Review ~ If You Were Me and Lived In.....book series by Carole P. Roman

 Carole P. Roman is a children's book author who had a desire for children to learn about other countries and cultures so that they would realize we are all basically the same. We may have different customs, foods, clothing, and climate but deep down we are all human.

We received the first 4 books for this review, the titles included.....
If You Were Me And Lived In.....France
If You Were Me And Lived In.....South Korea
If You Were Me And Lived In.....Mexico
If You Were Me And Lived In.....Norway
(This book was just released and does not yet have a link to share on Carole's website.)

The "If You Were Me And Lived In..." series was written for ages Pre-K to age 8. My two youngest girls fell into this age category, but my 9 and 10 year olds rarely want to miss a book reading so they got involved as well.



I think these books are well written and definitely with the younger crowd in mind. However, the taste of information given was enough to spark interest into my older kids to go and find out more.








Each paperback book has just a few pages with just a few lines of text. The perfect amount to keep a wiggly little one's interest. The illustrations are appealing to little eyes, with bright colors and smiling faces. We found plenty of  interesting things to talk about on each page.

 We learned some new words, and thankfully there is a pronunciation guide in the back!





We used a globe and a map to find each country. We used other map skills to determine what continent and hemisphere it was located in, the longitude and latitude, etc. Of course they had to find out what animals lived there as well.






I even found some free printable coloring pages for each country's flag, landmarks, animals, and traditional dress. It turned into a little unit study.



There are many ways you can stretch these books out and also use them with older kids. We have definitely enjoyed these sweet books!

Each book is available from Amazon.com in paperback version for under $9.00 each, they are also available in ebook format for Kindle.

   

Growing Up Wild

This year our curriculum is all about geography and learning about the different countries and the people who live there. Every morning during our bible time we learn about different people groups, what they believe, and how missionaries are working with them to lead them to Christ. We pray for these people and the missionaries who serve them. We read missionary biographies as read alouds.

The kids enjoy me reading books to them, but what has really got their minds thinking about missions are these DVD's about the Wild family, who are real life modern day missionaries in Papua, Indonesia.

 The purpose in creating this series includes educating children about missionary life, in the hopes they will inspire a new generation of missionaries.

Growing Up Wild is a series of 5 DVD's that show and tell all about what being a missionary today is really like. Seeing this through the eyes of  the 4 Wild brothers really catches their interest and gives them a glimpse of missionary life they wont get from a book.  We reviewed volume 1 and 4, each contain 3 episodes that are about 15 minutes long each. These DVD's are very high quality and look like they were professionally filmed, but they were actually made by the Wild family themselves! 

These DVD's are geared toward children 5 to 12, but is enjoyable by all ages. These can be used to compliment a homeschool curriculum, a Sunday school class, vacation bible school, and youth groups.

Volume 1 includes the episodes...

Home Sweet Hut- See their home and how it was built. See what everyday life looks like, and some of the creatures too.
Supply Trip- Learn about how they get their supplies for everyday living out in the jungle..
Sun and Water- Learn how they get their electricity and water to their hut. Yes they have a modernized little hut!









Volume 4 includes the episodes.....

 Amazing World Around Us- Meet some of the amazing creatures God created in the jungles of Papua.
Adventures in Culture- Learn about traditions unique to the tribal people of Papua.
Tribal Calling- This episode tells of how the Wild family knew they were called to be missionaries to this tribe of people. Very inspiring!

What an amazing family to be a part of!







 Watching the Growing Up Wild series has been fascinating for the kids! They have asked for the the other 3 volumes for Christmas. I have loved watching with them, I enjoy seeing how they do things without the modern world all around them. I am thankful there are families out there spreading the Gospel in other countries where life isn't as easy as it is here in the USA.

These have made an excellent addition to our study of countries and missionaries around the world. The activity guides add things I had not thought of to our studies as well. I highly recommend them!

Each DVD also has an extra activity guide on CD  full of  additional activities to enhance the DVD content. See a sample of the activity guide for Volume 1 here.

 The price per volume is $18.99, or get all 5 volumes for $80.99 ( a 15% discount)


 Disclaimer ~ We received this product at no cost in exchange for an honest review after using it in our homeschool. No other compensation was given. All opinions expressed here are my own.  Other opinions may vary. Click the banner above to read what others thought of this product.

Lots and Lots of Penguins! (Marshall Publishing)

We were given the opportunity to review a set of DVD's from Marshall Publishing that included Lots and Lots of Penguins in the Wild, Lots and Lots of Playful Penguins and Their Toe Tapping Feet, and a bonus DVD containing an animated video Party Like a Penguin. This company carries many other DVD's in the "Lots and Lots Of" series. You have probably seen these advertised on TV if you have it in your home.


This year we are using a curriculum called Exploring Countries and Cultures, it is a year of geography and there are unit studies for all 7 continents. Antarctica was supposed to be the last unit, but we skipped ahead so we could use these DVD's along with it. I just love the freedom we have to do that with homeschooling!


Using Lots and Lots of Penguins along with the Antarctica unit was a perfect fit! Compared to the other continents and countries we will be learning about, there isn't a whole lot to learn about Antarctica except for the location, climate, and animals that live there.

After finding Antarctica on the map we put in the Lots and Lots of Penguins in the Wild DVD. This video is awesome because it contains no narration or other distractions. The kids were free to just watch and discover on their own. Other creatures from Antarctica can be seen in this DVD as well. We were able to get a good look at what the land looks like, I challenged them to find a tree or other plants. One of the first comments they made was that they would HATE to live there, the wind howling in the background and the ice floating around in the ocean made them realize just how cold it must be. This led to some great discussion about how God made penguins special so they could live in such a frozen climate. God thought of everything!

Later we watched Lots and Lots of Playful Penguins and Their Toe Tapping Feet. This DVD is different because it used an animated penguin to tell about each kind of penguin. Lots of live video showing the characteristics of each breed and also how each one sounds different made this a very educational experience. We learned that Emperor penguins get taller than our 3 year old and weigh more than my 9 year old and them used that information to compare each of the other breeds. Music "videos" including real penguin footage are played in between the informational parts. Edited clips of penguins make them seem as if they are dancing along. All 4 kids were up and dancing through these sections, and my 3 year old just giggled while watching the penguins waddle and slide around.




The bonus DVD is an animated video with cartoon penguins dancing along to the song "Party Like a Penguin". My 3 and 6 year old like watching this one over and over, but honestly after the first few times this DVD was driving everyone else a little nuts. But then again so does many of the other DVD's they have with sing along songs. This one is definitely geared toward younger kids.





If you have little ones that love penguins or older kids who will be learning about Antarctica these DVD's would be a great learning tool to go along with your studies. The 3 DVD set can be purchased from the Marshall Publishing website or by calling 1-888-300-3455. The regular price is $39.00 but right now its on sale for $19.95 and if you use the code TOS27 at checkout you will also get FREE first class shipping!

Disclaimer ~ We received this product at no cost in exchange for an honest review after using it in our homeschool. No other compensation was given. All opinions expressed here are my own.