With Lee in Virginia - An Heirloom Audio Review

We have been so blessed by Heirloom Audio Productions.  My favorite thing about their audio dramas?  They make ME excited about history!  I grew up thinking I didn't like history.  It took me until I was nearly in my 30's to develop any real interest or enthusiasm for anything history related.  Now, I'm hooked, and I feel like I have a ton of catching up to do.  Honestly, with as much as I would love to read and learn I could spend my lifetime lost in books and barely scratch the surface.

With Lee in Virginia only serves to add fuel to my fire.  Heirloom Audio Productions is masterful in their interpretation of The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty.  The Zoo Crew has had the privilege of reviewing Under Drakes Flag and In Freedom's Cause prior to the latest release of With Lee in Virginia.  This new production certainly maintains the same high quality standard that we've grown to anticipate and enjoy.

With known artists such as Sean Astin, Kirk Cameron, and Brian Blessed as well as an expert sound effects team one cannot help but be transported to a different time and place in history reliving the event through the vivid picture that they so expertly lay before us.  I quickly get lost in the story as do my children, and they ask wonderful questions spurring great conversations between us.

We have not yet covered The Civil War in depth within our homeschool, so this is a relatively new topic for my children.  We've touched on it here and there and will get into it in more depth as they get a little older.  I am extremely excited to have this resource available to me.  The downloadable Study Guide is a tremendous resource that really takes the experience of listening to the story to an entirely new level.  The bits of history about the key players, questions to discuss that further cements what we've just heard into our memory, the questions that encourage us to think more deeply about what we are learning, the vocabulary words to define that may be new to us along with the other bits like historical pictures and recipes all work together to create a completely rounded learning experience.

With Lee in Virginia along with the accompanying Study Guide, just like the previous titles, is all one needs to easily share an actual historical event with our children.  It can be as simple as listening to and discussing the story or as in depth as completing every last bit of the Study Guide.  Other amazing bonuses include a printable copy of a famous Robert E. Lee quote, an MP3 download of the soundtrack, unlimited newsletter access, the original story eBook download, and a printable promotion poster.

Heirloom Audio and The Adventures of G.A. Henty come together in the most ideal way to both educate and excite families in the true stories of history highlighting the real Christian heroes that have gone before us.  The stories are wholesome and engaging.  It is completely evident the amount of dedication that has gone into creating these invaluable resources for us to use to educate our children for generations to come.

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In Freedom's Cause - A Review

Can I just tell you how much I LOVE Heirloom Audio Productions?  Seriously.  After discovering and enjoying their first production released last year I was so excited to learn of their second title that I actually purchased it for my children for Christmas.  Imagine my excitement when I saw the new story come up for review.  I just had to jump on board!  It is an honor to share with you a piece of history published by a company so dedicated to providing a sincere and true account of the lives of real heroes that have gone before us.  Knowing that I have access to an ever growing resource of true accounts of honorable figures to share with my children and grandchildren is exciting and uplifting.  The passion behind the production of these audio dramas is very evident, and I am so thankful that the team at Heriloom Audio Productions has answered the call to bring real history to life with such dedication and determination.

Our family has been enjoying the experience of listening to the story of Sir William Wallace and King Robert the Bruce and their fight for freedom.  The In Freedom's Cause Single Package will continue to bless our family for years to come.  This story is told with such fire and passion that you are effortlessly transported Scotland at the beginning of the 14th Century at a time of great turbulence.  We enter at the point of history that would eventually lead to Scotland's freedom from English rule.  For me, there is no better way to learn history than to be completely immersed in it, and the stories of G.A. Henty told through Heirloom Audio Productions come to life in such a way that you feel part of the story.

Our family circumstances have changed a bit since the first production was released.  We used to spend a lot more time in our vehicle traveling to a distant destination on a regular basis.  Praise God, that is no longer the case.  With the young ages of my children this meant that I had to get a little more creative with our listening time.  We enjoyed coloring, putting together puzzles, and working with homemade busy bags either in our family room or at the dining room table while we enjoyed the story.  After we had completed the first CD, I did a general search online to locate Scotland specific coloring pages.  We located Scotland on the map and colored a map of Scotland as we began the second CD.  This allowed us to already have a nice foundation in place to build their understanding and comprehension of the story.  We later colored a Scottish bagpipe player, Sir William Wallace, and Maid Marian.

The CD Set and Study Guide provide wonderful opportunities for discussion no matter the age of your children.  With mine being younger I picked out the portions that I thought were relevant and helpful for their age group.  There is plenty of material for the beginner as well as the more advanced student.  There is so much potential here to expand on the story further cementing this part of history into our consciousness.  I love the way the Study Guide is so simply presented with it's three focus points; listening well, thinking further, and defining words.  We primarily focus on listening well and defining words at this stage in the game discussing the questions and terms verbally together either during or after our listening session.  I look forward to building on this as the children get older.

The story of Wallace and Bruce is one of heartbreak, tragedy, and pain.  It is also an empowering lesson in faith, determination, and the value of freedom. Through its telling Heirloom Audio Productions wonderfully achieves their mission "...to engage our listeners imagination by taking them back in time and immersing them in the story."  I have so enjoyed the first two releases that I am overjoyed to learn that two more new releases are expected this year!  The first title, With Lee in Virginia, a tale of the American Civil War, is slotted for release on Memorial Day.  You can follow the progress on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.

In Freedom's Cause is a valuable piece of world history.  It will forever hold a prominent place in our homeschool.  You can learn more about In Freedom's Cause via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest.  It's never too late to learn our history, and there's no better way than through Heirloom Audio Productions CD sets.

Under Drakes Flag - An Heirloom Audio Review

Heirloom Audio Productions has created a lasting treasure in the telling of the story of Sir Francis Drake through the eyes of Ned Hawkshaw, a boy set out on an unimaginable adventure, in the audio theater production Under Drake's Flag.  Even though my little guy, 4.5 years, is under the target audience age of 6 and up the story made an impact on him as he has heard large parts of the story a couple of times.  As I was preparing for this review he came to show me one of his drawings and noticed I had the website up.  He said, "Hey!  We have that!"
The tale of Sir Francis Drake is an inspiring story of grand adventure, Christian principals vividly lived, and the unfortunate events of the Spanish Inquisition.  It is a boy grows to man story told in a way that enraptures the listener with an unmatched dramatic telling that has captivated our family.  Over the past few years I have tried to no avail to interest the resident nine-year-old in audio dramas; high quality productions that I will leave unnamed because they are fabulous in their own right, but nothing captured her attention, ever.  Nothing, that is, until Under Drake's Flag - The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty landed in our laps through the Schoolhouse Review Crew.  What a blessing!

The story of Ned Hawkshaw captured our attention from word one.  We have traveled aboard The Golden Hinde several times as we drove in our car, we have sailed the seas in our kitchen while washing dishes and cooking dinner.  We've eaten with Ned and his companions at our dining room table during our family meals.  I seriously have lost count on the number of times we have listened to this story, at the request of the previously uninterested nine-year-old, and it will surely continue to be enjoyed for years to come.

Included with the two CD set ($29.95) is a beautifully printed study guide companion.  There is also a more extensive PDF Download study guide available with product purchase.  (An MP3 download is available for just $20, and other CD packages are available on their website.)  Although we have not yet used either workbook we will certainly put it to good use in the future.  I love the way the study guide is divided into chapter sections of the story.  Questions are provided that encourage active listening and deeper thinking.  Words that are less commonly used or period based are highlighted for further definition increasing the listeners vocabulary and furthering their ability to really step into the story.  There are even a few short Bible Studies provided at the end of the workbook.

Listening to the telling of G.A. Henty's Under Drakes Flag with my children has been an amazing experience that has created such vivid pictures in my own mind that I almost feel as if I've traveled along with Ned and Sir Francis Drake as they fought sharks, survived shipwrecks, stood up to the Spaniards, and returned home to begin life anew with an amazing tale to tell of survival and courage.  To learn more about Heirloom Audio Productions and their telling of Under Drake's Flag visit them on Facebook, and explore the website.  This is sure to be a real living book that will stand the test of time for generations to come.  We look forward to more productions.  My family cannot get enough!