Embracing a Healthy Family: audio theater
Showing posts with label audio theater. Show all posts
Showing posts with label audio theater. Show all posts

Join in the Adventure by Heirloom Audio For the Temple Audio Review






To some, past events are boring or irrelevant or some might even feel that we have too much history to even bother diving deep into some of the past. One of the resources I like to turn to in order to change up my homeschool routine is through the stories by George Alfred Henty also better known to many as G.A. Henty. He was an English novelist and war correspondent and is known for his historical stories. Historical fiction novels are some of my favorites and although they are fictional, it still induces an interest in history. We were thrilled to be offered a chance to review For the Temple from Heirloom Audio. The two CD set and instant MP3 download audio theatre presentation is unique as it allowed us to use our imagination and provided many points that really captivated my daughter as we listened to it on a road trip. We really enjoy Biblical based stories and having the chance to listen to the events surrounding the fall of Jerusalem.




We had started listening to the first audio at home but when they knew we were going on a road trip, they requested we take it on the road with us. My middle daughter spent some time getting familiar with the audio set and reading the material contained in the set before we left. The CDs contain two and a half hours of great story time with actors such as Brian Blessed from Star Wars, Tarzan and King Lear as well as Chris Larkin from Master and Commander and others that really round out this ancient drama. The stage is set with the main character, John, who lives on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. From the forces of Romes to other factions, John will have to decide who and what he will fight for.





Heirloom Audio also provides a study guide to accompany the audio presentation. It is designed for parents with younger children to help them explain and guide them through the story and lessons. It's also great for older children as it provides written assignments. The way it works, is the study guide has sets of questions that covers approximately four to eight minutes of the audio. Each set has three basic components:

  1. Listening Well is great to ensure the child understands what he or she heard as well as tests the retention aspect of what they just heard. 
  2. Thinking Further challenges them to think a bit deeper and has them utilizing their thoughts and imagination more. Some of the challenge questions might include the task of researching for answers.
  3. Defining Words is great for introducing new words not only from a spelling asset but also to build their vocabularies. My dad was a stickler about learning words and he would have loved this.

I'm going to utilize the set that matches A Mighty Armada from the study guide to provide a more in-depth look into how the study guide works with the audio presentation. The top section contains the three sets of questions of Listening Well, Thinking Further and Defining Words. I like how thorough the sets of questions are such as "How does Josephus reply?" or "What plan does John suggest?" It not only ensures the child listened to the audio but also understood what they just heard. This was a favorite of my daughters as she likes to compete against her old sister and beat her to the answers. The assignment outside of our road trip included looking up the Defining Words and writing them out. The final section on this page of the study guide included more about Gideon's Army and contained a beautiful illustration along with more questions to encourage further thought.




In between listening to the story, I utilized the study guide to reinforce what they heard. I also had an image of the vocabulary words I had my daughter look up and write down but my photo was left behind as I'm finishing this review on my road trip. Although the trip lasted a little over five hours, the complete audio set allowed them educational entertainment. 


"It's really neat that they use sound effects to go along with the story instead of just people talking," Jamie (my middle child)

They were fascinated with the story line and the use of different actors to present the fullest opportunity to let their imagination take over. My youngest was just asking me questions about Jewish history so this was perfect timing. As John continue to endure the events of the time during the Roman occupation and all the unrest, he meets Josephus and joins his Jewish forces in Galilee. The adventures of battle are realistic and I feel better than a movie since the listener can decide the appearances of each character. John survives and returns home to continue fighting the Romans. His tenacity and loyalty continue in making him a formidable character among the Jewish people. It's a truly captivating story and a great opportunity to introduce or reinforce children to people from the Bible if they are not already familiar with them. Overall, we loved Heirloom Audio's For the Temple.

Check out Heirloom Audio on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.


Don't forget to click below to see what others thought about For the Temple:


For The Temple {Heirloom Audio Reviews}




St. Bartholomew's Eve from Heirloom Audio Review: Great Historical Adventure Adapted from G.A. Henty



St. Bartholomew's Eve


Sometimes taking a different route from learning is a nice break away. I know my girls enjoy when we do something different from traditional books, television documentaries and movies and even online learning programs so listening to St. Bartholomew's Eve from Heirloom Audio was a nice break to our evening family time. I am a fan of G.A. Henty and have been since I started homeschooling and his books were a part of the very first homeschool curriculum I purchased. The audio contains over two hours of wholesome Christian entertainment that encourages them to utilize their imagination and set themselves back in history. It was a bonus for me as my family was from that time period so I was able to really understand and relate to the time period and the persecution of Hugenots.

St. Bartholomew's Eve



The story centers around main character,  Philip Fletcher, who is visiting his family in France from England. It's lively and the actors portray each accent perfectly allowing the children to really feel they were there. The actors are even some you might have heard of such as Brian Blessed, Elizabeth Counsell and many others. We listened to audio one on a road trip and I enjoyed it. My girls did too but not my husband but I think it's because he's not really big into history and doesn't really understand that homeschool part of different learning opportunities. This audio is adapted from G.A. Henty's book, St. Bartholomew's Eve. 

Heirloom Audio Productions

The story is exciting and full of almost non-stop adventure and drama and my youngest particularly loved how often God was mentioned as well as the Christian theme. She liked the music and was okay with the fighting as she is pretty mature and understands the struggles in fighting for what is right. I think in this time and age, it's an unfortunately timely reflection of the persecution that is now occurring. This audio provides the leaders of tomorrow an insight on what it's like to fight for what you believe in.

Philip proved to be our favorite mostly because I'm half English and have quite a bit of French in me. I liked how the story provides examples of not giving up and putting one's faith in God. In one of the events, they are outnumbers trying to hold a fortress in spite of being outnumbered. They prayed to God and a plan came into fruition allowing them to win. You have to listen to the audio to find out how they overcame this and many others events leading to the win for Christianity.

Follow Heirloom Audio on social media:  FacebookTwitterGoogle+Instagram. Heirloom Audio provides good quality Christian entertainment for kids by as their mission, is to engage the listener's imagination by taking them back in time. Take a look as there are many other products to continue your children on an adventure! This is a very professional adaptation that will not disappoint.


Read what others on the Crew thought:

St. Bartholomew's Eve {Heirloom Audio Reviews}
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...