Using Classics to Teach About God: A Review of Little Pilgrim's Big Journey

I received a COMPLIMENTARY copy of this book 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.

Teaching our children about God is an important part of our homeschool day. While there are complete curriculums available, sometimes it is nice to include a story that will allow us to spend more time together. Little Pilgrim's Big Journey, published by Lithos Kids Press, would make a wonderful addition to your read-aloud time for your preschooler, kindergartener, or first grader. We are currently using this beautiful hardcover book and the coloring book during our homeschool lessons. 

About the Book 

Little Pilgrim's Big Journey is John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress fully illustrated and adapted for the next generation by Tyler Van Halteren with illustrations by Beatriz Mello. This hardcover book is 223 pages long with thick, glossy pages and a red ribbon to mark your place. There is a lovely place to dedicate the book to your own little pilgrim, a brief introduction to the life of John Bunyan, and an explanation of an allegory. All the people and places in Little Pilgrim's Big Journey are meant to teach readers important lessons. To help readers – both children and parents – understand the allegory, there are chapter summaries as well as questions at the end of the book. 

If you have never read Pilgrim's Progress, I recommend you set aside time to do so. For your younger children, Little Pilgrim's Big Journey will provide an excellent introduction to this wonderful allegory by John Bunyan. Children will read of Christian as he leaves the city of Destruction carrying a huge burden, receives advice from the Evangelist and Good-Will, travels the narrow path, journeys through the Valley of Humiliation, meets other pilgrims, and, in the end, he is welcomed by the King in the Celestial City. 

"Believe the King's Word...Follow the King's Path...Seek the King's City" 

Our Thoughts 

The story is written and adapted in such a way as to make it a lovely read-aloud. Reading Little Pilgrim's Big Journey makes for a nice break from our homeschool lessons as well as enjoyable bedtime reading. I have snuggled up on the sofa to read with both our first grader and our third grader. They are both intrigued by the story and while our third grader more easily answers the questions, our first grader has brought up the story outside our reading time. I think the story is reaching both of them and helping them better understand God. 

In addition to Little Pilgrim's Big Journey, Timberdoodle also provided us with a copy of the coloring book to review. The beautiful illustrations are repeated as black-and-white line drawings for children and adults to color. One could copy the colors from the hardcover book or you could pick your own color scheme to create original pictures. Our first grader and I have been coloring a page during her homeschool studies. It is nice to sit and discuss the events depicted in the coloring book as they relate to Little Pilgrim's Big Journey. The quality of the pages in the coloring book is thick and easy to color upon. We have only used colored pencils for our pictures so far and the pages, so I am not sure if markers would bleed through or not.

I think my favorite part of Little Pilgrim's Big Journey is how it has brought our children and me closer together during our homeschool time. I really appreciate the chapter summaries, which allow me to review the point and reason behind each chapter. And the questions that help one dig deeper into the allegory are a wonderful blessing. Sometimes as parents, we need that extra bit of help to bring the message home to our children. 

Little Pilgrim's Big Journey with its bright, colorful illustrations and the accompanying coloring book would be a welcome addition to any Christian home. It is a wonderful introduction to allegories for our young children, so not only will it help children on their journey with their faith but also in their language arts lessons.

Looking for more products from Timberdoodle? Be sure to read my review of Battle Sheep and Clumsy Thief Junior. 

Crafts: V is for Vacation

 

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Learning the letters is such an important step for our children. Creating fun ways to reinforce their memory of the letters is one way we as parents can help them on their journey to become well-educated citizens. In this craft, our children used scrapbooking pictures to decorate the letter V to represent an imaginary vacation trip. 

Materials 

• Construction paper
• Scrapbook paper featuring vacation images
• Scissors
• Glue sticks
• Crayons or markers
• Vacation photographs (optional)

Steps

1. Gather all your materials.

2. Either pre-cut the necessary components or have your children cut the letter and pieces you will need to include on your craft. 

3. Glue the letter onto the construction paper. 

4. Ask your children to pick out the images they will use on their craft. 

5. Glue the vacation images onto the letter. 

6. Display the craft when the glue is dry. 

You can easily tie this craft into a discussion of an upcoming vacation or looking through vacation photographs from the previous year or years. This V is for Vacation craft could also be used as part of a geography lesson where children would pick images from a specific country to place on their letter rather than just vacation-themed ones.  Personally, we love the geography lessons from Let's Go Geography which we reviewed in 2020. 

Book Club: Winter's Coming

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As the seasons change, reading children's books is a wonderful way to introduce new ideas or reinforce previous learning with your children. While painting pictures inspired by Winter's Coming: A Story of Seasonal Change, we read the book written by Jan Thornhill and illustrated by Josée Bisaillon. This is a wonderful book full of unique illustrations that tells the story of a young snowshoe hare worrying about Winter. 

One of my favorite things about Winter's Coming is the fact that throughout the book you see the snowshoe hare, Lily, changing as winter approaches. Her fur is slowly turning from brown – which helped her hide in the first six months of her life – to white which will help her hide in coming winter. 

Animals to Learn More About 

The book introduces many animals into the story which can you read more about, either in the back of Winter's Coming or below. As Lily, the snowshoe hare, speaks with the different animals, she learns a bit about each animal and how they are preparing for the arrival of winter – but Lily has no idea what Winter actually is. It is not until Lily speaks with the Black Bear that she learns Winter is a season like Summer. Winter won't fly like the birds or have sticky toe pads like the tree frog – it is a season! 

Here are a few of the animals you can study about with your children: 

• Snowshoe Hare 
• Weighs about two to four pounds 
• During the winter, their fur turns white, which helps them camouflage with the snow 
• During the spring and summer seasons, their fur is a brown color, which helps them camouflage with the forest floor 
• The tips of their ears are black all year round 
• Grackle and Red-Winged Blackbird 
• Large black birds with long tails and long legs 
• Males and females look very similar but males have an iridescent hue to their body and head 
• Red Squirrel
• They can be found throughout the United States and prefer living in coniferous forests  
• Black Capped Chickadee
• Non-migratory birds and are found year round from New England to the West Coast of the United States 
• Mosquito 
• In warm and tropical areas, they are active year-round
• In cold and temperate areas, they may hibernate 
• Gray Tree Frog 
• They are 1.25 to 2.25 inches long (depending on if they are male or female)
• They live in much of the Eastern United States 
• Woolly Bear Caterpillar 
• They have brownish hair in the middle, while black on the front and end segments 
• Snapping Turtle (Alligator Snapping Turtle)
• The largest of freshwater turtles 
• They are almost exclusively aquatic and can stay under water for as long as 50 minutes without needing air  
• Black Bear
• The fur of black bears can range from pure white to brown to very black 
• Adult males are larger (weighing as much as 600 pounds) than females (who average around 200 pounds)

How Animals Prepare for Winter's Coming 

The book also introduces the many ways in which animals prepare for the coming the new season – winter. Again, there is a handy short guide in the back of the book which discusses migration, hibernation, and other ideas. Winter's Coming's main character finds herself struggling to understand why the animals are doing different things. Through trial and error, Lily learns that she can prepare for winter like the other animals. She can bury herself under leaves like the Woolly Bear Caterpillar or hide in the mud like the snapping turtle. She has her own way of preparing for the winter. 

Lily does not need to hibernate in the same way that the Black Bear in the story will during the Winter. So, while the Black Bear will spend time in dens hidden in caves, underground burrows, or other locations where they can be protected from the elements, Lily can be active above ground as her fur changes color. 

Create a Winter-Themed Painting 

Materials 

• Paint
• Paintbrushes
• Paper 
• Pencils 

Steps 

1. Gather all your materials. 

2. Draw your picture. I sketched several pictures based upon the story for our children. 

3. Paint the picture. 

A tree trunk in the winter

4. When the initial paint is mostly dry, add the snow falling to the picture. 

Learning About the Letter K: K is for Kings

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Over the course of twenty-six posts, I will introduce my own simple lessons for the letters of the alphabet. I will provide ideas and suggestions for a week's worth of activities.

When teaching our children about the world around them, it is important that they become familiar with how our country is governed and how other countries are governed. Talking about the letter K with preschoolers is the perfect time to discuss kings and how they are different from presidents. You can introduce many different topics while teaching the letter K to your preschooler, too. Don't forget all the awesome animals from Australia that start with the letter K, such as kangaroo, koala, and kiwi.

Kings

Facts about kings and monarchies to share with your children:

• A king (or queen) rules in a monarchy 
• A monarchy is a form of government with a single leader who rules for his or her life 
• There used to be lots of monarchies throughout the world but now kings and queens are rare 
• A king rules for life and usually his son (or daughter) will inherit the throne when he dies as monarchies are hereditary 
• In Ancient Egypt, kings were known as Pharaohs 
• In Russia, the king was known as the czar 
• Other names for kings include: emperor or royal highness 
• Today, monarchies still exist in several places like the United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, Morocco, Jordan, and other places 
• Famous kings through history: Henry VIII of England, William the Conqueror, Peter the Great of Russia, Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, Tutankhamen, Frederick the Great of Prussia, Ramses the Great, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire  

King Paper Bag Puppet

Create a paper bag king puppet with your children!

Materials

• Lunch paper bag 
• Construction paper of various colors (purple, brown, yellow, black, white, tan, pink, etc) 
• Glue sticks 
• White glue 
• Buttons 
• Optional: Sequences for the crown 

Steps

1. Gather all your materials.

2. Either pre-cut the pieces, draw shapes for the pieces and have your children cut them out, or have your children draw the different pieces they will need and cut them.

3. Glue on the face of the king and then glue on the robes of the king.

4. Glue on the mouth and then the beard of the king.

5. Glue on the eyes of the king, draw a nose, and draw a mustache.

6. Glue on the king's crown.

7. Pick buttons for the king's robe and glue them onto your puppet. 

8. After the glue dries, the kings are ready to rule their nation. 

Additional Activities and Ideas to Talk about Kings

• Read about the different kings in the Bible 
• Study about knights using the Hands-on History Lap-Pak Knights from Home School in the Woods (my review is here) 
• Spend time talking about Knights using K is for Knights part of the Blogging through the Alphabet series 
• Watch King George and the Ducky from Veggie Tales 
• For older children, spend time learning about the Middle Ages 
• Study the art of the middle ages using a great resource from Artistic Pursuits Inc. 
• Take the Bible Stories for Kids class on SchoolhouseTeachers.com to learn more about kings from the Bible 

Other Topics 

Australia Animals 

Read about the animals from Australia with several different posts from A Mom's Quest to Teach. Also, check out some of my favorite books about Australia and its native animals.

  

Matching Activity 

Download a copy of a simple matching activity to complete with your preschooler. In addition to this matching activity, you can also use old magazines and ask your child to cut out pictures of animals, people, objects, etc. that start with the letter K and create a Letter K Collage.

Crafts: W is for Watermelon

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During the summer months, talking about the fresh fruits and vegetables available is a great way to introduce the idea of eating healthy to your children. We decided to spend a bit of time talking about the variety of locally, nationally, and internationally grown fruits and vegetables. This led to a discussion about watermelons.

Watermelons are a vine-like flowering plant that is grown in tropical to temperate climates or places where the temperature remains at or above 77° F. They are red to pink in color with black seeds (there are seedless varieties) with a green rind. There is actually evidence to support its being considered both a fruit and a vegetable. Botanically, it is considered a fruit but it is classified in the same family as gourds and is harvested like a vegetable.

Activities

Use this free worksheet to match the names of fruit to clipart images of these popular treats. Download HERE!

Spend some time taste-testing different fruits and vegetables with your children. Please be mindful of allergies.

Start a garden! During the year, take the time to research which fruits and vegetables would do well growing in your area. Plot out a garden spot and start growing your own crops with your children.

W is for Watermelon Craft

Materials

• Paint
• Paint brushes
• Construction paper 
• Scissors 
• Beads, beans, or seeds of watermelon 
• Glue stick 
• White glue 

Steps

1. Gather all materials.

2. Draw and cut out the letter W. We used pink tissue paper. If you wish, you could use pink construction paper.

3. Glue on the letter W.

4. Glue on beads or seeds for the watermelon seeds - or - paint the seeds onto your letter W.

Optional step: Paint the rind onto your letter W.

 5. Write W is for Watermelon on your craft.

Bonus for Video Gamers! If your children enjoy Minecraft, you can connect melons to the popular game because melons are one of the food items (e.g., used in potions) in the game.

Crafts: K is for Kiwi

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On a trip to the craft store in the late fall, we picked up the cutest kiwi plush. It is bright and colorful, not at all like the actual flightless bird, but our daughter fell in love with it. I must admit to falling in love with the soft plush, too.

When I was thinking about what craft to do for the letter K, I was trying to come up with something that I had not seen done. Kites and kangaroos are popular letter K crafts but why not a kiwi? It's the perfect opportunity for our children to make an adorable craft and learn more about this interesting bird from New Zealand.

Facts About Kiwis 

• Flightless 
• Loose, hair-like feathers 
• Strong, powerful legs
• No tail 
• Tiny, almost non-existent wings of one inch 
• Native to New Zealand 
• Can live 30 to 50 years 
• Lays one (maybe two) eggs in each clutch – they may have three clutches a year 
• The heaviest kiwi – the brown kiwi – can weigh 3 to 11 pounds 
• Even though kiwis are about the size of a chicken, their eggs are as big as an emu egg 
• Classified in the same family – ratite – as its cousins the cassowary, emu, ostrich, and rhea 
• Has a highly developed sense of smell 
• Eats grubs, worms, bugs, berries, and seeds 

Materials 

• Construction paper (various colors including brown, orange, and tan) 
• Glue sticks and white glue 
• Scissors 
• Googly eyes 
• Plush kiwi (optional) 

Steps 

1. Gather all the materials. If your children are old enough, they can draw the shapes or cut out the shapes you draw for the craft.

2. Glue on the letter K.

3. Glue on the body of the kiwi.

4. Glue on the feet - they should stretch to the bottom two parts of the letter K.

5. Glue on the head and beak. The beak should stretch to one of the top parts of the letter K.

6. Glue on the eye. Only one - the kiwi is in profile!

 

 

Dice, Decks, and Boards: Mermaid Island

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Our children love playing board games and board games that are cooperative are a big hit with my husband and me because they teach great team-building skills to our children. One game that our children enjoy playing is Mermaid Island from Peaceable Kingdom. It is a great game for any time of the year but especially for summertime!

What Is the Goal of the Game?

Children, ages five and up, work together to help the mermaids swim across the waves to reach Mermaid Island before the Sea Witch can get to the island. The game is perfect for 2 to 6 players and is very easy to set up and play.

How Do You Play the Game?

All three mermaids begin at the start area while the Sea Witch starts in Seaweed Triangle on the game board. The four wand tokens are placed on the appropriate spaces on the game board. Children take turns spinning to see if they move a mermaid one or two spaces or if the Sea Witch gets to move ahead one space. If the mermaid lands on a space with a wand, all players get the opportunity to use the wand to move the Sea Witch back one space. If the Sea Witch lands on the space, the wand is removed from the game. There is also the chance for a mermaid to skip spaces if she lands at a space leading to a bridge. The mermaid can immediately cross the bridge to skip spaces while the Sea Witch does not get to use the bridges at all.

Children work together to move all three of the mermaid tokens to Mermaid Island. If all three make it, everyone wins! If the Sea Witch gets to the Mermaid Island, the game is over and the mermaids lose.

Beyond the Game

What can you do after you are done playing the Mermaid Island game?

• Visit the beach 
• Build a sandcastle 
• Research manatees which have been compared to mermaids 
• Go for a swim 
• Mermaid shows at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park in Florida 

Mermaid Island is great for children who cannot read and beginning readers because there is no reading required. Even with reading being unnecessary, learning still takes place! Your children will practice strategy practices, learn to make decisions together, develop social and emotional skills, and cooperate.

Do Your Children Enjoy Games?

We have shared a number of board games, dice games, and card games at A Mom's Quest to Teach including:

• Tenzi Game – a fun fast-paced game of rolling dice – there are many ways to play using the Tenzi Card Deck 
• Koala Capers – an easy card game for young children that reviewing colors and patterns 
• Cauldron Quest – a cooperative game where everyone works together to beat the wizard