Odyssey Adventure Club iPad Mini Giveaway!

Where did summer go, seriously?  The end of summer is in sight, and OAC is giving away an iPad Mini back-to-school bundle!  It might seem like summer just began for your kids, so if they need some added motivation to get their homework done, remind them they can jump on the Odyssey Adventure Club after their papers are written and their math problems are solved.

As members, your kids can also listen to Album 58 before the album is released to the public! Sign up today for just $5!

Here's what part one is about (which you can listen to for free HERE):

It’s a time of surprises as Wooton becomes the celebrity guest at Comic-Connellsville and Whit finds himself in conflict over the upcoming “Let’s Get Together Festival” in Odyssey. Plus, hear an interview with writer-director Paul McCusker about the entire 14-part series.

Album 58 was inspired by Focus on the Family’s The Family Project, a 12-session small group experience that explores the theological, philosophical, and cultural underpinnings of the traditional family, and combines that information with inspiring stories and practical tools to help 21st-century families thrive.  Plus, here's a sneak peek of a new episode called "The Lone Lawman"!

 
Jason, Whit, Red and the gang rustle up herds of fun while performing a new Kids’ Radio show set in the Old West. “The Lone Lawman” features a confused boy getting mixed up with a shifty band of bank robbers.  Can a hero on horseback set things right? See just how wild the West can get in this action-packed send-up of old-time radio dramas.

NOW . . . on to the iPad Mini back-to-school bundle. One grand prize winner will receive:

• An iPad Mini

Hurry, the giveaway ends on August 27th. All winners will be announced August 28th on the widget on this page.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to visit this page again on the 28th to see if you won! (You'll see the winner's name in the widget.)

Disclosure:  Thanks so much to Litfuse and Adventures in Odyssey for choosing me to be an Odyssey Club Blogger allowing me unlimited access to Adventures in Odyssey.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Family, Community, and a Free Episode of Adventures in Odyssey

 

Remember when I posted about that amazing $5 special for the Odyssey Adventures Club?  Well, it's back!  For a limited time, you can listen to a new episode of Adventures in Odyssey for FREE! Album 58, The Ties that Bind, will be available this fall for digital download and CD purchase, but if you join the Odyssey Adventures Club, you can listen to the full album now! Guess what? The $5 special held last month was extended through the end of July, too, so you can join in the fun for only $5! Here's what part one is about (which you can listen to for free HERE):

It’s a time of surprises as Wooton becomes the celebrity guest at Comic-Connellsville and Whit finds himself in conflict over the upcoming “Let’s Get Together Festival” in Odyssey. Plus, hear an interview with writer-director Paul McCusker about the entire 14-part series.

Album 58 was inspired by Focus on the Family’s The Family Project, a 12-session small group experience that explores the theological, philosophical, and cultural underpinnings of the traditional family, and combines that information with inspiring stories and practical tools to help 21st-century families thrive. One way families can carry out God's design for families is by serving their community—right where God has planted them, being His hands and feet together. Want to serve your community with your family, maybe make a day of out it? Here are some fantastic ideas from some Adventures in Odyssey bloggers and club members:

• Make scarves through the year and deliver them to your local homeless shelter at the start of winter, or regularly donate food to your local food bank. —Shirley 
• Our family likes to help with Meals on Wheels. We also do reenactments of the Civil War and WWII to help educate people on history. I like to show my kids that we should be servers and givers by taking meals to people who need them (i.e. baby just born, someone died, someone had surgery, etc.). —Erin 
• We have been visiting a nursing home with friends once a month. The kids just sing and then we fellowship, but the ladies love it! —Lisa 
• We make lap blankets for nursing home residents and take the time to visit with them. We also collect food for the local food pantry. —Donna 
• We make blessing bags to give to the homeless when we encounter them. We also donate clothes and food to a local shelter. —Amy 
• Our MOPs (Mothers of Prechoolers) group supports our local Pregnancy Support Services with donations, gifts, and notes. We also supports the Durham Rescue Mission, which helps people break free from addictions and restore families. —Melissa 
• We live in a very rural area. Our church serves two of the poorest zip codes in the state, and about a decade ago, they started operating a food pantry out of a closet. It has expanded since then, so we now use the closet for storage, but the pantry is basically a classroom. The kids and I serve over there a lot. My 17-year-old and I go to Care & Share (50 miles away) to get food to bring back to the pantry. All of us help unload and stock shelves. On pantry days, everyone can get involved with helping people go through the line, playing with the kids, carrying boxes out to cars, etc. There are so many hungry folks, especially in the summer when school breakfasts and lunches aren't available, and helping a bit to put food on some tables is such a blessing for us all. —Debra 
• We pack food bags each month for the homeless and needy through a thrift store that offers an outreach to the community. We also help clean our church and our Sunday school. —Michele 
• We work through our AHG troop to do several service activities a year. My girls just recently made bracelets they are selling, which 100% of the profits goes to Hope House in Africa to help young girls. —Sarah 
• Our church works with a homeless shelter in downtown Atlanta. We cook food ahead of time, and when our schedules allow we ride down with the group to serve the food. My son always reminds me when we haven't been for awhile, so it's something he looks forward to. —Maria 
• We do lots of random acts of kindnesses within our community: pay for others' meals, leave change at a vending machine, hand out Gatorade/granola bars to people on the side of the road asking for food. We also love to support Mobile Loaves and Fishes. —Kathryn

Did that provide some ideas to give your family service activity the kick-start it needs? What other ideas do you have for serving your community? Share in the comments!

Disclosure:  Thanks so much to Litfuse and Adventures in Odyssey for choosing me to be an Odyssey Club Blogger allowing me unlimited access to Adventures in Odyssey. 

Summer Activities for Adventures in Odyssey Fans

It's summer, it's summer and I am so excited!  Although, sometimes I wish it wasn't so hot here in Texas :).  Need some ideas of things for your kids to do while you are indoors?  Check out the great ideas below from Adventures in Odyssey.

Summer is officially here!  Don't let your kids' boredom run rampant.  Adventures in Odyssey is here to save the day.  Below are some must-try ideas for summer fun! Want even more summer fun?  For the month of June, you can join the Odyssey Adventure Club for only $5!  More details can be found here.

Summer Activities

As a parent you are probably a big proponent of reading.  Encourage your kids to dig into a book or two this summer with Adventures in Odyssey's On Your Marks Summer Reading Challenge.   Bonus points if YOU create a reading challenge for yourself as you read along with your kids!

Looking for something hands-on? Create Matthew in 3-D!   Invite a few of your kids' friends over for a play date, print off the activity sheet, and let them have at it for the afternoon (with the promise of cookies and lemonade once they've finished constructing Matthew).

Maybe your kids aren't into reading, but they love math.  If that's the case, have them solve Eugene's Sudoku!  This was a fun opportunity to show the kids how to play Sudoku.  I really enjoy working these puzzles.  I did a ton of them at the end of my pregnancies and sometimes during labor.  It was nice to introduce the kids to them.

 A and B working on the Sudoku puzzle

Working together

The laundry needs to be done; the dishes need to be put away.  But your kids are begging you to take them out to the zoo.  Let them take a whack at Matthew's Decoder in the morning, then make an agreement that if they figure out how to use the decoder, you'll take them on an afternoon adventure.  That'll give you the morning to finish up your to-do list!

Disclosure:  Thanks so much to Litfuse and Adventures in Odyssey for choosing me to be an Odyssey Club Blogger allowing me unlimited access to Adventures in Odyssey.

Join the Odyssey Adventure Club for $5!

I am so excited to be a part of the Odyssey Adventure Club!  The kids and I have already started to listen to Adventures in Odyssey stories.  We read a lot and I love having an audio library of wholesome stories to go to.  And I really look forward to listening to some of these cruising around town or on our upcoming road trips!  We have one planned in just a few weeks.

Are your kids in need of a safe and fun environment where they can explore, create and imagine, all while developing their faith and learning biblical truth?  Enter the Odyssey Adventure Club (AOC)!
 
For a limited time, you can join HERE for only $5 (regular monthly membership costs $15 for up to six users)!

Families will be able to stream the Adventures in Odyssey library, plus listen to exclusive new monthly episodes.  Busy families will find 24/7 access to the content through the Odyssey Adventure Club mobile iPhone app.

Children can also read daily devotions, interact with hands-on activities and view video documentaries featuring a behind-the-scenes look into the production of the Adventures in Odyssey stories. Parents can feel confident their children are safe on the Odyssey Adventure Club website — Focus on the Family staff will be monitoring all comments before they’re publicly posted. (Created for children ages 8-12.)

A portion of each Odyssey Adventure Club membership will benefit Focus on the Family partner relief organizations, including Christian Veterinary Mission, Operation Christmas Child and Compassion International. This provides parents with an opportunity to teach children about the value of giving and serving others.

Coming in July, Odyssey Adventure Club members get to listen to the brand new album, "The Ties That Bind," FIRST before it's available ANYWHERE ELSE!

Click here to join for only $5!

Want more summer activities for your kids inspired by the Odyssey Adventure Club? Check out this post.

Disclosure:  Thanks so much to Litfuse and Adventures in Odyssey for choosing me to be an Odyssey Club Blogger allowing me unlimited access to Adventures in Odyssey.  All opinions expressed are my own.