Circle C Stepping Stones a Homeschool Review Crew

My daughter squealed in delight when I showed her the newest books by Susan K.Marlow and Kregel Publications. She was so excited to see the new series:  Circle C Stepping Stones: Andi Saddles Up and Andi Under the Big Top.  I had to chuckle at her excitement and it was contagious. I received a physical copy of both books to review. Both books also have a Study Guide available.

I know I tell this story every time I review any of the books from Susan K. Marlow and I can’t help it. Many years ago my daughter came across Susan K. Marlow’s books at the TPA Homeschool Convention. With a horse and a girl her age on the book cover she was pretty excited. She was sure then that she would love all the books. We have read every book in all of the series and she would happily tell you that she loves them all. If you’re wondering about more of the books you can see that there are several series for all ages.  

Circle C Beginnings for ages 6-9

Circle C Stepping Stones ages 7-10

Circle C Adventures for ages 9-14

Circle C Milestones for ages 12+

Goldtown Adventures for boys 8-12

What makes this series so special to this momma is that my daughter has some learning disabilities and reading is extremely hard for her to do. Seeing her excited about a book speaks loudly to me and touches my heart. I love that she is reading a story about faith and family. All the series are wholesome books for kids.

Each book has a PDF Study Guide and coloring pages on the author’s website. The Study Guides have a suggestive schedule for incorporating the reading and the Study Guide together. Both of the Study Guides covers several topics from Geography, Language Arts, Math, Science, and Bible. Comprehensive questions throughout to make sure they comprehend what they are reading and go along with each of the chapters in the books. Lots of vocabulary assignments. In these particular Study Guides my daughter has learned about poetry, similes, mapping, historical information, hands on activities and character building, Answers are included at the end of the Study Guides.

Both books are set in 1877 in California at the Circle C Ranch where the family raises cattle. The books are paperback chapter books for ages 7-9. Boys will enjoy the adventure in these books also.

 

Andi Saddles Up:

This is the first book in the Circle C Stepping Stones Series. This book has 104 pages and 12 chapters. The book starts out with, “New Words” which introduces some vocabulary that the reader may or may not be familiar with. Some of the words in this particular book have words like “cinch” or “stringer”.  At the end of the book there is a section called, “History Fun” and this one talks about “Sheep and Cattle Wars”. There are several beautiful illustrations throughout the book.

It’s Andi’s ninth birthday and the day that she can start riding her beloved palomino, Taffy independently. She also gets a beautiful new saddle to call her own. Her brother shows her his secret place spot when he was younger that she can ride up to and enjoy. She meets a girl her age up there and Andi is about to learn a lesson in growing up, friendship, trust, and obedience.

Here's a few samples from the Study Guide:

 

Andi Under the Big Top:

Book 2 in the series has 105 pages and 12 chapters. New Words are introduced at the beginning of the book. My daughter learned some new words like “menagerie” and “calliope”. The back of the book on the “History Fun” section covers some intriguing facts about the circus.

The circus is coming to town and Andi has her head stuck in the clouds dreaming about performing in the circus. She meets young Henry who ran away from home to join the circus. Andi thinks that he has the perfect job on the road with the circus. Andi finds out that not all things are how they seem on the surface. Henry desperately wants to go home. He’s trapped and not able to run away from the circus to get back home. That is until he sees an opportunity with the Carter family. It comes with a high price for both Henry and Andi. Lessons are learned and the value of family is priceless. 

Study Guide samples:

How did I use this in my homeschool?

I printed out the Study Guides and put them in a comb binder as soon as I could. My daughter ended up having some medical issues and our plans needed to be adjusted to what we originally planned on doing with the Study Guides. We snuggled up on the couch to read the stories together. We took turns reading to one another.

We worked our way through Andi Saddles Up Study Guide together. We didn’t get through the Study Guide for Andi Under the Big Top this time around. She did enjoy coloring some of the free coloring pages while I read to her.

I loved these books and I can say the same about all of Susan K. Marlow books. They are highly recommended from me. They all centered on a Biblical foundation and have some lessons that we can use in our daily walk with our Savior. I don’t have to worry about no surprises when I hand these stories over to my daughter to read.

Currently four other books are planned for this series:

Book 3: Andi Lassos Troubles

Book 4: Andi to the Rescue

Book 5: Andi Dreams of Gold

Book 6: Andi Far from Home

Social Media Links:

Twitter (Kregel Books): https://twitter.com/KregelBooks 
Twitter (Susan K Marlow): https://twitter.com/SuzyScribbles
Facebook (Kregel Books): https://www.facebook.com/KregelBooks/
Facebook (Susan K Marlow): https://www.facebook.com/SusanKMarlow?fref=ts

Don’t forget to see what other Homeschool Crew Review have to say about these delightful books. Click on the images below to see all the blogs.

 

 

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