Book Reviews - Kingdom Tales

[gratitude]

We are only on week three and my kids all say they would pretty much rather me read anything else. Is there a purpose behind Kingdom Tales? Will we be missing out if we skip it? Has anyone else experienced this? I'm wondering if it gets better. Everything else in the MFW curriculum seems wonderful so far.

How old are they?

I pre-read this book and love it. I can see though how not all children would like it; especially the younger set. It is very imaginative with lots of allegory. I honestly don't think my 6 year old would understand it. We are starting ECC in Sept. I know my 10 will love it (he has previewed it some), I'm going to try it with my 8 and I am not certain if he will like it at his age: maybe. I don't think any of my kids would have liked it at 6 or 7 and maybe even 8 due to a lack in understanding what is really going on. If it helps any the first chapter, or first few chapters, was my least favorite part in pre reading it.

I hope someone will chime in who has already read it to their children.

[lawree]

My children loved it, except my youngest who was just too young at the time and I didn't make him listen unless he wanted to. He was only 4 at the time. I think it was great for my older two children, but only because they liked it. If they hadn't gotten into it I think we could have skipped it with no problems. We did skip a couple of the missionary stories that the kids just couldn't get into.

[Plgw2013]

My kids are 4,6, and 9. Maybe if your kids liked it, mine will get into it eventually...so I guess we will stick with it for now. I feel pretty unenthused but maybe it will get better.

[Julie in MN]

Your kids are on the young side, so it might vary. My son was about in 8th grade, and he LOVED it.

I was wondering if you have the MFW version with the questions after each chapter. I think those help make the analogy connections?

Julie

[praisefor3]

My DS loved it but we did ECC in 6th grade with him. This year I will be doing ECC with DD 3rd grade. I am not planning on using it with her this year. Any suggestions for good alternatives that anyone has found specifically for Kingdom Tales with this age would be welcomed (not to hijack your thread though!)

[Jami]

We did ECC when my oldest was in 3rd grade and next oldest was in kinder. We gave Kingdom Tales a good chance but they didn't ever come around to enjoying it either.

The good news? We are in year five of the cycle this fall and will do ECC next school year (2014/15) and I'm pretty sure my kids will like it the second time around so it won't be missed out on.

Boy, that went fast. We started in Adventures and year five seemed so far away back then!

[Plgw2013]

MFW is new for us so I don't want to miss out on something critical...but the reminder that we'll be doing it again (next time I'll have a sixth grader and a third grader) is reassuring. Maybe I should just pull out some C.S. Lewis for interesting reading in its place?

[momma2boys]

I have two boys and they absolutely LOVED it. It is one of their favorite memories of their ECC year, along with the missionary biographies. They were in 2nd and 4th grade at the time.

[One of each]

My kids loved it. They were 8 and 11 when we read it. However, I recall it took us a few chapters to get into it.

[4Truth]

Love it here! But my kids were a bit older the first time we read it.... 13, 10, and 6. My youngest definitely got the least out of it, but the older two got into it. My oldest then read it at least two or three more times on her own and we read it again as a family a year or so ago. (We re-read it separately from ECC the second time... just for fun.)

Someone asked if you have the MFW version with discussion questions...

[lea_lpz]

My kids are 4,6, and 9. Maybe if your kids liked it, mine will get into it eventually...so I guess we will stick with it for now. I feel pretty unenthused but maybe it will get better.

Your youngest 2 are technically tag alongs to ECC and will do ECC latter, and so I would excuse them from readings. My children are 4 and 6. My 6 year old has just began having patience to listen to longer readings and chapter books, but I have kept those light. We've read fun chapter books. My 4 year old really can't do much more than picture books.

If your 9 year old is third grader, I would go ahead and skip it and he could do those read alouds in 8th at which point your younger kids might be ready for it, too. If he's in 4th, I would try it well the younger a do nap or quiet time so he can focus and you can ask comprehension questions to make sure he's listening. Perhaps have him do a short narration at the end of each reading so he knows to pay attention. I do this with my stepson who just turned 9 and will be entering 4th grade. He goes to ps but I help him with homework and I don't know if it's the age or being a boy, buthe can be very lazy about his school work, even if it's interesting, enless he knows you'll keep him accountable, then he'll often not only engage but also enjoy what he's learning.

As far as reading for the oldest, I would push through. Their will be books as he gets older he might not love all the time but'll have to read anyway. If he were in ps, he wouldn't have the option to choose, and as the parent and teacher sometimes you have to make a call your kids aren't going to love.

That's just my two cents anyway.

[gratitude]

My kids are 4,6, and 9. Maybe if your kids liked it, mine will get into it eventually...so I guess we will stick with it for now. I feel pretty unenthused but maybe it will get better.

How is your 9 year old doing with it? If your 9 year old is doing OK you could consider reading it aloud to your 9 year old alone.

Lamplighters books has it for ages 8 - 99. Since ECC is for 2nd - 8th it too would be 8 and older. Having read it I would say your 6 & 4 are too young for it and their responses could influence your 9 year old if done together.

I bought this book to pre-read a year ago. Confession: after I pre-read it I let my 9 year old read it and he loved it. I am planning this year for ECC to read it aloud to my 10 & 8 with the girls out of the room. Even though my oldest read it last year I still want to do it aloud for discussion purposes.

If you are up for it I would suggest doing it with your 9 without the other two; I would have the same recommendation for the missionary bios I pre-read. Hero Tales, I pre-read, would be fine for the 9 & 6 but I think would be difficult to engage a four year old with.

I hope it works out! Learning to teach a new program is always difficult!

[rebeccal2002]

I remember it took our kids a bit of time to get used to it. By the end, they were sad when it was done. It took a while for my DH and I to read it correctly, too, if that makes sense. Varying our voices, putting emphasis on the right words, things like that to make it more interesting. I also remember having to read it more slowly, too. I think we broke some of the chapters into two readings if it got too long. (My DH likes to keep evening reading to about 15-20 minutes.) Sometimes we would switch halfway thru (DH would start, I'd finish.) Anyway, we will be reading it again in a couple of years. I think it will be even better the 2nd time around.

Have a great year! ECC was really enjoyable, what with all the projects and such. The kids still talk about the world cake and the pinata!

R.

[HeyChelle]

We loved Kingdom Tales! Maybe keep reading to see if they find interest soon?

[Mommyto3boys]

Mine loved it. They were 13, 10, 8, and 5. When I am reading to them I do different voices. I am usually reading it while they have their morning snack.

[MFW-Lucy]

Hello all,

Just chiming into to say that you have had a lot of wonderful suggestions! As mentioned by some of the moms this book was not intended for younger children and you may try to read it to your 9 year old independently. If in the end it is just not working for your family at this time, please feel free to set it aside and pick it up the next time around or read it another year later down the road. This book was chosen for use during ECC since one of the themes as we read through the book of Matthew is the Kingdom of God. However, this book can be read at any time.

Lucy

[meagabby]

We liked it, but didn't finish due to family circumstances. 14g, 11g, 8b, 6g I would read it during lunch or after our bible time and even at bedtime. I even read it in the dark of their room with a flashlight and they really enjoyed that...said they could picture it happening.
All children are different and just wanted to note that the girls were more interested than my son, age could have been a factor for him, but it was my Ker that told MY friend she wanted me to finish reading that book to her! They are all different!