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.

In addition to our family Bible time, I encourage each of my children that can read independently, to have a personal Bible study/devotional time each day.  My daughter was excited to get a chance to try out the The Action Bible Anytime Devotions by David C Cook as we reviewed it over the last few weeks.

The first thing I noticed when the book arrived was the colorful illustrations on the cover and for each devotional. The interior pages are full of bright colorful illustrations that help draw a child into the stories.

The book consists of 90 devotionals, each one about two pages long. The devotionals each includes a Bible verse, a short story/devotional thought, and several action points. The devotionals each conclude with a “Take it Further” section, which gives references to which scriptures you can read for the full story that was discussed in the devotional. If you have the Action Bible, this section also refers you to the appropriate story in that Bible version. The scriptures that are quoted with-in the book use the New International Version.

The action points include prayers, things to ponder and consider throughout the day, and ways that you can share what you are learning, help others, and put into action the things you learned in the devotional.

The devotionals are divided into several different categories: love, strength, courage, faith, service, trust, hope and kindness. These categories are labeled both on the devotion itself and in the table of contents. If a child was struggling in a particular area, this could be a great way to choose devotions to target that area.

For example, one devotional was titled, ” When You Feel Ignored” and was in the courage category. This devotional used 1 Timothy 4:12 as the key verse. It discussed how it can be hard when people say you are too young to do things, but Timothy was young and was a strong leader. It encourages the child to become a leader as well. The action points for this devotional included making good choices to ” choose to show God’s love, share your faith, and live a pure life with your body”, a prayer asking God for strength, and an opportunity to talk to your friends about the good choices you want to make.  The “take it further” section recommends reading Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:9, and 1 Chronicles 28:20 for more Biblical insight into courage.

This devotional was recommended for ages 8-12, however, my twelve-year-old daughter felt like it was a bit too young and basic for her. She thought it would be better suited for ages 6-10. She thought that the devotionals were well written but that she was not growing like she would like to because it was mostly covering the basics. This may vary depending on how much exposure a child has had to the Bible and devotionals.

All in all, this was a well written but very basic devotional book. It is a great starter devotional for an elementary child or an older child that is just learning or resistant to reading longer devotionals. The pictures are amazing and very engaging, but it may be to easy or basic for an older student who has a strong Bible background. Be sure to check out The Action Bible Anytime Devotions for more information and don’t forget to click on the graphic below to check out the reviews from other Review Crew members to see what they thought.

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.

My children adore playing card and board games! They play with each other, they play with friends, and their favorite is having family game nights. Sometimes we play games that are just for fun, but I really like being able to play games that also sneak in a little educational component in the process. Byron’s Games  has created a wonderful card game called Continent Race that combines fun with education.

Continent Race is recommended for ages 7+ but with some help younger children can also enjoy the game. The day it arrived in the mail my children were ready to play and the five-year-old was determined not to be left out. The game is ideal for students that can read but because the cards are color coded, my five-year-old was able to participate with a little help from me or one of his siblings.

From the time we opened the package until we were playing the game was probably less than 10 minutes. They were very excited to play and it was very simple to set up and understand. There were two options for play, one being a simpler version for younger children. Since my five-year-old was playing we started with that level. However, my 12 and 13-year olds enjoyed both levels of play.

The game included:

• 1 World Map
• 5 Continent Lists with Maps
• 205 Country Cards
• 3 Antarctica Wild Cards

One thing that I really appreciated about the game is that it can be played with only two players or it can be played with multiple players. This meant that we could use it for a family game or my older children could play on their own when they had a few minutes of free time.

The idea behind the game is that each card has a country and flag on it. The cards are different colors based on the continent where the country is located. The goal is to collect groups of countries from the various continents. Then you have to located the countries on the map. This is a great way to get familiar with the geographical location of a variety of countries in a fun and competitive format.

Each round of this game lasted only about 15 minutes which makes it perfect when you only have a short amount of time between activities.  You could also continue playing if you had a longer block of time. I also appreciated that it came in a nice reusable box that makes it easy to keep the contents together and would allow you to travel with the game. We are traveling out of state soon for a missions trip and the children are planning to take this game with them for night time entertainment.

We enjoyed playing Continent Race  and I liked knowing that it as helping my children become more familiar with geography and global awareness. I think that the game is best for ages 7+ independently but you can certainly include younger children that can sort colors, with a bit of help. Be sure to check out the website for more information  and don’t forget to click on the graphic below to check out the reviews of the Continent Race  and  Connections Stationery Kit by Byron’s Games  from other Review Crew members.

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.

When it comes to teenagers reading, some would say that any reading is good reading. However, there is a vast difference in the content and quality of different books. I am always on the lookout for quality books that my children and teens will enjoy reading but will also help them to grow personally or spiritually.  That is why I was very excited to have the opportunity to have my thirteen year old review Venturing with God in Congo by Conjurske Publications.

Venturing with God in Congo is the memoirs of Darrell Champlin and the ten years that he spent in the 1950s and 60s as a missionary to the Congo. The beginning of the book gives you background information, a pronunciation guide for the words that are in Lingala, a timeline of major events, a map of the Congo and autobiographical sketches from Darrell Champlin and his wife Louise.  There is also a family tree which is helpful for understanding the connections of various people involved in the stories.

The rest of the book is a collection of the many wonderful and life changing adventures of Darrell and Louise Champlin while they were ministering in the Congo as well as some background about Lousie’s parents and their ministry to the Congo.

The book is a nicely made hardback book that is just under 300 pages. The cover is well done (even though the snake on the cover makes me cringe) and engaging to teens, especially boys. Even though the book is longer, most of the chapters or stories are only four or five pages long. I think this would help make this book engaging teens that aren’t as engaged in reading because they could read it in shorter sections.

When I asked my son to share his thoughts he said:

“In the book he talked about his adventures teaching the Bible all over the area he lived in the Congo. I also liked the stories about his adventures with the animals that lived in the jungle around him. One of my favorite stories was when he went elephant hunting and shot the elephant without the permit and his rifle was taken until he was able to convince them that it was to save the crops the big elephant was destroying.”

My son rated this book a 9.5 out of 10 and recommended it for ages 11-14. He felt like it was a fairly easy read that he finished in under a week (it is worth noting that he enjoys reading). If you are looking for a quality book that will engage your teen while encouraging them in their Christian walk, I recommend looking into Venturing with God in Congo   Be sure to check out the website for more information  and don’t forget to click on the graphic below to check out the reviews from other Review Crew members.

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.

We are always excited about the chance to review new books and add to our family library. That excitement is magnified when the books are coming from an author we already know and enjoy! We were very excited to have the opportunity to review four  wonderful paperback children’s books from Carole P. Roman’s assorted series. We had already reviewed a selection of her books last year, so we knew we were in for a treat!

We were blessed to be able to choose four of Carole P. Roman‘s wonderful titles, the only challenge was narrowing down which four books we wanted to choose. My first selection was the easiest, I chose If You Were Me and Lived on… Mars. My son is really interested in astronauts and space so this was a perfect fit for him. This book was full of fun and colorful illustrations. The story gave him great information about Mars but also a good perspective of what it might be like if we had a colony on Mars. It shared how in addition to the special things needed for space, it talked about how everyday activities like basketball would be different on Mars.

Next, I went with If You Were Me and Lived In… Colonial America because

that is one of our favorite eras in history. This book focused on the Pilgrims which was an interesting perspective for us. We spend a lot of time studying and participating in living history events related to Colonial North Carolina. It was a great opportunity for my children to compare and contrast the two areas.

My final two selections were If You Were Me And Lived In… Italy and If You Were Me and Lived in… Israel.  These books gave lots of great information about the geography and culture of each country.  My children really enjoyed the parts about foods in the different countries as well as learning a few words in the language of each country. There was information about schooling, daily life, and important places in the country.

Each of these paperback books included beautiful full color illustrations that were a combination of mostly drawings with a few photographs in the books about a specific country. The drawings featured children and made the books very attractive to my children. In the back of each book, was a pronunciation guide that helped with words that might not be familiar to a young reader.

Each of the books is written from the point of view of a child in that time period or from that location. I think this really helps students to relate to the books and be engaged with the story. For example, in the Colonial America book the little boy spoke about the chores that he did, the clothes he wore, how he was educated, and even his friends.

In addition to the titles that we reviewed; Carole P. Roman has a plethora of other titles. Many are educational titles similar to the ones we reviewed but there are also fun fiction stories. I highly suggest checking out the variety of titles to see what would appeal to your family. Which title would you like to read? You can also check out the titles we reviewed last year: Carole P. Roman Book Review. Be sure to check out the website for more information and click on the graphic below to check out the reviews from other Review Crew members.