Progeny Press Review

Funny Bunny LOVES to read!  She can be found any time throughout the day with her head in a book. Some books she's read over and over again.  I know she is comprehending what she is reading, but most of the time she doesn't want to tell me about the books.  Asking her simple questions is like pulling teeth.  And I don't want to read every book she reads just so I can make sure she is understanding them.

So I was happy to learn more about and review a product from Progeny Press.  Progeny Press sells study guides for literature from a Christian perspective.  Their 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!"

Each literature guide is available in three versions: a physical book, a CD with a PDF e-book, and a downloadable PDF file.  I received the downloadable and interactive study-guide, Anne of Green Gables. Progeny Press has made my job easier with this great study guide!

The Anne of Green Gables Study Guide starts off with a note to the instructor, synopsis, a page about the novel's author, and optional pre-reading activities.

I found the note to the instructor especially helpful.  It helped me to prepare Funny Bunny for the study.  It recommended additional resources like a Bible and dictionary and gave some great tips on how to successively complete the study.

The middle grades and high school study guides take about 8-10 weeks to complete if working on one section per week.

Chapters are broken down into sets.  For instance, chapters 1-4, 5-10, 11-15, etc.

Our guide contained the following sections for each set of chapters.  I've included a sample for each with Funny Bunny's answers.

Vocabulary

Questions

Thinking About the Story

Dig Deeper

Optional Activities

You can easily see her answers in the shaded area.  We have the option to print it out and write the answers or type them into the PDF, which is what we chose.

This study guide is not only making her dig deeper into Anne of Green Gables, which she has read many, many times, but it's also taking away the work from me, which is nice!

Thoughts of a 11-Year Old:  I liked the Anne of Green Gables study guide fairly well. It helps you dig a bit deeper into the book, diving into the literature of a famous author, and actually understanding in the process. I am sure very many children have read Anne of Green Gables in it's original state and paused at every page, wondering What does this mean and what does that mean? And, can't anybody explain it in a way that I will understand? Many people would just say to skip over the hard words, but I think the Anne of Green Gables study guide really will help grasp the concept of the book as well as the details.    

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Progeny Press.  The Anne of Green Gables Study Guide is $18.99.  This e-guide is downloadable and interactive. Once opened you can print it out or enter the answers directly in the guide.  It's recommended for grades 5-8.

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Samson's Classroom Review

Samson's Classroom is software for young readers.  Perfect for grades K-5, Samson's Classroom is an online series that helps students become better readers. Students can play engaging games that focus on 3 core building blocks; sight words, spelling, and reading comprehension. 

Sight Words with Samson

Sight Words with Samson is great for beginning readers and will help them master the 224 most commonly used words.  For each word list, there are 5 steps to complete:

1. Study
2. Missing Letters
3. Letter Scramble
4. Spell Words
5. Missing Words

Spelling with Samson

Spelling with Samson contains over 5,000 words you can choose in preset word lists or you can create your own.  Word lists can be selected by grade, topic, word family, or by sight words.  Once a list is selected, the child will then complete 4 steps:

1. Study Zone
2. Missing Letters Karate Chop Game
3. Spelling Scramble with Terrence the Tarantula
4. Crunch Time with Wally the Walrus

Reading with Samson

Reading with Samson focuses on comprehension and includes 4 levels.  Once they read the passages, {and they must read them, there is no audio}, they have several questions to answer.  When the questions are answered, they get to help Samson swing the hammer at the carnival to earn points. 

My Thoughts:  Funny Bunny is 9 years old so she mainly focused on Spelling with Samson and Reading with Samson.

In Spelling with Samson, she really like the Missing Letters Karate Chop Game and Crunch Time with Wally the Walrus.  Spelling Scramble with Terrence the Tarantula has never worked right for us so she was not able to play it.  Funny Bunny's only complaint with Spelling with Samson was that there were only a couple games to play.  Even though she liked the two she played, she got a little bored after a while because she wanted more of a variety.

I had one problem with it when I created my own word list.  I made a list of 25 words from a pretty popular spelling curriculum.  Of the 25 I entered, only 17 were in their database and I was not able to use the other 8 {which I think were pretty basic words} until my request to have them added was approved.  It is my understanding from the vendor that it could take up to 6 weeks for them to add requested words to the system because of the process they have to go through.  I prefer making my own list, so that time frame just won't work for us.  For those who like the preset lists though, this is a great program!

We both really liked Reading with Samson and I thought the focus on comprehension was excellent!  If you miss a question, the paragraph where the answer is located is highlighted, so you can try to answer again.  I thought the progression of difficulty within the levels was good.

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Samson's Classroom.  It is just $30 per year for one user and $50 per year for a family.  There are also prices for a classroom, grade level, and entire school, which you can read more about on their pricing page.  If you would like to try it our before purchasing, you can play free demo versions of the games without setting up an account.

My Crewmates are also talking about Samson's Classroom, so you can check out what they think about it HERE.

Disclaimer:  This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor.  I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own.

The Critical Thinking Company: Inference Jones Review

I've been purchasing products from The Critical Thinking Company for many years now.  We've enjoyed books like Mind Benders and Think A Minutes, as well as Building Thinking Skills, which develops vocabulary, reading, math, and analytical skills. 

For more than 50 years they have created award-winning products in reading, writing, math, science, and history for grades K-12. 

Inference Jones: Beginning is the most recent product from The Critical Thinking Company that we have used.  It provides short, fun, and easy-to-use activities that improve critical reading and higher order thinking by developing the student’s ability to draw inferences from written text.

Funny Bunny loves to read, and I have no doubt that she comprehends what she is reading, but I was really interested in having her try this product because we make inferences everyday, and we draw those inferences through personal knowledge and experiences.  I wanted to know if she could read a story and infer why something was happening. 

Below a story which is included in the workbook, with questions to go along with it.

There are 18 lessons in the workbook, with a sample lesson in the beginning and an answer key at the end.  You can view the title of each story below in the skills chart.

My Thoughts: I really did not think that Funny Bunny would have any trouble at all with the lessons in this workbook and I was correct.  I have been having her work on about two lessons a week and she finishes each one in under 10 minutes.

The workbook presents a critical thinking skill that is not present in any of her other work though, and that is why I like it.  She has to think about why or why not something is happening.  I also like that it is not all multiple choice.  There are fill in the blank answers and some questions as her to site the sentence number where she inferred the answer. 

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at The Critical Thinking Company.  Inference Jones: Beginning is just $11.99 for a paperback book and is geared for grades 3-4.

My Crewmates are also reviewing Inference Jones along with other Critical Thinking Company Products, so you can check out what they think HERE.

Disclaimer:  This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor.  I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own. 

Reading Eggs Review

Reading Eggs is a fun and interactive online reading program for children.  It is designed for beginning or early readers ages 4-8, with an extension for readers ages 7-13 who can tackle early chapter books and beyond, called Reading Eggspress.

Reading Eggs has 120 learn to read lessons and 96 spelling lessons.  Once logged in, your child will come to the following screen.

As you can see, there are many things for them to do.  For the youngest children, the Playroom is a perfect start.  Here 3 and 4 year olds can play matching games, music games, art, puzzles, cook, play dress up, and have stories read to them.

Older children take a placement test and complete lessons.  Every lesson has at least five short parts which include letters, sounds, words, and reading.  After 10 lessons your child will be given a mastery quiz and once it's completed, they get to read a special book online.

As they complete lessons they earn golden eggs, critters to add to their zoo, and games to play.  Golden eggs are like currency and can be exchanged for games and other items.

Maps 1-4 are aimed at 4 - 6 year olds who have little or no reading skills and the maps that follow are for emerging and early readers.

Funny Bunny, who is almost 9, has been playing around with Reading Eggs and enjoys the fun games and zoo critters.  She is way passed the level of the lessons offered though, so she has been working in Reading Eggspress as well.  Reading Eggspress includes 200 comprehension lessons and a library full of more than 600 books!  Once they read a book they take a comprehension quiz.  The higher level the book they read, the more golden eggs they receive.

My Thoughts:  I know I have only touched on a little of what is included in Reading Eggs.  There are so many different levels of lessons and games I cannot begin to mention them all.  I like how each lesson builds on the one before it and earning prizes is a great motivator for children.

Thoughts of an 8-Year Old:  Reading Eggs is one of my favorite online programs because it is super fun and I can play games.  The tests are fun, the Playroom is silly and the Puzzle Park is cool.  But what I like the most is the Story Factory because you can make your own stories and enter a contest.  It's a fun, fun game!

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Reading Eggs.  A 12-month subscription is $75 and a 6-month is $49.95.  You can also purchase a $9.95 recurring monthly subscription and cancel any time. And if you add a second or third child at the same time you can receive 50% off their subscription price.  If you are not sure, you can register up to three children for a FREE trial.

My Crewmates are also reviewing Reading Eggs, so you can check out what they think HERE.

Disclosure:  This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor.  I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own. 

Pearson: Reading Street Review

My daughter loves LOVES to read, so when I had the chance to receive and review a reading product for her grade level, I was very interested.  

I received in the mail two volumes of Scott Foresman Reading Street for 2nd grade.  My first impression of these books after taking them out of the package was that they are the typical reading books children receive in public school.  I have to say that I was secretly dreading having her read them.  Why would she be interested?  These were nothing like any curriculum we have had in the past.

So I took them out and we started to read through them together.  Each volume is broken down into three units, with five stories in each unit.  Before each story, there are six high frequency words to review.  You are also told the genre of the story and the definition of that particular genre.  

After the story there are a few questions to answer, pictures to help with oral narration, and a page about the author and illustrator.  Next, there is a paired selection to read that has something in common with the main story.  

Lastly there are two pages on writing and grammar. 

My Thoughts:  I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by my daughter's enjoyment with these books.  She asks to read the stories and she enjoys telling me about them.  Most times she wants to re-read the story aloud to me.  

One of my favorite features is the use of pictures to assist the children with oral narration.  Although my daughter does not have a problem retelling a story, it is not on her list of top ten things to do.  The pictures that are included at the end of each story gave her the help she needed to tell it back.  I thought it was a great tool!  

I want to add that even though she has enjoyed the stories and has read the entire first volume, the price is a bit steep for us to continue to purchase these.  But they may be just right for your family, so read below to find out more.

Thoughts of an 8-Year Old:  I like the motive of Reading Street and like the stories. Some are true, some have to be fake, and some could really happen. Two of my favorite stories are Rosa and Blanca, and Anansi Goes Fishing. I also like Tara and Tiree, Fearless Friends, which is about two dogs who rescue their owner from broken ice. I like READING STREET!

Find Out More:  You can find out more on the Pearson website.  Both Volume 2.1 and 2.2 sell for $43.47 each.  

My Crewmates are also reviewing Pearson Reading Street 2nd Grade and others, so you can check out what they think HERE.

Disclosure: This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own.