Tag Archives: survival

Creek Stewart Apocabox: DIY Survival Skills

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A few months ago, for my husband’s birthday, I purchased a subscription to Apocabox from Creek Stewart.  It turned out that our whole family has enjoyed learning with this unique box of challenges.  I would like to encourage other homeschool families to check into doing these DIY suvival skills learning kits with their kids.

Creek Stewart is a well known survivalist teacher.  He has been featured over the past 20 years in countless articles, magazines, TV shows, talk shows, news, and more.  He previously hosted a show called Fat Guys in the Woods where he helped “guys” get off the couch and learn knew skills in the woods such as camping, bushcrafting, survival, and mastering personal skills that helped change their lives.  He has a survival school called Willow Haven Outdoor located in Indiana.  He has his own signature line of knives and tools called “Whisky” where the handles are made from the oak wood of whisky barrels.  He is the current host of a TV show called S.O.S. How To Survive that airs on the Weather Channel that showcases true stories of people who found themselves in survival situations and what skills saved their lives.

Creek Stewart is also an author of lots of books including suvival guides, magazine articles, as well as fiction and non-fiction books.  He has several websites and youtube channels and he is well known and well liked by many.

Apocabox

Apocabox is a survival school in a box.  It comes to your door every other month.  It is filled with skill challenges, at least 1 or more survival skill challenge kits, sometimes one of Creek Stewart’s pocket survival guides, and always includes about 5 to 7 gear items that can benefit you in a survival situation.

Each Apocabox has a unique theme, special gear, and skill challenges.  Apocabox has been going for several years.  Here is an example of the 2017 themes and related gear for the past year.

2017 Themes:

  • Ignis (Fire)(Febuary): Whisky Flint and Steel Kit, Whisky Ferro Rod, Fire Scratcher, Friction Fire Chucks, Ignis Tinder Tubes, Pocket Wick, Fresnel Lens
  • Forager (April): Canvas Foraging Bag, Foraging Knife with Sheath, Fruit and Nut Grapple, Sprouting Kit, Tree Finder Guide, Arbor Day Foundation Tree Guide, Chirps Chips, Forager Patch, Pocket Field Guide
  • Hydro (Water)(June): 3 Dry Gear Bags, Tarp and Drain Water Harvester, Gear Guard Wax, Folding Filet & Food Prep Knife, Life Raft Knife, Frog and Fish Gig, Collapsible Minnow Trap, Pocket Field Guide, Build a Coal Burned Wooden Container Skill
  • Bushcraft Dump Pouch (August): Canvas and Leather Pouch, Whisky Burr Knife, Sharpening Brick, Trout Line Fishing Kit, Bone Feather, Beeswax Bar
  • Camp Cookery (October): Stainless Steel Pack Grill, Fold Down Cooking Tripod, 5Litter Dry Bag, Whisky Scoop (wooden spoon carver tool), Chicory Coffee
  • Tool & Maintenance (December): Knife Kit, Multi-function Sharpener, Double Edged Bench Strop, 4-Way Rasp, Rock and Roll Sharpener, Diamond Paste Syringe, Buffalo Bone Whistle, Lincoln Patch, Tool Maintenance Desk Mat, Field Maintenance Bag

Each box includes at least 1 or more theme specific survival skill challenges that include the complete project plus templates and raw materials and special videos for you to learn to make the survival product yourself and master using it.  Each box also includes up to 10-12 additional survival skills for you to master.  These additional skills are related to the gear in the box and written about in the newsletter, pocket survival guides, and exclusive subscriber videos, and you can resource your own materials and learn these skills right from the comfort of your home or backyard.

Apocabox Example: Forager

With the Forager edition of Apocabox, folks learned how to forage and gather food and resources from trees, plants, roots, fish from streams, and sprout their own seeds into nutritious greens too.

Contents:

  • Apocabox Newsletter: filled with skills challenges and detailed content descriptions. (These have been updated to 4 page high gloss magazine style pages and now also contain photos of other subscribers who sent in pictures of their finished challenges and projects)
  • POCKET FIELD GUIDE: Survival Trees : Vol I
    70 page 4×6 pocket sized field guide filled with DIY Skills Challenges to Master such as gleaning survival resources such as food, water, shelter, fire, cordage, tools, containers and adhesives from 8 different trees.
  • Canvas Foraging Bag
  • Foraging Knife and Sheath
    Multi use tool designed to dig up roots and tubers, and use as a trowel for digging fire pits, and more.
  • Fruit & Nut Grapple Kit
  • Bone Sliver Fishing Kit
  • TREE FINDER GUIDE:
    How to identify 161 species of trees.
  • Arbor Day Foundation Tree Guide:
    250 trees of North America
  • Sprouting Kit:
    Sprouting seeds, instructions, and prortable sprouting container.  Seeds vary and might include: Black Turtle Beans, Navy bean, Red field peas (these are beans also), Lentils, Mung Beans and Alfalfa.
  • Chirps Chips
    Chips made from cricket flour.
  • “FORAGER” Velcro Leaf Patch

The Forager Apocabox contained instructions, templates, and materials for 3 Specific DIY Skills Challenges:

  1. Bone Sliver Kit: includes instructions and materials to make a bone sliver fishing hook, and a bone sliver fishing gorge.
  2. Fruit and Nut Grapple Kit includes instructions and materials (except paracord) to make the grapple and you add the paracord and then practice harvesting from trees.
  3. Sprout Kit:  includes seeds and container for nutritious food.

Subscribers also have access to exclusive videos that walk you step by step from beginning all the way through mastering these skills.  Some videos are about 5 minutes long, some 10 minutes, and some videos are 30 minutes long depending on the skill being learned.  Creek is a very good teacher and is easy to understand in these videos. Plus there are lots more optional skills to practice and master in the Pocket Field Guide.  The Forager Apocabox came with links to 3 online teaching videos to watch.

Here is a short 1 minute video clip about resources found in Pine Trees:

Apocabox is truly a super-duty DIY survival skills training box and is a perfect match with the self motivated learning styles of many homeschool families as well as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4 -H clubs, after school programs, summer camps, and many other groups.

2018 Themes (so far):

  • Exodus (Febuary)
  • Silent Hunter (April)
  • Flatline (June)

Apocabox costs $50 plus shipping every two months. The box is shipped 6 times a year (Feburary, April, June, August, October, December) and contains enough materials and information to keep you learning and mastering at least 1 or more survivals skills each week for the full two months while you wait for your next box to arrive.  So that is about $6.25 a week if you only learn 1 knew skill.  But there is likely enough challenges in the boxes, pamphlets, booklets, and exclusive linked videos to do 2 skills a week, which would translate to a cost of about $3.13 per knew skill learned.

Apocabox is cheaper than any survival school or life skills curriculum I have found and even cheaper than a fancy cup of coffee.  This is very reasonable for all the cool things you get to learn. I wish I had these kits when I was teaching the Build It Learn It Workshops and Take Action Tuesdays a few years ago.  These truly are a wonderful resource!

However, if the Apocabox skills challenges sound like more than you can do at this time (either time or money or both), Creek Stewart also offers a Survival Skill of the Month Club where he teaches 1 knew skill for the current price $7.95 a month.  For that price, he will mail you a binder, plus 1 illustrated skill per month in high gloss magazine style pages that you can add to the binder.

He has also recently added a Wild Edibles Skill of the Month Club that looks fantastic too.

Sharing through Facebook and Instagram and being part of an online community of people who are also learning these skills is another special feature Creek offers to his subscribers. It is truly amazing what some people do while learning these skills and see the outcomes.

For example, this past December, in the “Tools and Maintenance” theme, folks created their own custom knives and custom handles and sheaths, and learned how to properly care for knives, and axes, etc.  The 2017 December box and theme is what actually inspired me to subscribe.  I just knew my husband and older sons would love it, so we subscribed and our first box was the Feb 2018 and it turns out we have all loved this learning journey so far!

With Father’s Day right around the corner, if you are looking for a really nice gift for the father’s, sons (or daughters) in your life, the life skills and survival skills learned from these boxes will be a gift that keeps on giving. Like the old saying goes “give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.” The knowledge and skills one gains to care for themselves, and the needs of others, to help them survive is priceless.

I will post future stories about each box and the skills we learn.  If you think this might be a good fit for your family, please join us on this new learning adventure!

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Heroes of History: Daniel Boone Review

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How to encourage a reluctant reader?

Put a fun book from the Heroes Of History series in their hands, such as Heroes of History-Daniel Boone from YWAM Publishing and let the fun begin!  The whole family will want to join in learning about the Frontiersman named Daniel Boone.

Heroes of History

Heroes of History has 28 books in the series.  It is a biography series of true stories of men and women who changed the course of history for the better.

Heroes of History series of 28 books includes:

Abraham Lincoln: A New Birth of Freedom
Alan Shepard: Higher and Faster
Ben Carson: A Chance at Life
Benjamin Franklin: Live Wire
Billy Graham: America’s Pastor
Christopher Columbus: Across the Ocean Sea
Clara Barton: Courage Under Fire
Daniel Boone: Frontiersman
Davy Crockett: Ever Westward
Douglas MacArthur: What Greater Honor
Elizabeth Fry: Angel of Newgate
Ernest Shackleton: Going South
George Washington: True Patriot
George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist
Harriet Tubman: Freedombound
John Adams: Independence Forever
John Smith: A Foothold in the New World
Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Storybook Life
Louis Zamperini: Redemption
Meriwether Lewis: Off the Edge of the Map
Milton Hershey: More Than Chocolate
Orville Wright: The Flyer
Ronald Reagan: Destiny at His Side
Theodore Roosevelt: An American Original
Thomas Edison: Inspiration and Hard Work
William Bradford: Plymouth’s Rock
William Penn: Liberty and Justice for All
William Wilberforce: Take Up the Fight

Heroes of History-Daniel Boone

Paperback

224 Pages

19 Chapters

Ages 10 and up

Retail: $9.99 on sale for $7.50

Daniel Boone was a Frontiersman who lived from 1734 to 1820.  The stories in this book include events in his life in North Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana and some of the many places (Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Missouri, etc) he journeyed in-between.  The book follows Boone from childhood into manhood as he sets out to find his own land and build a life for his family, and latter events in adulthood and the lives of his grown children and even covers his peaceful death in his daughter’s home.  The death’s of several of his children both in their youth and adulthood as well as the death of friends and his wife is also shared. Through out his life he helped many other settlers too.  He was very talented, a great hunter, trapper, and a master of survival skills.   He also had incredible courage and lived through many dangerous situations in the wilderness, as well as living through attacks by soldiers, and being taken captive by Indians.  He learned to survey land and helped develop huge regions of American wilderness.

Unit Study

In addition to these wonderful books, YWAM Publishing has also produced downloadable Unit Study guides for the Heroes of History stories.

These Unit Study Guides provide a wonderful curriculum option for families. They are flexible and can be adjusted to suit the skill levels of kids, and the different opportunities and resources families have for hands on learning.

The unit study is filled with loads of fun activities.  This curriculum is engaging and peeks kids interest with related history, geography, writing, culture and arts, and more woven throughout the books.  Kids can be hands on with Heroes of History Unit Studies and experience an important piece of the past!

The Unit Study guide contains discussion questions and answer key, teaching tips, hands on learning of various topics, and several PDF printables for kids to complete such as:

cross word puzzles,

biographical fact sheet,

hidden word puzzles,

historical time line,

maps,

and more.

Some of the hands on learning topics the Unit Study guide covers includes:

Chapter Questions / Reading Comprehension and Discussion:  There are six questions related to each chapter covering vocabulary, facts in the text, comprehension of story, and opinion interpretation.

Student Explorations:

Essay Questions

American History: war, government, land acquisition, boundaries, Native Indians, pioneers,

Geography : maps, study how to do a basic survey and plot out your neighborhood, 

Science and Medicine: learn about diseases of the day including TB and Small Pox and remedies they used to treat the diseases.

Setting Up Displays: butter churn, leather work, satchel, flint lock rifle, Native American beadwork, braded rugs, anvil, bellows, books about outdoor survival skills, Kentucky or North Carolina, books about Daniel Boone’s life, Boone’s family tree, items related to woodsmanship, items related to blacksmiths, leather moccosans, cross stitch samplers, quilts, hat made of raccoon skin with tail, wool blankets, oil lamp, maps of Boone’s travels, etc.

Arts and Crafts: make a fort, make a banner-plaque-or sign with a famous quote,  make a bound book, make a Boone family tree, draw a riffle and lable it’s parts, and give a demonostration how it works, create clay replica’s of animal tracks, sew an apron from a pattern, make a braided rug like the settlers, create your own beadwork like Native American wampum, etc.

Food: learn about wild food, make beef jerky,

Field Trip: visit a location, a carreer, or a factory related to Boone’s life in someway (a town where he traveled or lived, visit a farm, visit a reservation where Native American’s live or have a museum, visit a blacksmith shop, walk through a forest or go on a nature walk, talk to a surveyor or governor or road worker, a rifle manufacture, a hunter, a tanner, etc), visit a museum with displays from Boone’s life or time in history, also suggests if you can’t schedule a field trip or an interview or meeting with someone then plan an online virtual field trip or watch related videos.

Survival Skills : learn tracks and habits of various animals, go on a nature walk, spend time in a forest, go camping, learn to use a knife and a rifle, learn to weave, learn to use various tools used by Boone and settlers and the Native American Indians.

Creative Writing: journals, poems, letters, songs, make a pamphlet that could be used to attract workers to the Wilderness Road project,  etc.

Public Speaking

Drama/Audio Video: create a business presentation for the creation of the Wilderness Road project, create a mock website for a general store with 1780’s products, write and act out a play of Daniel Boone’s life,

Suitable for the whole family.

Our Experience:

We were sent a paperback copy of Heroes of History-Daniel Boone and the online downloadable Unit Study guide.  I asked my reluctant reader to give this book a try because I felt the outdoorsman/woodsman nature of Daniel Boone would appeal to him.  Daniel Boone is such an interesting character.

My 14 year old son would much rather spend time outdoors learning about nature and the bush, than spend his time indoors reading.  He does enjoy reading about various hunting, truck, and car reviews.  But to get him to like reading a book is a big stretch.  It is just not his thing.  So I decided that maybe he would enjoy reading outdoors in his element.  He has a campsite in the backyard that he made himself.  He eventually hopes to put up a hammock, but for now, he is quite happy with it.  I sent him out with the book to see if he would enjoy reading the first chapter.

The story of Daniel Boone appealed to him and this worked out perfectly!   He read enough on that first setting to peak his interest and has read a chapter at a time.  He has enjoyed reading in the van, on errands where there is nothing else to do, and he read some on his bed too which he seldom ever enjoys doing.  I am very thankful he enjoyed this book.  If you want to get a reluctant reader to read, find a subject that appeals to them and an environment they enjoy, and you just might find a solution!

Unit Study

My kids enjoyed this Unit Study very much.  But even more so is the effort put in by our reluctant reader. 

I was really pleased with his efforts and he didn’t flinch when I asked him questions about wheat he read and gave him assignments to complete.

Activities:

We participated in several fun activities during this Daniel Boone Unit Study adventure:

Survival Remedies:

Learn about wild medicine plants that were used to treat illnesses in the 1700’s and 1800’s.  For this we looked up plants online and in our handy field guide and went outside to see if we could find some of them.  We use essential oils made from a variety of plants for many applications.  We plan to make some tinctures and salves soon.

Plantain

Rose

Wild Strawberry

Pine

Clover

Dandelion

Survival Food:

Gather foods outdoors:

Some of the wild foods that we are able to find and some foods we can prepare with these wild plants around our yard and the edge of the woods during this unit study included pine needle tea, pine pollen and pine buds, honey suckle tea and jam, wild strawberry tea and jam, wild rose tea and rose petal jam, dandelion tea, dandelion coffee, dandelion salad, wild lettuce salad, wild grape leaves, wild onions, and wild garlic.  Later this summer we will be able to find wild amaranth, mint, wild elderberry, wild chicory root, walnuts, hickory nuts, pine nuts, cat tails, etc.

When Daniel lived, folks depended on their gardens and hunting to survive. Some people had a few farm animals too, but many people did not have an abundance of animals or foods.  Hunting was difficult and not everyone had access to meat all the time.  If they didn’t grow their own food, then they would have to gather what wild food they could find to survive.  The kids decided to make a meal from what they went out and gathered outdoors. They gathered various greens and onion tops from the spring garden they planted.  Then they washed the greens and cut everything into small pieces.

Next they added water, salt, and seasonings and let it simmer for about twenty minutes.  The soup turned out delicious!

This was a valuable lesson for the kids.  If folks had other ingredients on hand, they would have certainly added them.  Foods such as potatoes, rice, dumplings, corn meal, butter, milk, cheese, edible mushrooms, or fresh or dried meat or fish would definitely increase the nutritional value of a soup like this.  I would encourage others to choose a source of protein, fat, and additional carbs to add in to your soup so it is more filling and satiating. Serving it with a slice of homemade bread and butter or biscuits and jam would also help round out this meal.  Bannock is similar to Indian Fry Bread or Flat Bread and would have been eaten with a soup like this.  But if you only had edible greens and herbs you gathered to put in this soup, you would still have the basics of many essential vitamins and minerals to help keep you nourished and survive.

Bannock

Bannock is basically campfire bread.  It is easy to make and take on the go or cook on the campfire.  Bannock is similar to Indian Fry Bread or Flat Bread. You can add baking powder (or buttermilk) if you want it to rise a little of the consistency of a pancake but this step isn’t necessary.

We made our bannock version in the style of THIN UNLEAVENED BREAD. Bannock or thin bread is made by mixing flour, oil, water, and salt together, let the dough rest a while.  Then flatten it with your hands or a rolling pin and cook on a preheated skillet or rock over a fire or the stove for a few minutes until it turns golden.  Then we added some optional dried raisins, cranberries, and cinnamon.  You can leave this bread plain or you can add any dried berries or herbs / spices you think will taste good.

Some people also wrap the dough around a stick and cook the bannock over the campfire.  It can be used as a bread, or as a crust for pizza and or as a pie type shell, cut into strips or squares and used a dumplings in broth, or use the bannock dough filled with other delicious ingredients before baking or frying.

The kids loved making these and they tasted delicious.

Gathering Firewood:

The boys looked for downed limbs for fire wood over the past several weeks and made quite a pile.    Then they used a saw and hatchet to cut the wood into small pieces for their camp fires.

Archery and Knife Survival Skills:

Learn to sharpen and use knives with a sharpening stone and leather, cut with knives, and whittle wood with knives.  All six of the kids learned these skills.

Learn to throw knives and become efficient to use in hunting.

Throwing knives is a lot of fun.  The boys read books and watched videos on how to do this and dad helped them build a standing target board to throw at.  All three of the older boys practiced learning knife skills.

Learn to use a sling shot archery for hunting food and self defense. We plan to get a long bow soon and we also plan to make a homemade bow.

Our 12 year old son has already created a wooden spear with his knife and a tree limb, practices throwing it, and takes it on walks in the woods.

He has started making his long bow.  He chose a birch limb for his long bow and debarked it and shaped it, but he didn’t get it completely finished for this unit study.  He is looking forward to practicing with this bow when it is done.

We have a cross bow the kids have practiced with before, but we didn’t get it out for this unit study either.

For now, the kids practiced using a sling shot and hitting a target in the hopes that one day if needed they could hunt a small animal or a bird for food.

They really enjoyed practicing these skills.

Learn to weave or braid with cordage:

We got a book and learning cards on how to tie various kinds of knots and what situations they are used for.   We also watched a video on how to make our own cordage with various plants and tree bark and use that to make a mat or rug for the floor or to sleep on.

The kids also used para-cordage and learned to make survival bracelets and handles for tools.  They learned how to store a lot of cord that can be used for survival purposes in a simple bracelet they can wear.

They made several useful items for all three older boys and mom and dad.  We plan to learn to braid a rug and weave a fabric mat, learn to harvest and use cordage made from plants and tree bark, as well as make more items with paracords in the near future.  I hope to get the kids an inexpensive paracord jig loom soon too.  Also the oldest son has requested a larger loom that he can practice making rugs and fabrics with.  He would also like to learn to make yarn from animal fur and learn to weave it into fabric too.

FORTS:

Learn How to Make a Model Fort with paper & hot glue and with sticks and hot glue.

Field trip to see a fort (scheduled for June).  We plan to take a trip to see a real fort from the 1700’s.  We stopped in to see one in May during this study but they were closed so we didn’t get any pictures.  We have visited three different forts in South Carolina a few years ago.  Then about six months ago, we also visited a 1700’s fort in North Carolina along the coast that dates to the Revolutionary War with the British and an 1800’s fort from the Civil War.   These field trips are something our family enjoys doing together.

My 12 year old son went out and found a branch he felt would make a good fort.  After looking at forts on the computer, he designed a blue print on paper with his measurements and a ruler.  Then he went outside and got busy cutting his wood to the exact lengths he wanted to build a fort to scale.

Next he hot glued the pieces together and as of this time of writing this review he has only finished one wall so far.

I will post a story about his fort and several other things all of the kids learn to make using inspiration from this unit study in future stories.

Rifle Skills:

The older three boys learned about using a muzzle loader, and all the kids had the opportunity to practice shooting with a BB gun.

Daniel Boone used a Flint Rock muzzle loader rifle.  We researched these rifles online.  We didn’t have access to this style of rifle, but we did have access to a center fire muzzle loader rifle and the kids got to learn how to use it.

Dad was given this rifle as a gift many years ago before we had kids.  He used to hunt deer with this gun.  It hadn’t been used in many years because he had left it with a relative when we moved years ago, and they recently gave it back to him.  So this was the kid’s first experience learning about a muzzle loader.

One big difference in this gun and the one Daniel Boone used is that instead of firing with flint, this muzzle loader uses a cap.

Dad taught the kids how to add black powder, load the musket ball, tamp it down, put in the cap, aim, and shoot at a target.

They wore ear plugs and were surprised how loud this gun was.  It also leaves behind a small cloud of smoke after it fires just like the guns in the old days did.  Dad said you only get one chance to get a deer with this gun because if you miss, the sound alone will scare them far away.

The muzzle loader rifle literally sounds like a cannon going off.  It is hard for me to grasp how Daniel Boone and men of the past lived with a muzzle loader gun as their means for hunting and self defense and fought with it in wars.  Muzzle loaders in my opinion take so much extra effort to lug around (the powder, the ammo, tampers, and the heavy gun), in addition to the extra steps to load the powder and ammo, and the loud incredible “BOOM!” it creates.  However, my husband and sons think it is great!

Daniel Boone and his family lived such an interesting life!  They exemplify the life and challenges many of the early settlers faced.  It took sheer courage for the pioneers and explorers to survive the dangers of the wilderness, war, setting up homesteads, growing crops, and the numerous almost daily altercations with wild animals and people during this time in history.

This is a fun book and unit study.  It is interesting to read and a testimony of human strength and courage.   I would encourage homeschool families to pick up a copy and enjoy this learning journey!

Social Media

Be sure to check out YWAM Publishing on their social media links for all the latest news and product updates.

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BLOG: www.ywampublishingblog.com

Homeschool Review Crew

Be sure to check out what other Homeschool Review Crew members had to say about using products from YWAM Publishing in their homes.

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Shepherd, Potter, Spy and the Star Namer Review

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Our family was recently sent Shepherd, Potter, Spy — and the Star Namer by Peggy Consolver – Author to review.

After I read the first four chapters to the kids aloud, my 12 year old son snatched the book from me and I didn’t get to finish reading until he was done!  We tried everything to get his attention, to get him to share the book, even to get him to notice we were still breathing, but nothing could deter him from reading this book!  He couldn’t and wouldn’t put it down!  Not even big brothers or little brothers could entice him to put it down!  This has never happened before!

Even food and bedtime didn’t distract him. By day or by night, even with the help of a flash light…he was determined to read and read and read…all 379 PAGES!

Shepherd, Potter, Spy — and the Star Namer

Paperback 

379 Pages

46 Chapters

Retails $15.99

This story is historical fiction about a teenage boy who lived a long long time ago in the valley of Canaan.  His name is Keshub and he is the youngest of five boys in his family.  They are from the Gibeonite village and have strong family and community bonds and traditions.  The book contains 46 chapters packed into 379 pages and includes additional pages for: Character and Relationship List, and Discussion Questions.

Even though the characters are fictional, many of the events, cultural aspects, and places are real.  The true story of Kesheb’s people is told in the bible in the book of Joshua and the pivotal event for his people securing their future can be found in Joshua 9 and 10.

Keshub is a shepherd boy and tends his flocks every day.  He is the son of a potter who earns a living making pots and selling or trading them with Caravans who travel through the Canaan valley.  Keshub hears many stories of far away places and events not so far away from the travelers.  The Gibeonites learn about the God of the Hebrews and how he protects, provides, and blesses them. They hear about the other tribes in the nearby areas being conquered in warfare with the Hebrews and as they approach their land, they decide to make a peace treaty with them.

Kesheb’s life is anything from boring.  Everyday he must care for his sheep and defend them from predators.  During the story we learn about an evil Ammorite King that lives nearby and Keshub becomes friends with his son. There is danger and risk involved through out the story.  Keshub also serves as a young spy to keep an eye on the Hebrews as they advance in their conquest.  His people have to choose to make a treaty with the approaching Hebrew army or make a treaty with the evil king to fight the Hebrews.

If God is for them, who can be against them?  Be sure to pick up a copy of this book, to find out the rest of the story!

Peggy Consolver – Author

Peggy Consolver has lived a very interesting life.  She grew up on a farm, went to college, and has been married 48 years.  She and her husband have two kids and five grandkids. She is president of the Plano Garden Club, State Chairman of the Flower Show Schools for Texas Garden Clubs, Inc.  Peggy is also an NGC Master Flower Show judge and Texas Design Consultant.  In the past she served thirty seven years as a Sunday School teacher.   She has a lot of interesting life experiences including traveling to Israel on a real archaeology dig which she based many details in her book on.  Read more about Peggy Consolver and her inspiring archaeological trip.

Free Online Study Guide

Peggy Consolver has created a free online study guide called Digging Deeper Into HIStory to help further the learning, (She also has a print copy with more resources for sale, check the website for details).  In the free study guide there are several links to websites and videos to help you learn more about what life is like in the region Kesheb lived.  In the guide you will learn about a rock sling, bow making, how to braid cord and make rope, maps, stars in the sky, animals and predators that live in the region of ancient Israel, etc.

The free Digging Deeper Into HIStory study guide is divided into 13 Units:

Unit 1:
The Bible Dictionary: Gezer Calendar
The Syrian Brown Bear: A Brief Overview

Unit 2:
Alpha Centauri: The Closest Star System to Our Sun
Israeli Mammals

Unit 3:
Instructions for Plaiting and Braiding

Unit 4:
Google Search: Aerial Views of Jerusalem
Sacred Destinations: Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

Unit 5:
Honey: Its Medicinal Property and Antibacterial Activity
How to Make a Tripod Lashing
Watch video: making square lashing.

Unit 6:
Tutankamun’s Senet Board
Watch video: Wadi Mujib Nature Preserve

Unit 7:
The Jewish Virtual Library: Jericho
Watch video: Intro to Bow Making

Unit 8:
Mt. Hermon Pictures

Unit 9:
Weapons Universe: Bronze Age Weapons
Watch video: How to use a sling

Unit 10:
Smokey Bear: Elements of Fire
How to Make a Fire

Unit 11:
Israel’s Nature Site: Mantids of Israel
National Geographic: Praying Mantis Overview

Unit 12:
Wild Fibres: Linen and Flax

Unit 13:
Bible History: Biblical Archaeology News 2016

Our Thoughts Using This Book and Study Guide In Our Home:

This book is very well written with lots of details.  The story builds suspense and it is hard to put it down.  It is so interesting that my 12 year old spent all his spare time reading the book and several nights stayed up past his bedtime. 

So I thought it would be a good idea for him to share his opinion of this book, in his own words as our official review.

“I was inspired by this book.  It gave me a new perspective of the bible and the Lord.  I like the character Keshub because he has faith in the Lord and because he never gave up when times were rough.  He had a lot of rough times.  He fought a bully, a lion, a bear, and a soldier.  Each situation he had faith that God would work it out for him.”

“I was also inspired because he took care of sheep and took care of his family and his friend.  He was brave even when things were dangerous and even when others were evil.  He used a sling with stones to fight a bear and the lion.  He used a dagger to fight a soldier.  He always wanted to learn to sword fight the enemy and he wanted to provide for his family.  He trusted the Lord with all his heart and with everything in his life.”

“I enjoyed reading this book.  The only thing I wish the author would have added was another 439 pages.  I didn’t want the story to end.”  Joseph

We also enjoyed using the free Digging Deeper into HIStory Study Guide. We enjoy learning how to make things ourselves that people used throughout history to live.  They didn’t have modern abundance of products and plastic or a Walmart up the street, so folks had to make what they needed from raw materials they could find or buy from the craftsman or trade for.

My son would like to make his own cordage, leather, and also a rock sling and practice using it. He enjoyed learning and has watched other videos showing how to make these slings from leather and also from weaving grass and use them with larger rocks for hunting prior to doing this study.  This would be useful to learn how to use a rock sling if you were hungry and had to hunt for a bird or if you needed to discourage a predator.

He has been wanting to make his own primitive hunting bow for a while.  It was interesting to see the bow made in the unit study link, even though it is made in a workshop with modern tools and is very different from the primitive bow made by hand he eventually plans to make.  Modern tools have shortened the time it takes to make things people depended on for survival for thousands of years.  

Kesheb had to survive with ancient tools and ancient technology. We like learning about ancient technology and life skills.  We have learned a lot from “how to” videos. These videos show how to use ancient skills with free resources in your own backyard, a field, or a forest, to create pottery and tools by a youtube channel called “Primative Technology”.   We refered back to these videos as we did the study guide and compared them with the suggested videos.   I would encourage folks to do the same as these videos give kids even more understanding about making tools by hand and ancient pottery like Kesheb’s people would have used.  It would enhance their understanding of ancient Canaanite life and enhance the study guide even more. I would also encourage folks to read about Joshua and the Gibeonites in their bible.

This is a great historical fiction book.  I would encourage every homeschool to read Shepherd, Potter, Spy — and the Star Namer and include the Digging Deeper into HIStory Study Guide.  This book and unit study was right in my son’s interest range and we were very glad for this opportunity to review it.

Videos about the book:

Social Media Links:

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Homeschool Review Crew:

Be sure to check out what others on the Homeschool Review Crew had to say about using this product with their families.

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