Book Club: Book Review of The Boxcar Children Early Reader Set

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Our first grader loves to read. So, whenever we get the chance to review books, we jump at the opportunity. I was very excited to receive The Boxcar Children Early Reader Set because I had no experience with the Boxcar Children series prior to reading these four books. I am always on the lookout for new books to introduce to our children. So, we appreciate finding ones that are appropriate and free of questionable content. These books, written by Gertrude Chandler Warner, published by Albert Whitman & Company were a fantastic addition to our homeschooling day. 

General Information About the Books 

The Boxcar Children Early Reader Set contains the first four books in Gertrude Chandler Warner's Boxcar Children series adapted for early readers. The Boxcar Children series tells the story of Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny who were orphaned and in the first book (published in 1924 but re-issued in 1964 by Albert Whitman & Company) find themselves living in a boxcar in the forest. 

The books included in this set are: 

The Boxcar Children 
Surprise Island 
The Yellow House Mystery 
Mystery Ranch 

In the first book we meet the four children and learn that they were hiding from their grandfather because they thought he was mean and didn't want to live with him after the death of their parents. Surprise Island starts with the beginning of summer – the perfect time to go on an adventure! The entire book details the children's experiences living on the island without their grandfather. They meet up with Joe who joins them on their adventures and teaches the children many new things including teaching Violet to play the violin. The children learn of Bill who lived in the yellow house in the third book. They explore the yellow house and discover a clue to the mystery of what happens to Bill the previous resident. And finally in Mystery Ranch, the children visit their great aunt's ranch and try to cheer her up. All the while, they explore a mystery of rocks and a secret campsite. 

These four books are part of the Time to Read™ series which is an early reader program. Early reader programs are created to provide reading success to children regardless of their age or grade. This particular series has three levels which helps parents pick the books that fit the reading abilities of their children. 

The three levels are: 

1. Beginning to Read 
2. Reading with Help 
3. Reading Independently 

The Boxcar Children Early Reader Set is Level 2: Reading with Help. I think this is a perfect placement as our four-year-old could read some of the story with my help and our first grader was able to read them by himself (he has been reading independently for a while now). So, I think they are perfect for a five-year-old! 

How Did We Use The Boxcar Children Early Reader Set in our Homeschool?

I gave all four books to our first grader to read on his own when they first arrived. As he loves reading, I knew that he would read them at his leisure. He actually read them all by himself before we were able to read them together.

I chose to read them during the review period as bedtime read-alouds. The first night I read one, our first grader wanted me to read another and then another. (I only read two that night.) He wasn't trying to stall bedtime. He really enjoyed the stories.

Our four-year-old then decided one afternoon she wanted to read Mystery Ranch to me. So we sat down together and she went through the first several pages with a little bit of help with the names of the characters and words like exciting and passenger. But unlike some other learning-to-read books, she did not seem to be discouraged by the few words she did not know. She was also able to follow the story as she was reading the book. And she was very excited to see what the rocks were that were found on Aunt Jane's ranch.

What Did We Think?

I really liked the books. I found them easy to read aloud to our two young children. They are just the right length. The illustrations are bright and colorful. And another great bonus is that the text is large and easy to read – no crazy font or colors. I appreciate books that are easy on the eyes as a parent.

The fact that the children wanted to live in a boxcar is really cool. So many children dream of living on their own in a treehouse, tent, or cave. So the idea is likely to connect with children who love adventure. I also think the way they became orphans and living on their own was handled in a very good manner. Nothing super sad or scary.

Our son's favorite book was Surprise Island. He really liked the museum that the children created while collecting items (like shells) as they were walking up and down the beach. In the story, Joe helps the children identify the objects with books he brings over. (I can see our children creating their own museum much like the Alden children did in the book.)

When I asked our son to tell me what he liked about The Yellow House Mystery, he grabbed the book and sat there laughing as he re-read when Joe's canoe tipped over. He then read some of it out loud to us, which caused his sister to want to see the book, too. He liked the fact that Bill was able to make a new start at the end of the book. A good lesson to be learned about the ability to start over.

After reading Mystery Ranch to our four-year-old, I asked her what she liked about the book. She proceeded to flip through the book and explain what she likes about each part or illustration. She concluded this with: "It's the best book that I love."

Personally, I can't wait to check out more in the series including the ones that aren't adapted for early readers. I think they will be a good fit for our homeschooling journey. As our teen fondly remembered The Boxcar Children series from his younger years, we are sure his siblings will continue to find them as fascinating as he said he did.

Do You Want To Learn More?

Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew read The Boxcar Children Early Reader Set, too! Please be sure to check out their reviews to see how they used the books in their homeschool. And why not take a look at all the other great books from Albert Whitman & Company.

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Book Club: Book Review of The Christian Entrepreneur

Disclaimer: I received a FREE 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.

When looking at available books to review from Bethany House Publishers, I thought that Brock Shinen's new book, The Christian Entrepreneur: Dream, Plan, Execute, Grow, would be an interesting book to read and review. I also was hopeful that I would be able to pass it along to our teenage son who is hoping to start his own photography business. I found Shinen's book to be well organized and easy to read.

A Successful Business

Brock Shinen uses his experience as a lawyer and strategy consultant to present an "easy-to-use guide" that will help budding Christian entrepreneurs in starting their own business. Throughout the book, Shinen presents real world examples from his work as a legal expert and business coach to help bring his points to life for the reader. For example, in the paragraph on disputes, he shares his experience with a client who wanted a contract written and then explains disputes and how they can impact one's business.

The Christian Entrepreneur is a hardcover book of 219 pages that is divided into four parts (called steps) and includes a prologue, epilogue, and appendices with a sample business plan and sample budget worksheet. If an entrepreneur wanted to, they could skip around the book to read the parts that would directly apply to their business at the moment but I think reading it from start to finish would be a better way to fully garner all of Shinen's wisdom.

What Does The Christian Entrepreneur Cover?

There are four parts to the book: Dream, Plan, Execute, and Grow which address the different things to think about when building your new business as well as useful self-assessment tools. Each part contains stories and questions that help the reader really connect and think about their own ideas.

In the first part, Dream, readers are asked to reflect upon their ideas as well as think about whether or not their idea is a good one. There are several flow charts and questions to ask oneself to help with this process. There are also nine elements that are examined to help readers build a business with a strong foundation.

In the next part, Shinen discusses the five main parts of an effective business plan, the money needing during the life of the business, how and why one would build a team, and finally how to decide between building a for-profit or nonprofit business. He brings in personal experiences as well as wisdom from the Bible and a Christian standpoint.

"Unless God clearly instructs us to do something different, logic, experience, and wisdom should be the standard for financial decisions."

The chapters that are part of Step Three: Execute include discussion on customer service and engagement, an overview of the legal landscape that might impact your business, how to handle disputes, and finally a series of negotiation skills to work on. The Christian Entrepreneur offers advice based upon the Bible in regard to disputes. First Corinthians 6 states that we should not sue each other but even if entrepreneurs do everything in their power to avoid lawsuits, there are times when they are unavoidable and Shinen offers a few tips on how to keep eyes open.

What are the values of a Christian Entrepreneur? Ones' Christian value system should permeate "every professional decision" one makes. But while honesty is important, Proverbs reminds us that "A fool uttereth all his mind" (158). Shinen explains in this section that we do not need to have less success, less income, or less recognition just because we are Christian. The final part also explores if and when to grow ones' business. Do we need the fanciest phone or equipment? And finally how does one work in a secular world?

What Did I Think?

Even though I am not starting my own business, I found reading The Christian Entrepreneur to be a very interesting read. It was very easy to read and understand. I liked how the book was broken up into its four parts and then further subdivided into easy-to-manage chapters. I would highly recommend The Christian Entrepreneur to those who are seeking to start their own business or those who are looking to improve upon their own personal business. I think it would be a valuable book.

V is for the C.S.S. Virginia (Blogging Through the Alphabet)

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The hope of the Confederacy. The most famous of the ironclads. The C.S.S. Virginia. But the Virginia did not start life out as a Confederate ship. It was the U.S.S. Merrimack prior to being captured by the Confederacy at Norfolk in May of 1861.

What is an Ironclad?

An ironclad ship is one that is propelled by a steam engine where the ship's hull was covered by iron plates to protect it from enemy fire. Part of the reason they were developed was due to the use of explosive or incendiary shot against wooden ships. It was very easy to destroy those or reek massive amounts of damage against them. So there needed to be an innovation or change to the ships.

The C.S.S. Virginia was built on top of the old wooden vessel, the U.S.S. Merrimack and was 178 feet long and 24 feet high above the water line. Its side sloped at 36 degrees in hopes that the enemy shots would ricochet off the sides of the iron plating. It was armed with ten guns mounted on both sides and the front and back of the ship. There was also an iron ram on the front of the ship so they could ram enemy ships.  It was a huge target in the water.

The Virginia was unable to operate in shallow water due to its weight and could not go in the open seas for the same reason. And with a speed of only 4 to 5 knots, it was not a very fast ship. All these factors led to the Virginia to only have one hugely successful day in the Confederate Navy.

Most Successful Day

On March 8, 1862, the C.S.S. Virginia had its most successful day as an ironclad in the Confederate Navy on the Elizabeth River. It was used to go against a Union blockade at Newport News, Virginia. This engagement was known as the first day of the Battle of Hampton Roads. The Virginia destroyed two Union vessels and damaged three others.

The Union frigate the Congress and the large sloop of war the Cumberland were in the Elizabeth River. The Virginia fired upon both ships and set to ram into the Cumberland. This ship began to sink but it continued to fire upon the enemy as it was sinking. The Virginia then turned to attack the Congress. For over an hour, they continued to fire upon the Congress who finally signaled their surrender. The commanding officer of the Virginia ordered the Congress set on fire. The Union ship burned until it exploded around two a.m. after the fire reached the powder magazine.

When light was fading on March 8, 1862, the Virginia anchored and waited for the next day. They had received damage – two of their gun muzzles were shot off – but they had proven how effective an ironclad could be against a wooden ship. Even with the loss of 12 casualties and structural damage, the Virginia would still be ready to do battle when the sun rose.

This battle proved to be a turning point in naval history because it showed just how effective a steam-powered, iron armored ship could be against a sail powered wooden ship. So even though the U.S.S. Cumberland, one of the two ships destroyed, inflicted heavy damage against the Virginia, they were no match in the end for the steam-powered ironclad.

The Monitor Vs. the Merrimack (Virginia)

Throughout much of history the battle between the Union vessel, the U.S.S. Monitor, and the Confederate ironclad, the C.S.S. Virginia was known as the Monitor Vs. the Merrimack (it is sometimes spelled Merrimac) even though the second ship no longer went by its Union name.

The first battle between two ironclads was this battle on March 9, 1862 between the Monitor and the Virginia. The Monitor sat low in the water to the point where it was almost not visible. It was not a very easy target while the Virginia was quite an easy target. They fought for over two hours. The Virginia tried to ram the Monitor but was unsuccessful and its engines were not operating well. Each thought they had won but, in fact, the battle had been a draw.

Part of the problem of the Virginia is that it could not maneuver effectively. It would take as long as a half an hour to make a 180 degree turn. This left it open to significant damage infliction by smaller, more maneuverable ships – especially ones like the Monitor.

The End of an Ironclad 

So, the most famous ironclad of the Confederacy really only had one great day – March 8, 1862 – because it was greatly damaged by the Monitor. The fighting on land directly impacted the naval battles and plans. As the Union forces moved closer to Richmond, the Confederates tried to move the Virginia up the James River. The heavy ironclad took on too much mud water and needed to be scuttled in the Spring of 1862. In the early morning hours of May 11, 1862, the Virginia was destroyed by an explosion in its powder magazine. But the ship will forever live on in the memory of Civil War enthusiasts as one of the most famous ironclads.

 

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Learning to Read: Review of the PRIDE Reading Program

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Learning to read is such an important skill to acquire. Sometimes our children need a little bit of help in mastering the skills necessary to read. That is where reading programs like PRIDE Reading Program can step in to help parents and schools. It is a structured literacy Orton-Gillingham curriculum that is suitable for children of all ages. PRIDE Reading Program "uses engaging, multi-sensory methods to teach reading, writing, spelling and comprehension." Before ordering our Program Kit to review, our daughter took the Placement Assessment to determine which of the eight programs to select. We ended up with the very first one: PRIDE Beginning Consonants Program Kit.

Shortly after ordering and signing up, I received a welcome email demonstrating where to find the PRIDE Reading Program Training Course that needs to be completed before instruction begins with a child. I have been able to work my way through the training course unit by unit, one or two at a time, depending upon how much time I have available. At the end of the units, there are questions to ensure that you understand the videos and text presented. And while I understand this is a general training course, I wish I didn’t have to watch all the videos that didn’t pertain to me as we are using the Beginning Consonants workbook. 

This is one of the training videos that didn't seem to apply to the Beginning Consonants level.
But the information presented could prove useful.

In some respects, I almost wish I had gone with the next level of the reading program (PRIDE Yellow Book Program Kit - Level 1) as our four-year-old daughter already knows her consonants and can read age-appropriate books but when taking the placement test she struggled with writing the letters and – even though she read them all – she got frustrated and started making mistakes. So, if I had this all over to do again, I would use the PRIDE Scope and Sequence to help me pick the appropriate level rather than the placement test.

What is the PRIDE Reading Program?

The PRIDE Reading Program uses a step-by-step method where students must master each concept before progressing onto the next one. Instructors, in this case homeschooling parents, follow the script and allow their children to move at their own pace. With the PRIDE Reading Program, learning to read should be fun and rewarding and learning should not be stressful or a struggle.

The program uses the Orton-Gillingham method which will work with all students but is designed with students who are dyslexic or have reading struggles specifically in mind. If you wish to read more about the Orton-Gillingham method, you can find more information on the PRIDE Reading Program site but in general it is a reading and spelling teaching method composed of the following components:

• Structured 
• Sequential 
• Cumulative 
• Explicit 
• Multi-sensory 
• Systematic phonics 

Because the program is scripted, you can easily follow this method in your homeschool. And if your children thrive on routines in their homeschooling journey and prefer to know exactly what will happen next, this will be a valuable resource in teaching your children to read. It also takes a multi-sensory approach incorporating auditory, tactile, and visual teaching methods to help your children.

What is Part of the PRIDE Beginning Consonants Program Kit? 

The very first part of the reading program contains three pieces: 

• PRIDE Beginning Consonants Workbook - 2nd Edition 
• PRIDE Beginning Consonants Online Teaching Guide - 2nd Edition 
• PRIDE Sound Cards 

The Beginning Consonants Program Kit focuses upon the following letters: b, c, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z, and d. Each letter has three pages in the workbook which include a page with a picture of animal or item that starts with the letter, a page for your child to practice writing the lowercase letter, and a sounds page that looks at pictures and works that contain beginning sounds, ending sounds, mixed sounds, practice sounds, and reinforcement sounds. Finally, there is a page for sound dictation. 

The workbook is black and white while the back of the Sound Cards are colorful (the letters themselves are printed in black). On occasion, our daughter wanted to color in the pictures. She has wanted to color in the jellyfish, child jumping, and koala.

The online teaching guide is organized by steps with the instructions for each step placed in separate boxes. It is very easy to read the directions and move through each step. Each letter in the Beginning Consonants has three units and as you complete each one you hit 'mark as completed' to move on to the next unit.

You can very easily see where you are within the program by looking at the course progress page where you can access all the lessons, too. I appreciate having a visual to see just how far our daughter has come using the PRIDE Reading Program and what will be coming up in our homeschool in future weeks for us.

We also received a poster of a sound chart which we hung up on the wall in our dining room. It is good to review the sounds while waiting for dinner to start or anytime our daughter walks through the room.

How Did We Use the PRIDE Reading Program in Our Homeschool? 

Before you can start using the program you need to complete a training course which uses a combination of text and short video presentation to demonstrate how to use the program. It was quite easy to access the training lessons and work through them. There were questions at the end to make sure you understood the concepts being taught that you had to answer correctly before you moved onto the next training lesson.

After I completed the training course, our daughter and I started with the first lesson in the Beginning Consonants Level. The very first sound and letter worked upon is b. We spent time reviewing what the lowercase letter b looks like, the sound that it makes, how to write the lowercase letter b, and reviewing the sound at the beginning, end, and middle of words. We then continued this pattern for the letters c, f, g, h, j, k, and l so far.

Each lesson using the Beginning Consonants materials takes anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes depending upon how much redirection is necessary with our daughter. She definitely enjoys the parts of the lessons where she is able to get up, move around, and be active.

During the the middle of the review period, I asked our daughter what she thought of it so far. She said she loves learning about the letters. She specifically flipped to the letter h pages and talked about "H being a great letter."

Her favorite activity so far has been writing out the letters using chocolate chips (which was one of the extension activities). I created index cards and slipped them into a plastic bag so she could fill in the letters with the chips.

She also loves the parts of the lessons where we take turn thinking of different words that start with the sound we are currently studying. She enjoys taking turns and trying to come up with different words. She gets very excited when I get a word correct.

Each lesson only takes us about 10 to 20 minutes depending upon how active our daughter is during the lesson. Due to the short nature of the lessons, they fit quite well into our homeschooling day. If there is an extra learning activity, the lessons can take a bit longer if our daughter is having fun with the activity.

Things to Be Aware Of

In the Beginning Consonants workbook, there are several illustrations and word choices that some may have trouble with including: ghost, witch, and reindeer (it is drawn in a way that I think resembles Rudolph). Personally, our family has no problem with reading about or using these words in our homeschool lessons but I know some families would rather stay clear of images associated with Halloween or the secularization of Christmas.

You can see the ghost image here on the page where our daughter is
pointing out the different images and words for the letter g.

What Do We Think? 

Unfortunately for our family, I do not think that the scripted structure of the lessons is a fit in our homeschool. While our daughter loves knowing what comes next and anticipating the next step in a lesson, she also tries to jump ahead while I am going through the script. She also has a tendency to try to do things her own way which makes it hard to stick to a script.

I asked our four-year-old preschooler to share what her favorite parts of the program were during the review period. She liked the letter b because she liked the pictures for the sounds page such as baby, bus, and baboon. She also enjoyed tracing and writing the letter c. She told me her favorite activity is the sounds page and looking for the letter to circle in each box. Our daughter really enjoyed repeating the actions that went along with each letter sound because she loves moving while she is doing her homeschooling. She wanted to do this step each day – even when it was not part of the script.

I like the idea of the program and I think it would work really well for some families whose children are struggling reading. I think our daughter has pleasantly surprised me with how quickly she has absorbed the information being presented and we could probably skip through some of the steps if I wasn't following a scripted program. As I said earlier, I think a later program in the PRIDE Reading Program would fit our daughter's learning even better.

Even though the PRIDE Reading Program was not a perfect fit for our homeschooling family, I would recommend it for families who are looking for a scripted program that will help their children become successful readers.

Do You Want To Learn More?

Don't forget to see learn more about the other levels of the PRIDE Reading Program by checking out the Homeschool Review Crew!

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Book Club: Review of The Timepiece

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Perhaps you were wondering what happened to the Miller family after everyone in Hickory Hollow found out Ernest had been previously married before joining the Amish? In The Tinderbox, we read of Ernest, his first marriage, and how the secret he kept caused pain and growth for his immediate family and the Amish community. In this sequel, The Timepiece, Beverly Lewis focuses on the appearance of Adeline Pelham, Ernest's daughter by his first wife and how this impacts everyone.

Over the course of thirty-nine chapters, we see how the arrival of Adeline impacts Ernest and his wife Rhoda, their daughter Sylvia, and the sons. Adeline agrees to stay with the Millers for a time before she needs to return for her college courses in Georgia. She asks a lot of questions to try to understand the Millers and the Amish in general. Sylvia also finds that— in forming a new relationship with her half-sister—she grows and changes occur within her immediate relationships.

A Page Turner 

Personally, I felt the story of The Timepiece flowed and was easy to read. The pace was smooth and I wanted to read the next chapter. I wanted to know how Adeline would react to attending Sunday service, if she would marry her fiancé, Brendon, and just who would Sylvia end up marrying herself? I enjoyed seeing Adeline grow closer to God and accept Jesus as she read the Gospel of John and her mother's own diary which spoke of her mother's spiritual journey. At one point, Adeline is driving to the Millers and is thinking about the life of Jesus. I loved that she had tears springing from her eyes as she thought about His Crucifixion. This touching reaction really brought her to life for me.

Beverly Lewis provided a nice conclusion to the story of the Millers, although she could go back and revisit them if she wanted to share the life of Sylvia or her brothers as they get older. I would recommend The Timepiece to readers who enjoy Christian fiction, stories set in the Amish community, or those seeking a comforting story of forgiveness and growth.

Do you want to read my review of The Tinderbox?