Continuing our traditional Christmas gift suggestions provided by the faculty at Veritas Academy, here are some ideas from a few of our teachers on educational and enriching presents for your middle or secondary school-aged children this year.

Fifth Grade - Mrs. Dawson

• Stranded at Plymouth Plantation 1626 by Gary Bowen. This engaging historical fiction story is about a thirteen-year-old indentured servant boy whose ship crashes en route to the New World, and who ends up becoming a Plimoth settler. Written in journal form, it tells about colonial housing, food, religion, clothing, family life, the strict Puritans, eight-hour Sabbath services, and more. Illustrated with copies of beautiful original woodcuts by the author.
• 1775 - Rebellion This exciting board game for 2-4 players, is about the American colonists battling the British for control of the British colonies in North America. It's more of a strategy game than a war game, is full of action, and easy to learn! 

Sixth Grade - Mrs. Ploutz

• The Greek Code Cracker is a fun, sleuth book that teaches the Greek alphabet while students solve a mystery. The skills it sharpens makes this book a great way to prepare your child for our secondary school curriculum.
• Latin Christmas Carols is a great way to increase student's Latin vocabulary. 

• Another fun sleuthing book is Art Fraud Detective, which is a "spot the difference" book that has students spotting the art forgery through clues about the original artwork.

• Finally, I actually recommend the Kindle as a good gift for kids this age. Although I love the printed word, the Kindle has the advantage of allowing students to tap on a word and have it defined for them right there in context, thus increasing vocabulary and comprehension of a text. While kids could look up definitions of unfamiliar words in a dictionary, the reality is that they don't often take the time to do so. The Kindle makes this an effortless process. Also, for students with reading challenges, the Kindle can read the books aloud while they follow along with the words. In the hands of a parent giving a little oversight to the choice of literature, this can be a valuable tool!

Secondary Omnibus and Math - Mrs. Forbes

• A fun novel for those students who enjoyed our study of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and also enjoy a good mystery is P. D. James' novel Death Comes to Pemberley.
• Another great read is Fin's Revolution, a set of 2 books that take place at the beginning of the American Revolution. Fin Button becomes the unlikely female captain of a ship.The first book is The Fiddler's Gun and the second is The Fiddler's Green.