“Story of the World” History Books Review.

This set of history books were recommended by Cathy Duffy’s 100 best picks. It was is recommended by several sources as a very hands on book. As for the best History Books for Catholic’s, well, I haven’t found anything condemning the church. However, I do believe that there are better History books for Catholic Kids out. So don’t give up your hunt before deciding on this collection of history books. I do highly recommend the Activity book that go with them. The activities are fun and seem to reach all age groups.

There are 4 volumes and they are recommended for grades 1st through 4th grade. It is very easy to use. The Activity manual is necessary to experience full success with the program. They also sell these is audio books which can be purchased individually or as the entire 4 volume collection. We didn’t do that, we enjoy reading the stories at night together as a family then talk about them.

Should you decide to buy one or more of this series it may seem a little confusing at first. Each volume has about 3 or 4 different choices. There are really just 2 essential books you need. One choice is Hardback or Paperback of the text. The other book is the Activity book which includes a complete curriculum guide within it. There is a third option and that includes purchasing the audio version of the text. It can be purchased in one or all of the volumes.

Be aware some of the cheaper Story of the World History Volumes that are selling the a really reduced rate are the original edition and not the revised editions. Does it matter? You decide; the revised edition include map updates. If you can work around that you may just save yourself $10 – $20.00 per book.

The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Volume 1: Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor, Revised Edition (Paperback) and The Story of the World. Activity Book 1: Ancient Times

Find these books on Amazon.com
Story of the World Ancient Times Volume 1 The Story of the World. Activity Book 1: Ancient Times (Revised Edition) (Bk. 1)
AD Totally Tut Pyramid Game

To my knowledge Angelicum Academy also offers a Lesson plan for Volume 1 only. The cost of the Lesson plan is $10.00 you can find it through this link.

The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 2: The Middle Ages: From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance, Revised Edition (Paperback) and The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Activity Book 2: The Middle Ages: From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance, Revised Edition (v. 2) (Paperback)

History of the World Volume 2 Middle Ages The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Activity Book 2: The Middle Ages: From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance, Revised Edition (v. 2)

Volume 3 also has a workbooks to go with it.

Story of the World Volume 3 Early Modern Times Book Can be found for between $13 – $32

Here you can find Modern Age Volume 4 for as little as $7.99

Abortion from a 12 year olds perspective.

This is a video that I found when visiting www.catholicvilliage.com.

as quoted from their site:

“From Heritage New Media site: “The mother of a 12-year-old girl whose pro-life speech has become a hit YouTube video says her daughter’s passion for the unborn is genuine. Lia is a preteen from Canada who decided to speak out against abortion in her school’s speech contest, despite teachers and school officials who encouraged her to pick a different topic.”

Wholesome Girls websites

With so many websites trying to grab our children’s attention and influence their attitudes about life, style, and so much more…

Here is a list of some wholesome decsent girl websites I found for girls who are beyond PreK stuff but not ready for the teen world.

Philomena Girl – St. Philomena or Filomena as they say in Italian, was the little Saint behind this wonderful website. A place to be a girl and be with God. It’s a very wholesome Catholic girl website. They talk and show how to dress modestly, you will find a music section with a guide that help you choose music groups that suit your style. Their is a litany of prayer section and more. I think you will really like this site if you have a daughter between the ages of 6 – 16.

EWTN Kids Club – A Catholic website for kids. You do have to have This virtual neighborhood has a church, nun that sing, a school, families and their homes you can visit. Dress the little baby and a bunch more. It’s really a an entertaining website for your children and one you won’t have to worry about them being on. They even have TV shows for kids. You can go on to this site with or without joining the club. It’s free to join and they don’t try to sell you anything or bombard you with emails. They will however send parents an email stating that you child wants to join and you must grant the request in order for them to join. This site is great for children ages 4-12 easily.

Little Flower Girls Club – Here is a link to a popular Catholic girls club. You can find craft and activity books, supplies, leaders guides, flyers, badges, and everything you need to start a virtueous girls group.

Precious Girls Club – Free to join it a wholesome girls virtual community. There are different levels of membership you will pay for a premium membership. But the free one is just as much fun.

MyFriend – The official Catholic Magazine for kids. I don’t know why they call it a magazine because it’s a really fun website for Catholic children. The daughters of St. Paul put out this Pauline kids website that includes games, jokes, puzzles, stories, music and even movie reviews.

Secret Keepers Girl SKG Cute Christian based website. A few entertaining games, they discuss dressing modestly with the body squad, God plan for you.

True Girl online is no really a workable website. They sell a magazine subscription through this site. It’s more for the 12 – 18 year old crowd. They also cover dressing modestly. They got some great links within their site.

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Coins Song – Math

Here is a song that will help teach kids about counting with money.

Rent a Catholic Movie! – Lent Challenge

This lent why not try something a little different, like giving up main stream television. What I mean by that is unplug the cable line to your TV set yet, still watch DVD’s, Videos and more. Go online, find whatever you want to watch, news shows, movies, whatever. The point behind this is forcing yourself to deliberately search for what you want to actually see without carelessly running the TV just to have background noise or watch whatever happens to be on because your bored. By making a deliberate search for what your want to find online it avoids vegging out in front of the TV. You’ll probably notice you will watch more of what you really want to view without being bombarded with commercials.

The goal is trying to accomplish changing the way you view programming. After Lent is over and when you begin watching main stream television again, notice how sensative you become to trashy commercials and commercials that tell how to think, what’s wrong with your, etc.. Note how bias media is and the stories of death, murder, kill, depress, the news stations inundate you with. It’s amazing, you will never watch television in the same light again. You will see just how much time the TV actually robs and controls your life.

So where can you go to watch things online like free movies if you don’t have Netflixs, Blockbuster or something like that? You can try Hulu.com or do your own search. Graboid.com offers a free trial that should be just long enough to last through lent. The news stations like CNN, FOX, or ABC news all have streaming features; watch newclips that you want to watch instead of what they throw at you. EWTN even offers streaming to their TV station. There is also a online catholic movie rental website called piusmedia.com that is worth checking out.

So challenge yourself during this time of lent even if you don’t feel like you can go all the way with cutting yourself off from television attempt to make deliberate decisions about what you will watch.

Tell me about Purgatory

Here is the last part of a 4 part video on Purgatory. It explains about Jewish reference to Hades, praying for the dead, and includes scripture references.