Memoria Press History Sets Review

History was not one of my favorite subjects in school, but as I've gotten older and especially since starting to homeschool my children, I've grown into a love of learning about the past. Learning about people and how they lived, what they did, what circumstances and influences affected their decisions; about events and places and things--it's all fascinating to me. The majority of our historical learning is through the books we read. My kids don't have history textbooks, but instead focus on biographies and historical nonfiction literature.

When we had the opportunity to review materials from Memoria Press, I was intrigued by their American history sets. Designed for grades 5-8, The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic Set and 200 Questions About American History Set highlight key events and people that helped mold our country. I knew these sets would be perfect for our family.

Memoria Press is known for its easy-to-use classical Christian Materials. This family-run company believes in the "cultivation of wisdom and virtue through meditation on the Good, the True, and the Beautiful" by training in the liberal arts and studying great books and great thinkers of the Western Tradition. Their products are characterized by three things: simplicity, quality, and affordability. They are designed to be used by anyone from an inexperienced homeschool parent to a seasoned classroom teacher. We personally have used their products for Latin, literature, reading, and men of Rome at times. Everything has been high quality, so I was excited to get started with these sets.

The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic Set is based on H.A. Guerber's two-volume books with the same name. The text has been heavily edited since many pivotal events have happened in the over 100 years since the original was penned. The book is concise and ideal for a year of American history study for a middle school student.

The set contains the following:

• The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic 
• Student Guide
• Teacher Guide

I appreciate the format of The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic. Instead of feeling like a textbook, this book is an historical reader that is meant to cultivate good men and women for the future and encourage loyalty to our country. Each topic is divided into short, 1-2 page  chapters, starting with the Native American and those who first sailed here and ending with the Spanish-American War in 1896. This soft paperback book is 9 x 6 inches, making it easy to hold. It is filled with photographs, drawings, maps, and paintings from the times which help bring the stories to life.

The Student Guide divides the 85 chapters of the book into 32 lessons. Each lesson follows the same format:

• Facts to Know -- person, place, or event and its significance
• Vocabulary -- words from the lesson with space to fill in definitions
• Comprehension Questions -- questions about important facts and space to fill in answers
• Enrichment -- hands-on activities that include map skills, timeline, additional research, writing assignments, and more.

The appendix in the back of the book is filled with more information and aides. There are maps; charts; letters; poems; documents like the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, and more.

The Teacher Guide is identical to the Student Guide, but contains the answers. The back of the book also holds the tests along with the answer keys.

Everything is easy to understand. The lessons don't tell the student the exact pages to read in The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic or even the chapter numbers, but they do list out the titles. Also, the enrichment activities require the student to add events to a timeline. The finished chart is included in the Teacher Guide, but there is no page in the Student Guide or even directions to make it. The first mention of the timeline to the student is "Add the arrival of Leif the Lucky in North America."

The 200 Questions About American History Set is a supplement to H.A. Guerber's book through the Spanish-American War and The Story of the World Volume 4 covering WWI through the Cold War. Between these 2 books, students will learn 200 facts that everyone should know about American History. This set will give middle school students a solid foundation for deeper study in the high school years.

The set comes with the following components:

• Student Book
• Teacher Guide
• Flashcards

The bulk of the Student Book is the drill questions. The questions are numbered through 150, give a brief description, list which chapter of the book it is found in, and leave a space to write in the fact. There are additional pages for a timeline, notable quotes, the list of U.S. presidents and a brief fact about each, and patriotic poems.

Just like the other set, the Teacher Guide looks identical to the student's book page for page, but with the answers. There are also tests and keys in the back. Both teacher and student books include a recommended schedule to get through the material in a year.

The Flashcards cover everything found in the Student Book including the drill questions, timeline, quotes, and presidents. The cards are approximately 3.5 x 2.5 inches on cardstock. The type of question and its number is listed on the top left corner with the description on the front and the answer or fact on the back. The top left corner of each card is rounded, so it's easy to keep track of the fronts and backs should the cards get mixed up.

Again, the materials are simple to use. The set requires The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic and The Story of the World Volume 4 but does not include them. We have the first book from the other set, but in order to finish the course, we will need to purchase the second book.

These two sets cover the same material but at different levels. While The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic Set depends on deeper learning with vocabulary, questions that require a more complex understanding, and further study, the 200 Questions About American History Set focuses on straight facts.

The two can be used together or independently. I had originally had my 5th grade daughter in mind for these courses, but once I started looking at the schedules for them, I noticed that they don't line up. For instance, we are working on week 6 right now. The first set covers through chapter 16, while the second is testing through chapter 28. It makes sense given the purpose of each course and that the second set also teaches about the last 100 years or so.

I determined that it would be better for our family to split the sets. My 5th grader is working through the more detailed set, while my 8th grader is briefly covering the facts for a strong introduction to high school next year.

Because of our style of learning, my kids aren't used to writing answers for historical learning. Even though they were apprehensive at first, they are enjoying these materials more than they expected to, ha. The best part is all the fun we've been having using the flashcards from the 200 Questions set. One kid will randomly grab a stack of cards and start asking questions. The other child and I (and even their dad if he's home) race to answer first. Lots of laughs and lots of fun. But more than that, my middle schoolers are retaining these facts and even my younger children are learning simply by hearing the information.

I am pleased to know my kids will have a strong foundation in American History because of these sets from Memoria Press. Whether you're looking for a deep study of the past with The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic Set or just a highlight of facts from the 200 Questions About American History Set, you're sure to find something to meet your needs.

You can connect with Memoria Press on the following social media sites:

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

YouTube

Instagram

My crewmates and I had multiple choices of products to review from Memoria Press spanning grade levels 1-12. You can read those reviews on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Latina Christiana

We have enjoyed being able to review for Memoria Press each time in the past, so when the opportunity became available again, I was excited. Memoria Press is known for its easy-to-use classical Christian materials. They believe in the "cultivation of wisdom and virtue through meditation on the Good, the True, and the Beautiful" by training in the liberal arts and studying great books and great thinkers of the Western Tradition. Their products are characterized by 3 things: simplicity, quality, and affordability. They are designed to be used by anyone from an inexperienced homeschool parent to a seasoned classroom teacher. We've used their curricula for various subjects, like phonics, literature, and history; but this is our first experience using one of their Latin products, Latina Christiana Complete Set

I know that some people may think that it is pointless to study Latin as it is no longer a native language and is no longer evolving, but there are still many benefits of learning it: helpful in  learning the Romance languages and also the English language, because it teaches the morphemes (smallest part of a word, i.e. prefixes, roots, suffixes); helpful in teaching proper grammar; and helpful in developing the mind through attention to detail, precision, and work.

My 11-year-old has always been interested in foreign languages. He had tried a Latin curriculum a year ago, but it focused on teaching morphemes and vocabulary, and not the language as a whole. On top of that, we really were lost when it came to pronunciation, even trying to follow the guide. My son quickly lost interest. Honestly, when I saw that we could choose another Latin program, I nearly dismissed it. Then I took the time to really look at all that it had to offer and realized that it was completely different.

The Latina Christiana set, written by Cheryl Lowe, was designed as a beginning Latin course for students of all ages. Its step-by-step approach and clear instructions make it a perfect option for a teacher with no background in Latin. The set contains everything you need for a year's worth of study: Student Book, Teacher Manual, Pronunciation CD, Flashcards, and Instructional DVDs.

The Student Book is the individual workbook for the student. It contains the Latin sayings, vocabulary, grammar forms, and exercises for each of the 25 lessons along with additional pages for 5 review lessons. The exercises include grammar, derivatives, phrases and sayings, translations, and more. The book also contains the pronunciation rules, The Lord's Prayer and a table blessing both shown word-for-word in English and Latin, songs, conversational Latin phrases, grammar forms, and a vocabulary index. There is even a history section that has a map and comprehensive questions that correspond to the Famous Men of Rome set, also offered by Memoria Press.

The detailed weekly lesson plans are found in the Teacher Manual. This book is important to the teacher as it not only includes a complete copy of the Student Book with overlaid answers, but also lists comprehensive teaching instructions for each lessons. Tests, quizzes, answer keys, games, recitations, grammar rules, and historical information are also included.

The Pronunciation CD has 32 tracks of various things in Latin. There is a pronunciation guide, The Lord's Prayer, a table blessing, recitation, drills for each of the lessons, and multiple songs. There are accompanying drill sheets in the Teacher Manual that the student uses to review vocabulary, sayings, and grammar forms.

The Flashcards are used to master vocabulary. There are cards for vocabulary and derivatives, Latin sayings, conjugations, and declensions. The front side of each card shows the Latin version, while the back gives the English equivalent. There is also a tiny number in the top corner of each card that signifies which lesson it is first taught.

The three Instructional DVDs have 5 1/2 hours of teaching. The instructor, Jessica Watson, is a seasoned teacher with over 17 years of experience. She conducts the lessons in a comfortable, easy-to-follow manner. She teaches grammar, explains derivatives, recites prayers, and gives many examples of vocabulary and declensions. There are multiple on-screen notes, illustrations, and diagrams.

Watching the lesson sample video (middle of the page), is what intrigued me about this curriculum. Being able to hear the proper pronunciations and being taught by a real Latin teacher is exactly what we needed. My son has been doing 1-2 lessons a week and has been learning a good amount of Latin in just over a month of instruction. I love the DVD lessons and that everything is written out so clearly in the Teacher Manual. In the past, I had been intimidated in using a Latin curriculum because I have no experience with the language whatsoever. The Latina Christiana Complete Set has removed those hesitations and has given us the confidence to study the language. My son can do the majority of the lessons on his own because the step-by-step approach is designed so well. I'm excited to see how much he'll learn and what benefits he'll gain from using this program.

Latina Christiana is a wonderful Latin curriculum for both a beginning learner and a teacher with no background in it. I highly recommend it.

You can connect with Memoria Press on the following social media sites:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn

If you'd like to read more reviews of this product or of some of the other resources offered by Memoria Press, please visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Memoria Press Literature

Being part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew means that we're always reviewing different types of curricula that meet various learning styles. In this way, our schooling can be considered eclectic. When it comes down to it though, our foundation is literature-based. We spend the majority of our school day reading. I want my children to have a love of reading good books with rich literature. My little ones often read books above their grade level, so I was pleased to receive the Third Grade Literature Guide Set from Memoria Press to use with my second grader.

Memoria Press is known for its easy-to-use classical Christian materials. They believe in the "cultivation of wisdom and virtue through meditation on the Good, the True, and the Beautiful" by training in the liberal arts and studying great books and great thinkers of the Western Tradition. Their products are characterized by 3 things: simplicity, quality, and affordability. They are designed to be used by anyone from an inexperienced homeschool parent to a seasoned classroom teacher.

This curriculum covers an entire year of literature by using the following books:

• Farmer Boy
• Charlotte's Web
• A Bear Called Paddington
• Mr. Popper's Penguins

Each title has a corresponding student study guide workbook and a teacher guide book. The teacher guide looks identical to the student book except that the answers are given. Also, it contains quizzes and tests for the students.

The student work books have the same basic format and are divided into chapters that correlate to the literature books.

 
Reading Notes
This portion lists 3-5 words from the chapter and defines them. It explains characters, places, and terms that are relevant to a certain time period. (Mr. Popper's Penguins varies slightly in that it has a Pronounce & Spell section where no definitions are listed.) 

Vocabulary
This section pulls quotes directly from the book and prints in bold type a word in which the student may not understand. There are lines to write in a definition. Drawing attention to these words help the student to better understand the reading portion and encourages better vocabulary.

Comprehension Questions
This part asks 4-6 questions about the chapter. These questions help the student to think deeper, compare and contrast, form concise answers, write good sentences with proper capitalization and punctuation, and remember important aspects about the story. It also encourages purposeful reading.

Quotations
This portion lists a quote or two from the story and is to be used for oral discussion. It introduces a higher-level of thinking as it can open the students to deeper concepts.*

Discussion Questions
This contains a handful of questions that, again, can be used to make the students dig deeper in their understanding. They might not understand everything fully just yet, but the questions be beneficial to the process.*

Enrichment
This section is filled with varying activities. Things like copywork, sequencing, composition, mapping, drawing, charting, character studies, and more further the learning and teach more than literature.

The back of the student book also contains an appendix. This section is quite fascinating. Depending on the study, you will learn a short biography of the author, farm machinery and clothing from the 1800s, poems, a recipe for marmalade and birds' nest pudding, and other interesting things.*


 *Mr. Popper's Penguins study guide does not have these sections. 

Since the studies are independent of each other, I gave my daughter her choice of which book she would like to start with. She chose A Bear Called Paddington. Right away, she enjoyed the story and fell in love with Paddington's silly ways. She read the book on her own, but would often read portions to her brothers and me that she found amusing, such as Paddington re-painting Mr. Brown's picture, his magic tricks, and his dropping a sandwich on a man's head at the theater.

This study does a wonderful job at encouraging developing reading skills and encouraging an active mind. I appreciate being able to point out difficult words or terms that are related to time-periods before the reading in order to better ensure understanding. The Comprehension and discussion questions let me know if she understood what she read. Since the teach guide is very thorough, if my daughter doesn't know the answer to a question, I can easily give clues or key words to jog her memory and get her to think of the answer on her own.

The enrichment activities were by far our favorite part of the study besides the actual reading of the book. We found locations on a map of London, determined Paddington's route on the globe, discussed what "You're worth your weight in gold" means, and made marmalade (which she fed to her baby brother "by the spoonful" just like Paddington.)     

We have thoroughly enjoyed this study together. She even asked me this morning when she can start another book from the list (she's chosen Charlotte's Web). While she is used to reading quality literature, this guide has taken her understanding of it to a deeper level. The teacher guides could not be simpler to use. I love that each title has its own student and teacher books instead of being combined into one large book for the entire year's curriculum. Quality literature, quality activities, quality learning. I am so thankful to have this resource in our home.
 

You can connect with Memoria Press on the following social media sites:

Facebook

Twitter

Google+

Pinterest

Instagram

LinkedIn

You can read more reviews of this level or of some of the other products offered by Memoria Press by visiting the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog. 

Famous Men of Rome Review

Just 2 months ago I posted our first experience with Memoria Press (the program has been working so well that we are continuing to use it), and here we are with another curriculum to review

Memoria Press is known for its easy-to-use classical Christian materials. They believe in the "cultivation of wisdom and virtue through meditation on the Good, the True, and the Beautiful" by training in the liberal arts and studying great books and great thinkers of the Western Tradition. Their products are characterized by 3 things: simplicity, quality, and affordability. They are designed to be used by anyone from an inexperienced homeschool parent to a seasoned classroom teacher. Of all their fabulous programs, we've been using the Famous Men of Rome Set.

The Famous Men of Rome Set includes the following:

Famous Men of Rome textbook

Famous Men of Rome Student Guide
Famous Men of Rome Teacher's Guide

The Famous Men of Rome textbook is filled with 30 stories covering Ancient Roman history. You'll read about Romulus and the founding of Rome, Horatius and the defeat of the Etruscan army, Julius Caesar and his assassination, Nero and his rise to power, and about many lesser-known men. Each story is easy to read. It's geared toward grades 4-8, but I found myself caught up in the stories, as well. Each story has at least one colored illustration and many black and white drawings. The back of the book includes a glossary of people and places as a quick reference to important information along with full-color maps.

The Famous Men of Rome Student Guide has a corresponding lesson for each story of the textbook and there is a review after every 5th lesson  The lessons are broken into 4 parts: Facts to Know, Vocabulary, Comprehension Questions, and Activities.

• Facts to Know: lists the most important facts, generally people and places, from the story. It often includes a quote. This is the foundation of the memory work.
• Vocabulary: highlights more difficult words, pulled directly from the text in the book. There is space for the student to write the definition.
• Comprehension Questions: helps the student find the most valuable information from the stories and recognize the virtues and indiscretions that took place. There is enough space to write the answers in complete sentences.
• Activities: incorporates many exercises to enhance the lesson, including maps, timelines, discussion questions, and writing prompts. It integrates lessons from Bible stories, Greek mythology, and the modern world.

 The back of the book contains maps, drawing pages, timeline, a pronunciation guide, and other resources.    

The Famous Men of Rome Teacher's Guide is exactly the same as the student guide but with all the answers given. It also includes a test for every 5th lesson to be copied and given to the student.

My 9-year-old loves history. And battles. And weapons. And action. I knew he'd be drawn to this curriculum. While there are lesson plans you can purchase, it does not come with the set. We started doing 1 lesson a day: all 4 parts of the student guide along with reading the story. It took a while to complete, but he enjoyed it. The problem was that he was flying through the lessons without retaining the information. We slowed the lessons down. For our 4-day schooling week, we followed this schedule:

Day 1: He and I review the Facts to Know and discuss the Vocabulary.
Day 2: He reads the story.
Day 3: He completes the Comprehension Questions, getting help as needed.
Day 4: He and I complete the activities together.

This schedule has been working out much better for us. He absolutely loves the stories--loves them--but isn't so crazy about the accompanying questions, because they're "kinda hard." There really is a lot of information in this set and could easily fill and entire school year with the extra activities and resources that are listed. For us, personally, I think we're going to discuss the vocabulary words and just enjoy the action-filled stories. We'll work through the set again and focus on the comprehension questions when my guy is a little older.


You can connect with Memoria Press on Facebook and Twitter.

If you'd like to read more reviews of this study or are interested in the Latina Christiana or Ancient Romans sets, head to the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

First Start Reading Review

It is always exciting when your child learns a new skill. Understanding the concept of fractions, memorizing the states and capitols, and learning how to bake a cake on your own are all great things, but my favorite thing to teach is reading. Why? Well, for one, most other subjects are dependent on the ability to read. You want to learn how to preform an experiment? You must read the instructions. You want to try a new recipe? You must read the directions. You want to find a cheat for that level of your game that you're stuck on {wink}? You must be able to read others' advice. Reading is a big deal in our home, and the foundation of our curriculum is based it. My 9-year-old is required to read a minimum of 1 1/2 hours every school day and then spend time reading on the weekends, as well. He will also spend time at night enjoying a book before he falls asleep. And while his love of reading didn't come naturally but had to be cultivated, it never would have happened had he not learned how to read in the first place. Yes, reading is highly regarded in our home.

I taught first graders before staying home to raise my family and I've since taught 3 of my own children to read, so I've seen many different reading curricula. I'm always interested in seeing other programs though. We had the opportunity to review First Start Reading and since I've heard wonderful things about Memoria Press I was excited to try it out.

The First Start Reading program includes 4 books (A-D) and a comprehensive Teacher Guide. Not only does this curriculum teach an age-appropriate approach to phonics and reading, but also instructs proper pencil grip and letter formation. It covers both short and long vowels, consonants, 45 common words, and manuscript printing. One thing that I appreciate about this curriculum is that it teaches the vowel-consonant approach, instead of the ladder approach. For instance, in a CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) word, the ladder approach teaches the student to read the first two letter together and then add the last letter (e.g. sa-t, sa-d, Sa-m). The vowel-consonant approach teaches the student through word families, or rhyming words (e.g. c-at, r-at, s-at). When I taught first grade in a private school, the curriculum was ladder-based. I, myself, have always used rhyming word families to teach my own children.

I used these books with my 5-year-old. You know, there's a joke about homeschool kids not knowing what grade they're in. It's funny because it's true. Technically, he's too young to officially be in kindergarten (according to the cut-off date for the beginning of the school year), but he's been doing its work for many months now. My other kids will ask if he's in kindergarten. Yes, but no. Make sense? Regardless, since he's been reading for a while now, I started him halfway through the program, Book C.

The book begins with learning the short E. The student colors pictures beginning with the sound, draws his own picture, and traces and writes both capital and lower case letters. From there, he practices blending that /e/ sound with other letters and then using those blends to write words. The student also learns common sight words, like have, are, of, put, and so on. Lesson 4 is where the real fun begins--reading a story! The short stories use those blends and sight words that the student has been practicing. They are broken down into chapters, or lessons, and give the student a place to draw and accompanying picture. At the end of the story, the student is tested on those words through dictation. The process repeats itself throughout the book. 

The Teacher Guide includes instruction for the teacher, a word-for-word script that can be used for the student, and questions to further discuss the stories. 

My son enjoys reading and was pleased to color the illustrations and draw his own pictures for the stories. He's not so crazy about the writing portions though, ha. I should clarify that his lack of excitement has nothing to do with the book and everything to do with the actual process. Generally, we complete 1 lesson a day. For the longer writing lessons, we might split them to 2 days, not because the lessons are too long, but because he's still strengthening and learning to control his writing. 

I am enjoying using this curriculum. The lessons are short which is good for kindergarteners; the book teaches the material, applies it, and then reinforces by testing; and it includes a bit of fun with coloring and drawing. My son is doing well and I'm excited to see how he does in Book D.

You can connect with Memoria Press on the following social media sites:

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Google+

Instagram

Memoria Press offers many different products. You can  read more reviews of this reading program or their cursive curriculum on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.