About Orphs of the Woodlands

A Reading Adventure

The series is about a squirrel who becomes a spy in a fight against Night Creatures who are terrorizing the Woodlands. Your child gets to pick the name of the spy, who reluctantly finds himself responsible for a settlement of orphans known as the Orphs of the Woodlands. Eventually, he develops a heart for the orphs who are depending on him and develops a passion for learning as he grows into a leader.

An Academic Treasure

Seemlessly woven into the stories are hundreds of lessons on math, science, grammar, vocabulary, thinking skills, character, life skills, the arts, and much more. The story is packed with knowledge, but also teaches how  to learn. There are tips on how to remember things, memory tests, as well as reminders to “pay attention!”

A variety of techniques are used to present material including: videos, flashcards, and memorytyper, a highly rated memorization system. At the end of each chapter, lessons are reviewed before the spy works at “jobs” to earn his pay in the woodlands. Jobs are actually fun exercises that allow students to improve their skills. Children are rewarded by getting “paid” in goldstars for a job well done. The more skills a child learns, the higher their pay. Parents are provided with a Skills Page which has information on their child’s progress and shows what they are learning.

A Rewarding Game

And what will your child do with the goldstars earned from jobs? Goldstars are the currency of the woodlands and are used to build a settlement for the orphs in a fun game of strategy. Which projects will reduce the cost of taking care of the orphs? What plots of land are best? By choosing the best strategy, the settlement that is built can sustain more orphs. Having enough goldstars to care for the orphs is a powerful motivator for children to master skills. They will want to earn enough so that their settlement will thrive.