TOS Crew: Progeny Press

Being on the TOS Crew has been such a blessing for our family.  We have been blessed to review wonderful homeschool products, like the Literature Guides by Progeny Press. 

 

Progeny Press offers over 100 different Literature Guides for student ranging in grades K-12th.  These guides are written from a Christian perspective and focus on critical thinking skills, comprehension skills, literary analysis, and Christian application.  Sounds like an all in one package to me! 

 

I have peeked at Progeny Press before because My Father's World actually recommends them for 7th and 8th graders.  So, I knew that we would be using them for sure next year, but I was happy to give them a whirl this year too!  We were given The Bronze Bow Literature Guide to review.  The recommended grade level for this particular guide is 5th -8th grade.  Which was a perfect fit for my 6th grader. 

 

The Bronze Bow Study Guide starts off with introductory note to the instructor, synopsis of the Bronze Bow, a page of about Elizabeth George Speare (author of The Bronze Bow) and  a few Pre-Reading Activities.  Next the guide focuses on 2-3 chapters at a time focusing on vocabulary, characterization, setting, and comprehension questions.  I liked how the guide switched up the vocabulary part a bit by switching from crosswords puzzles, multiple choice and looking word meanings up in the dictionary.  I also liked the writing exercise at the end of the guide that has them write a brief epilogue. 

Overall, I liked Progeny Press and already have the Witch of Black Bird Pond and Johnny Tremain Study Guides for next year.  I think they ask great questions that really get the student (and the mom) thinking.  I feel that they are a worthy purchase and not just busywork.

Over a 100 different Study Guides are available to choose from.  Some of the available titles are:

• Lower Elementary (K-3) - The Courage of Sarah Noble, Frog and Toad Together, Keep the Lights Burning Abbie, The Minstrel in the Tower and Miss Rumphius
• Upper Elementary (3-5) - Charlotte's Web, The Door in the Wall, Little House on the Prairie, Mr. Popper's Penguins, and Sarah, Plain and Tall.
• Middle School (5-8) - Across Five Aprils, Amos Fortune Free Man, The Hiding Place, The Golden Goblet, Number the Stars and The Sign of the Beaver.
• High School (9-12) - The Day No Pigs Would Die, Pride and Prejudice, A Tale of Two Cities, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Red Badge of Courage 

The Study Guides are available in three different ways:

1. As a printed and bound booklet - $11.99
2. On a CD in .pdf format - $10.99
3. A pdf file as an e-mail attachment - $10.99

As you can see the Progeny Press Literary Guides are very affordable.  To make life easier for the homeschool mama they also sell the accompanying books at very reasonable prices.  You can purchase the Progeny Press Study Guides directly through their online store. 

 

You can see what other TOS Crew Members are saying about Progeny Press here.

 

We received a free Literature Study Guide from Progeny Press for review purposes only.  We were not paid in anyway and the opinions expressed here are mine. 

 

Summer Reading

Every summer I go back and forth about whether to continue some schooling in the summer.  We have been homeschooling for 6 years and so far that hasn't happened.  And yes, the kids are quite happy about this. 

One thing that I do carry on in the summer is reading.  If we are home we generally still carry on a nap/ quite time routine.  The way that this looks is after lunch we all go snuggle on the coaches in the family room and I read.  If we haven't already read Bible for the day then we start with Bible.  Right now we have been reading from Keys for Kids, The Pearables and from Hidden Treasures (Doorposts).  We read the scripture and story (if there is one) and discuss it.

After Bible we read a short book or a chapter from a book we are working on.  We recently read The Three Weavers ( this book is a must if you have daughters) and we are now working on The Hedge of Thorns, both from Lamplighter Publishers.  I have read both before on my own a few years ago and I am glad to be able to read them with my children.  I highly recommend both of them. 

I also like to include shorter picture books for the boys since they are younger.  Like today we read Bible, a chapter from The Hedge of Thorns and then we read a Christopher Churchmouse story. 

Reading with my kids is probably my favorite time of the day.  I enjoy reading and discussing the stories and scripture with them.   It is a real blessing to hear the things that the learn from our reading time. 

I also like to have the girls read at least a chapter from their book and the boys each get a pile of books to go through before their naps.

Since we are reading anyway I decided to do a few of the summer reading programs that are out there.  We are doing the reading programs through Borders and Barnes and Noble.  If you haven't started a reading program with your kids there is still plenty of time left. 

As far as what I am reading, I have been trying to be faithful with my daily Bible readings from the M'Cheyne Bible Plan.  I am also trying to get thru the Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson and For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men by Shaunti Feldhahn.  I have been also reading alot of curriculum lately it seems. 

Do you have your children continue reading through the summer?

(I am an affiliate for Lamplighter Publishers because I absolutely love their books.  If you purchase a Lamplighter book from my affiliate link then I will receive a small commission and you will have a new book that you and your family will love! )

Mystery of History Review

History is one of my favorite subjects, always has been.  I can vividly remember sitting in history class listening to my teacher tell us stories of people and places from long ago.  I always liked to listen to the stories being told verses reading them out of a stuffy old textbook. 

When I became a homeschooler I started of with stuffy old textbooks for history because that is what I knew.  I eventually graduated to living books and only used textbooks when I had too.  I had heard many great things about The Mystery of History  but thought it was just another, say it with me, stuffy old textbook.  Once we received Mystery of History Vol.1: Creation to Resurrection and dug in I realized how wrong I was. 

 

It is a textbook, I guess, but it has such a different tone to it that I hesitate to call it a textbook.  The Mystery of History author Linda Hobar has way of presenting history in a way that you feel like you are reading a great book or that someone is telling you a story.  We loved this about Mystery of History.  It was not stuffy and boring but fun, interesting and quite refreshing! 

 

Let me tell you some of the things that we enjoyed about Mystery of History:

• Like I said, we liked the story form of the book.  The content is interesting and holds our attention. 
• Love, LOVE the strong biblical base of this book!  Mystery of History is definitely taught from a biblical world view.  Biblical men, women and events such as Adam & Eve, David, Noah, Ruth & Naomi and The Tower of Babel are included.
• I like to teach as many subject together as I can with my children, even though they are in different grades.  MOH allows me to do just that. The reading is geared toward kids in K-8 grades and each lesson has activities that are appropriate for younger, middle and older students. 
• Mystery of History is chronological.  They recommend doing a time line as a visual. 
• We like that it is hands on.  MOH recommend that the kids make memory cards (index cards) for drilling purposes and games.
• Not that anything else is needed, but I really liked that Linda gives ideas for extra books and videos to dig a little deeper in each lesson. 
• The Mystery of History Folderbooks are amazing, they make great lapbooks!

Mystery of History is a very well put together curriculum that can stand alone or be used as a wonderful history resource.  Bright Idea Press has all 3 of the Mystery of History volumes available as well as folderbooks, craft packs, notebook pages, cds and coloring pages to compliment your Mystery of History Curriculum. 

 

Mystery of History Vol. I - Creation to Resurrection, $49.95
Mystery of History Vol. II - Early Church and Middle Ages, $49.95
Mystery of History Vol. III - Student Reader, $59.95

 

If you are interested in purchasing any of the Mystery of History curriculum please Click Here

 

Please be advised that we were given Mystery of History Vol. I and MOH Folderbooks Vol. I Quarter 1 at no charge for review purposes only.  The opinions expressed here are mine and I was not influenced by the company or the free product. 
I am an affiliate of Bright Ideas Press, because I love their products.  If purchase thru one of my links I will make a small percentage from your sale.

Keys For Kids

A while back a friend of mine had told me about this bi-monthly devotional for kids called Keys for Kids, it is put together by CBH Miniistries.  After checking it out,  I ordered Keys for Kids but when it arrived it got put on a shelf.  Since we are finished with MFW, I wanted to find something else for us do for Bible over the summer, so one day I decided to try reading it with the kids to see what we thought, well we've been loving it ever since. 

Each day there is a portion of scripture to read and then there is a little story that revolves around the scripture passage, an application and a memory verse.  It also has a few fun games and puzzles.  You can order them, view or listen to them online.  Sometimes I read them and sometimes I will read the Bible portion and then we listen to the story part online.  We really like the narrorator. 

If you are interested you can order 1 subscription of Keys for Kids online for FREE, otherwise they are $.50-$1.00 depending on the quantity you order.  They have really been a blessing for us.  Hope that you all check them out and are blessed too!

Have You Ever Met The Little Man in the Map?

We just finished reading The Little Man in the Map, and one thing I can tell you for sure is that I really wish we had it when we were studying US History.  I know that there are songs, games and little rhythms to help remember the states but I have never seen anything like this book.  Did you know that there are 5 states on the map that really look like a little man with a hat and boots?!  MIM (The Little Man in the Map) as he is called, actually gives you clues, to help you not only remember the names of the all 50 states but their shape and location too!  The author, E. Andrew Martonyi, really had his creative juices flowing when he penned this book.

All the kids really enjoyed it, but the Lil' Chef (9yo) was glued to it.  She wanted to help me read so we ended up taking turns reading.  We read and giggled and read and giggled some more.  The clues for each state are really cute!  I think our favorite one shows one state honking MIM's nose! 

The Little Man in the Map is an excellent new way for kids (and adults) to learn US Geography.  Yes, I also learned a thing or two.  I was amazed how much the kids had remembered in just a short time.  This is a book that we will definitely keep going back to, it really makes learning fun!

Please check out the video and see how The Little Man in the Map makes the states come alive!


The Little Man in the Map can be purchased from Schoolside Press for $19.95, the author will even autograph it for you.

The Scripture Sleuth

Just wanted to share with you all some of my 9 years old's favorite books.  They are a mystery series called Concord Cunningham The Scripture Sleuth, by Mat Halverson.  I had ordered books 1 & 2 for her at the beginning of the school year, for independent reading time.  She loved them so much that we got her books 3,4 & 5 for the holiday. 





Concord is a young man about 8 or 9 years old who loves to solve mysteries.  Each chapter in the books is a different mystery  What is really cool about these books is that at the end mystery, YOU have to look up a scripture verse to solve it.  The answers are in the back of the book.

These books are written for children ages 9-12.  They are great for independent reading or for a read aloud.  There are currently 5 books in the series, and the cheapest I have found them is on Rainbow Resources.  I hope you all check them out and enjoy them as much as we have.