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Progeny Press: Charlotte’s Web E-Guide {Crew Review}

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Progeny Press creates absolutely wonderful Study Guides for Literature.  These guides are written from a Christian perspective allowing God’s light to shine even in Literature where he may not always be seen right away.  For this review, we were sent a PDF copy of their Charlotte’s Web E-Guide for grades 4-6.
Most people know the story of Charlotte’s Web as it’s a common childhood story taught in schools all over.  Charlotte is a spider.  She forms an unlikely friendship with a pig, Wilbur, who is to being kept in a barn and fattened up for Christmas dinner.  Charlotte’s Web is the story of Charlotte, Wilbur and the girl named Fern, who loves Wilbur and has begged for his life.  It is a beautiful, yet sad story written by E.B. White.
The Progeny Press Charlotte’s Web Study Guide is interactive.  This allows you to have your student answer right on the PDF file as they learn.  Or you can simply print this file and use it with multiple students in your homeschool if more than one child is reading this book at the same time.
The Study Guide begins by providing a Table of Contents followed by a note to the Instructor.  The Table of Contents of course made it easy to find each section as we covered the guide.  The Instructor’s note explains that your child will need a few things to work through this guide, such as the book Charlotte’s Web, a dictionary, a Bible and a few other things.  Nothing major though.
Next the guide provides a Synopsis of the book.  This is a brief description of the story and story line.  This was great for me, as it’s been quite a while since I’ve personally read this story.  It was a great reminder of the details within the book.
Next the guide covers first the book’s author and then the illustrator.  Information about each of these important contributors to the book is provided for your student to learn about in detail.  Interesting facts are explored here.
The next section discusses pre-reading activities to do for the book.  Perhaps a study on pigs or spiders would be good.  Or maybe taking a field trip to a local barn to really bring this story to life for your student.  We personally viewed the spiders outside up close to see how they work and took a trip over to the hog house our family has to see the piglets first hand.
The next section of the guide begins the good stuff: the actual questions about the book.  The first questions are multiple choice.  They are pretty simple and easy to answer.  After these are some more challenging questions that require written answers.  A descriptive writing activity is also included to build on writing and language skills.   This same format continues for all chapters of the book to help your student better understand the content of the book.
Now the great thing about this guide is that it not only links Charlotte’s Web to the book and breaks down what your child is learning through the story.  It also provides Biblical verse to teach your child how the Bible relates to the story.  It helps to teach good Character to your student as they read and learn through the story.  This is a wonderful way to cover Literature in a way that relates to God.
At the end of the guide, there are some suggested Art Projects that can be completed.  These are simple things to put together for your child.  There is also a letter writing activity which your child can send off to a friend or family member if you choose.
The last page of the guide provides suggested resources which can be used in addition to expand what this guide is teaching your child.  Related books and field guides are suggested here, as well as other books by E.B. White like Stuart Little.  It’s a great extra bit of info to make the lessons into more.
How We Used This Guide:
I used this study guide with Laycie.  We read through this book together and I chose to have her verbally answer the questions in the guide as we went through the book.  She loved it.  She’s really into farm animals right now though she’s a little scared of spiders.  Still this story quickly became a favorite for her.  When we finished the story and guide, we watched the movie which she loved as well.
Where You Can Find This Study Guide:
Charlotte’s Web E-Guide is available from Progeny Press for $17.99.  This is an downloadable, interactive PDF file.  It is reproducible as well with permission.
You Can Find Progeny Press Online:
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Pinterest:  pinterest.com/progenypress
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Study Guides for Literature {Progeny Press Reviews}

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Lightning Literature {Crew Review}

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I’ve been looking for a good program to use for Literature with Laycie for a little while now but hadn’t been able to find anything.  Homeschool Review Crew to the rescue!  They had the perfect program at the perfect time.
I had heard of Lightning Literature from Hewitt Homeschooling over the years and always been told that it was a great program to use for literature and composition.  I wasn’t aware just how great a program this product is though.  For our review, we were sent the Grade 1 Lightning Lit Set.
The Grade 1 Lightning Lit Set includes the Teacher’s Guide by Elizabeth Kamath and the Student Workbook also by Elizabeth Kamath.  Additional children’s books are needed for the course but these are easily obtained through your local library or through a local book retailer or even online.
I chose this level to use with Laycie since we are just moving forward into literature and this is the first time of us using a literature program with her.  I was looking for something more structured but not so rigid that it made learning stressful for her.  Lightning Literature surprisingly has been great for that.
This program allows for the fact that some first graders won’t be able to read the work or books provided.  The goal is to provide a love of literature beginning at a young age.  The program allows the child to dictate their answers so that they can have help to complete the exercises.  The books used are classic children’s picture books with a few newer books also included to give a well-rounded example of good literature.
Every day there are activities to complete for the specific book that you read for the week.  The first book is Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson.  The activities change with the books.
Of course, this is a basic 5 day a week lesson set up for the program.  The course teaches literature, grammar and mechanics and also composition.  There are included Reading Journal pages, Dictionary pages, and Alphabet and Sentence pages.  Aesop’s Fables are included on Day Four of this curriculum each week but these can be skipped if your child does not enjoy them.  There are also lesson extensions shared to expand on the weekly lessons.
Break Down of Each Day’s Basic Set-Up
On Day One of the lesson, you read the book and answer comprehension questions specific to the book being covered.  Grammar and Mechanics is covered with a quick multiple choice worksheet. Composition is covered as well on Day One.
Day Two leaves you with the decision to read the book again but preferably to have your child narrate the story by telling what they remember of it back to you.  You can do this by looking at the book together and discussing it as you go.  This is a great way to encourage reading.
Day Two’s workbook work covers Grammar and Mechanics by completing a worksheet specific to what the child is learning at the time through the course.  This develops as they work through the program and learn.  This day also includes the Reading Journal activity: the child can either write or dictate the sentences related to retelling the story.   This particular part of the program is scheduled early in the week but can be moved to later in the week if preferred.
On Day Three, you and your child read the story again.  This day has more comprehension questions to help your child discover even more about the story they are learning about.  On this day, the dictionary pages are introduced for the week.  for these pages you can choose words from the story or you can choose words from daily life.  It’s up to you what words you chose for your student to learn. The longer sheets can be completed with assistance from the parent/teacher.
Composition is worked on daily with planning and on Day Three the work is put onto paper as a rough draft.  This can also be done as dictation if needed.  Whatever your child is ready to do.
Day Four introduces a new Aesop’s Fable each week.  The Dover edition of this book is used or you can use a free one found online.  These are random and shared for enjoyment of reading purposes mostly.  Grammar activity is done on this day in relation to what’s being learned for that week.  The composition final draft is also completed each week on Day Four.
Day Five is a free day or a catch up day if needed.  It’s up to you how it’s used.  This day could also be a day used to expand the lesson.
How We Used It:

This program is just awesome!  I used it with Laycie but it also worked great with Jack too.  As I read they both listened.  Jackson wasn’t ready for the book work but because these books are common children’s books, I was able to find activities online to use with him outside of what the curriculum provided.
The workbook provided just enough work for Laycie yet it wasn’t overwhelming.  This helped her writing skills and her storytelling and dictation skills as well.  We worked together to write answers both with dictation and working on her writing skills.
We chose to read our story daily together.  We also chose to do the weekly Aesop’s Fables and found additional activities to do online for that as well.  It was great to have the workbook to follow and guide us in this curriculum.
Where Can You Get Lightning Literature:
You can find Lightning Literature in different levels at the Hewitt Homeschooling website.  The price for the Grade 1 Lightning Lit Set is $88.11.  The set includes the books mentioned above and Aesop’s Fables as well.
Hewitt Homeschooling on Social Media:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/HewittHomeschooling    Tag:   @HewittHomeschooling   

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/hewittonline    Tag:   @HewittOnline   

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Hewitt Homeschooling {Reviews}

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May 3, 2017 {Simple Woman’s Daybook}

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Simple Woman’s Daybook

For Today:
May 3, 2017

Outside my window, the sun is shining brightly.

I am thinking about my children.
I am thankful that my children are happy and healthy today.
From my learning, I am finding that I want to find peace and happiness in life.
From the kitchen, I hear the Emmalee helping Jackson.
I am wearing my ugly green house dress because today I’m being lazy.
I am creating a new life for us all.
I am going to watch movies and relax today while working online.
I am hoping that my husband has no more challenges today.
I am hearing Emmalee and Jackson talking together in the kitchen.
Around the house, I have dinner to get ready soon.
One of my favorite things: the smell of gardenias in bloom.
A few plans for the rest of the week:
Help Don if he needs it.
Finish mowing the grass.
Write reviews for both Messy Journey and Women Who Move Mountains.

A thought to share:
Sometimes life gets busy.  Still we must put Faith first every day.  God is what gets us through.  Without Him we accomplish nothing.

A quote I like:
We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.
-Joseph Campbell

Homeschooling On The Down Days {Homeschooling} {Epilepsy Awareness}

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5 Days of Homeschooling With Epilepsy and Other Issues:
Homeschooling On The Down Days

Some days we wake up and lead a normal life.  We do normal things like eat breakfast together, read books, watch a movie.  We feel like a normal family.

Some days we wake up and our life is far from normal.  We are accosted by migraines.  Children don’t feel like eating breakfast.  We need a little more sleep before we get out of bed.  Cuddles are a must.  We are far from normal.

These are the down days.  The days when it feels like life is barely holding it together.  The days when the Seizure Monsters strikes before we’re even functioning good.  The days when snuggles are a must and extra sleep is needed to fight a monster we cannot see.  The down days happen more often than any of us like.

On these days, homeschooling is hard.  There’s no time to think through what’s on a schedule.  There’s no plan because you simply cannot plan on the days when life is in full chaos.

Over time, we’ve developed our own way of life and doing things, since Epilepsy and Involuntary Breath Holding Spells, ADHD and Sensory Issues leave us incapacitated and unable to complete even the simplest tasks.  Still learning must happen and life much continue as needed.

Every day when I awake, I check on each of my children.  I evaluate who needs what done.  Does my daughter with Epilepsy need just a bit more sleep?  Does my oldest need to take his allergy med or need a few minutes to figure out his plan for the day?  Does my older daughter need a few minutes to wake up before she dives into her daily schedule?  Does the baby need a little cuddle time before he has breakfast?  The list goes on and is different for each child.

Sometimes cuddling tops the list of things to do.  Sometimes a seizure happens and I must rush to the ER and leave the bigger kids to care for the littlest one.  Sometimes there’s just a seizure lurking which can be fought by resting and cuddling and napping with one another.

After we get through our first hour after waking, I usually know how my day will go.  If it’s a down day, we will relax, watch educational movies, read quiet books, draw, color and do minimal activity.  And this is okay because what’s important is getting better and getting back to what’s normal.
Some down days allow for a little more activity.  We can play, do small activities, and learn but still be ready if we just need a break.  It’s a lot of watching and having patience for all of us.

Some of our favorite activities when we are down are:
Movies, Reading, Math games, Playing, playdoh, baking together, listening to audio stories, chalk drawing, and just being together relaxing.

All of these allow us to learn while not overdoing it and we can break as we need to.

Each day I go through the same evaluations and make decisions based on what our morning holds.  This is how we’ve been able to homeschool from the beginning with multiple special needs children.  This is why we homeschool year round, so we can have more days to fit learning in even when we are down.

Homeschooling when you have down days is feasible if you make it work for you.  Having a relaxed homeschooling day or sometimes even week is never a bad thing.  Learning is inevitable if you provide the materials for your child to do so and can happen even on the worst day.  It’s also okay to just stop and take the day off from learning all together.  You must do what’s best for you and your family.

God bless,
Dana Lambert-Hodge

This post is part of the 5 Days Of Homeschooling… Blog Hop from
the Homeschool Review Crew!

5 Days of Homeschool Annual Blog Hop - 2017
To Read more…

The Beginner’s Bible from Zonderkidz {Crew Review}

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The Beginner's Bible {Zonderkidz}
The Beginner's Bible {Zonderkidz}

For those who may have missed my announcement on Facebook last month, I’m happy to announce that I’ve rejoined the Homeschool Review Crew, a division of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.   I’ve greatly missed the crew, the amazing products, wonderful vendors and I’ve especially missed being able to share such wonderful products with you.  So without further interruption, let’s get started with the first of many awesome products I’ll be reviewing this year and sharing here on the blog:

The Beginner’s Bible from Zonderkidz!

About the Review:
Zondervan is a company that has blessed our home for many years now.  Zonderkidz is the kid’s department for Zondervan which provides quality educational and Biblical materials to use with your family at home.  We have used and loved many of their products in our home for at least 16 years now, since the birth of my oldest son.  So when the opportunity came to review The Beginner’s Bible from Zonderkidz, I immediately knew this was a review that I wanted to do.

About the Book:
The Beginner’s Bible is a story Bible that is filled with wonderful imagery.  It includes 90 different Bible stories written for children to comprehend.

This is a Bible meant for small children, ages 6 and under who are just learning to read or who need help reading.  It’s a wonderful read-aloud book or book to read with your child.  It is definitely one of our family favorites.

The Beginner’s Bible was first released in 1989 and has sold over 25 million products.  To me, that’s an amazing number.  27 years later, this wonderful Bible is still a wonderful addition to any family’s library.

Recently, Zonderkidz updated The Beginner’s Bible to include new 3D full color illustrations in bright vibrant colors.  This really makes the stories come to life.  The images really pop off the pages with this new artwork style.

The Beginner’s Bible also features large, easy to read font.  This is perfect for younger children who often become anxious with smaller print.  It wasn’t too bad for this Momma either, as sometimes reading stories in small print can be hard to keep up with when you’re holding a small child.


The Beginner’s Bible is 512 pages in length.  These pages are now glossy whereas the older versions of The Beginner’s Bible had matte paper pages, which is sometimes difficult to keep clean with small hands.  The pages are still paper but the glossy finish does allow for light wiping that could not be managed before.  This was a change that I was happy to see!

 Included in the front of The Beginner’s Bible is a Dedication page where you can write in your child’s name so they know this Bible is just for them.  There is also a Table of Contents included behind the Dedication page to help you locate favorite Bible stories.

 The first part of the book begins in the Old Testament just like an adult Bible would, starting with Genesis’ The Beginning and ending with Jonah and the Big Fish.  The New Testament is also included, beginning with An Angel Visits Mary and ending with Jesus Is Coming!  At the very back of the book there is also included a brief dictionary to help explain some of the important Biblical words your child may not know.  


How We Used The Product In Our Home:
The Beginner’s Bible was easily adapted into our family’s day to day routine.  I’m lucky to have two little readers who enjoy looking at pictures and discussing what they see.  They enjoy reading Bible stories so they were very excited to have a new copy of The Beginner’s Bible to share and read together.

We read our copy of The Beginner’s Bible as a bed-time story to start out but that didn’t last long, as both my younger children begged to hear more throughout the day.  They also requested on several times to have their siblings read to them, which is great practice for the older two in reading aloud.  We found this book quickly became an important part of our day to day.

Jack really loved this BIG FISH!

With Jackson, who is four and just learning that letters make words and words have meaning, we sat together and looked over many of the pictures inside The Beginner’s Bible one on one.  We also read some of the stories, varied throughout the book as he choose which ones interested him the most.  We discussed who Jesus was and is after finding his picture on the last story page of the book.  But overall, Jack’s favorite story was Jonah and the Big Fish because Jack’s world is all about fish and dinosaurs right now.  He loves all fish stories so I was thrilled to share this one with him.

With Laycie, who is 8 but mildly delayed in her learning due to her health, we read our copy of The Beginner’s Bible together.  She chose to read more of the book in order, as she prefers things to follow from beginning to end.  She read the words she knew and I helped her decipher many of the words she didn’t know.  We discussed the images that went along with the stories, taking note of the importance in each image that went along with each story we read.  She really loved all the stories and didn’t have an absolute favorite.

I often found her with our copy of The Beginner’s Bible, reading it to her dolls and sharing God’s word with her siblings when we weren’t reading it together.  This warmed my heart to know how special The Beginner’s Bible became to her so quickly.  I know it will continue to do so in the future.


How You Can Obtain This Item:
The Beginner’s Bible is available from Zonderkidz.  It is currently priced at $16.99.  
You can purchase The Beginner’s Bible online at the Zonderkidz/Zondervan website.


Places To Find The Vendor Online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Zonderkidz/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/zonderkidz

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/zondervan

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/zondervanp/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zondervan/

You Can Read More Reviews Of This Product/Vendor At:


The Beginner's Bible {Zonderkidz}

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