Home Grown Hearts Academy Homeschool Blog: reading review

Friday, October 09, 2015

Progeny Press ~ Sarah, Plain and Tall Study Guide ~ REVIEW

Recently my daughters and I were blessed to be able to review the downloadable digital study guide, Sarah, Plain and Tall from Progeny Press. We had read Sarah, Plain, and Tall in the past but we had never had the privilege of adding a study guide. This study guide proved to be very helpful and a ton of fun for all three of my daughters and I.

For the purpose of this review we checked out the book Sarah, Plain, and Tall from our local library. I was certain we had a copy around our home somewhere, but like a lot of books in this house, it had disappeared. I'm certain we will find it someday.

Sarah, Plain, and Tall is a fabulous book. If you have never had the chance to read it, I recommend it and I highly recommend purchasing the Sarah, Plain and Tall - E-Guide to go with it.

The story is a simple story of a family that needs a mother and of the woman who gradually fills this need. We find the book exciting and inspiring.

What is the Sarah, Plain and Tall - E-Guide?

The Sarah, Plain and Tall - E-Guide is a 47 page study guide written by Rebecca Gilleland. It is recommended for grades 4-7. The study guide is filled with wonderful information and help while reading through the story. We chose to print out the study guide.

Each chapter of the book has corresponding vocabulary words as well as chapter questions in the study guide. Another wonderful part of the study guide is the Dig Deeper Section. In this section my daughters had the opportunity to grow spiritually through reading the assigned scripture passages and answering the assigned questions.

Using the study guide was simple. We chose to read one or two chapters a day and then turn to the study guide for the remaining part of our literature time. Using the study guide took no more than 30 minutes of our day.

One of my daughters absolute favorite part of the study was the Before-You-Read Activities that are included in the study guide and the After-You-Read Activities. Some of the activities they did where map work, research work, and family discussions. They had a ton of fun locating Maine on the map and researching life on the prairie in the late 1800s. They also learned about mail order brides and why some men advertised for them. They thought the whole study was fun and educational.

Even though they loved the Before-You-Read Activities, they loved the After-You-Read Activities even better. They were able to draw beautiful landscapes using colored pencils. They also spent the day with me collecting wild flowers and pressing them. We had an absolute blast doing that. It's a memory that will last forever.

There were also creative writing activities included in the study guide along with As-You-Read Assignments as well. All of the activities were very beneficial to my daughters education and I was truly impressed with the study guide as a whole. Even though my daughters had read Sarah, Plain, and Tall before, they had never learned and absorbed the information like they did this time.

Another fun activity suggested in the guide was to walk down a beach and collect sea shells and use a field guide to identify them. Of course, my daughters wanted to complete this activity so we did. The girls even wrote the name, Sarah, really big in the sand.

Towards the end of the study we watched the movie Sarah, Plain, and Tall, starring Glenn Close. I loved how the study guide included questions for discussion. Such as, how the story had been changed, and if the characters were similar to the characters in the book.

The last thing my daughters did was a cooking assignment suggested in the study guide. In chapter 4 of Sarah, Plain, and Tall, papa bakes and serves warm bread. It was suggested to bake and serve warm bread. We had never made bread from scratch before, so I was very thankful that the study guide included ingredients and instructions. They came in handy and the bread turned out amazing! My daughters definitely learned a new skill. A skill that I'm sure will come in handy again in the future.

How Much Does The Sarah, Plain and Tall - E-Guide Cost?

Right now you can purchase the study guide for only $17.99

Final Thought

All three of my daughters expressed how this was one of their favorite studies of the year. I was also pleasantly pleased with the study as well. I loved how in not only had worksheet questions but that it also had a ton of hands-on activities to participate in also. I look forward to looking for more products from Progeny Press.

Connect with Progeny Press

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ProgenyPress

Youtube: http://youtube.com/progenypress

Twitter: http://twitter.com/progenypress

Click Below to read more reviews from the Schoolhouse Review Crew

Wednesday, October 07, 2015

Reading Kingdom ~ REVIEW

Two of my daughters were recently blessed with the opportunity to review Reading Kingdom Online from Reading Kingdom. Online reading programs are a big deal in our home, because reading isn't something that has came easy for my girls. We have used many programs in the past and I couldn't be more pleased with this one.

What is Reading Kingdom Online?

The Reading Kingdom is a fun, easy-to-use online reading program that teaches children 4-10 years old how to read and write to a third grade level. Reading Kingdom's system was developed by Dr. Marion Blank, a world renowned expert on literacy and the Director of the Light on Learning Institute at Columbia University. They use a 6 skill model of reading instruction that incorporates elements of phonics and whole language while teaching additional skills required for reading and writing success without requiring kids to learn any complicated rules. The fact that my daughters didn't have to learn a bunch of complicated rules was a huge blessing. The following are the six areas of reading it teaches: Phonics, Sequencing, Writing, Meaning, Grammar, and Comprehension. It is recommended to use the program at least three times per week.

How we used Reading Kingdom Online My daughters love the program so much that they actually use it more than three times per week. One of my daughters, Gracie has an average of 4.3 days a week and she is pretty proud of that. I can't believe how far she has came in the short few weeks we have reviewed the program.

She has always struggled with reading and writing and in these short few weeks she has not only advanced through the program fairly fast, but she has also retained the information she has been learning. That is a huge blessing for her and me as well. We have used programs before that they have done well within the program, but haven't retained the information. This hasn't been the case with Reading Kingdom. She enjoys logging in and completing her lessons and sometimes even asks if she can continue on. Of course, I say yes! A daughter asking to do her reading and writing assignments is incredible. I'm so thankful that we have finally found a program that she enjoys and learns so well with. We will for sure be continuing on with this program in our studies.

One of things that I enjoy about this program is that the students begin with a placement test to determine where to start in Reading Kingdom. This places them in the correct portion of the program that is going to benefit them the best. It was important for me to step back and not help my daughters so that they would be placed in the correct area. My youngest wasn't pleased at first because she had to start from the very beginning, letter land. She felt like she already knew those areas and was able to finish those areas with ease and move up in the program. After she made it to level one she began to appreciate the program a lot better and also enjoyed logging in and completing her lessons. She wasn't as enthusiastic as her sister about completing more than she needed. However, I was just thankful that she does enjoy the program and does get her work completed.

Another thing I enjoy about the program is the fact that I have to ability to download and print student reports. I felt like this was a nice addition to the program and helpful in seeing my daughters progress. There is even a spot to download student diplomas for when the finish the program. They will love having that and I can't wait to be able to print one for both daughters.

Final Thought As you can probably already tell, we loved Reading Kingdom and highly recommend it. It is a program that we will stick with and I can't wait to see how much more my daughters learn with it.