The Imagination Station Attack at the Arena Book Review

The kids and I had had the great opportunity to review Attack at the Arena by Marrianne Hering and Paul McCusker.  Attack at the Arena is book 2 in the Imagination Station series put out through Focus on the Family.  It is part of the Adventure in Odyssey series.  The kids and I decided to read this book as a read aloud every evening.  We had so much fun with it, that they can't wait to get the next book in the series.

The story begins with a short prologue detailing the story line in book 1.  The prologue introduced the 3 main characters in the book, Mr. Whittaker, the Imagination Station inventor, and cousins Beth and Patrick.  We learn that Mr. Whittaker is using the Imagination Station to send the cousins back in time to try to save someone named Albert from the mysterious Lord Darkthorn.  The children are sent to find certain items that are requested in a letter sent to Mr. Whittaker through the Imagination Station.  The first item recovered was a blue Sunstone found in Greenland.  The next adventure, Attack at the Arena is underway.  The cousins are sent to Rome to look for a silver cup/chalice.

Before Patrick and Beth are sent to Rome through the Imagination Station they are placed in the correct clothing for the time period.  Patrick is dressed as a Monk, and Beth is in a white tunic with gold trim on the front.  This white tunic is what slaves wore during ancient roman times.  The Cousins are off to find the silver cup/chalice.  The Imagination Station drops the kids off in an old Roman Arena.  The arena is empty of people, but soon Beth and Patrick learn they are not alone.  A wild tiger comes racing towards them.  This is only the start of what Beth and Patrick will face along their journey.  As they progress through the story, the cousins soon find out why they are wearing what they are wearing.  Patrick soon meets up with a Monk, Telemachus, who saves Patrick and Beth on more than one occasion.  Beth soon becomes a slave to the very young, and powerful Emperor, Honorius.  In the end Honorius has a very important decision to make in regards to the Roman Games that take place in the arena.  Telemachus, the Monk is the one who helps guide Honorius in his decision, with only a few words.  The cousins journey to find the silver cup/chalice, not only helps Albert, but in the end changes the lives of the people of Rome.

The kids and I decided to read Attack at the Arena as a read aloud.  Every night we sat down together and read two chapters.  The kids were always asking to read more.  They loved this book!  Attack at the Arena is fast paced and full of adventure.  We never knew what was going to happen next.  Attack at the Arena was not only full of adventure, but it had a wonderful lesson in humanity and being children of God.  I love the many references to the Bible and what it means to be a noble person.  I also like that there is a lesson in history embedded in this story.  We were able to learn about the clothing the Romans wore during this time period, as well as the games that took place at the Arena.  I can honestly say, that there was not one thing we disliked about this book.  We enjoyed it so much that the kids would like to continue with the series as part of our nightly reading.  Tay, my 10 year old did say she was disappointed in the ending as she wanted more information about the fate of the Monk.  The book is geared towards kids ages 7 and up, but if you are doing a family read aloud, I think this book would be great for kids of any age.  Overall Attack at the Arena is a wonderful, adventurous story that we thoroughly enjoyed reading together as a family.

Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of Attack at the Arena from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my review.  The above review is my honest opinion and thoughts on this book.

Blessings,

Time4Learing Review

The kids and I had the great opportunity to review Time4Learning for 30 days.  I can't believe our time is up, it went by so very fast.  The kids really enjoyed using this program as did I.  One of the best features of this program, in my opinion,  is that it allows the kids to feel a sense of independence during the learning process.

 Time4Learning is a computer generated learning program.  It can be used as a stand alone curriculum or as supplement to your existing curriculum.  I was using it as supplement and think that I will continue to do so.  I reviewed grades 5 and 1.

Tay Grade 5:  Tay really enjoyed this program.  Her favorite lessons were states/capitals, and reading comprehension.  I was really happy to see the progress she made with both lessons.  Tay really does not like most reading comprehension exercises, but she thoroughly enjoyed this part of the lessons with Time4Learning.  The reading comprehension lessons were called think out loud.  A story is read out loud to the child with pictures being shown.  The child is then give some question to think about.  The child has to predict what will happen next in the story based on the information given to them so far.  As they progress through the story, there are questions that need to be answered specifically about the story.  Tay really had fun with these lessons.  She also did the state/capitals review.  This is a great lesson that is interactive and fun.  There are many different activities that can be done in this area.  Not only was Tay asked to match states and capitals,  she was also expected to spell them correctly.  Another favorite of Tay's in this section was the fill in the map lesson.  She did this one over and over, and she has greatly improved her map skills.  After the lessons are completed they are checked off on the homepage so the child and the parent will know what has been done and what still needs to be completed.
A great addition to the lessons is the playground.  The playground is an area that provides the kids with learning games that are separate from the lessons page.  Tay would always find her way to the playground after her lessons were done.  There are many options there.  Tay really liked the games from PBS Kids, especially Arthur.  There is a fifteen minute time period for playground play with a timer displayed for the kids to see.  Tay was very watchful of her timer and ended her playground games when it beeped.  Again, I like that Time4Learning allows the kids to learn responsibility and independence.  This is a great learning tool!

Ash 1st Grade:  Ash had a great time with Time4Learning.  She was able to really expand her phonics/reading, and math skills in a fun and interactive way.  Again, the lessons are presented to the kids on a homepage and they are marked off with stars and arrows as to what is completed and what still needs to be done.  This was a great way for Ash to see where she was at and where she needed to go without me constantly over her shoulder.  We chose to focus mainly on the language arts, as this is an area Ash needs the most work.  She did do some of the math lessons as well and really had fun with them.  She was able to complete her first computer generated quiz with much success.  Ash was very proud, as was I.  We started out with a review of letter sounds in a game called dunk the bug.  This was really cute and Ash did really well.  The sound was given and Ash had to find which bug made that sound, then she was to place the bug in the dunk tank.  This was a big hit.  I knew this would be review for her, so it was a little easy, but it was a great way to get familiar with how the program worked.  This game held her interest for some time.  We then moved on to phonics training.  This is set up like a little boot camp with a Sargent in charge.  This lesson went through short vowel sounds and reading words.  The Sargent would blow his whistle each time Ash made a correct choice.  The lesson focused on blending sounds and moved quickly into reading the words.  Another great lesson Ash enjoyed was the space man.  In this lesson Ash had to aim the space man towards the correct word on the asteroids.  She did great with this and had such a fun time.  All of the lessons were very colorful, clear in the directions, and interactive.

We had such a great time reviewing Time4Learning.  The kids have said how much they have enjoyed this program and want to continue.  I especially like this program for Ash.  She has some learning difficulties and this program was a great tool for her.  The onscreen directions are clear and the activities are colorful, bright, and the themes are great.  Time4Learning was also a great resource for Tay.  She was able to do enjoy lessons that were not her favorites before.  I really like that both girls felt a sense of independence and responsibility for their own work.  Time4Learning also offers a "reward" if you will, through the use of the playground games.  I am defiantly considering continuing on with our membership.  For further information on this program as well as pricing please visit http://www.Time4Learning.com.  I think you will be impressed with what this program has to offer.

Disclosure:  This review is my opinion and my opinion alone.  The content in this review was not written by Time4Leanring.   I was given a month free membership for this review.

Blessings,