Home Grown Hearts Academy Homeschool Blog: Heirloom Audio Productions - With Lee in Virginia

Recently my family and I were chosen to review With Lee in Virginia from Heirloom Audio Productions. I had no idea going into this review how much it would bring history to life and actually bless us.

What is With Lee in Virginia?

With Lee in Virginia is a Civil War story of courage, honor, and duty. It's recommended for ages 6 - Adult. This dramatized version of G.A. Henty's book by the same title was a hit with my three daughters. We were blessed to receive the 2 1/2 hour audio theater on two CDs. We also received access to wonderful special bonuses online.

The special bonuses include:

PDF Study Guide and Discussion Starter
MP3 download of the story
eBook of the original G.A. Henty Story
Official Soundtrack
Printable Promotion Poster
Printable of a saying from Robert E. Lee,
Unlimited access to the Live The Adventure Letter E-Newsletter

The story follows a young gentleman by the name of Vincent Wingfield as joins the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia. He finds himself fighting alongside famous Confederate generals such as Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. He is ultimately inspired by the duty and devotion to God that Robert E. Lee shows and Vincent is determined to take a stand for his country.

How we used With Lee in Virginia

One of the first things I did was access the PDF Study Guide and Discussion Starters and print them. I was so thankful that this awesome guide was included. The Study Guide is 48 pages and it really helps parents engage children with the story. A fantastic plus in the fact that the study guide doesn't have to be printed out and can be viewed on any device. The study guide is bright and vibrant but as you can tell by my pictures I was running a little low on the color ink.

We choose to listen to With Lee in Virginia during our car rides. We live in an area that requires quite the drive just to be able to visit the dentist or even shop at a major retailer. Anyhow, during one of our trips to the dentist I popped in the first CD and away we drove. Seriously friends my children were so quiet. They were immediately drawn into the story even expressing dislike for the fact that we had to stop it at certain times. After returning home the first day we turned our attention to the study guide. We spent the next week listening and then studying. We all loved the way the study guide is set up. Each disc and track has a corresponding page that includes a listening well, thinking further, and defining words section. Some pages even include fun facts and a recipe. We chose to use a notebook specifically for the defining words section. It was fun for my daughters to look up each word and write their definitions. It helped their vocabulary tremendously. I was pretty surprised at how much information my daughters retained during the course of listening and reviewing by using the study guide. I'm positive that the study guide was very beneficial in that regard.

What we loved the most about With Lee in Virginia

Without a doubt, the story was ultimately the best part of this review. From the very beginning to the end, the audio drama is exciting and has a way of making you want to continue listening. It's filled with adventure and also includes funny and some pretty sad parts as well. The cast does an amazing job. Speaking of the cast! The cast lineup is so wonderful! It was so fun to listen to the characters and find out who was behind the voice and find out that I actually have grown up watching and/or listening to them many times.

Final Thought

We highly, highly recommend With Lee in Virginia! It was truly a blessing for my family and I believe it should be listened to by everyone. I'm positive that this is a story that will bless people and make them feel like their purchase was worth it. I've known people to spend money on a product and then later regret it. I'm sure this isn't one of those products. It's a story that can be listened to many times over and still be appreciated. I'm planning a Civil War study in the future and I will definitely be using this again as part of the study.