Mail Order Mystery: Treasure Hunt! Details

Product: Treasure Hunt!
Company: Mail Order Mystery
Website: https://www.mailordermystery.com/
Recommended Age Range: 6 and up
Price Range: ~$100 for all 6 installments

Review

I was imagining this “experience” to be more about solving puzzles than it actually turned out to be. There were a few codes to decipher, but that was it in terms of puzzle-solving. Also, they all used the same solution method and the information needed to break the code was provided in the second letter. Additionally, it wasn’t actually necessary to solve the codes in order to get the treasure. Unlike escape rooms and Hunt-a-Killer boxes, solving puzzles is clearly not the point of this mystery.

The main point of these boxes is for kids to get cool stuff in the mail. There were a lot of novel items, like letters from various people, a treasure map, a newsletter, a key, and eventually an actual treasure chest which I will describe in more detail below. The newsletter in particular was full of fascinating factual information making this experience somewhat educational. However, all in all, I would say each letter provided about 20 minutes of entertainment most of which was just me reading aloud to the kids from the contents.

I chose to purchase the kit as a whole and then disperse the letters one at a time on our family vacation. This sort of took away from the “getting something in the mail” thrill, though none of my kids would have believed it was real anyway. It might have been fun to try and pretend this was real, but I don’t think my older two kids would have bought it, plus I have a weird hang-up about any sort of lying. I’m not even a parent that does Santa Claus. Needless to say, my kids all knew it was just for fun.

One thing that I wish the letter to parents would have said is that you should hide the treasure chest. I do wish I had known this, but I didn’t. I think part of me thought we would get the treasure chest with the first letter, then the point would be to solve puzzles to figure out how to open it, but that was not the case. The first letter informs you there is a treasure and sends the key. You get letters from a series of interested parties, then in the end they send you the treasure box whether or not you solved any of the ciphers. Also, one of the letters asks you to make a call. It is worth calling and hearing the answering machine, but you do not need to leave a message. No one is getting back to you.

My kids were over the moon when they were able to open the treasure chest. There was basically a collective gasp when they were able to see the treasure. I could see how this would be a particularly joyful moment for single children. However, my kids immediately broke into squabbling over who got what. In the end, this is how they divided it and everyone was satisfied:

12-year-old: All the old-looking coins, which were actually pretty neat looking and are made of metal.

10-year-old: A squid or Kraken necklace, a couple pretty shells, and the lock and key to the treasure chest.

8-year-old: The coveted metal necklace with neat symbols on one side and a skull and crossbones on the other. Everyone initially wanted this. After the agreement was made, he also asked for and received the treasure map from one of the letters, which only caused mild grumbling.

6-year-old: The treasure box with a shark tooth necklace that seemed to be made of plastic and a metal ring. He also got all the remaining shells in the treasure box.

I am too embarrassed to admit how long it took them to come to this agreement, but in the end, everyone was satisfied.

Overall, I do not think I will be buying any more of these mysteries unless they are significantly discounted. Personally, I think the escape rooms from ThinkFun and Usborne and the Hunt-a-Killer experiences offer more family fun for less money. However, if you want a mail order experience like this that is extremely kid-friendly, I don’t know of any better options. The company clearly works hard to put out quality material. It might make a great gift to ask for from indulgent grandparents.

Related Links

Best Books for Kids
Best Gifts for Kids
Tabletop Games for Kids

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Being extremely frugal, the Read Aloud Revival premium membership is a subscription that I choose to pay for off and on. I had my first 3 months of RAR Premium from May to July of last year so that we could participate live in the Writers on Writing (WOW) workshops (replays are available). I let it lapse over the summer since we were not doing as much structured learning. However, I signed up for another 3 months recently so we could watch a featured author event. When my subscription ends, I will likely let it lapse again until I find another pressing reason to sign up. In the meantime, I have been making the most of my membership. Read on to hear the pros and cons I have found using this subscription membership service.

First off, I should say that I am a huge fan of the Read Aloud Revival website and podcast. Sarah Mackenzie’s bubbly personality is delightful. Also, I use the RAR free booklists all the time when I’m trying to find awesome read-alouds for my family. I trust Sarah’s judgement when it comes to selecting books that will be enjoyable and meaningful. Building a family culture around books is a goal I am 100% behind. I belive that reading aloud is a fantastic way to connect with your kids.

It might just be my personality type, but my favorite part of the membership is the masterclasses. I love learning new things, especially from experts in their field. Frequently I find the masterclasses inspiring. They help me find fun ways to get my kids excited about some aspect of literature or learning. As a mother with several children of varying ages, Sarah’s general homeschooling advice is also extremely valuable.

I have currently listened to all of the master classes. My personal favorites were the ones on Shakespeare and nature journaling. I liked Kristin Roger’s nature journaling masterclass so much, I also purchased and completed her course off the Wild and Free website. At the beginning of this school year, I bought Ken Ludwig’s book, How to Teach your Children Shakespeare after watching his masterclass. We have been working through it off and on for several months. Even my four year old has parts of passages from A Midsummer Night’s Dream memorized. My kids are all proud of their accomplishments learning and understanding Shakespeare.

In addition to the master classes, my second favorite part of the RAR membership is the Writers on Writing (WOW) workshops. They are the reason we signed up in the first place. I have one aspiring writer and one reluctant writer (and a couple pre-writers as well). I think these classes benefit all of my kids. Maybe the advice does not all sink in immediately, but they are being exposed to the work and advice of actual authors and they soak it up. I love the idea that these tips are percolating somewhere in their subconscious.

Although we have never participated live, we have also watched a few author events to go along with our read-alouds. I even got to watch interviews with some of my own childhood favorites like Lois Lowry and Tomie dePaola. I really love letting my kids see that authors are real people. This was actually the main reason why we re-signed up a couple months ago.

Our family was reading the Vanderbeekers of 141st Street. I *loved* it. It has been one of my favorite recent read alouds. My younger kids were all enjoying it, but for some reason, my 10 year old son was not a fan. I think he felt the story featured too many girls. I decided to sign up so we could watch the author event on the RAR premium membership. After seeing that there was a real life person behind the book who had worked hard crafting this story, my son completely changed his tune. Not only did he then stop complaining about the book, but he asked if we could get the sequel.

There are a lot of other features of RAR premium which I personally have not taken advantage of at this time. Sarah does more informal “Circle with Sarah” chats. I listened to a couple of those and while the chatty tone is friendly and encouraging, I haven’t made the time to listen to more. There are also book club guides for reading with your kids that include extension activities and conversation starters. While I love the idea of celebrating books beyond just the read-aloud, in practice this is something we only do with friends. When we start easing up on social distancing, I may try out the book guides.

There are also forums and Mama book clubs where members can engage with each other directly. I have not participated in these, but I am sure they are a great place to find helpful information and a supportive community of like-minded moms that understand the importance of books in the lives of children.

Bottomline

If you value the goal of creating a family culture around books, you MAY want the Read Aloud Revival RAR Premium membership. You will undoubtedly want to check out free the RAR booklists and will likely find the RAR podcast helpful and inspiring. The premium membership contains extra support and information outlined below for developing a book-centered family. Personally, I like to sign up for a 3 month membership every 6 months or so to save money.

Pros

Here are some of the benefits of RAR membership.

• Master Classes – I am the nerdiest of nerds. I love learning and setting goals for myself. Not all personality types will appreciate the master classes the way I do. However, if you are eager to find out more about ways to broaden your homeschool experience, these master classes are a wonderful place to begin.
• Writers on Writing Workshops – Who better to teach our kids writing then actual published authors? Not only are they authoritative sources on their craft, but they show our kids that what we are asking them to do is not pointless. Writing can be meaningful, life-changing, and fun if approached with an open mind.
• Author Events – Along similar lines, showing our kids that authors are real people is an effective way to help them form deeper connections to books.
• Family Book Clubs – Sarah is fantastic at selecting books that your family will enjoy. She has never led me astray. You can get a lot of her recommendations for free, off her website, but if you would like additional support in turning these read-alouds into memorable experiences, the premium membership provides curated guides packed with doable and valuable suggestions.
• Mama Book Clubs – I have not participated in any of these, but if you are looking for a virtual community to discuss books with, this might be a great option.
• Forums – This is also not a feature I use, but if you have questions about books, schooling, or parenting, there is a community of moms here that are available to you.
• Downloadable – All of the classes are available for you to download as audio or video files if you choose. This way, your content is available to you even when you are offline. Many of the classes also have helpful PDFs that you can save. For example, I recently saved the Christmas Guide and will be able to pull it out next year even if I am not a member at that time.

Cons

• Time – The main problem with all website memberships, I find, is that if I am not disciplined about making time to take advantage of them. Weeks will pass while my membership goes unused. This is why I prefer to sign up for just a month or 3 months at a time. That way I try to get all my value up front and don’t push it off for later.
• Cost – The first time I saw that membership was $150/year, I thought “no way.” Yes, I am cheap. However, later when I wanted to sign up for a specific weekly workshop series and saw that it was $15 per month or $40 for 3 months, that felt more reasonable to me. Thinking of it in terms of one hour long class per week made it seem like a great deal.
• Religious content – Like Sarah Mackenzie, I am Catholic, so the religious content is not an issue for me. However, just know that it is there, so it might be a turn off for some. I find most of the content to be non-sectarian, but the Circles with Sarah in particular seem to feature praying and references to God.
• Entertainment varies – My kids have really enjoyed some of the workshops. My son in particularly liked the Hero’s Journey class and the fill in your own adventure assignment. However, there have been other classes that, while undoubtedly valuable, don’t seem to excite my kids as much. It is always easier when I have their willing participation, but know that your kids may not be 100% on board with watching the workshops or having to write, especially if it seems like something added onto their normal workload. Whenever possible, I like to do these classes in lieu of other work to make it appear more like a treat.

If you are considering a RAR Premium membership, I hope this information has been helpful to you!

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Before I begin, please note that while I am an affiliate of this program and will make a small commission if you decide to purchase using my link, I have never accepted any free products or merchandise from Raddish Kids. I made this decision primarily because I wanted my review to be completely unbiased.

First, some backstory. My daughter (who is nearly 9) started using this service when she was 6. We paid for a year subscription using charter school funds. While she greatly enjoyed doing the boxes, I fell behind in doing them with her and they started to pile up. When the year ran out, I cancelled my subscription to give us time to catch up.

In each box are 3 recipe cards, which feature child friendly, mostly healthy recipes with natural ingredients each printed on a laminated, kitchen-proof trifold. The recipe cards are heavy on the illustrations which makes them perfect for the pre or early reader (and fun for older kids as well). Personally, I love the recipes and many of them, such as the pot pie, chili, baked macaroni and cheese, turkey noodle soup, and several desserts have made it into our family’s regular rotation. Some of them have been hit and miss, but even in those cases, I am glad they are expanding my children’s palette and getting them to try new things. The recipe guides are the gold in my mind with this service.

Now you might say, “But, Michelle, the boxes are $20-$24 per kit (depending on the length of subscription). I would NEVER pay $7-8 per recipe when there are so many great free recipes on the internet!” I hear you. That was my thinking at the time too. I thought, “This is fun, buy my charter school is paying for it. I would never pay out of pocket for this.”

Before I finish the story, let’s quickly go over what else the box includes. With your first box, you get an apron. Each month, you also get a kitchen tool. I can affirm that these tools are high quality and will last, but this is not a selling point for me, as I’m a minimalist and already own the tools I need. I will say that when I do our yearly purge, I almost always end up keeping the Raddish Kids version of the tool and donating the version I already had.

Each box also comes with conversation cards, which my daughter likes using with her siblings now that she can read. There is also some sort of creative project, which my creative kiddo enjoys, such as a game or a craft suggestion. Each month you also get a grocery list and a guide for learning a new culinary skill.

As you can see, the box is packed with bonuses. The recipe guides are still the dominant high value item in the box in my opinion (unless you are in need of kitchen tools), but all the extra add-ons are a nice touch.

One last item included that I didn’t mention before is an iron-on patch to celebrate your completion of the box. I have very mixed feeling about this little patch. My daughter loves having patches ironed onto her apron. However, I feel that this patch is the primary reason we fell behind in our boxes during our first year of subscriptions. I felt pressured to complete every item in the box before we “earned” the patch. I felt like the box needed to become an event where we made all three meals in the same day or at least in the same week. I didn’t want to move onto a different box until we completed the box we were on.

Now, to be fair, my child didn’t feel any of this pressure. Whether she gets the patch right away or waits until later to have the patch ironed on, it’s all the same to her. All my sweet little kiddo wanted was to cook with me. Speaking of which, that was another source of pressure I was attaching to this box. I felt like to really deserve the patch, she should be involved in all the steps of the cooking process. It took me awhile to let go of that limiting point of view.

At some point, after our subscription had run out, but before we had completed all the boxes, my daughter started asking if she could make Raddish Kid recipes for dinner. She would pull out recipes we had already done or ones that she found in the stack of boxes gathering dust. I would say sure and she would start gathering ingredients from the pictures. She would look at the steps and do what she could on her own while she waited for me. When I came to help with dinner I would choose which steps seemed the most natural for me to assist with, like chopping onions or cutting meat, and we would work side by side.

I started to realize that these recipes were helping my daughter to identify herself as a cook. It didn’t need to be a once a month event in which she felt she had complete ownership of the meal. It could be a two or three times a week habit that we did together as a team.

After several months and as her reading skills have grown, she now finds recipes she thinks she will like off the internet, prints them, and makes them almost entirely on her own. We still frequently make dinner together just due to efficiency, speed, and the bonding we get from the experience, but at 8, going on 9, she is a fully capable cook. There is no area of the kitchen in which she does not have as much confidence as I do.

A few months back, having realized what a blessing Raddish Kids has been to our family, I asked my charter school to get her another year long subscription. It turns out they are not currently on the list of approved vendors we can use to spend our funds.

At that point I really had to decide, is this something we want to pay out of pocket for? I consulted with my extremely frugal husband and was surprised to find him 100% supportive of the purchase. He has seen the change and in our daughter as well, and recognizes what a large role Raddish Kids has played in that growth.

We are once again happily receiving Raddish kits, this time spending our own money. My daughter is keeping up with the boxes as much as she wants each month and I am not worrying about checking off every item in each box.

Bottomline

If you have a child who is interested in cooking, or you can see this is a fun family bonding experience, Raddish Kids is an invaluable service which will help your child gain confidence in the kitchen. What started off as seeming like extra work for me has led to having a completely independent mini-chef in my house who has now relieved a lot of the burden and stress associated with daily cooking for our large family. Personally, I am extremely grateful to Raddish Kids for the skills and self sufficiency in the kitchen it has given my daughter.

Just to summarize, here are some of the pros and cons if you are considering a membership

Pros

• Laminated recipe guides are golden. They are indestructible, feature yummy recipes with a nice balance of natural ingredients, and are extremely child-friendly. Several of them have made it into our weekly rotation.
• Promotes family bonding. Making the time and space in your life to cook with your kids promotes connection.
• Teaches valuable life skills. Cooking and following a recipe are skills that will serve children throughout life. Each box contains a guide for learning a culinary skill. Additionally, all the practice kids get from making these recipes helps them master valuable kitchen techniques.
• Promotes confidence in the kitchen. The more your child practices, the more confident they become. What starts off difficult such as peeling potatoes or dicing tomatoes, eventually becomes effortless.
• Develops a self-sufficient cook. While my child still loves Raddish Kids, she has transferred these skills over to recipes she finds on the internet.
• Kitchen tools. Each kit comes with a quality kitchen tool.
• Bonus add-ons. From creative craft ideas and games to conversation starters and grocery lists, each box contains a wealth of supplemental information.
• Sibling kits available. I am frugal and don’t want the extra tools, but just know that if you would like an extra tool and patch for additional children, that can be added on for the reasonable price of $5. Additional aprons can also be purchased separately.
• Recipe Binder. For $20, you can purchase a Create-a-Cookbook binder to store your favorite Raddish Kids recipes. Even though I am extremely frugal, I purchased one and it gets used all the time. I may end up purchasing another one in a few months as we love certain recipes so much that they are part of our weekly rotation.

Cons

• Price. Let’s be honest. If you look at this box as simply a box of 3 recipes, it will seem expensive. However, I choose to look at it as a developmental experience that promotes independence as well as bonding. I feel it to be $20 each month well spent.
• Patches. See my discussion above, but the patches are not my favorite. I feel that it adds extra pressure to “completing” the box and makes it less straightforward to do the box with multiple children. My recommendation: Set them aside and don’t make a big deal about them. If you have multiple children, you can iron them on the apron or aprons if you choose, but don’t make them feel like they are “earned,” that way there will be less fighting over which child gets which patch and you won’t feel pressured to check off every recipe and activity in the box.
• Kitchen Tools. While the kitchen tools are high quality, I personally don’t like to buy more than I need and I already have many of these tools. If there was a way to opt out of the tools and save a few dollars each month, I probably would. However, even if you give away the tools away as gifts, I still feel the box is well worth the price.
• Overwhelm. If you’re anything like me, then you want to maximize the experience that is associated with kits such as these. You want to grocery shop and get all the ingredients beforehand. You want to set aside time to have the culinary lesson and supervise the child doing most of the work prepping and cooking the meal. You feel the need to do every suggested activity that comes in the box, whether it is a geography lesson, a craft, a game, or the conversation starters. It can be overwhelming. In fact, it can be so overwhelming that you let the box sit, waiting for the perfect time that never comes in our busy lives. My advice? Accept imperfection. There is a lot of value in each box. Take it in bits and pieces as it fits into your life and understand that while it may not be picture perfect, your child is learning and enjoying the experience. Finally letting go of perfection is what made these kits become the joyful, valuable part of our lives that they are today.

I hope this overview of my family’s experience with Raddish Kids was helpful to you! If you decide this subscription kit might be a good fit for your family, and you would like to try it out, this is my affiliate link. Note that for a limited time, as of December 15, 2020 (the day I am posting this), you can get $20 off a 12 month subscription using the code Chef20 and $15 off a 6 month subscription with the code ATHOME.

Have fun cooking!

Related Links

Favorite Homeschool Resources
A Guide to Homeschooling
Subscription Service Reviews

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What’s the catch? You don’t actually OWN the books you listen to. However, since most people don’t read books more than once, that is not such a huge sacrifice. Also, while they say your reading is unlimited, they do restrict which audiobook titles you have access to after you surpass a certain high threshold of time spent listening.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Scribd in any way. This is my honest, unbiased review. However, anyone that is a member of Scribd can share a link with friends that will earn them a free month of reading if their friend signs up, while giving that friend 60 free days to check it out. This is my Scribd link if you decide to try it.

Service: Scribd
Recommended Age Range: EVERYONE, literally toddler to adult
Cost: $10 per month

Review

I don’t know what I would do without Scribd. My kids and I listen to stories in the car (both picture books and chapter books). We listen to books at meals. I listen to both fiction and non-fiction while I am doing chores like dishes and laundry. I listen while I knit. I read or listen while I am laying next to my toddler as he falls asleep or while I watch my kids at sports practice.

Scribd allows me to satisfy my book habit in an affordable way. Unlike other subscription companies, you can listen or read as much as you want. The selection is fantastic. The only complaint I have is that after you have listened to 3 or 4 books, your audiobook selection does get smaller until your monthly renewal date. I imagine this is not an issue for most people, but we listen to so much, that we hit this limit almost every month. Thankfully, they do not appear to cut off books, and there are always still audiobooks available, just maybe not your first choice.

Pros

• Price. $10/month is WELL worth the cost in my opinion. I actually am currently additionally paying $15/month for an Audible subscription, because there are some titles, like the Harry Potter series, which are not available on Scribd. However, while $15 gets me one audiobook at Audible, $10 allows me to listen to at least 3 fantastic titles per month, plus I can read as much as I want.
• Selection. I would say whenever there is a book I want to read (both popular and obscure), there is an 80% chance that it is on Scribd. Not everything is on there, but I am always astonished by how frequently what I want to read is in their library.
• Variety. Picture books, chapter books for kids, frivolous fiction novels, quality literature, non-fiction books on a wide range of subjects…whatever you are interested in, you will be able to find something you want to read or listen to.
• Ease of Use. The app is incredibly easy to use. You can save titles you are interested in and create lists to organized your titles. You can filter our books you’ve completed or just search through the ones you’ve downloaded. I have no complaints about the app.
• Suggested Titles. I love that it will suggest titles for me to read based on the titles I have already read. It is very effective at picking things I am interested in. My “to read” list currently has over 200 titles in it.
• Magazines. I don’t even use this feature, but your subscription includes access to several digital magazines. Many of the most popular women’s magazines don’t seem to be included, but there are well known publications like Time and People magazine.

Cons

• Some titles seem to disappear. My kids’ FAVORITE thing to listen to for awhile was the picture book called The Book with No Pictures by BJ Novak, and we’ve noticed that it is no longer in the library. I also noticed Where the Crawdads Sing and Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me don’t seem to be there anymore either.
• You do not own the titles. After you stop paying, you no longer have access to the library.
• They do not have the titles my kids are MOST into like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.
• You only have access to the full Scribd library for the first 3 or 4 audiobooks per month. After that, they significantly restrict your selection.
• When I contacted the company regarding some titles not being available until after my monthly renewal date, I asked if I could just pay for a second subscription and they said no. I imagine you could get around this by having another member of your family sign up for an account, but I haven’t tried that. I think it says something that one of my biggest complaints is that they wouldn’t allow me to have two memberships.
• A reader has informed me in the comments below that there are no parental filters available to block explicit content. This hasn’t been an issue for me personally, but is something to keep in mind before you allow your child to use this app on their own.

If you need help choosing what to read or listen to, here are some of our favorites. Most of these have an audiobook version unless otherwise noted:

Our Favorite Scribd Picture Books

• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by John Scieszka
• A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
• Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
• I Miss You, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt
• Ruby the Copycat by Peggy Rathmann
• Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin
• Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems
• Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems
• The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
• Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by Willaim Steig
• The Pain the Great One by Judy Blume
• Magic School Bus series by Joanna Cole
• The Bad Seed by Jory John
• Olivia series by Ian Falconer
• Fancy Nancy series by Jane O’Conner
• Fly Guy series by Tedd Arnold
• Pinkalicious series by Victoria Kann
• Amelia Bedelia & Friends series by Herman Parish
• Clifford series by Norman Bridwell
• James Herriot’s Treasury for Children by James Herriot
• The Complete Tales of Peter Rabbit and Friends by Beatrix Potter
• Mike Mulligan’s Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

Our Favorite Scribd Chapter Books

• The Green Ember series by S.D. Smith
• Narnia series by C.S. Lewis
• The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street series by Karina Yan Glaser
• The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series by Maryrose Wood
• Adventures with Waffles by Maria Parr
• Ramona series by Beverly Cleary
• Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Peterson
• From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
• By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman
• Betsy Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
• Sarah, Plain and Tall series by Patricia MacLachlan
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio
• Frindle by Andrew Clements
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
• The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
• A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond (book only)
• Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater (book only)
• Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle (book only)
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (book only)
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (book only)
• Series of Unfortunate Event by Lemony Snicket (book only)
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (book only)
• The Giver by Lois Lowry (book only)

My Favorite Scribd Parenting Books

• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
• The Call of the Wild and Free by Ainsley Arment
• The Read Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie
• How Children Succeed by Paul Tough
• Grit by Angela Duckworth
• Helping Children Succeed by Paul Tough
• Play by Stuart Brown
• Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne
• Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein
• Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt
• Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom by Kerry Mcdonald
• Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy by Jamie C. Martin
• Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That’s Transforming Education
• Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
• How to Raise a Wild Child by Scott D. Sampson
• Unselfie by Michele Borba
• Balanced and Barefoot by Angela Hanscom

My Favorite Scribd Fiction Books

• Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
• Followers: A Novel by Megan Angelo
• When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O’Neal
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
• All the Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy
• The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood
• Without a Country by Ayse Kulin
• Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
• A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman

My Favorite Scribd Non-Fiction Books

• Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle
• Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff by Myquillyn Smith
• The Art of Living by Thich Nhat Hanh
• The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking
• The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
• The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
• The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
• Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
• Big Friendship by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman
• Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon

Related Links

Favorite Homeschool Resources
A Guide to Homeschooling
Subscription Services

The post Scribd: A Review appeared first on ResearchParent.com.

Not only do my 4 kids (ages 2 to 8) love these stories, my husband and I love them as well. There was one time that my husband and kids listened to a story in the car while I ran into Target during a family vacation. I listened to it on my own with headphones later that day, so that I wouldn’t miss any of the stories. They are educational, wholesome, and delightful.

Product: Around the World Stories (Affiliate Link)
Recommended Age Range: Kindergarten, Elementary
Time Required: about 30 minutes per story
Cost: $135 for all 52 stories or $15 per month

Bottomline

If you have a child between the ages of 4 and 10, these audio stories are the perfect way to spend time in the car. They teach your child about other countries and cultures in a way that is fun, memorable, and wholesome. There are 52 stories total each about 30 minutes long. Each story features a child from a different European country (Germany, the Netherlands, France, Denmark/Sweden, Austria, Czech Republic, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Poland, England, and Greece). The same child is followed for 4 stories in a row, and the gender of the child alternates from one country to the next.

There is a website that goes along with the stories that provides supplemental material for each country. We did not end up using the website that often, but the stories themselves are pure gold for igniting a child’s imagination. My kids would get excited about something they learned about in the story and we would follow the rabbit trail on our own, watching Youtube videos about the ice hotel in Sweden, doing our own Picasso inspired art projects, or reading (sometimes abridged) stories by famous authors like the Brother’s Grimm, Dickens, and Shakespeare.

My Favorite Thing About These Stories

The main advantage of these stories is the connections children are able to make. I can not even begin to describe how learning about all these places and the lives of these fictional kids has tied everything together for my own family. My kids will frequently hear something and relate it back to one of these stories. For example, we saw a book about The Little Mermaid in a store and my 6 and 8 year olds remembered that it was written by Hans Christian Anderson who was from Denmark, because that was the statue Anders saw when he was trying to understand his culture’s practice of hygge.

What if I Have Kids of Different Ages?

This is my 6 and 8 year olds’ favorite thing to listen to in the car. My 4 year old, who frequently complains during longer audiobooks, never complains during Around the World stories. (My baby doesn’t complain for that matter either. I think because the narrator’s voice is very soothing.) As I’ve mentioned, my husband and I enjoy these stories as well. I could imagine that maybe there would be some pre-teens and teenagers who would feel too grown up for these stories since they usually feature kids around the age of 9, but generally speaking, I think they are perfect for whole family listening.

How Do These Stories Fit into Homeschooling?

In my opinion, these stories are exactly what Charlotte Mason meant by a living book (except for the fact that they aren’t actually books). If Charlotte Mason knew what an audiobook was, I think she would be a huge fan of this series. They make learning about other cultures engaging by following the lives of “living” (though fictional) people that have real relationships, emotions, and dilemmas. My kids can imagine themselves being in these foreign lands, because they can relate to the main characters. They remember what they “learn,” because they don’t think of it as learning. They think of it as enjoying a fun, entertaining story.

That being said, while I love the Charlotte Mason philosophy, I don’t consider myself a Charlotte Mason homeschooler. These stories would fall into the category of Social Studies, but personally I use a separate history curriculum. However, I think these stories are a worthy supplement to any educational path. I think going down the rabbit holes that originate from these stories would be the perfect starting place for unschoolers.

Are they worth the money?

I definitely think so. At the time of this writing, you can either get all 52 stories for $135 or pay $14.95 per month for a story each week. That comes out to no more than $3.50 per story. ($2.60 per story if you buy all 52 at once.) I will happily pay $3.50 for that much education and entertainment for our entire family. I cannot think of $3.50 better spent.

Even though we hadn’t finished the European stories when the first Asia story was released, I immediately subscribed to those stories as well. That’s how much my family loves them.

Summary

In the name of fairness, I am going to do my best to come up with as many negatives and be as critical as possible be in this section. However, it will be hard. I love these series so much, the biggest con in my opinion is that we want to listen to them faster than they are coming out.

Pros

• Perfect for the entire family.
• Educational. They seamlessly interweave a lot of historical and cultural information about each country into each story.
• Engaging. My kids and I think they are so much fun.
• Great length. 30 minutes is a wonderful length, because we can usually complete one in a day of errands. If we don’t quite finish, my kids always want to sit in the car after we get home to hear how it ends.
• Wholesome. These stories are just so delightful and sweet. They teach great values like helping others, taking responsibility for our actions, working hard, and not being materialistic (just to name a few).
• Spark curiosity. They make my kids curious to learn more about other countries. I love all the extended learning that comes out of listening to these stories.
• Memorable. My kids form long-lasting connections between places and important people and events, because they tie them back to the main characters that they love.
• Portable. I love that you can either stream the stories from your phone or download them in mp3 format.

Cons

• In a family with older kids, these stories might feel a little young as the main character is usually between the ages of 8 and 10. I plan to re-listen to them in a couple years so that my baby and toddler can enjoy them. Personally, I think even my older kids will continue to enjoy them.
• I think the supplemental material on the website could be better curated. It is great that they give you ways to continue learning, like conversation starters or more educational facts. They usually give you a way to extend your learning like with a YouTube video. I would love to see links to more resources like recipes, music, photo galleries of these countries, and more related YouTube videos that are appropriate for kids. I usually end up doing this part of my own, but it can be time-consuming.
• This is not necessarily a con, but just be aware that the stories are a mix of realism and fantasy. The earlier stories are completely realistic, if somewhat far-fetched at times. However, later in the series, some of them move into the completely fantastical with leprechauns, fairies, and time machines. Personally, I prefer the realistic ones while I think my kids prefer the more magical ones, so maybe it’s good that there is a mix.
• 2 of the stories focus on personified animals, not people. The featured child is still part of the story by the end of the 30 minutes, but the first part of the story is a little odd in that it doesn’t follow the pattern of the previous groups of 4 stories. This is not necessarily a con. Again, I preferred the stories with real people, but my kids didn’t comment on the change.
• One of the stories features additional voices. As this was their first series of stories, it seems like they did a lot of experimentation. The main narrator is a man with a very soothing, mellow voice. He is great at altering his voice for different characters, including women. However, in one of the stories about Spain, they added female voices in for some of the main characters. Personally, although I was surprised at first, I didn’t mind the switch. My 8 year old son, on the other hand, was pretty upset about it. Thankfully for him, they switched back to their traditional style quickly.
• A couple errors. My kids picked up on one of the princess’s name from the Netherlands changing very slightly between part 1 and part 2 of the story. Since this story featured actual people, I assume the makers were informed they were pronouncing the name wrong. Similarly, the pronunciation of hygge changed from one story to the next, I assume for a similar reason.

All in all, my complaints are pretty minor relative to the benefits my family has seen. If you decide to try these stories, I hope your family enjoys them as much as my family has! If you would like to use my affiliate link to purchase these stories, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. No pressure. ;)

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