Sarah, Plain and Tall {Progeny Press Review}

One of the things I really enjoy about homeschooling is discovering books that impact my life and the lives of my children in a positive way.  Charlotte Mason encourages us to find books that are twaddle free so when I find a book that impacts me I look forward to reading it to my children.  When Timothy and Jane were younger I discovered an incredibly though provoking trilogy by Patricia MacLachlan called: Sarah, Plain and Tall.  Last year we worked our way through the Little House on the Prairie books and my aim was to read Sarah Plain and Tall to Nathaniel but I really wanted him to see deeper into the story.  Due to him having ASD this can at times be rather challenging.

Last year Progeny Press blessed our family with a wonderful study guide to use along side Frog and Toad Together and we enjoyed it so much I was thrilled to find that they had an E-Study Guide for Sarah, Plain and Tall.

Their company 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!"

What we received

• Sarah, Plain and Tall - E-Study Guide
• Author: Rebecca Gilleland
• For the book: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan.
• Pages: 43
• Format: Interactive PDF
• Sarah, Plain and Tall Answer Key

This Guide contains:

•  Table of Contents
• Note to instructor
• Synopsis
• About the Author
• Background information
• Before you read activities
• As you read assignments
• Chapter 1-3, 4-6 and 7-9 questions
• Word-search
• Summary Questions
• Crossword
• After you read Activities
• Additional Resource List
• Answer Key

How we used it
I downloaded the guide which arrived in an interactive PDF format (575 KB).  It had a total of 43 pages with a full colour cover. I printed our copy at home on our printer. I also printed off the answer key (61.5 KB).

Sample of questions and interactive fill in spaces.

This study guide is an interactive study guide.  You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0+. I wondered what they meant by interactive and discovered that students have the ability to fill in the answers electronically on the computer and save their work as they progress through the guide. You do still have the option of printing the guide as before and using it as a paper guide. We stored ours in a file. To make use of the interactive part of the guide is an easy process.  You open the guide on your pc, click on the blue highlight and start typing.  The blue disappears and your writing appears in a different font. Once you have filled in your response and move to the next question the blue reappears.

Starting off our study we used the background information section to help us understand the time period the book is covering as well as to get a better perspective of life on the Prairie during the pioneer days in America.

Sarah, Plain and Tall is a 1986 Newberry Honor book. Sir N and I took turns reading the chapters together. This is a beautiful book and thought provoking. After Sir N read a chapter to me I would re-read the chapter to him so he could sit back and enjoy the beautiful illustrations and hear the story.

The guide has three sections covering the nine sections.  Each of these sections in the guide cover different aspects:

• Language Arts (each section uses a different exercise eg similes and metaphors, dictionary work)
• Setting
• Questions
• Thinking about the story
• Dig Deeper

We then moved to the table and looked through that chapter's study guide questions.  Digging Deeper is one of my favourite sections of the guide.  I wanted Sir N to have the opportunity to think and share with me his thoughts so I was the scribe and reader of the guide to him. From the guide I learned to turn to God's word and dig deeper and draw parallel's to what we were reading and learning. Together we learned to think more clearly about the story we were reading together. This had a benefit as Sir N got to look in his own bible to discover more about what God said on the subject. Each scripture reference was followed with thought provoking questions to help the student dig a little deeper and apply the knowledge of what they had just learned both from the Word of God and the book they had just read.


Recommended Age Range

• Upper Elementary/3rd grade-6th grade

Formats Available of this guide

• Sarah, Plain and Tall - E-Study Guide
• Sarah, Plain and Tall - Study Guide  CD or Printed Workbook

Categories available from Progeny Press

• Lower Elementary 
• Upper Elementary 
• Middle School
• High School

 Connect with Progeny Press

• Pinterest
• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube 
• Blog - Ask Rebecca

Over All I thought ...
Nathaniel and I both enjoyed this study guide together.  I enjoyed the digging deeper questions the most especially watching Nathaniel grasp the impact upon himself. He also enjoyed some of the further reading and listening suggestions at the end of the book. I hope that we can find the movie to watch too.

This guide was easy to use and there was very little preparation work for me the teacher.  I liked how the layout was easy to follow and simple to use.  

If you are looking for a study guide to use with your children that digs deeper and goes beyond asking mundane questions like who is the main character and what did they do? A guide that relies on scripture as the plum line. Progeny Press study guides are your answer.

I look forward to using more guides in the future with Nathaniel.
Blessings
Chareen

Sudoku Training Kit for Children {FREE Download}

Sudoku is one of those critical thinking games that I just assumed was far too difficult for me to learn.  It looked complicated to me. A year ago while on holiday my friend encouraged me to give it a go.  She explained the rules and lets just say that was the beginning of a very enjoyable holiday past time for me.

I was at a friends house and she had this really neat wooden Sudoku board on her coffee table and we got chatting about it.  She had designed a really neat children's set and was in the process of teaching her five and seven year old how to work through the thinking stages of Sudoku.  She graciously printed off her training pack and gave me permission to share it with you my readers!

Download your FREE  Sudoku Training Kit for Children here.

Teaching children to play Sudoku is a matter of patient practice and coaching.  In the printable you will find a number of boards to use.

Begin by printing page 9 and 10.  Once you have printed these two pages cut out the Sudoku training boards and laminate them for durability.

Begin with the two by two square board.
From your kit of tactile number blocks gather together four blocks numbered 1 to 4.
Explain to your student that you can only use each number once.
Set up the board with the three suggested numbers and ask your child to add in the final number.

Follow this exercise with using Rows to practice.  Use the same deduction technique.
Now use the column list and redo the same exercise.

From this your student can see that the process is the same in a square, a column and a row.

One your student grasps this concept it is time to practice using six tiles and the six tile 'square' which is found on page 6.

As your student gains confidence follow up with the graded practice working your way up through the different levels adding in more numbers.

Making your own Training Sudoku tiles.

• One Sheet of half inch square tiles. You will need a total of 91 squares.
• A permanent marker.
• Optional—glaze to seal the tiles

Write a single number on each tile. Be sure to draw a line beneath the number six to prevent confusion between nine and six.

You will need nine tiles with the same digit for each numbers one through nine.
Set the tiles aside to allow the ink to set over night. I painted a glaze over mine to give them added protection. You now have enough tiles for a nine by nine square.

Download your FREE  Sudoku Training Kit for Children here.

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Today the homeschool Blogging Crew are sharing some new FREE printables for you to download.

1. Free Printable Pumpkin Coloring Page for Fall by Amy at Homeschool Encouragement
2. A Simple Formula to Create Your Own Juice Recipes by Marcy at Ben and Me
3. Free Alice in Wonderland Mega Pack by Misty at Year Round Homeschooling
4. Monster Preschool Math Worksheets by Monique at Living Life and Learning
5. FREE Christopher Columbus Notebooking Pages. by Annette at In All You Do
6. Creative Homeschooling with Nature Walks & Flowers (Free Notebooking Pages) by Kelli at Adventure Homeschool
7. Printable Christmas Preschool Pack by Jennifer at Organized Home, Organized Homeschool
8. Thanksgiving Lego Challenge by Tauna at Proverbial Homemaker
9. Veteran's Day Unit Study by Tara at Embark on the Journey
10. Celebrate Canada by Bonnie at Write Bonnie Rose
11. Be an Encouraging Person {Growing in Godliness Series for Kids} by Anne Marie at Future Flying Saucers

Homeschool Blogging is hosting a weekly FREE Printable Friday each week.

 Do YOU have a FREEBIE to share ?  Join in the fun by linking up below!

An InLinkz Link-up

ASD Reading {Review}

Teaching students to read, write and comprehend can sometimes be a rather anxiety producing journey especially when it seems like it's taking your student a long time to learn a particular skill.  Through in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) into the mix and it becomes a whole new ball game.

Nathaniel was diagnosed with ASD last year and to be honest it was kind of a relief to know because now we are able to source resources to assist him better on his journey to reading and writing well.   In the arena of reading, writing and comprehension Nathaniel is a competent reader and he has a great comprehension but encoding has been a struggle.  Recently we were  asked by Reading Kingdom Kingdom to trial their ASD Reading online program.

"ASD Reading is based on the groundbreaking work of Dr. Marion Blank, a world-renowned literacy and language expert who developed and served as Co-Director of the Columbia University Developmental Neuropsychiatry Program for Autism and Related Disorders."

What we received

• One year of access to the online ASD Reading (Autism Spectrum Disorder Reading) Program

ASD Reading teaches your children in the following six areas:

1. Phonics (Sounds)
2. Sequencing
3. Writing
4. Meaning
5. Grammar
6. Comprehension

How we used it
Signing up to ASD Reading was a really easy smooth process. I received an email from support welcoming us to the program.  This email had a some helpful links and advice on how to use the program along with a link to a tutorial on how to use the program effectively at home. You are also encouraged to contact support any time you have questions or concerns.

You can use your user name or your email to log in.  As the parent you have the option of creating a user name and password for your student to use to log in OR you can log in and click on the student name in order for them to use the program.

When the student page opens you can see their name at the top followed by a summary of how many times a week the student is using the program.  It is recommended that the student use the program once a day five days a week.  This facilitates long term memory retention of the skills learned.

As the student progresses through the program they are able to see at a glance how far through the level they are through the bar progress chart.  To do their days work they click on the dinosaur.

ASD students are highly visual.  On the home page both you the parent and the student can see at a glance what they are working on and the level of proficiency the student has via the icons in each area.

For example the thumbs up means completed, The hour glass means that this level is currently in progress, a tick means it is not required and the cup means Excellent Performance.

One of the main requirements is that the parent NOT help the student. This makes the students learning more effective as the program adjusts to their speed.  The goal is long term memory retention through regular small lessons.

Here is a sample of one of the pages.  The hanger has the sound we are focusing on.  The little boys in the pockets are each holding a word.  The coach is asking for the word bird.  The student is required to click on the correct word. The top right of the page shows the number of points scored so far for the entire program.

The lessons teach the word, the spelling of the word and the sound of the word.  Each lesson uses multiple disciplines to reinforce the new word learned.  The student has to select items representing the word, memorize and then type the word being learned, next they are shown multiple possible words with missing letters to form the word in which they need to select the correct one for the word and then type in the word to complete it.

The ASD Reading website says that each level should take 10-15 weeks to complete, but when you break it down, that’s about two weeks per book. In Level One you learn 36 new words, however, you don’t only learn the words, you learn many variants of that word as well.
For example, a child might learn the word “park”, but then he will also learn the variants “parks”, “parking” and “parked”. So in reality Nathaniel will be learning a lot more than 36 words in Level One.

Type in the word being learned.

Nathaniel likes earning points in order to open his passport and receive stamps.

Cost of ASD Reading

• Sign Up for a 30 Day FREE trial
• There are a number of pricing options available. 

Recommended Age Range

• ASD Reading is aimed at students in the age bracket of 4 to 10 years old.

Connect with ASD Reading




For more information on ASD Reading be sure to look at:

• Parents FAQ area which covers numerous areas.
• Resources to help your ASD student
• Books to equip you

Children on the spectrum tend to like the security of 'sameness' and ASD Reading is consistent and does not change things up which in turn enables the student to confidently use the program as they know what is going to happen and how it is going to happen.  Nathaniel appreciated the fact that this reading program gives precise and clear instructions. He is able to use ASD Reading without my help.

I appreciate the encouraging feedback he receives as well as the points scored for working through the program which are very motivating for my son. The lessons have colorful pictures that are fun and engaging. Often times he calls out to me "hey Mom look at these cute ..."

Overall, I am very happy with ASD Reading and would encourage students who are on the spectrum and struggling to learn to read and write to try ASD Reading.

Blessings
Chareen

The Mind Feeds On Ideas

The mind feeds on ideas, and therefore children should have a generous curriculum. - Charlotte Mason

The Secret of life is to Know Glory When We See It ...

Perhaps this is one of the secrets of life to know ‘glory’ when we see it. Charlotte Mason

A Profound Need to be Still

Though we are often moving too fast to notice it, there is in each of us a profound need to be still, to be alone, to reflect, to meditate, to contemplate, to wait to reach a kind of bone deep honesty with our own souls. {Syllable of Water “The Writers Notebook”}

Take time to write

Taking time to write by hand slows us down and allows truth to seep in - Laurie Bestvater {The Living Page -30}

1 More Sleep ... {Homeschool Mother's Journal}

Family Photo's in the backyard!

 In my life this week…

• Loved reading the updates on Munchkin Missions.  If you are looking for a missions family to support I highly recommend this family.  This lady is from our church as recently got married.  Due to some events they have also adopted twins and are in need of funding.  
• Lots of preparation work in anticipation of our 4x4 adventure with my Dad and brother which begins tomorrow.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

• Exploring Nature With Children: A Complete, Year-Long Curriculum
• IF you are a homeschooler and looking for a great at home program to use I recommend ArtVenture.  It's currently 65% off over at: Join Homeschool 
•  I Am, I Can, I Ought, I Will, OR: Do the Work of Homeschooling
• Secrets from Charlotte Mason on Scheduling for Peace
• Starting a Simple Calendar of Firsts 
• The Simple Secret Your Kids Need You to Know About Math 
•  Homeschooling is the new path to Harvard
• Middle School Reading Lists 100 Years Ago vs. Today Show How Far American Educational Standards Have Declined 
• FREE BOOKS: 100 legal sites to download literature 
• The Absolutely Enormous List of Christian History Books {By Grade and Time Period} 
• Make your own ID cards for you and your students:  
• Shakespeare in Three Steps

My favourite thing this week was…

• Last year some time I discovered the #pinkninja on Instagram and have been following Addie's journey ever since.  This week her Dad and Mum share a little of their personal story over the last year.  Her Dad's story/perspective is so inspirational and breathtakingly honest I highly recommend you take some time to read it.
• I loved watching WAR ROOM and so did Nathaniel.  In fact he has asked to see it again.  Here are some resources available War Room Resources

  On the WWW I’m reading…

• We are about to embark on an amazing adventure to see the Outback so I enjoyed looking at these: 41 Camping Hacks That Are Borderline Genius
• Grandfather Launches LunoWear Watch With Grandson 
• Why Does Common Core Require Teaching Islam? 
• Christians warned to pull kids from public school  
• Are You Reading The Wrong Books? What Science Is Saying About Fiction Readers 
• This is your brain on Jane Austen, and Stanford researchers are taking notes 

 I’m cooking…

• I tried a new biscuit recipe that was not good.  So disappointing
• I think I may give these a go:  Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookies!!
• Mock "Oreo" Truffle Shake (Cookies and Crème Shake)...THM:S 
• I want to try this one:  Trim Healthy Mama Caramel Sauce
• Add this to your THM list: Briana’s Baking Mix
• FP Easy Mix for Baking ~ THM ~ GF/DF/Almond Free ~ Low Carb/Low Fat 

 Blessings
Chareen

Connect with me

 

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Photo collages made with: Photoscape a FREE photo editor


A Week In Review Link UP

Join Lisa and I each week and share your week in review.  We look forward to reading about your

Week in Review
Field Trips
School Work&nbsp
Homeschool projects
And anything homeschool related.

Here is a button for your post.

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An InLinkz Link-up

And now - take a look at this amazing Box Day homeschool giveaway! The winner of this giveaway will receive 8 boxes in the mail! How cool is that?

Contents of each box are pictured above and include: 1. Jim Elliot Unit Study Kit - Enjoy studying missionary stories in your homeschool! Get started with this Jim Elliot unit study kit (retail $44.96) from Tauna at Proverbial Homemaker.

• Jim Elliot: One Great Purpose from the YWAM Christian Heroes Then and Now series
• Jim Elliot: A Light for God from the YWAM Chrisitan Heroes for Young Readers series
• Usborne Children’s Picture Atlas for a fun beginning look at the different areas of the world. Mark the different areas you study!
• Usborne First Thousand Words in Spanish to have fun practicing a language Jim learned as a part of his mission to Ecuador.

2. The Usborne books in this box were contributed from Misty at Year Round Homeschooling and include Secrets of the Seashore, Planet Earth, and Billie B. Brown.

3. Twin-Tip Sharpie Set and Prismacolor Scholar Colored Pencil set from Amy at Homeschool Encouragement. These fun, high quality coloring sets are perfect for using with our grown-up coloring book series and any school project!

4. Wildlife Adventures Unit Studies - 2 Bundles (value $60) from Kelli at Adventure Homeschool. These unit studies will allow you to teach the whole family – together! Each unit highlights a different animal and includes bible, handwriting, science, spelling, vocabulary, language arts, history, geography and more (just add math)! Additional links for more research, and reading suggestions are included, as well as hands on Learning projects and activities for art and creative homeschooling.

5. Education Usborne Sticker Books from Sarah at My Joy-Filled Life. The Human Body Sticker Book is packed with over 130 stickers to help build up a complete picture of the human body and how it works. It contains clear anatomical diagrams and color photographs, as well as stickers of organs, bones, X-rays and scans. Includes links to recommended websites to find out more about the human body and its workings. And, the Ancient Egypt Sticker Book will help you delve into the past with this lavishly designed sticker book, packed with over 120 stickers of magnificent monuments and amazing objects from Ancient Egypt. Discover all about life in Ancient Egypt while adding stickers of beautiful ancient artifacts to complete the pages.

6. A cookbook and measuring set from Ben and Me Blog. Rachael Ray’s Look + Cook—100 brand-new recipes, each featuring beautiful and helpful step-by-step full-color photographs that illustrate how to create each meal, along with photographs of the gorgeous finished dishes. You literally look along while you cook! KitchenAid Classic Soft Grip Plastic Measuring Cups and Spoons Set, Tangerine -- The kitchen measuring cup and spoon set features all the standard size measuring cups and spoons, ensuring precise measurements for cooking accuracy. The handles feature both standard and metric measurements.

7. Features two gifts from the home businesses of Jennifer from Glimpse of Our Life. The Who's Who Owl design is one of our popular flexiclips. Lilla Rose can help with #prettyhair. Cuts By Laser makes custom laser etched gifts, and this prize includes artwork provided by you. Your child's drawing (or your own) can be etched on Baltic Birch and turned into a unique puzzle.

8. Asia: It's People and History from Bonnie at Write Bonnie Rose. Is the land of Asia a mystery to your kids? Do they know who lives there? Do they know how to pray for them? Asia is home to more than fifty countries and territories and roughly three-fifths of the world’s population. Could you use some help introducing your family to this vast land? This sixteen-week course presents a brief picture of six nations. It is by no means all encompassing. Its purpose is to introduce your students to the people of Asia, share their stories, and spark curiosity.
You could win them all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Berries and Cream Bake in a Mug {THM - S}

A couple of weeks ago Briana shared the most delectable recipe on her blog: Peaches & Cream Bake.  Let me tell you it is so good and super easy to make. I do substitute the peaches with berries to make it a Trim Healthy Mama S dessert. I was challenged by one of my fellow Facebook Australia THM ladies to tweak a mug recipe.  Enjoy

Berries and Cream Bake in a Mug. {S}

Ingredients

• 4 tblsp softened cream cheese
• 1 tsp sour cream
• 1 heaped tblsp Natvia
• Dash vanilla
• 1 Large Egg
• 2 tblsps thawed Berries

Directions

• add cream cheese, sour cream and Natvia  to a mug and mix well. 
• Add the egg and mix
• Toss in 2 tblsp thawed* berries
• Microwave for 90 seconds to 2 min depending on the strength of your microwave.

* Use thawed berries. IF you use frozen berries it can add too much moisture and prevent your cream bake from setting.

More of my THM recipes

1. Lemon Butter Cake in a Mug {THM S}
2. Trim Healthy Mama Summer in a Cup {FP Sipper}

Blessings
Chareen

Pin this recipe

Books are teeming with ideas ...

"And all the time we have books books, teeming with ideas fresh from the minds of thinkers upon every subject to which we can wish to introduce children." Charlotte Mason

Father you are worth more than you know ...

Dear Father here is a message worthy of hearing at least once a week until you know it in your heart. You are worth so much more than you know. Watch on YouTube: Who You Are: A Message To All Men

Clown Collage inspired by Picasso {Virtual Fridge}

This Week

This week I blew the dust off my favourite art study book and we had a look at a piece by Pablo Picasso from 1920 - Punchinello with a Guitar. The instructions for this piece of art can be found on page 22 and 23 of The Usborne ART Treasury.

This Month's Theme
Welcome to the Virtual Fridge for the month of September. If you are after some inspiration our theme is modern artists.

This weeks Feature

This weeks feature is a Hand Swan Painting from over at My Bright Firefly.

Your Turn

I invite you to take some photo's of your children's artistic pursuits put them in a post and link up with me I would love to come over and see the wonderful art your children have enjoyed doing.

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Blessings
Chareen

Connect with me

 

The Virtual Fridge a weekly art meme where we can hang our children's art on a virtual fridge. This meme was started by Jennifer over at A Glimpse of our Life who kindly invited three other bloggers to co-host this weekly meme.

Your hosts are

An InLinkz Link-up