Ever since our girls have been old enough to enjoy watching movies, Saturday has been their weekly movie night. Clean from their bath or shower, clad in pajamas, they snuggle up in the recliner with blankets and a snack.
When we first began, the Fisher Price Little People series was a hit. We moved from those to the animated Madeline
, then on to the Walt Disney classics like Bambi, Cinderella, and (one of my all-time favorites) Mary Poppins
.
With the girls getting older, however, it’s definitely more of a challenge to find age-appropriate, wholesome, entertaining material for them to watch. While visiting the library one day, we happened upon Mandie and the Secret Tunnel, a movie based on the Mandie books
by Lois Gladys Leppard. Since my ten-year-old had already been reading and enjoying the books, we decided to check it out.
While I don’t always sit and watch with our girls on movie night, I do make it a point to be close by when they’re viewing something for the first time. I was very pleased with the quality of the movie! The storyline was engaging, with just enough drama to make it interesting, but not frightening. The characters were well cast and the acting believable.
For Christmas, I bought them that DVD as well as the second one in the series, Mandie And The Cherokee Treasure. (If you’re a Pollyanna
fan, Hayley Mills has a small role in this one.) The girls have been watching these repeatedly for their movie nights and seem to enjoy them more each time.
Whenever I find resources that provide clean, enjoyable, family entertainment, I want to share! Be sure to let me know your family’s favorite movies!
Links included in this post are Amazon affiliate links.
I'm so glad it's good! The Cherokee Treasure was filmed last spring at our most beloved family getaway in the NC mountains – Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, NC. Can't wait to see it!!!
Sues,
I think you'll really enjoy it! My daughters are hoping that more of these films are coming soon!
(Speaking of Tweetsie Railroad, my family visited there when I was a child. My fondest memory is of my brother screaming most of the time; he didn't like loud noises, so the train scared him! 🙂
Have you tried the Little House on the Prairie TV Series? That would keep them busy over the years, there's a lot of them!! There are a few episodes I personally would give a miss, but most of them are wholesome, fun and historically based…
Ooh ~ sounds like a winner! I'm always on the lookout for wholesome movies! (And you know I'm a Pollyanna & Hayley Mills fan.) 🙂 Thanks for the recommendation, Tracey. I hope you are having a fabulous week!
p.s. Some of our faves: Anne of Green Gables, Love Comes Softly series, Little Women, Facing the Giants/Flywheel (by Sherwood Baptist Church), and the Sarah Plain and Tall trilogy….to name a few at the top of the list.)
Clara,
I guess because I never watched the Little House series on television myself, I tend to forget about it! I do think my girls would enjoy it, especially the first few years when Mary and Laura were younger. Thanks for reminding me about that one!
Katie,
Oh, Anne of Green Gables is definitely in my top three all-time favorite movies!! (I always need a box of tissues handy when Matthew dies.) I know my girls would enjoy Little Women, since we've read the book together. I'm guessing there's more than one "version;" which one do you watch?
Have you seen the Sugar Creek Gang Series by the same folks who did the Mandy movies? The gal who plays Mandy is in it as Circus. They are excellent. We also love the Widow's Mite from Vision Forum. We love family movie night too!
Country Gal,
Our library has two of the Sugar Creek Gang movies; we have watched those and my girls are very interested in locating the others!
Thanks for the recommendation of the Widow's Mite. I'll check it out!