Z-Guides to the Movies: One Night with the King

     If you're a Christian mom or dad, and you think about discipling your children and bringing them up in the Lord, what does that mean to you?

     Does it mean taking the kids to church on Sundays, and dropping them off on Wednesday evenings for youth group?

     What if discipling children, for your own family, went far beyond just the typical American version of "playing Christianity"? 

     What if you included your faith and biblical instruction in most things that you did together as a family? 

     What if you watched movies at home with your family, and you took the time and made the effort to use the movies (secular or religious) to instruct your children in godly virtues, biblical values, and knowledge of the world around them from a biblical perspective?

     Zeezok Publishing is a company which states their philosophy upfront, at the top of their website:

      "It is better to build children than to repair men." To that end we strive to provide quality literature and educational books for use in training the next generation. We trust our products will assist you in developing your family's love for God and country.

     Now, a lot of families don't consider using movies as a method to instruct and guide their children in a biblical worldview or to help their children increase their faith in Jesus Christ. 

     So when I received a Z-Guide from Zeezok Publishing to give it a try, I wasn't sure what we would encounter.  Not knowing what we'd find, I selected a movie title that I knew had biblical themes and messages throughout it: 

                      One Night with the King

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     Our family owns very few movie DVDs.  There are only a few movies that I'd enjoy watching more than once, and One Night with the King is one of them.  I thoroughly enjoy viewing elements of Persian history along with an account of Queen Esther in the Bible.  I figured that by selecting a biblical account, I'd be "safe." 

     Prior to watching the movie, the Z-Guide lists several things that families do first:  reading a synopsis of the movie; discussing an overview of the main topic or topics in the movie; and browsing through the movie review questions.

     The girls and I went over the preview material before watching the movie.  Because this particular Z-Guide is geared for the high school ages, Kelsi watched the entire movie and then got involved with the Z-Guide and its activities.  Brittany, still in elementary school, has seen parts of the movie before, but it doesn't interest her as much.

     I had Kelsi page through the Z-Guide for "One Night with the King", and she loved what she saw!  This is a special kind of unit study that revolves around a movie instead of a book.  It requires the student to watch the movie in its entirety at least once, and then review parts of the movie at later dates depending on what activity has been chosen.

     Kelsi really enjoyed the selection of activities that were offered in this particular Z-Guide.  She got really excited about some of the military strategy and political maneuvering that can be enhanced using the Z-Guide activities.  I liked seeing that some of the activities were providing opportunities for long-range thinking, and also to enhance students' literary skills.  For example, one of the activities has the student think about the qualities they would like to see as "needs" and "wants" in a future spouse.  In addition, it asks the students to think deeply about the character traits they themselves have which will make them be excellent spouses to someone else in the future.

     There was a great selection of activities, writing projects, and other fun ideas which make up the typical unit study.  I liked the fact that the Z-Guide was coming from a biblical perspective, written to encourage and develop faith and character.

     I can see us using these occasionally in the future, depending on what we're studying in our history curriculum.  We'll look forward to working through more Z-Guides in the years to come!  This is just another wonderful way of working with our children, talking through our lives and our faith with each other. 

     The Z-Guide for "One Night with the King" sells for $12.99 at Zeezok Publishers.

     For more opinions and views on the Z-Guides to the Movies, check out what my TOS Crew buddies have to say!

Disclosure:  I received one Z-Guide to the Movies from Zeezok Publishers for the exchange of my use and review of this product.  No other compensation was provided.