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I have homeschooled a long, long time. I have my favorite books that I have used with all my children. But when I was presented with the opportunity to use a Progeny Press product with a book that I have never read, I was intrigued. I selected both Little Women Study Guide and A New Coat for Anna Study Guide, and I am truly thrilled that I did.

First, A New Coat for Anna is based on a true story about a young girl and her mother living post World War II. They don’t have enough food or money and Anna needs a new coat. Her mother barters to provide a coat for Anna. However, Anna has to wait a long time to get the coat. It is a charming story that teaches patience, perseverance, and ingenuity in the face of difficult circumstances.

I have never studied any wars with Jack-Jack who is my 15-year-old autistic son. He doesn’t understand wars and fighting. But I was intrigued by this book and felt that maybe this was a good introduction for him.

About Progeny Press Study Guides:

If you have never used any Progeny Press materials, you should definitely check them out. These Study Guides are designed for homeschool or to be used in a classroom setting. They offer products for Lower Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (Grade 3-5), Middle School (Grades 5-8), and High School (Grades 9-12). The items I received are available as a digital e-books.

Their K-3 offers include such titles as A New Coat for Anna, Frog and Toad Together, Courage of Sarah Noble, and other classics.

The Grade 3-5 titles include Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The Big Wave, Mr. Popper’s Penguins and so many more of my favorite chapter books.

The Grade 5-8 offerings range from books such as Across Five Aprils, Anne of Green Gables, The Bronze Bow, Carry on, Mr. Bowditch, Johnny Tremain, and a host of other great novels.

High School books include Animal Farm, Beowulf, Fahrenheit 451, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, and other must-read books.

Progeny Press A New Coat for Anna Study Guide

This study guide starts with a Synopsis of the Book followed by some additional Background Information. 

This is followed by some Before-you-read Activities which included Map Work, a movie and a field trip suggestion, and finding out more about WWII. 

As-you-read Activities help break down the story and see things in order of how they happened. Vocabulary work helps your child understand what they are reading.

My favorite part of the Study Guide is Dig Deeper. Bible verses help you see the story and the characters from a Christian perspective and then apply those same principles to your own life. 

After-you-read Activities are hands-on suggestions to bring the pages of the story to life for your child. Making a cake, drawing an illustration from the story, or making a craft give your child a lasting memory.

Finally, there are other book recommendations, books of related interest, and an answer key to make mom’s job easier.

Progeny Press  Little Women Study Guide

I love everything about the book Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. It was my second favorite book when I was growing up. It has been years since I read it, but I decided to reread it and work through the Progeny Press Little Women Study Guide with my son Marcus. 

How to Use the Study Guide For Little Women

The Synopsis of the Book gives you an overview of Little Women just in case you have forgotten it (or never read it). This is great for moms who don’t want to read the entire book or who need a refresher.

There is a section about the author, Louisa May Alcott. This short biography gives you enough information to get started reading the book. This is followed by some background information to give you an overview of the time period and the setting for the story.

Next is Ideas for Prereading Activities. This section gives you a list to consider doing before you start reading Little Women.

The Rest of the Progeny Press Study Guide is broken down into the following components:

Every 3-4 Chapters are grouped together and after you read those chapters, you complete work in the study guide. This includes vocabulary, questions, grammar, and optional activities.

It is the Optional Activities that you have to look out for! I love how this guide is put together. But one of the activities calls for visiting a pet store or watching a YouTube Video. In the story, Little Women, Jo has a pet rat. Progeny Press actually suggests visiting a pet store to see pet rats! This is a hard NO from me. This is one mama that draws the line at rats.

Now I doubt many of the people working through Little Women will want pet rats, but let this serve as a warning to you. If your child suddenly wants a pet rat, you know where that idea came from! And if you are the mom who is okay with rats, you are a much stronger person than I am!

On a more serious note, within the framework of this study guide, your child will learn naturally what a simile, maxim, or idiom are. 

Other activities include making Buckwheat Pancakes or Blanc Mange (a pudding like dessert).

What I really love about this Progeny Press Study Guide is all the amazing Bible verses and how they weave them into the questions about what your child just read.

MY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR USING PROGENY PRESS STUDY GUIDES

First, these amazing Progeny Press Study guides are all excellent products. I have used Progeny Press products in the past and will continue to use them. Second, do not think because Progeny Press has your favorite book in a graded category that it cannot be used by older or younger students. I selected A New Coat for Anna Study Guide because that is the learning level for my 15-year-old son.

Working through this study guide, I found that this guide and book could easily be used with much older students to teach art, patience and how families adapted to difficult circumstances. Furthermore, who among us doesn’t like a great picture book to remind us that some of the best learning comes from not what we read, but how we see ourselves or the people around us within the pages of the book.

As you can see, Jack-Jack created a beautiful green coat – similar to Anna’s, but in his favorite color. 

For more reviews of other Progeny Press Study Guides, VISIT the Crew Blog (via the big banner below).