metamorphosis in a butterfly.

It's also fun to build dioramas for the animals and habitats you are studying, craft a model solar system, or build DNA out of candy. These are some fun hands-on craft ideas that are easy to incorporate into your homeschool science lesson. And many ideas can be completed with the items you have around your house. (I am all for not having to buy anything extra to complete a craft or experiment!) 

Puzzles 

We have reviewed several really cool puzzles over the years in our homeschool that are science-themed. It is wonderful to incorporate a fun past-time into our homeschool day. Why are puzzles important to include in your homeschool science lessons? 

Puzzles provide your children (and you) with the opportunity to develop memory skills. You need to remember what the picture will look like when you are done and remember where you have previously put pieces. As you pick and choose pieces, you test your ideas and solve problems. Does this piece fit here? Do the colors and patterns match? Often when I am working with our children, I will look for shapes first and then look at colors and patterns. 

We have used a number of anatomy-themed puzzles in our homeschool, including:

• For older children try: Dr. Livingston's Anatomy Jigsaw Puzzle: The Human Thorax
• For younger children try one of the following: 
• Dr. Livingston JR Human Body Floor Puzzle
• Dr. Livingston JR. Human Brain Floor Puzzle
• Dr. Livingston JR. Human Heart Floor Puzzle

And a really fun puzzle that depicted the periodic table of elements. I would definitely recommend the Periodic Table of the Elements Puzzle to homeschooling families whether or not your children are studying chemistry. Read my review here: Finding The Fun in Homeschooling: Adding a Puzzle into your Chemistry Course. 

Hands-On Activities and Kits 

Our daughter really thrives on hands-on activities – especially in science. She loves to get outside, collect leaves, measure water, weigh objects, etc. Whether we are using her curriculum from My Father's World to examine roses (see if I have a photo) or using unit studies from SchoolhouseTeachers.com, she learns better with these hands-on homeschool science lessons. 

If you don't know where to start, you can purchase science kits to help you get started. From growing your own crystals to dissecting an owl pellet, there are so many great options. And they make perfect gifts for homeschooling families. 

Courses, Workbooks, and Other Lesson Resources 

Where do you turn for homeschool science lessons, workbooks, and resources? I hope you have my blog bookmarked, as I have shared numerous resources over the years. And today I would like to share more ideas with you. 

Our son enjoyed studying  Astronomy with Exploring Creation with Astronomy textbook and junior notebooking journal from Apologia so much so that we are using  The Book of Astronomy Set from Memoria Press this year for his science. We will be memorizing the 15 brightest stars and looking at constellations in more depth. I can't wait to go star gazing with him! 

SchoolhouseTeachers.com Courses 

Another favorite place to look for science courses is SchoolhouseTeachers.com. 

• Charlotte Mason Preschool – This six-month preschool course doesn't need a desk! Complete age-appropriate nature studies with your preschool to learn more about the world around you. 
• Creation, Nature, and You – For kindergarten through third grade. Explore how nature can point you and your children to God as the creator. There are 11 videos that can be used alongside your regular science homeschool curriculum to reinforce topics you are already studying. 
• General Biology by Core Academy – A great look at biology for your high schooler from a Christian worldview. 

And if you are looking to supplement your homeschool science lessons with worksheets, Super Teacher Worksheets is a great option. You can search for specific topics to find pre-made worksheets or create your own crossword puzzles or other worksheets to accompany your science lessons. Read more about Super Teacher Worksheets in my review here: Printables for Your Homeschool Classroom. 

Workbooks 

Some homeschooling families shy away from workbooks and worksheets. I've seen some very passionate arguments about why one should never use a workbook or worksheet in one's homeschool. But...every child is different. Some thrive on hands-on activities and lessons while others enjoy the process of reading and writing on a piece of paper. While our daughter loves hands-on experiments, our son would often rather just complete an assignment in a workbook. He is not a big fan of getting his hands dirty. So you must make the decision that works best for your family. 

One science workbook that I reviewed combined the best of both worlds. We reviewed the second and fourth grade editions of  Science: Lessons and Investigations published by Evan-Moor courtesy of Timberdoodle recently. The workbooks contain reading and writing activities as well as hands-on crafts and projects. Our daughter has been highly enjoying it. In fact, we just made a volcano craft to go along with a poem as part of her disasters unit last night. 

Fields Trips! 

There are so many great science-themed museums families can visit. And if you don't live near them, you can visit their website to see virtual exhibits or follow them on social media as many often share videos of experiments, talks, and more. 

Here are a few museums to get you started on your field trip experiences:

• The Franklin Institute (Philadelphia) – While you are there make sure you travel through the giant heart. 
• Museum of Science (Boston) – They have livestreams so you can enjoy science at home or at the museum. 
• Smithsonian (Washington DC) – There are several different museums ranging from natural history to astronomy. Be sure to plan your day to spend lots of time touring! 
• Science Museum (London) – Stop by to see a variety of traveling exhibits as well as visit the IMAX theater for a unique movie-going experience. 

Crafts: Bear Painting

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Painting is a favorite pastime for our children. So, I like to find new and creative ways to allow them to paint. From using different materials as brushes like painting with leaves to using handprints, there are many fun ways to paint. We've also experimented with watercolors and using q-tips to paint, too! 

For this painting project, I wanted our children to focus on the background and not the animal they would include in the painting. So, we used a clipart drawing of a bear when the entire painting was completed and dry. 

Materials 

• Paint and Kwik Stix Paint
• Different types of paintbrushes
• Construction paper of varying colors 
• Foam shapes 
• Glue 
• Scissors 

Steps 

1. Gather your materials. 

2. Decide what color construction paper you and your children wish to use. Do you want to create a nighttime picture, a picture of a polar bear, or one in the forest? 

3. After choosing a piece of construction paper, pick what colors you want to use. Then start to paint your picture. 

4. After the picture dries, put on foam shapes and glue on your bear. 

5. Your picture is ready to hang! 

More Painting 

If you are getting ready to prepare for winter studies in your homeschool, I've shared a very cute book and a painting craft previously.  In Winter's Coming: A Story of Seasonal Change, your children will see numerous woodland animals. Pick one of the animals in the story and create a painting highlighting the change in the season.

Another fun way to incorporate painting into your homeschool lessons is to paint on a different medium. When we were reading Black Bird, Yellow Sun, we created a picture of the sun and a black bird using beans. After the beans were dry (we glued them on the paper), we painted the beans.

Looking for More Painting Lessons and Courses? 

Why not take a look at SchoolhouseTeachers.com? They offer over 400 courses, including many art courses. With so many schools limiting their electives, including art, homeschool families have the chance to explore art in a great number of ways. They can learn new techniques, study famous artists through history, and explore different mediums such as sculpture, painting, watercolor, and more. As I look through their course offerings, there are currently 19 art-related courses, including: 

• A Century of Art
• Achieving Art Success with ArtAchieve 
• All About Art
• Art & History: Interconnected 
• Art: The Timeless Treasure 
• Art Tips with Jan Bower
• Digital Art and Product Designs for Small Business
• Discovering Art History
• Drawing in Pen and Ink
• Drawing with Realism
• Elementary Art 
• Everyday Easels
• Exploring the World of Art
• Inkscape Online Adventure
• Learning About Art
• Let's Do Art Outside
• Preschool: Arts, Crafts, & Music
• Studio Art for Teens 

Learn to Code in Your Homeschool

I received a COMPLIMENTARY copy of this product from Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you. 

Do you have a child who wants to learn about coding, but you don't know where to start? We were blessed with the opportunity to review the Let's Start Coding Base Kit, courtesy of Timberdoodle. This Base Kit allows children to immediately start coding with hands-on lessons. 

A year ago, our younger son had the opportunity to learn some coding, but our subscription to the course ran out. I wasn't sure where to go next because he was still interested in coding, but I wanted something easier to include in our homeschool day. When the opportunity to review the Let's Start Coding Base Kit appeared, I jumped at the chance. 

What is the Let's Start Coding Base Kit? 

The Base Kit is part of the 2022 Fifth-Grade Timberdoodle Curriculum Kit. It contains a number of components, including: 

• One Maker Board (Maker Board 2) 
• One speaker
• Five LED Lights (3 separate colors and 2 RGB lights) 
• One push button 
• One turn knob
• One USB cable 
• One "fan wristband" (our son's name for the band that holds the cards together)
• References cards for each component and common coding concepts

It is recommended for grades 4 and up and is perfect for ages 8-12. After visiting the website, your child will begin by learning how to transfer code to the Maker Board. After this first online lesson – there are both text and a video to teach the lesson, our son continued to complete more projects.

How Did We Use the Kit in Our Homeschool? 

Can I let you in on a secret? When I opened the Let's Start Coding Base Kit, I didn't know where to start. Teaching coding is definitely outside of my comfort zone. I was so happy when I saw the first card provided me with a website at which to start for the free software. Once we connected the Maker Board, our nine-year-old started working his way through the projects. I helped for the first few – attaching the Maker Board and the LED lights – but very soon this became one homeschool lesson our son could complete on his own. 

I wrote coding in our son's agenda several days a week, and he would simply go to the website and start the next lesson and project. This really has been a hands-off hands-on homeschool "course" for our son. He would complete the project and then share what he learned when modifying the coding. On one occasion, he needed his father's help with the speaker, but he has done the rest on his own.

Our Thoughts 

As these are electrical components, some of the pieces are fragile. They do warn of that on the speak components card: "Heads up! The speaker legs aren't bendable." So as long as you explain that to your child, there shouldn't be any problems. 

Everything fits neatly in the sturdy box! I love homeschool resources that provide good storage. The software is compatible with Windows 7, 8, 10, and Mac OSX 10.9 and above, plus Chromebooks. So there is a lot of flexibility, no matter what type of computer you use in your homeschool. 

I love that the 50 kid-friendly projects provide immediate feedback as the lights blink or the speaker plays a tone. Because our son is working with C++ Coding, he gets to change things and modify the coding. These projects can be repeatable because of this feature. 

Our son shared his thoughts: 

"It's been fun! So far, I've learned setting it up, LED lights, making old-school video game sounds, and sending messages from the Maker Board (that's where we send code) from the computer. You can do the lessons or read the cards and jump in."

I would recommend the Let's Start Coding Base Kit for families with older elementary-aged children. It's great for learning coding in your homeschool or as a summer project for children who attend public or private schools. 

Crafts: Bear Figure

 

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Our daughter loves arts and crafts. This has always been one of her favorite parts of the homeschool day. So I love thinking of different crafts for us to create together using common household items and other materials we have on hand. 

While spending time learning about black bears, grizzly bears, polar bears, and more, I designed several different crafts including a collage, a paper bag puppet, and this bear figure. We also included some lessons from SchoolhouseTeachers.com as well as some favorite childhood books to read. 

Materials 

• Construction paper
• Paper towel or toilet paper roll 
• Scissors
• Tape
• Glue (glue stick or white glue) 
• Pencil or crayons 

Steps 

1. Gather all your materials. 

2. Cut out the pieces for your bear figure. You will need a large brown circle for the head, two small brown circles for the ears, one small orange, oval-like shape for the muzzle, one brown shape for the back legs, and two brown shapes for the arms. 

3. After the pieces are cut out, draw a face on the large circle. 

4. Draw a nose on the orange piece. 

5. Glue the orange muzzle on the large circle. 

6. Attach the large circle to the toilet paper roll. 

7. Attach the ears to the circle. 

8. Attach the back legs. 

9. Attach the front legs. 

10. After the glue dries, the bear figures are ready to play with! 

Looking for a Great Resource? 

As the fall season progresses, I love including seasonal content in our homeschool lessons. One of my favorite places to go to look for seasonal lessons is SchoolhouseTeachers.com. After clicking on their holiday and seasonal content, I go look through lessons, games, and more that fit into several different categories, including: 

• Christmas 
• Summer
• Easter
• Fall 
• Holiday/Seasonal (New Year's Day, President's Day, Mother's Day, Fourth of July, and many more!)  

For this season, I am looking at the Nature and Outdoors Homeschool Science Course for our daughter. There are units on owls and acorns that will we focus upon first. There are instructions for a nature journal and, since she likes her Bible Notebook which is part of the My Father's World Curriculum, I think this might be a hit with her, as well.

Book Club: Book Review of Prayer Starters

I received a COMPLIMENTARY copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

Books are a wonderful resource. They provide information, data, encouragement, wisdom, and more. In Prayer Starters: Talking with God About Hard Times by Suzanne Eller, readers find a useful resource for developing their relationship with God and working through their own battles. 

Prayer Starters is a 168-page paperback book divided into three parts containing prayer prompts, Bible quotes, short readings, coloring pages, and references for you to explore. The author, Suzanne Eller, speaks briefly of her own hard and challenging season and reminds us that all we need to do is show up because God is waiting for us. He will carry us in our difficult times. And we don't need anything special when using this book. "Prayer Starters is a creative, interactive invitation to help you pray right where you are" (12). 

What is Prayer Starters? 

After an introduction with recommendations about how to use the prayer book, readers are greeted by Part One and a quote from Elizabeth Elliot. Each part focuses on a different area: 

Part One - Trusting God in Hard Times

Part Two - Growing in Hard Places

Part Three - Freedom in Hard Places

In Part One, prayer prompts are inspired by verses from Jeremiah, Isaiah, the Psalms, Hebrews, and more. God provides hope, a place of comfort, a stronghold, and guidance. Eller reminds the reader in Part Two that Jesus knows us and our hardships. We are a part of God's plan. We ask through one prayer starter to fall on our knees and seek God's help. 

When we read through the prayer prompts in Freedom in Hard Places, we trust God, seek Him, and ask for help in realizing that God takes care of us at every moment and offers us ways to talk to Him.

What Do I Think? 

As I started reading Prayer Starters, I realized how valuable this book would have been when I was taking care of my mom during her battle with Alzheimer's. That was a very hard season, and I needed to be reminded to take it "one step at a time" often. Eller also shared "Jesus, I am tempted to lie down, to give up, and at times to throw my hands in the air and just quit" (29). This was me. My heart was aching, and I needed to be reminded that God's love was deep and wide – that God offers comfort and assistance in every hard time.

For those who seek to talk with God in and about hard times in a more structured manner, Prayer Starters is a wonderful resource. For those who don't know where to start, Eller offers prayer prompts and the space to write down our prayers and ideas. We then can read the scripture quotes and reflect upon them. 

I recommend Prayer Starters to those struggling and suffering in hard times. You are not alone. God is there to stand with you. Prayer Starters would make a good gift for those dealing with hard times. 

Crafts: Bear Collage

 

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Whenever I prepare crafts for our children, I usually save the scraps of paper and construction paper in a plastic envelope and several gallon size plastic bags. There are many times when I need only a small piece of black construction paper for eyes or maybe a bit of red to create a tongue for an animal puppet. My storage has been filling up so I decided to do a simple craft with our daughter to use up some of the pieces. 

We've been talking about bears in our homeschool as we study different animals and habitats using her science curriculum, so it seemed natural to design several different bear crafts. For this one, I look for a silhouette of a bear online to draw onto a sheet of white paper. I then asked her to trace this bear for her own paper. After that, it was quite simple to create our bear collage. 

Materials 

• White Paper
• Scraps of Construction Paper
• Glue Stick or White Glue
• Scissors
• Pencil or Marker

Steps 

1. Draw a picture of your bear. Make sure it is large and covers the whole paper. 

2. Gather all the materials nearby. 

3. You may want to pre-cut the pieces of construction paper scraps to fit the outline of your bear. Our daughter and I cut our pieces as we went along to make sure we had the pieces we wanted. 

4. Glue the pieces onto your bear filling in the outline. 

5. Display your completed bear collage. 

What to Know More About Bears? 

How many bears can you name? According to National Geographic, "there are eight species: Asiatic black bears (also called moon bears), brown bears (which include grizzly bears), giant pandas, North American black bears, polar bears, sloth bears, spectacled bears (also called Andean bears), and sun bears." They all belong to the Ursidae family and are omnivores. They range in size from four feet to eight feet and live in a variety of habitats. If you want to study just those who are native to North America, you would limit your studies to the North American black bear, brown bears, and polar bears. 

North American Black Bear 

The most common bear in North America is the black bear which can actually be a number of different colors and shades including black, a cinnamon brown color, blonde, gray/glue, and even white. Depending upon where the black bear lives in North America, the color, diet, sleeping pattern, and more may be different. The National Park Service offers a nice comparison between black bears who live in two different habitats in North America.  

Black bears have a varied diet and the specifics depend upon where they live and the time of year. As omnivores, they eat plants and meat. They eat roots, berries, fish, and insects, and are able to kill and eat adult deer. Unfortunately, they are also attracted to human garbage, livestock food, and fruit trees planted on farms, which brings them into contact with humans. This can cause problems as they become a nuisance to humans or no longer see humans as a threat. 

Learn More at SchoolhouseTeachers.com 

SchoolhouseTeachers.com offers a number of courses for your children to learn more about animals including God's Beautiful Creatures. In this course, students in kindergarten through second grade discover over a hundred animals including the brown bear and polar bear and red deer, European rabbits, mandarin ducks, arctic terns, and much more! This homeschool science course is perfect for early readers as the books are simple and the activities include journaling and drawing.