Study Guides For Literature: A Progeny Press Review

I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Are you considering homeschooling this fall?  If you're new to the idea and looking for a neat way to get started, let me suggest looking into Progeny Press and their classic literature study guides.  Learning has a lot more to do with engagement and connection than it does with facts and figures.  All homeschoolers struggle to remember this from time to time, especially when you're new.  Reading and discussing great literature stirs up engagement in the best kind of way!  Thanks to the Homeschool Review Crew, my review today features In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson Study Guide and A New Coat for Anna Study Guide from Progeny Press.

What We Received: 

We received a digital copy of A New Coat for Anna Study Guide (Grades 1-3), 28 pages long and In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson Study (Grades 4-6), 58 pages long. The corresponding books were not included, but easily obtained from our local library.

Each study guide begins with similar elements including:

• Note to Instructor - This section gives instructions on how the study guide can be used.
• Synopsis - Parents who haven't read the book before can get a general understanding of the story.
• About the Author/Background Information - More than a simple biography note, historical context and events surrounding the story is shared.  
• Before You Read/After You Read Activities - These are often history or geography related, but always with the purpose of a greater understanding of a character's experience.  Crafts, cooking and family tree research are just a few of the possibilities in each study guide.
• While You Read Activities - These are the bulk of the study guide designed to increase vocabulary, comprehension and a Christian perspective.  This section may include crossword puzzles, word definitions, fill in the blank, short answer 
• questions and discussion questions.
• Additional Resources: At the end of each guide, this final section lists books and websites that compliment the topics of the book in further research.

How It Works:

With such a variety of activities available to the student, there can be no real wrong way to use the study guides, as long as you do!  I've seen some recommendations for reading the book through once before beginning and then rereading aloud as you work through activities.  Depending on the reading level of your student, a variety of ways could work.  Independent readers could work on their own until they need help, but due to the discussion nature of these study guides and questions, working through them together can have many benefits.  The various projects or activities consist of varying levels of supervision or parental involvement so it really requires initial planning to determine what, when and how the activities will be included.

Family Tree

What We Thought:

In light of all the debate about incomplete truths in history, these study guides provide the perfect opportunity to teach a thorough picture of history, warts and all.  Literature brings to light differing perspectives and circumstances that we need to note and talk about, even if just to disagree or condemn the actions.  Especially with the options of further research, you can build an entire unit around this text.  With these two books/guides, we were introduced to World War II and Chinese history and culture, both things we had not discussed much about before now.  A New Coat for Anna is intended for grades 1-3, but Year of the Boar is intended for 4-6.  I mistakenly started Year of the Boar first with my brand new 4th grader and could really feel the level difference.  Boar wasn't beyond him, but it required us sitting together to go through most of it.  Of course, it led to great discussions and a further understanding on his part, but in retrospect, we should have started with Coat for Anna to gradually build the difficulty.  

As a big proponent of a holistic approach to learning, exposing students to a subject from multiple angles is so valuable and rich. Whether you're new to homeschooling or simply looking for a fresh approach to boost your homeschool right now, Progeny Press study guides can breathe life into your learning relationships.

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The Review Crew also reviewed middle school and high school study guides.  Check out the rest of the reviews for details about those too!

       

A Progeny Press Study Guide Review

Giving a child a complete education is more than checking all the boxes and completing all the tasks.  What we are trying to do here - especially as homeschoolers - is to grow them!  Growth can come from a rigid schedule and all the right drills, but a deeper growth can come from a great conversation  with your family about something they've just read together.  It's easy and very tempting to get caught up in the concrete and quantitative, where we can see and testify that they 'learned' something today.  Slowing down to read something together and discuss things about it is sometimes hard, not because it is a complicated thing, but because we are so busy.  There's always more chores to do, errands to run and distractions to get hung up on.  My latest review highlights a beautiful process that has the potential to do more than just widen vocabulary and reading comprehension.  Today we're talking about The Long Way to a New Land Study Guide from Progeny Press.

What We Received:

We were given access to one digital file containing a 50 page document entitled The Long Way to a New Land Study Guide by Colleen Schreurs.  This document included activities like fill in the blank worksheets, short answer questions, definitions, crossword puzzle, family heritage activity suggestions, and a lot of discussion ideas pertaining to the students feelings if he were in the character's position.

How It Works:

A study guide is a document of exercises intended to aid the reader in pulling as much understanding out of the original text as possible.  How you use it is largely up to your discretion, but this study guide is divided up into before you read activities, activities based on each chapter and after you read activities.  In the Notes to the Instructor section, they recommend students reading the entire book first while doing some of the before you read activities and then reread each chapter as they go along in the study guide.  The exact order, while natural to go through sequentially, isn't vital for learning since all of the activities and subjects are related within the text.  This study is a great example of individualized education based on each student's pace and needs.  With 5 chapters and a host of pre and post reading activities, this study could be spread over several weeks if desired.  For most students this will require some parental involvement and some great discussions certainly enhance their learning.

What We Thought:

The most challenging part of this project was simply finding the book! Neither of the library systems we have access to had the book so we finally found a proper reading of it on the internet.  Everything past that was well-organized, straight-forward and value-added to the reading of the book.  My son is in 8 (almost 9) and all the activities seemed appropriately leveled including some easily done while others more challenging. For example, the vocabulary words were not a problem, but the pages that asked about the student's own feelings or how they would feel if certain things happened to them took a little more time.  Still, the empathy inducing questions were some of my favorites!  My kids struggle with appreciating how good they have it and tend to complain.  These types of discussions are important to keeping their perspective accurate rather than distorted by our culture's standards. 

According to their website, Progeny Press' mission is "To teach our children to think clearly, to understand literature, and to rely on the scripture for truth and values, and enjoy themselves while they do it!"  Based on this singular study guide, I can say that they are succeeding! From asking students to apply scriptures to characters actions to encouraging them to empathize with the characters, this study guide supports character building and alongside the initial reading comprehension! 

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The Homeschool Review Crew reviewed a variety of study guides spread over several age levels.  If you are interested in another age or simply looking for another perspective, go ahead and click below! 

StoryTime Treasures and More: A Memoria Press Review

It's nothing new around here how important reading a great book is and our latest review is a wonderful tool to utilize great books to your students' learning even more!  Since both of my big kids have taken off in the reading department, it is so easy to just give them books to read and leave it at that.  While independent reading is very important, not following up with questions or activities can cut the learning a little short.  For today's review we are looking at one of our favorite vendors again, Memoria Press!   Miss Z and I explored some great books with the help of  StoryTime Treasures Student Guide and Answer Key and More StoryTime Treasures Student Guide and Answer Key

What We Received:

We received StoryTime Treasures Student Study Guide with its Teacher Guide and More StoryTime Student Study Guide with its Teacher Guide totaling 4 books in all.  The target grade level for these books is 1st grade.

A few years ago, we reviewed part of this product with my oldest son and this time we're getting a chance to use the entire set with my daughter! Since that time they have release a 2nd edition of the set which includes a few changes to the book selections, converted to spiral-bound student books and separated the Teacher's Guides into two separate books rather than one combined.

How It Works:

Both StoryTime and More StoryTime are layed out the same way with a series of lessons that correspond with the reading selections.  The teacher and child are to read through selections together, allowing for the student to have ample time reading aloud. Each lesson highlights different types of language elements like vocabulary, capitalization, parts of speech, comprehension and includes different activities such as word scrambles, drawing/coloring, fill in the blank, and even some math equations!  Both Teacher Guides provide answers to questions and activities, but also a layout of procedures or activities that go along with that day and/or section of the book. The Teacher Guides recommend a possible 5 day schedule, but ultimately recommends the teacher/parent to use their best judgement for each circumstance.

How We Used It:

While it makes sense to work through the pieces of literature in the order they appear in the workbook, the Teacher's Guide never explicitly says that you must and little, if any, of the information taught really builds on the previous stories' activities.  Since we didn't have access to all of the books in order right away, we decided to skip around with what we had.  Miss Z is quite the reader and loves all things school so she had no problem jumping from Little Bear to Caps For Sale and then to Billy and Blaze. In all cases she had already read the book before we sat down to work through the Student Guide so our initial reading was always her secondary at least.  Caps for Sale is a book we have owned since she was a baby so in some of it she could even quote it.  Still, breaking down vocabulary words and testing for comprehension was useful and important in sharpening her skills. Not to mention it highlighted how much we need to work on her handwriting! ;)

What We Thought:

As to be expected, miss Z and I enjoyed our enhanced Story Time and it was perfectly suited for her grade level.  She didn't need a ton of help, but when she did we had really good conversations about aspects of the story or definitions of words. While a teacher could get by without the Teacher Guide because the Student Guide's directions are self-explanatory, the Teacher Guide really allows you to get the most out of the activities and maximize your student's learning. That is especially true if you are working with a struggling or new reader.  The focus on their phonics skills is extremely beneficial in the reading process.  If you have an early reader that you are wanting to begin literature activities with, I would even recommend getting this and stretching out stories and activities further to slowly but surely build momentum in the area.

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Memoria offers so much and the Review Crew got to review a variety of their Literature  Guides.  If you have different grade level needs, click the link below to read other product reviews from Memoria!

Paddington Bear: A Branch Out World Review

My son (age 7) always gets extra chatty at bedtime.  So much so that I had to limit him to 2 or 3 questions so good night didn't last 30 minutes.  Lately, his questions have been a lot of 'How is this made?' or "What makes that work?' and honestly I don't know the answers without googling it or asking their dad.  The result is we both learn a lot together.  As they state on their website, my latest review, Paddington Bear from Branch Out World is designed For Families That Love Learning Together.  It is so easy to get caught up in the typical school paradigm where a teacher teaches the information they have already learned, but sooner or later real homeschooling involves learning with each other and from each other.  Curiosity breeds new questions and new questions bring new perspectives to consider and before you know it your adventure is quite different than you expected.  I am not an expert in all subjects that my children will learn so some days we will all learn who invented baseball or what a hydrapult is together. 

Branch Out World is a company based in the UK that was started by a homeschool family looking to share great literature with other families.  Not having any experience with a UK company, this curriculum was enjoyable and educational.  There were a few differences in the language that I had to explain, but nothing hindered us in any way.  Paddington Bear is a literature-based unit study from the Picture Book Explorers series that Branch Out World puts out.   It comes in digital format and includes instructions for over 30 activities, with 45 pages of printables like notebook pages, flags, maps, and minibooks.   There are also extra resources listed that could complement the study like various books on Peru and Paddington videos.  With so many possible activities, the study includes a lot of different subjects, including:

• History & Geography
• Creative Writing
• Art
• Science (Migration!)
• Grammar & Vocabulary
• Architecture & Design
• Math

The significant thing about reading stories together is that often there are multiple layers and several details that go unnoticed at first.  Upon the first reading of Paddington, no one remembered that the country of Peru was even mentioned!  This was a great opportunity to dive into places (England & Peru) we weren't very familiar with.  The study is divided into 5 sections:

• Day 1 – Exploring the Setting (History and Geography)
• Day 2 – Exploring the Words (Grammar & Writing) 
• Day 3 – Exploring the Pictures 
• Day 4 – Exploring Science (Animals & Experiments)
• Day 5 – Exploring Maths, Crafts and More

All activities are left open to exploring further if you choose and also stand alone for when you want to pick and choose certain ones and not others.  You are encouraged to record notes on your adventure in some way, like making a lap book or keeping a journal. It's a very flexible plan with multiple variations possible.  The intended age for this study is 5-10 years old.

When everything a child is learning reinforces or connects back together in some way, it really does stick with them much longer.  Branch Out World has done for us what many of us dream about doing, but don't get around to - beautifully weave subjects and lessons together where everyone is learning.  One of my favorite topics brought out in this study was migration and push/pull factors.  It was a subject we hadn't discussed together yet and taught me a few things I had never considered before.

Branch Out World did a great job with this study and we found it to be a perfect change of pace that proved to be very fruitful!  Check out all they have to offer by following them on social media.

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Home School Navigator: A Language Arts Curriculum Review

All the way through school, one of my most favorite classroom activities was discussing literature.  I had always been good at reading aloud and then found myself full to the brim of analysis and ideas!  I'm sure my classmates got tired of listening to me, but I adored it.  In my homeschool daydreams (long before I had kids), I would imagine a family of kids sitting around discussing a book we had just read.  It was glorious until I actually had kids and lost part of my brain along the way.  At the early stages of learning it is so easy to get pulled down in the mud of learning to read and not falling behind in math.  Even though I'm an avid writer, the demands and pressures of life had misplaced my love for literature and writing when it came to educating my kids.  I'm so thankful to be reviewing Home School Navigator Reading and Language Arts Curriculum from Home School Navigator because it has reminded me of an early love and orchestrated a fantastic language arts curriculum based on those loves.

Home School Navigator is a comprehensive language arts curriculum for beginning readers all the way up to established readers working on their paragraph writing skills (about K-5).  What sets this program apart is that it is divided into colored levels rather than typical grade levels and provide you access to all of them.  They understand the uniqueness of students and how they very well may find their expected grade level too challenging or too simple.  With your student's subscription, if at any point the curriculum becomes a stumbling block (too easy or too hard), you are welcome to move to the next appropriate level!  This speaks volumes about their innate design intended for homeschooling.

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Each color/level provides 36 weeks of instruction (with catch up days built in) complete with book lists, extensive planning guides, handouts with answer keys, instructional videos, games, handwriting, vocabulary, word study, poetry, creative writing and so much more.  For higher levels (beginning with Green), they also offer some really neat interactive notebooks that are great for the hands-on student.  All of the various assignments and activities usually connect to the read-aloud book of choice for that day/week.  Most of the books are ones you might already own or certainly can get from a local library.  While it is ideal for students to have the books in hand, the curriculum provides a video of each book being read aloud both for reinforcement and in a pinch, your main focal point isn't lost because you don't have a book.  In addition to the assortment of videos, handouts and lesson plans,  the other online component of this program is the portfolio option.  At the end of each lesson or section their is an option to check items as completed and/or upload files to add to the student's portfolio.  In many states there is a portfolio requirement so this is a super handy element that they have built right in.  Otherwise, it still will keep track of how far you are from completing a level as you check off assignments.

You can manage a total of 4 students so we tried the program out with my 7 year old and 4 year old which translated into Level Yellow and Level Red.  The read-aloud videos were everyone's favorite and resulted in a double blessing because they both wanted to listen to each others'!  Some of the favorite activities all centered around writing.    In Level Red they are still learning to read so the writing began in the audible stage where the student and parent create together before it makes it to the page.  The 4 year old is enamored with stories already so this was right up her alley.  A similar activity expects more independence in Level Yellow.  The instructional videos were extremely helpful in part because it was someone else doing the teaching and I was merely reinforcing.  In the beginning when the Writer's Notebook is introduced, my 7 year old took to it really well and before I had even directly assigned it, during his afternoon quiet time he had written the first chapter of his book, Vacation to Colorado!  It was as if something sparked a fire in him and he just went with it.  As a writer, educator and a mom, I LOVED it.                                                                                      

                             

Overall, I highly recommend looking into this program.  The interface was a little daunting at first, but made a lot more sense with more use.  The best part of the program is its versatility.  Wherever your student is in their learning and comprehension, this program encourages them there.  If one element is already mastered, it is flexible enough for you to leave it out with no issue at all.  It is designed with the typical home school family in mind!  If you would like more information or other perspectives on the Home School Navigator Reading and Language Arts Curriculum, check out other reviews at the link below.

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Beards, Susannah, Italy and Squirrel: A Carole P. Roman Books Review

I may be a terribly typical teacher when I say this, but the love of reading is one of the best gifts you can give a person!  Reading is more than just a brain exercise.  It takes you on adventures, it teaches you how to grow, and most importantly it helps you understand the people and world around you.  That is something we lack as a society.  I'm so thankful we are a reading family.  So you can imagine the excitement in our house when we received 5 books in the mail from Carole P. Roman to review!   I wasn't familiar with this author before this review, but I'm not sure how.  She has written over 35 books (most of which are children's), received over 100 book awards and over 3000 online reviews.  Can you believe all of that came from her son daring her to start writing?  Her background in teaching combined with a spirit for discovery has turned out to be a great recipe for the job of an author.

The first two books we received are from Roman's Captain No Beard series. Captain No Beard: An Imaginary Tale of a Pirate's Life and A Captain No Beard Story: The Crew Goes Coconuts! Cousins Hallie and Alexander explore the edges of the earth with their trusty imaginations and lively stuffed animals.  In the first story, we get introduced to all the key characters and the grand pirate adventure they are on together.  In The Crew Goes Coconuts! the crew learns to deal with bullying and the struggles it brings.  As Hallie aptly says, "No one is perfect! That's why we should look for something to like in everyone."  These were big hits with my kids (ages 6 and 4) who are big into imagination adventure right now.  After reading these, I'm interested in the others in the series that continue to address real life problems our kids will face.


In a similar way, One To Ten: Squirrel's Bad Day seeks to demonstrate what really matters when life gets a little too overwhelming.  We had a great discussion together after reading this book because this is relevant to our life every. single. day.  Our household is full of strong personalities and children to boot, so EVERYTHING is a HUUUGE deal, even when it's not.  Learning along with Squirrel to evaluate just how bad this situation really is gave us all a tool that can be carried into any activity of life.  For a typical picture book it was a little longer than I expected, but the content was worthwhile.

For the independent reader who is ready for a chapter book, the Oh Susannah series is a good place to start. Oh Susannah: It's in the bag walks us into the life of 3rd grader Susannah and all the things swimming through her head from breakfast to homework to a ripped bag.  As we read this together as a family (because I wanted my non-reader to benefit from the content too), I identified with the parents so much in the book.  They were trying to take care of their lives, but getting caught up in schedules and expectations.  Talk about calling me out!  Since the baby was born, we're still trying to find the normal without ripping everyone's head off! It didn't take long for my 6 year old to notice the resemblance either.  The mom character is constantly looking at the clock and more than once he glanced knowingly at me.  That kid! Like the others, this book was full of relevant and encouraging content that successfully captured my kids attention.  Especially as the readers grow, I'm thankful for good books I can throw their way. When we were offered this review, we got to choose two books and then given some surprise books to go along with it.  This is one of my surprise ones that certainly didn't apply to anything we are learning right now, but turned out to be a great find for the future.  If You Were Me and Lived in... Renaissance Italy is part of the If You Were Me and Lived in...Series that explores all aspects of life in this different times and countries, especially through the eyes of children.  We learned about kids' names, clothing, art, geography, food, and history including famous people of the time and all of it was supported by a glossary in the back.  This series is extensive and could serve as a great addition to history and geography lessons.    All of these books had fun artwork and good quality paper that sealed the deal of good quality literature.  If you are looking for some new books for your kids' needs, take a look at all that Carole P. Roman has to offer.

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All of the reviewers received different books so check out what others had to say:

The Bears on Hemlock Mountain E-Guide: A Progeny Press Review

One of the benefits I appreciate about homeschooling is the opportunity to integrate my children's education with character building and development.  Even if I agreed with my child's public school teacher on everything, they are still usually limited in the topics and curriculum they are allowed to use in the classroom.  My review today is about The Bears on Hemlock Mountain E-Guide from Progeny Press, something that most public schools couldn't allow because, as the title indicates, is from a plainly Christian perspective.  

Progeny Press is a Christian company that strives to help students aptly understand literature through their study guides that cover literature of all ages.  The Bears on Hemlock Mountain was the appropriate grade for my son (1st - 3rd), but there were three other study guides that were reviewed by the Crew: 

• Charlotte’s Web E-Guide (Grades 4-6)
• The Silver Chair E-Guide (Grades 5-7)
• Macbeth E-Guide (Grades 9-12)

 For this review we received a downloadable eBook that corresponds with the reading of the book.  We didn't have the text in our personal library so we obtained a copy of The Bears on Hemlock Mountain  by Alice Dalgliesh from our local library, but you can also purchase a copy from Progeny Press for $4.99.  The book is a short 10 chapters, a Newberry Honor Book and written in 1952.  The Hemlock Mountain E-Guide is 35 pages long complete with instructor notes, a synopsis of the book, author information, background information on the book, and over 25 pages of activities related to the book.  There is 2 pages of before-you-read activities all having to do with animal tracks, the outdoors, or hospitality.  For every two or three chapters, there is vocabulary work, comprehension questions and Bible verse application. 
What We Thought 
The instructor notes recommend reading the entire book first before beginning the chapter activities, but due to my son's age (6) I chose to have him read a couple of chapters and then do the activities.  While that worked fine, in retrospect I believe that reading the entire thing first would have benefited his comprehension a little better.  Sometimes it pays to trust the experts!  
Many of the questions are open or discussion-type in nature.  That initially was a great frustration for us, but only because my son would rather have a one word answer he knew was exactly right than come up with a couple of different sentences that would work.  Some doodling was certainly found in the margins.  

As we powered through though it proved to be a good learning experience in patience and qualitative work.  One of the best aspects of this study guide was the Bible verse application in each section.  Sometimes we would look up the verses in our own Bible to see how different translations read it and it always led to a spiritual application of principles found in the book.  As Christian parents, the training of our children always requires pointing out the spiritual aspects of life.  It's extra nice when their schoolwork lays it out for me!
Overall, we had a good experience with this product and I look forward to use more from this company as my children get older!

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Read what other people thought about Progeny Press and the other E-Guides: