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Audio Adventures With Jonathan Park

Do you use audio books and adventures in your homeschool?

I'm pleased to be able to share with you one of our very favorite audio series - one that we have been falling in love with this summer (as we've been spending LOADS of time in the car!). 

If you read this blog often you will know that I'm not a huge product endorsement person - we have to use something and truly LOVE IT if I will recommend it to my readers.

Well, the following audio adventures have made the cut!  I hope you enjoy our review, and make sure to read all the way to end for a very special discount code. 

About Jonathan Park Audio Adventures

We've long been fans of audio BOOKS in our homeschool, but Jonathan Park Audio ADVENTURES aren't books at all - they are truly ADVENTURES!

Unlike audio books, the adventures are full fledged dramas - complete with sound effects, music, and  dynamic characters. All of this leads to a vivid picture in your imagination, which you sometimes don't get with audio books. 

We were pleased to receive The Adventure Begins Series Pack.

 

This includes four albums of the first adventure: The Secret of the Hidden Cave, African Safari, Art Heist Adventure, and Mystery at Dead Man's Curve.  Each adventure is broken into three 20-25 minute sections, which makes for manageable listening. 

(Jonathan Park has SEVEN adventures series total - so there is plenty of listening still to be done!)

In my opinion, these dramas are best geared towards elementary and middle grades students. 

Each adventure series pack is $59.99 and is available in digital or physical CD format. 

“Jonathan Park action-packed audio adventures are for kids and families. The stories are full of faith-building and educational evidence for a Creator. If your family enjoys imaginative and immersive stories packed with biblical truth, then Jonathan Park is for you!

If your kids have never experienced Jonathan Park faith-building audio adventures, we want to highly encourage you to try these stories. We guarantee that they will ignite their imagination and equip them to defend their faith!”
— Jonathan Park website

 

Listen to this short sample and hear for yourself the high quality of these audio adventures: 

Why We Like Jonathan Park Audio Adventures

This summer we have spent A LOT of time in the car. We love to use this time to LEARN rather than to play on devices or just listen to the radio. I am always searching for worthwhile audios to keep my children engaged and learning.

With the Jonathan Park Audio Adventures our time was put to excellent use as my children learned about science concepts:

  • The Evolutionary Tree
  • Convergent Evolution
  • The Laws of Energy
  • Design of the Water Cycle

These science concepts were interwoven with Biblical truths:

  • Returning Good for Evil
  • Showing Kindness
  • Consequences of Sin


More reasons we enjoyed the audio adventures: 

  • The adventures were just that - ADVENTURES!  They kept my 11 year old son interested and engaged - each segment was approximately 20-25 minutes which was the perfect length for our attention span.
  • The adventures equipped my children to defend their faith.  Each adventure presents evidence for Creation. It gives us solid arguments to make when defending our faith and view points. 
  • The adventures taught us a lot about science and how it relates to our faith.  As my children get older I am finding that this is especially important - yes, you can be a person of faith and science at the same time.  They aren't mutually exclusive.
  • The adventures include supplemental activities, found on the Jonathan Park site.  Once we were at home and had some down time, I printed out the coloring pages and word searches for my son to complete. We sat and talked about the adventures while he was working - a casual way to learn and dialog. 

Do you listen to audio dramas in your homeschool?  Does this series look intriguing to you?  I hope so! 

Learn Latin & Greek Roots with WordUp!

A fun vocabulary study is under way in our homeschool. 

Better still, it is an independent study done on the computer in short, focused lessons.   

I have been seeing so much about WordUp from many of my friends on Instagram... now we are giving it a try! 

I am AMAZED at the learning taking place through this simple, humorous vocabulary show!  

I received a copy of this product in exchange for this review. The thoughts and opinions here are my own. We NEVER use something we don't like or cannot endorse wholeheartedly. This post contains affiliate links. 

About WordUp! the Vocab Show

WordUp comes in DVD or downloadable video format.  We are using the downloadable video - so simple to do! 

It is created by Compass Classroom -- also the creators of Visual Latin. 

Specifics about WordUp: 

  • 10 video lessons (SHORT!  12-15 minutes each)
  • covers 20 Latin & Greek roots
  • more than 200 English derivatives
  • links to Quizlet flashcards to coincide with each lesson

You can see sample lessons and videos to see if this is something you would like.

 I love a product that lets me try before I buy!  

And, did I mention this is all just $15? I think that's great for everything you get!  

Word Up! The Vocab Show from Compass Classroom

Why We LOVE WordUp!

My 10 year old son has been working through the lessons this summer. 

They are humorous (laugh out loud kind of funny) and keep his attention. That humor also makes the words STICK in his memory. 

Yesterday, when my son needed to get some water he said, "Mom, I'm very thirsty.  Time to HYDRATE!"  

He had learned this word was a derivative of the Greek HYDRO, or water. 

WordUp! is giving immediate, useful knowledge in a humorous manner. 

Each lesson comes with a link to Quizlet online. Here my son can practice all of the words in each lesson.

He can drill the flash cards, practice spelling, and play some games. 

Then, a test is generated. He can take that, print it out, and I have evidence of his learning. 

WordUp! lets me evaluate learning and I like that. 

Latin & Greek Word Study Pages

Using Notebooking Pages with WordUp!

WordUp! can stand all by itself. In fact, I know many people that just use the $15 video curriculum and are perfectly happy with that. 

We are taking it one step further by using our Notebooking Pages subscription (I have a Lifetime Membership, and this is included - you can also purchase the pages for just $2 as a set.).

 

I printed the Latin & Greek Word Study Notebooking Pages, and my son is creating a notebook to go along with WordUp!  He writes the English derivative, the definition, uses it in a sentence, and also determines the part of speech. 

When I discovered this connection I was VERY excited -- it makes a great resource even MORE meaningful for my guy. 

 

Here's a sample of one of the pages.  

As my son goes through the videos, he completes the information. You can see that it incorporates dictionary skills, writing skills, grammar skills, and more. 

Again -- this is TOTALLY OPTIONAL - but I really like this supplement. I'm even considering having my 13 year old complete this study later in the summer. 

Using Notebooking Pages to learn Latin & Greek Roots

Final Thoughts about WordUp!

I would encourage you to look at the samples of WordUp! and then give it a try. 

Whether you are supplementing a language study, or using this as your primary language study, I feel it is a superb way to learn English vocabulary and Latin & Greek roots. It requires very little work from the parent and is enjoyable for the student.

I'm so thankful to Compass Classroom for letting us try this product.  

It's a KEEPER!  

Word Up! The Vocab Show from Compass Classroom