About Progeny Press
Progeny Press is a company with a solid, clear statement of Christian faith. They offer study guides with a Christian perspective for a wide variety of quality literature. These guides come in three versions: download, CD/PDF, or paper, book-bound format. They also sell the coordinating books (to go with the study guides) and offer some audio books and teacher resources, including a reading log, Bible, mystery box, and even a few theatrical scripts and medieval props.
They have products for students of all ages, from lower and upper elementary through middle and high school. Some examples include:
About The Bears on Hemlock Mountain (book)
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain book is about Jonathon, who is sent on an errand by his mother, over Hemlock "Mountain" to borrow a large pot from his aunt. He is concerned he might encounter bears, though he is told there are none, and attempts to be brave along the way. He finds himself distracted with yummy cookies and falls asleep, causing him to rush out the door after waking. Realizing that he left his aunt's house without what he came for, he had to go back for it, making his journey home even later in the evening. Chanting to himself that there are no bears and focusing on the beauty of nature around him to bolster his courage, he finds himself in an encounter with bears nonetheless! He tips the pot upside down and hides underneath, finding himself stuck there as the bears sniff around right outside. His father comes to the rescue and they head home, with a few life lessons learned in the process about bravery, telling the truth, and being responsible.
Our Experience & The Bears on Hemlock Mountain E-Guide
We received The Bears on Hemlock Mountain E-Guide (download format). Before we got started, I printed the study guide and simply stapled it together. I had initially considered putting it in a three-ring binder, as we do with many printed school materials, but this didn't seem to warrant that since it wasn't very thick (about 34 pages and I printed on both sides of the paper).
As I flipped through and got an overview of the study guide, my initial reaction was that I liked what I saw. It looked clean, clear, and easy to follow/understand, with plenty of space to write when indicated. My daughter writes a bit large sometimes still (handwriting is something we are still working on) and the lines seemed to have good spacing as well.
I noticed some added touches that imparted even more value to the guide, such as the synopsis, info about the author, background information (The Bears on Hemlock Mountain comes from a folk tale shared with the author in 1952), activity ideas for both before and after you read the book (including a sugar cookie recipe), and suggestions for further reading. They also had notes next to the suggested reading that indicated the target ages/grades for each book. Minor detail, I know, but sometimes it's the little things that get my attention, because I feel that if the creator does well with small aspects, then the overall product is likely to be quality as well.
There is a bit of variety in the study guide; not all of the writing tasks are the same type, which I like. Some questions ask for a specific answer and others seek slightly more in-depth responses or ask for personal opinion and experience. There was a matching activity, vocabulary terms to be looked up and defined, quoted Scripture and discussion, and a mystery word activity near the end. Of course, there is also an Answer Key at the end, which would come in handy for a parent or teacher that did not read the story with their child.
The before and after activity ideas were fun! We didn't do them all, but they have some good suggestions to suit your individual preferences, time, age and number or kids, and situation. The before-you-read activities involved simple things like defining and comparing a mountain and hill, or more complex ones like creating a hospitality bulletin board. The after-you-read activities included a creative writing project, dramatic play acting (oh my goodness, my kids love this kind of thing!), and baking cookies! Personally, I felt that the activities actually enhanced the study even more when interspersed throughout the study experience. For example, baking the cookies and munching on them while reading about Jonathon eating the cookies his Aunt Emma gave him. Or listening to a recording of birds and forest sounds during the related parts of the book. You can order The Bears on Hemlock Mountain book from the Progeny Press website if you don't already own it, which makes it easy to get everything you need all at once. We just used our Kindle version of the book along with our guide, which worked rather well for us even though Lil' Sis usually prefers a physical paper-and-cover book in her hands when reading. The ebook allowed us to highlight vocab words, passages, or points of interest, as well as sentences that she were designated as copywork, which aided her in staying focused. That, subsequently, allowed me to be slightly more hands off and attend to Baby Sis, who has become quite the daredevil and explorer already! Final Thoughts
My daughter enjoyed The Bears on Hemlock Mountain E-Guide and I believe it was well designed and executed, helping my daughter to better understand what she read, build her vocabulary, and show what she learned. I think it is entirely possible to accomplish reading comprehension and evaluation of literature without a study guide such as this, but feel this makes things so much easier, and as a busy homeschool mom with a toddler along for the ride, it's nice to have things thoughtfully laid out in advance (less that I have to plan and prep for - yay)! We will be using more e-guides from Progeny Press in the future.
If you'd like to read reviews from other Homeschool Review Crew families about this and other Progeny Press study guides (especially if you'd like to know more about the other levels, such as Middle and High School), just follow the banner-link below! You can also find more information and other products at the Progeny Press website or visit them on social media at: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and Pinterest!
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AuthorI'm a homeschooling mom of three, enjoying our time in Hawaii and hoping to share some of that experience with you, including ideas, reviews, resources, and information. Archives
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