joyfulhomeschooler Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Anyone have any input? I have a 3rd and 1st grader 8 & 6 yrs and they seem to be having a difficult time getting really interested in the Christian heroes then and now series... I looked at a few pages of the young readers though and they seem really basic compared to the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I looked at those too, but the Young Readers are in poem format, not story format. That seemed, well, not for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 I looked at those too, but the Young Readers are in poem format, not story format. That seemed, well, not for us. This is what I was thinking too! They just don't seem deep enough either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 The chapter books are okay. Not really literature of a quality for read aloud, IMO. Many ramble and go down rabbit trails and are just not that exciting. I have used them for a co-op class by reading, taking notes and retelling in about 4 or 5 "chapters", usinf the picture book for visuals/supplement. I love for my kids to know about missionaries, but would like to find better written biographies! We like Hero Tales better that the YWAM books, for kids. And also Heroes of Faith and Courage series by Victor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 The chapter books are okay. Not really literature of a quality for read aloud, IMO. Many ramble and go down rabbit trails and are just not that exciting. I have used them for a co-op class by reading, taking notes and retelling in about 4 or 5 "chapters", usinf the picture book for visuals/supplement. I love for my kids to know about missionaries, but would like to find better written biographies! We like Hero Tales better that the YWAM books, for kids. And also Heroes of Faith and Courage series by Victor. We are LOVING Hero Tales too! Nevery heard of Faith and Courage series though.. going to look into it now. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SewLittleTime Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I'm not crazy about the Heroes Then and Now series either. I have a few of them used in conjunction with our TOG studies, but the poem format is well, just not appreciated by my kids. I read this latest one in more of a prose style, and it helped. We have done Hero Tales and liked them. We have also enjoyed several of the Benge's books on missionaries. My little ones even sit for those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Anyone have any input? I have a 3rd and 1st grader 8 & 6 yrs and they seem to be having a difficult time getting really interested in the Christian heroes then and now series... I looked at a few pages of the young readers though and they seem really basic compared to the others. When my oldest did ECC the first time, she was 8 (2nd grade and ADV didn't exist). I remember we didn't like the Cam Townsend book that much. But we did like the others. I remember for her, I ended up not reading each chapter verbatim. I'd pre read and tell the story out loud to her with props. I know my younger children were not listening to the stories at all. I can't imagine trying with a 1st grader. Then, fast forward to 5 years later... I had a 7th grader and 4th grader in ECC. And we really enjoyed the books. Cam Townsend doesn't have a lot of fancy exciting things happen to him with tons of troubles. but he has a story all the same and of course, the whole Wycliffe Translators. I didn't bother getting bogged down in the details about the travels in the Buick all that much. I retold the stories about that. So for me, some of them in ECC were really good and excited. I think my 4th grader was really into the Gladys Alyward story and we couldn't put it down in some places. (yes, we took note of MFW's notes about certain sections of certain chapters). so, yes, I think 1st grade is too young. 3rd grade -- I used it with my oldest as a 2nd grader and she enjoyed the biographies, but then again, i don't remember reading them word for word either. I told the stories from the chapters, and read in more dramatic voice. I got the poem versions for my youngest for one story. -crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share Posted October 16, 2011 When my oldest did ECC the first time, she was 8 (2nd grade and ADV didn't exist). I remember we didn't like the Cam Townsend book that much. But we did like the others. I remember for her, I ended up not reading each chapter verbatim. I'd pre read and tell the story out loud to her with props. I know my younger children were not listening to the stories at all. I can't imagine trying with a 1st grader. Then, fast forward to 5 years later... I had a 7th grader and 4th grader in ECC. And we really enjoyed the books. Cam Townsend doesn't have a lot of fancy exciting things happen to him with tons of troubles. but he has a story all the same and of course, the whole Wycliffe Translators. I didn't bother getting bogged down in the details about the travels in the Buick all that much. I retold the stories about that. So for me, some of them in ECC were really good and excited. I think my 4th grader was really into the Gladys Alyward story and we couldn't put it down in some places. (yes, we took note of MFW's notes about certain sections of certain chapters). so, yes, I think 1st grade is too young. 3rd grade -- I used it with my oldest as a 2nd grader and she enjoyed the biographies, but then again, i don't remember reading them word for word either. I told the stories from the chapters, and read in more dramatic voice. I got the poem versions for my youngest for one story. -crystal Thanks Crystal! This is good advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Just wanted to add that you might want to try them out. My son was in 3rd grade and he loved them so much that we read many more than were scheduled. Yes, they are kinda format writing, but they research a lot of details and make sure to have exciting events to keep interest up. Sometimes folks talk about saving them for middle school, but my particular son enjoyed the 7-8th grade biographies at a higher level by then, such as Bruchko. He wasn't so interested in the Christian Heroes ones at that point, although he still enjoyed (and still today enjoys) one on occasion (he just read George Washington Carver in the Heroes of History series this year, in 10th grade). The thing about Hero Tales is that he didn't totally get a sense of the person's life. They were just too short for my particular son to be very memorable. So just saying that each family will be different and keep in mind that for *some* families these will be major, life-changing, family traditions (I've even heard that from some families who didn't think they would like them). And yes, Cameron is the slowest one. But his story of basically realizing that folks need the Bible in their own "heart language" was very pertinent when we were doing ECC. And it was a great balance to the next story of the tragedy of Nate Saint -- ds realized that not every mission ended in tragedy, because he'd read of the long life of Cameron. HTH, Julie P.S. Age 6 does seem young, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted October 24, 2011 Author Share Posted October 24, 2011 Just wanted to add that you might want to try them out. My son was in 3rd grade and he loved them so much that we read many more than were scheduled. Yes, they are kinda format writing, but they research a lot of details and make sure to have exciting events to keep interest up. Sometimes folks talk about saving them for middle school, but my particular son enjoyed the 7-8th grade biographies at a higher level by then, such as Bruchko. He wasn't so interested in the Christian Heroes ones at that point, although he still enjoyed (and still today enjoys) one on occasion (he just read George Washington Carver in the Heroes of History series this year, in 10th grade). The thing about Hero Tales is that he didn't totally get a sense of the person's life. They were just too short for my particular son to be very memorable. So just saying that each family will be different and keep in mind that for *some* families these will be major, life-changing, family traditions (I've even heard that from some families who didn't think they would like them). And yes, Cameron is the slowest one. But his story of basically realizing that folks need the Bible in their own "heart language" was very pertinent when we were doing ECC. And it was a great balance to the next story of the tragedy of Nate Saint -- ds realized that not every mission ended in tragedy, because he'd read of the long life of Cameron. HTH, Julie P.S. Age 6 does seem young, though. Thanks for this :) Yes, it is my six year old having the hardest time... but my oldest isn't really enjoying it either. For now we have set it aside and will still try with the others. Plus, this is giving me more time to read bookbasket books to them for read aloud. The Hero tales have so far been VERY memorable to them. The discussions we are having are great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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