Don’t you love reading together as a family? It’s a fun time, a “together” time, an inspiring time. There’s nothing like snuggling with a couple of kids while a toddler falls asleep under the coffee table. 🙂 (at least, that’s how it happened at our house!!) I have some books that are perfect for family reading time. Let me tell you about them!
Rick and I wrote these books last year for Master Books: Fight for Freedom + America’s Struggle to Become a Nation.
Yes, they are written as 4-6th grade history curriculum, but the whole family will enjoy hearing these stories from our founding era – stories every person growing up in the 1800’s in our country knew. But, these are not just a conglomeration of boring facts to memorize and bits and pieces with no meat. This is a wonderful gathering of true and engaging stories from America’s History. So, they are equally appropriate, used as a Family Read-Aloud book.
When we lose our history (our heritage) we will lose our freedoms; that’s what’s happening today in our country. That’s one reason we wrote these books – to do our part in preparing this generation to stand for truth and principle as the men and women you’ll hear about in these books did.
Did you know that Judge Roy Moore has endorsed these books? He personally called me and told me he wants every American family to read them!
“Rick and Marilyn have done a remarkable job of documenting the struggles and sacrifices of brave men and women who, ‘with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence,’ risked their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to build this land we love. Every American would benefit by reading these marvelous works designed to preserve our heritage as a nation.” –Chief Justice Roy Moore
What others are saying:
“The chapters of history were very readable. My eleven year old read independently, but I often sat and read through sections with my nine year old. It is pleasurable to go through, and I learned more about the founding fathers and other people who played parts in the war that I did not know before we started going through this curriculum.” -Product review by Rebecca Ray, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC, June, 2016
“The Fight for Freedom arrived today! It looks lovely. You’ve tapped into a critical market~history for the elementary years that is neither “dumbed~down” yet not too hard for littler minds to grasp. It’s PERFECT for this age group! Thanks so much! “ ~Holly Davis
“Fight for Freedom is a fun read. It’s not a dry or boring textbook so don’t let the word “textbook” fool you. As your child is reading through the chapter he will encounter, quotes, illustrations, and extra tidbits of information for a more enjoyable read. It’s not one long boring chapter…. The Student Textbook is awesome! It’s full color with lots of pictures and a super bonus is a downloadable audio book. Each chapter of the audio book correlates with the Student Text giving review and additional information. The audio book chapters are scheduled on Fridays (great way to end a school week!).” ~Linda of
Homeschooling 6
Check out her complete review, here, for a wonderful explanation of the features, benefits of these books plus lots of inside pictures, too!
- America’s Struggle to Become a Nation
“We have been enjoying this…tremendously. My elementary age children are easily able to read and complete the daily assignments independently, but this is too good not to join them! Woven throughout is the focus on America’s Christian heritage. Sidebars introduce great Americans and interesting facts. Scripture is quoted throughout. This is a beautiful telling of our country’s history and heritage. We have enjoyed the art and illustrations along with our reading. Some of our favorite chapters featured short introductions to each of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the signers of the Constitution, what inspiring men they were! This is a rich study to share together as a family.” —Renita Bentz, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
Here’s a peek inside Fight for Freedom
And here’s a peek inside America’s Struggle to Become a Nation:
Ok- now let me tell you a little more about these books
Why did we write the books?
-Our goal in writing The Fight for Freedom and America’s Struggle to Become a Nation was two-fold. First to teach kids history through engaging them in the lives of real people so they would be inspired and also retain what they learned and secondly to show them God’s Hand of Providence in the establishment of our nation.
Why is this important?
-Research shows that kids learn better when history is taught in biographical format, unveiling what happened through the stories of real people rather than learning ( and then forgetting) a string of dates and places. That is why we spend much time telling the stories of the men and women who sacrificed and struggled to birth this nation. Everyone loves a story and you’ll find your children will have a greater retention level because of the story format.
Why do you tell history through stories?
-. It is the Biblical pattern. This is how God teaches us from the Bible- we learn about the Philistines for example by studying the lives of David and Samuel. We learn about the Babylonian Empire by studying the lives of Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.
-. Previous generations of Americans understood this concept and embraced a Biblical approach to education. The American Revolution was studied by studying the lives of George Washington, James Caldwell, Nancy Hart, Abigail Adams, and James Armistead.
Why is a Providential view of history necessary?
-History must be taught from a Providential view or it becomes sterile and irrelevant to application to the present. Today history is taught void of any purpose and has become dry and boring. Daniel Webster affirmed, “History is God’s Providence in human affairs, and it is a part of it to triumph over error, and to assign to the actors in great events, their proper places.” In an effort to erase acknowledgement of God from history, secular history it is taught void of purpose. Ben Franklin so wisely stated, ” The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth; that God governs in the affairs of men.”
George Bancroft, who is known as the Father of American History said, ” The fortunes of a nation are not under the control of blind destiny, but follow the steps by which a favoring Providence, calling our institutions into being, has conducted the country to it’s present happiness and glory.”
David Barton confirms this, “When American history was taught with a purpose- when it embraced a Providential view of the events and persons of history- it was not the boring, compartmentalized, secular subject that it has become today. Return to a use of biographical history (study the primary individuals involved) and apply a Providential viewpoint always remembering that “History is God’s providence in human affairs.'”
Why did we focus on the founding era of our country?
We are fast losing our freedom in this country and we as a people don’t even recognize this. If we don’t understand the cornerstones of freedom that the founders risked everything to establish, we won’t see be vigilant about protecting our freedom. Kids need a thorough understanding of this crucial time in the history of our country. Attention is given in America’s Struggle to Become a Nation to the reasons the Constitution was written and understanding what that means for us today. We’ve allotted two chapters to helping kids to grasp these truths so they will be equipped and prepared to defend those freedoms. There was much involved in establishing our nation and one or two chapters in a history book dealing with the War of Independence and the establishment of a new nation can not adequately cover this crucial time period. Too much is at stake in our country to not understand our foundations. Psalm 11:3 says, “3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” The next generation must be prepared to guard the foundations and it is our job to help prepare them. This history curriculum is a tool to help you do just that. Many families are enjoying learning together about this exciting time in our nation’s history.
What ages are the books written for?
The curriculum is appropriate for grades 4-6, but many families are reading them together as a family. Chief Justice Roy Moore says, “Every American would benefit by reading these marvelous works designed to preserve our heritage as a nation.” So don’t feel bound by the grade level. They can be used for older students and also read to younger students as well.
Why are there audios included in The Fight for Freedom?
Audios help to cement things the kids are learning and also to whet their appetite to learn more of this fascinating time period of American history. They also make your job as a parent/teacher much easier. The student can listen while you are busy doing other things or teaching other children. Kids will probably want to listen to the audios again and again which further adds to their retention of information and helps to make the learning of important information FUN.
How do I use the curriculum?
There are detailed instructions in the teacher’s guides but feel free to alter the schedules provided to best fit your needs. You can use the books for multiple ages together if you wish to. There are review questions provided and projects as well.
To find out more and see more “inside” pictures, visit our online store:
Marilyn is wife to Rick, Mom to 14 children, Nana to 22 grandchildren (and counting!) and homeschooler for 37 years. She and her husband own Character Concepts which they started for the purpose of helping others raise children with a strong, godly character and Biblical worldview.They have developed character curriculumfrom preschool through high school, based on what they found worked whenteaching their own 14 children over the years. Her passion is to help young moms raise kids of character and enjoy the journey!
