Review of Thick as Thieves

Our family loves reading!!  We are always on the lookout for wholesome, character building books to devour so today's review meets that criteria and more.  I would place it into the category of historical fiction so even more bang for your buck. Circle C Milestones is a series of books published by Kregel Publications following the adventures of Andrea Carter also known as, Andi, as she heads straight into the ups and downs of becoming a teenager.  We received the first book in the series, Thick as Thieves and we're already looking forward to the second one set to be released in July 2015, Heartbreak Trail.  
Thick as Thieves is a paperback book with 176 pages and 26 chapters. It is recommended for ages 12 and up.  My daughter and I read the book together out loud.  I would say that the book would appeal mostly to girls but I have to tell you that as my sons would walk by as we were reading, you would here them chuckle and stand around the door to see what was going to happen next.  They really enjoyed the vibrant character of Macy and I really enjoyed allowing myself to find her character as I would read.  
Synopsis
The setting takes place in the late 1800's in California and centers around Andi.  She lives on the Circle C ranch and helps out with the daily tasks of ranch life as much as her mother will allow.  The beginning opens as her favorite horse, Taffy, is about to give birth.  She would prefer to stay at the ranch all day but has to head off to school instead.  Not only did that have her spirits down but when she arrives at school, the new girl, Macy Walker, is assigned to sit beside her.  As I said earlier, Macy is a wild mess and as the story unfolds we were all on the edge of our seats to see how the relationship of these two would end up.  Family trials are also a part of Andi's days as their ranch is being hit by cattle rustlers.  I won't spoil it for you, but there was plot twist that neither of us was expecting!  Sarah, my daughter, and I have decided we really want to go back and read some of the other books and series now.  Each series follows along with Andi as she grows but they aren't needed to fully understand the story line of the book. 

Author Susan K. Marlow has such a fun and wonderful way of writing that shines through in this book.  She also has a fun blog where she shares stories written from readers, fun trivia, photos, and more.  Thick as Thieves is written from Andi's point of view making it extremely relatable.  My daughter who is 11 and a little younger than the recommended age had no trouble reading this at all. We both think any girl would love it.  The central theme of the book all comes back to friendship and Scripture verse 1 Peter 3:8 is recommended for memorization.  Andi often quotes Scripture verses through out the book as well.  You can read a sample excerpt here.
Also available for free on the website is a 40 page downloadable Study Guide that includes many enrichment ideas from comprehension questions, vocabulary activities, writing assignments, crossword puzzles, Scripture memory posters, and more.  It's divided up into 6 sections with the 2 recommendations for using it.  You can read the whole book at once and then go back to do the study guide. You could also read the chapters assigned to each section and incorporate the study guide all along.  We chose the 2nd option and decided to pick and choose which activities we were interested in most for each section.  I loved that it included an answer key.  
Here is a sample of a timeline we prepared on how to train a foal.  

There is plenty of reading fun available for a variety of ages. Here are the series of books available at this time:
Circle C Beginnings - recommended for ages 6-9 Circle C Adventures - recommended for ages 9-14 Circle C Milestones -  recommended for ages 12 +
There is also a series of books for boys ages 8-12 - Goldtown Adventures
Find out more on on Circle C Milestones by visiting their Website, Facebook, or Twitter pages.

Review - Old Western Culture: The Greeks

Roman Roads Media has produced a homeschool curriculum that I was extremely excited about trying!  Old Western Culture: The Greeks is a full year course that explores history, theology, philosophy, poetry, and art from the perspective of the greatest works of influential literature of the Western world. The term "Old Western Culture" is a term coined by C.S. Lewis to describe the fabric of ideas that shaped Western Civilization.  
The whole 4 year course is still being completed and when finished will be:

Year 1: The Greeks

Greeks: Epics

Greeks: Drama & Lyric

Greeks: Histories

Greeks: Philosophers

Year 2: The Romans

Romans: The Aeneid

Romans: Historians

Romans: Christianity

Romans: Nicea

Year 3: Christendom

Coming 2015

Year 4: Early Moderns

Coming 2016

The course is available in DVD and online streaming formats.  I was sent Year 1: The Greeks, which is a full year course.  I received the self paced online streaming format.  I was also sent a DVD of Unit 1: The Epics so that I could try out both formats.
DVD Course - $224 + $7 shipping fee (USA) Self Paced Online Streaming Course - $199 (on sale as of this writing)
Both the DVD and Online Streaming courses include Digital copies of the Student Workbooks but you can purchase a physical copy for $48 (includes 4 workbooks - 1 for each unit). 
Both formats and extras can be purchased at the Roman Roads Media website.
The full one year Classical Christian Homeschool course is broken down into 4 units with each unit lasting 9 weeks.  

The 4 Units are: The Epics - covers The Iliad and The Odyssey

Drama and Lyric - covers a collection of Greek plays and poetry

The Histories - covers the works of Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon

The Philosophers - covers selected works of Plato and Aristotle

Each Unit Includes:

• 12 Lessons with Video Lectures for each Lesson (48 for the full year)
• PDF Student Workbook with comprehension questions
• PDF Answer Keys
• 9 week suggested schedule
• All required texts in etext form (PDF and Kindle)
• Guide to the Art booklet (online streaming gives you a PDF version and DVD version includes a booklet for you in each DVD)
• 2 exams with teacher guide and answer key for each unit

You can find an outline of the 12 Lessons in each Unit here. Each Lesson is approximately 30 minutes each.

Prerequisites required from the website...

Old Western Culture is intended for mature and discerning students. We recommend this course for ages 14 and up. The course will deal with mature themes such as paganism, sexual immorality, battle scenes (mostly in actual reading), and classical paintings. Old Western Culture is meant to equip your child with a Biblical lens from which to process these themes. We assume your child has a working knowledge of the Bible and basic Christian doctrine. Advanced readers will have an advantage since the reading load is relatively heavy. 

My Thoughts
I chose to go through this curriculum myself and test drive it before introducing it to my children.  
We follow what I call an eclectic classical homeschool style. I never experienced reading any of the Great Books in school so I wanted to offer that advantage to my children.  I must admit though, they intimidate me greatly!  I have a hard time understanding them and therefore teaching them is even more intimidating.  My children know my homeschool philosophy is that we NEVER stop learning so just because I don't know something doesn't mean we cannot learn about it.  That is often when we begin our journey of learning together!  I was hoping that this curriculum would be just the aid I was looking for.  I was looking for something to help me teach my children while reading some of the Great Books.  
The student questions in the online streaming format were multiple choice questions while the ones included in the PDF with the DVD I received were writing the answer out.  I answered the multiple choice questions in the online streaming format and had difficulty so I didn't even try the ones on the DVD PDF!  

I found that the suggested 9 week schedule included was not too heavy of a course load considering you are working towards 2 full year credits for high school.  For comprehension reasons however, I would have to take the course at a slower pace than suggested which is truly the beauty of homeschooling.

While this curriculum did contain what I was looking for - someone to teach my children and myself more about the influential works of art from a Biblical worldview, it was often times above my head.  Wes Callihan is a master story teller with so much knowledge and there is no doubt that he has researched what he is teaching thoroughly.  I had to watch several of the lectures over even to answer some of the questions myself.  This curriculum is recommended for ages 14 and up.  I felt like it could pass as a college course!  With that being said, I can tell you that I did learn so much from this curriculum.  I would need to slow down the schedule for myself so I am almost certain I would have to do the same for my children.  I do not think my 8th grader or 11th grader would be ready for this curriculum as of yet.  Neither are advanced readers. 
Having said that, I do think this would be a great curriculum to go through together as a family.  Mr. Callihan speaks so eloquently on these topics and always keeps a Christ-centered approach. We can learn much from past mistakes and see clearly where God was left out - much chaos reigned.  Teaching that to the next generation is not an option - it's a must for Christians.  To approach such pagan instruments is often difficult so this is a valuable resource for those intimidated by the subjects like I am.  
Here is a book list of the works covered (again these are included in digital etext versions) but you also can purchase your physical copy as well.  You can find the links to these books here.
THE EPICS BOOK LIST:
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey

DRAMA AND LYRIC BOOK LIST:
- Aeschylus (The Oresteia)
- Sophocles (Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus)
- Aristophanes (The Frogs and The Clouds)
- Eurpipides (The Medea and The Trojan Women) included in Roman Roads Reader
- Sappho (various poems) included in Roman Roads Reader
- Pindar (collection of Odes) included in Roman Roads Reader
- Theocritus (Idyls I, VI, VII, and XI) included in Roman Roads Reader
- Hesiod (Works and Days) included in Roman Roads Reader
- Quintus of Smyrna (The Fall of Troy) included in Roman Roads Reader
- Apollonius of Rhodes (The Argonautica) included in Roman Roads Reader

THE HISTORIES BOOK LIST:
- The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories
- The Landmark Thucydides
- Xenophon: The Persian Expedition

THE PHILOSOPHERS BOOK LIST:
- Plato: Six Greek Dialogues
- The Basic Works of Aristotle 

You can also find several samples here so you can decide for yourself if this curriculum is right for you.
Other Places To Find Romans Road Media

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See what my fellow crewmates thought of this curriculum and others offered from Roman Roads Media by clicking the banner below.

Smart Money, Smart Kids

I am currently participating in the launch team for a new book coming out, Smart Money Smart Kids by #1 New York Times Best Selling Author, Dave Ramsey, and his daughter, Rachel Cruze.  I have been a HUGE Dave Ramsey fan for years and my goal is to teach my children what I was never taught!

We are currently on the dreaded Baby Step number 2 and it feels like it lasts FOREVER!!  My high school student is also taking the Foundations In Personal Finance course by Dave Ramsey and I'm taking it right along with him!  I want my children to skip Baby step 2 all together!  That's where this book will help!  I'm currently on Chapter 3 and already find myself shaking my head in relation and learning so much to share with my family!  

The book will not be available until April 22, but you can pre-order it now and get an additional $50 worth of free extras!  Check out the Smart Money Smart Kids website for more information.

Currently, Amazon has the best deal at $18.62 and free shipping for Prime Members.

Stay tuned to hear more from me on this wonderful book!