Saving Western civilization one student at a time.
Spring 2025
Principles of Pedagogy by Martin Cothran
Hilaire Belloc and the Humanizing Power of History by Joseph Pearce
Knowing What Nature Is by Christopher O. Blum
What the Left-Brainers Get Right by Leigh Lowe
by Martin Cothran
Ihave thought a lot about pedagogy over the years, not only because I teach but because I teach about teaching. But even today, after over thirty years of teaching, the word scares me: Peh-duh-gojee. It must be a complicated thing if it requires four syllables to say.
This word confronts all educators when they start reading books about teaching. There is, we are told, a way to teach—a "method" according to which we should adhere in order to teach well. There is a "technique" we can study, and if we learn it well enough we can walk into a classroom and learning will ensue.
As it turns out, this technique mostly involves knowledge of a lot of psychology. We are told we must break the code of the students' psyche in order to teach them. Only then will children be able to benefit from what we have to say to them.
In other words, modern educators have tried in the last seventyfive years to reduce teaching to psychology.
I remember being quite anxious when I first started teaching. I had never been taught to teach, so how could I do it well? But I lost this fear after several years of doing it, and now I know the dirty little secret of pedagogy. It is probably not something I should say in a magazine that regularly talks about pedagogy, but here it is:
Pedagogy is not important.
Now, before you hit send on that outraged email you just pulled up, I should clarify that I only mean this in a certain sense. I say this only to shock the reader into an ugly truth: How we teach is determined by what we are teaching—not vice versa.
What I mean to say is that there is a dance that goes on between the mind of the student and the mind of the teacher. And the thing that has to happen between the one and the other is a transfer of knowledge. And how that transfer is best done is determined not primarily by the psyche of the student, but by the nature of the knowledge being taught.
We educators have made a god of pedagogy and we worship this god at our own—and at our students'—expense.
It has become popular in modern educational theory to say, "We are not teaching the subject; we are teaching the student," and that learning should be "child-centered." This is either meaningless or mischievous. This has led educators to change the subject when the goal has always been to change the student. If everything is to conform to students then they need no teacher, nor do they need an education at all.
Students should not be taught that the world revolves around them. They need to be taught that there is a philosophical, moral, and aesthetic reality to which they must conform and that their happiness depends upon their success in doing this.
Though we should not be too concerned with the modern psyche, there is something we call a soul that we should be concerned about. Originally these two words meant the same thing: The Greek ψυχή (psychē) actually means "soul," and the word "psychology" literally means "the study of the soul." The human soul has a structure, a structure that was well understood by both classical and Christian scholars of the past, and the education system that dominated before the rise of educational progressivism at the turn of the twentieth century took this into account. Unfortunately, as psychology became a "science" in the modern sense of that word, the soul was no longer considered, and the "psyche" took center stage.
Are there principles of pedagogy? Sure there are; they are connected to the structure of the soul. We should be taking this into account when teaching. But in all of this we should remember one central principle: Pedagogy is always a means, not an end.
54
58 American Studies, Medieval History, & Modern European History 60 Geography SCIENCE &
72 Arithmetic & Math
Science & Nature LOGIC & RHETORIC
87 Traditional Logic, Material Logic, & Aristotle's Rhetoric ART & MUSIC
64 Professor Carol: Discovering Music, Exploring America's Musical Heritage, & Early Sacred Music
65 A Classical History of Art, Art Posters & Cards, Creating Art, Reading Music, & Music Appreciation 66 Primary Enrichment
Resource Books & Pamphlet Series
Memoria College Press
Memoria Academy
by Leigh Lowe | Grades
1-4
Prima Latina is a gentle introduction to Latin speci cally designed for students and teachers with no Latin background. It teaches the basic parts of speech while introducing Latin, grounding students in the fundamental concepts of English grammar. Each lesson includes ve Latin vocabulary words and English derivatives, a Latin saying, a Latin prayer, and grammar exercises. If you are looking for additional support in teaching your student, the author, Leigh Lowe, has recorded detailed Instructional Videos for every lesson that are sure to delight your young students! Prima Latina transitions seamlessly into Latina Christiana
by Cheryl Lowe | Grades
3-6
Begin your Latin study here or continue on from Prima Latina. Each lesson consists of a grammar form, ten vocabulary words, English derivatives to help build vocabulary, and a Latin saying that teaches students about their Christian and classical heritage. e Teacher Manual includes a complete copy of the student book with overlaid answers, and provides detailed weekly lesson plans, comprehensive teaching instructions, tests, and weekly quizzes and keys.
$104.68 complete set
(student, teacher, audio, videos, digital flashcards)
$41.12 basic set (student, teacher, audio)
Student $17.90 | Teacher $17.90 | Audio $10.00
Videos $55.00 | Digital Flashcards $13.10
Physical Flashcards $18.10
$104.88 complete set
(student, teacher, audio, videos, digital flashcards)
$48.30 basic set (student, teacher, audio)
Student $19.00 | Teacher $22.65 | Audio $10.00
Videos $55.00 | Digital Flashcards $15.30
Physical Flashcards $20.30
Grades 3-6
Games & Puzzles
$14.05 | Games & Puzzles Answer Key $6.20
In this activity book we've stu ed enrichment activities of every kind to help your students practice the vocabulary, grammar, and derivatives in Latina Christiana . Students will nd hours of enjoyment playing Latin hangman, solving Latin crossword puzzles, and competing against each other in Latin picture games, while you can secretly delight in the fact that such "fun" work is actually worthwhile!
Grades 1-4
Student Workbook $11.85 | Teacher Key $9.25
Help students make connections between the Latin grammar they are learning in Prima Latina and English grammar with these single-page worksheets. We highly recommend this companion book, which can also be used as a standalone review of English grammar to solidify concepts already learned if your student is not doing Prima
Grades 3-6
Review Worksheets
$11.85
Review Worksheets Key $6.20
We highly recommend Latina Christiana Review Worksheets as a companion to Latina Christiana Two pages of cumulative review for every lesson of Latina Christiana will ensure your students get weekly reinforcement of old and new concepts.
Wall Charts (left) (33" x 17") (4 charts
All of the grammar forms from Latina Christiana are organized here in a clean, easy-to-read format that is a perfect visual aid for a classroom wall or student desk.
e Latin Forms Series is based on decades of teaching experience and use in private schools and homeschools around the world. First Form is the ideal text for all beginners, grades 5 and up, or is a great follow-up to Latina Christiana. e uniqueness of the Forms Series lies in two features:
1) A systematic, grammar- rst approach to learning Latin that is suitable for the grammar stage student—and all beginners, regardless of age, are in the grammar stage of learning.
2) Extensive workbook exercises that ensure skill mastery and rapid recognition of in ected forms.
Our text and guides help every student (and teacher!) make sense of this di cult subject. A complete set includes:
• 34 two-page lessons in the Student Text are paired with 4-6 pages of Student Workbook exercises, weekly Quizzes, and unit Tests to make sure your students are mastering and retaining what they learn.
• e Pronunciation Audio and Flashcards provide constant practice of grammar forms and vocabulary.
• e scripted Teacher Manual and complete Teacher Key give even the most novice Latin teacher the tools to teach with con dence.
• Instructional Videos are also available, to bring the experience and expertise of a Highlands Latin School master teacher into your home.
First Form Latin: Latin Grammar, Year One by Cheryl Lowe
Grades 5+ (Grades 4+ if completed Latina Christiana)
(First Form shown)
$136.89 complete set ea. (all 5 books, audio, videos, digital flashcards) $77.11 basic setea. (all 5 books + audio)
Text $16.25 ea. | Workbook $17.90 ea.
Teacher Manual $14.05 ea. | Teacher Key $17.90 ea.
Quizzes & Tests $6.20 ea. | Audio $10.00 ea. | Videos $55.00 ea.
Digital Flashcards $15.30 ea. | Physical Flashcards $20.30 ea.
Second Form Latin: Latin Grammar, Year Two by Cheryl Lowe Grades 6+
ird Form Latin: Latin Grammar, Year ree by Cheryl Lowe Grades 7+
First through ird Form Latin Review
Summer Review Courses by Cheryl Lowe | Grades 5+
Student $15.10 ea.
Key $11.85 ea.
Fourth Form Latin: Latin Grammar, Year Four by Cheryl Lowe & Michael Simpson
Grades 8+
Students are prone to forget what they have learned from year to year—an especially detrimental loss for the Latin student. To prevent this, Memoria Press has developed these summer courses that feature vocabulary review, form drills, and other exercises, all designed to foster mastery and retention.
New American Cursive font
Grades 1-4 | $16.80 is Latin copybook in the New American Cursive font, featuring vocabulary practice and a page to copy each prayer in Prima Latina, is a great way to help your children practice their Latin while developing penmanship skills.
Hymns & Prayers
Grades 4-6 | $16.80
Practice your cursive with Latin sayings and hymns and prayers from Latina Christiana, First Form Latin, and Lingua Angelica
Memoria Press Guides to the National Latin Exam by Cheryl Lowe, Susan Strickland, and Jon Christianson | Grades 5+
Introduction $11.85 | Beginning Latin Exam (formerly Level I) $17.90
Intermediate Latin Exam (formerly Level II) $22.65
Intermediate Reading Comprehension Exam (formerly Level III) $22.65
ese guides include the vocabulary, grammar, syntax, Roman history, culture, mythology, and geography commonly found on the National Latin Exam. When paired with previous exams, these guides are perfect preparation for the NLE.
Wall Charts (33" x 17")
First Form (4 charts) $22.70
Second Form (3 charts) $22.70
Desk Charts (8.5" x 11")
First & Second Form (6 charts) $15.10
ird & Fourth Form (20 charts) $19.00
Grades 3+
Audio & Video (includes streaming) $17.35 e entire Latin grammar, presented by Cheryl Lowe. Audio is recitation only. Videos include visual grammar charts.
Grades 4+ | $27.15 set (*digital flashcards and handbook) Flashcards for every grammar form taught and recited in our Latin Forms Series and a handbook with a lesson-by-lesson schedule for coordinating with the recitations in First Form through Fourth Form. *Add on physical ashcards for only $5!
Latin Songs & Prayers (Introductory Translation Course) by Cheryl Lowe | Grades 3-6
Student $11.80 ea. | Teacher $6.20 ea.
Song Book* $11.85 | Audio* $12.55
*Used for all Lingua Angelica programs
ese introductory worksheets are perfect for introducing students to translation alongside Latina Christiana, First Form Latin, and Second Form Latin. ey also help students with memorizing the songs of Christmas and Holy Week, along with several Latin prayers. is book is designed as a supplement for use in the beginning years of a student's Latin education. It is highly recommended for use alongside the Lingua Angelica Song Book and Audio, which includes professional recordings of all songs in the program.
Latin Songs & Prayers (Translation Course) by Cheryl Lowe | Grades 7+
Student $14.05 ea. | Teacher $20.05 ea.
Vocabulary work, interlinear translation exercises, and grammar word study exercises for 28 hymns sung by a six-voice Gregorian chant choir.
Latin & Greek Roots for Beginners
by Paul O'Brien
Grades 6-8
$23.75
An introduction to English vocabulary through a study of Latin and Greek roots.
Advanced Vocabulary Building from Latin Roots by Paul O'Brien | Grades 8+
Student $27.00
Key $6.20
Your student will learn the de nition and etymology of over 1,500 English derivatives, along with pre xes, su xes, and supplemental Latin vocabulary lists.
by Martin Cothran
Grades 9+
Student $22.65 | Teacher $22.65
Lingua Biblica is a supplementary Latin program that uses exercises based on the Vulgate to complement the study of any Latin grammar course. Each lesson includes three levels of study that will fortify a student's knowledge of Latin vocabulary and grammar. Level I includes the easiest sentence translations, Level II includes more advanced sentence translations, and Level III includes the entire translation with advanced exercises.
by Cheryl Lowe
All Ages | $17.90
A compendium of Latin grammar forms and a basic introduction to Latin syntax. Includes all conjugations and declensions, making it an easily accessible reference.
in Biblical Latin
by Alex Long
Grades 9+ | Student $21.95 | Teacher $21.95
St. Jerome translated the Bible into "common Latin" from the original languages, striving not only for accuracy, but simplicity. e resulting Latin Vulgate was a version of the Bible that could be read and understood by people of the time, which also makes it excellent translation practice for Latin students today who have completed a study of the Latin grammar. is course contains ninety passages taken from the original translation by St. Jerome, both prose and poetry, from the creation of the world in Genesis to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Each reading is accompanied by vocabulary and grammar notes, as well as parsing and analysis exercises to practice a close grammatical reading of each passage of Scripture.
Originally published in 1945, the Henle Latin Series teaches Latin the traditional way. Our Teacher Manuals split the work of Henle Latin First Year over two years, scheduling what to do every step of the way. e Manuals include scripted lessons for the teacher, additional explanations and practice for the student, and a full answer key. e Quizzes & Tests help you measure your mastery along the way.
Note: Though Henle is considered a Catholic text, its superiority as a teaching resource and the outstanding benefits of its Christian perspective also make it appropriate for Protestants.
Advanced Christian Latin by Robert
Henle
Grades 9+
$72.33 set (text, key, student, quizzes & tests, digital flashcards)
Text $21.99 | Key $7.99
Student Guide $19.00
Quizzes & Tests $11.85
*Digital Flashcards $15.30
After the completion of Henle Latin First Year or Memoria Press' Latin Forms Series, the next step for Latin students is Henle Latin Second Year , which rounds out the Latin grammar and introduces students to the text of Caesar's De Bello Gallico Memoria Press offers a Student Guide with comprehensive guidance for each lesson as well as Quizzes & Tests to assess progress and mastery. These resources contain everything needed to succeed in the course and conquer the first step into the world of authentic Latin texts.
Advanced Christian Latin by Robert Henle
Grades 11+
$28.48 set (text, key)
Text $21.99 | Key $7.99
Henle Latin Fourth Year leads students through Cicero's Defense of Archias and the rst six books of the culmination of Latin poetry, Virgil's Aeneid.
Mueller's text and accompanying Teacher's Guide will lead students through Caesar's account of his wars in Gaul. A perfect text for Latin students who are ready to translate, this program includes vocabulary, footnotes, historical background, and other resources, preparing interested students for the Caesar portion of the AP Latin Exam. Memoria Press' Lesson Plans schedule the work and teach, step by step, how to approach Latin translation.
Advanced Christian Latin by Robert Henle | Grades 8+
$57.98 Text Set (Henle I text, key, grammar, and digital flashcards)
$81.55 Units I-V Guides and Instructional Videos Set
(I-V teacher manual, quizzes & tests, instructional videos)
$81.55 Units VI-XIV Guides and Instructional Videos Set
(VI-XIV teacher manual, quizzes & tests, instructional videos)
Henle I Text $21.99 | Henle I Key $7.99 | Henle Grammar $16.99
*Henle Latin I Vocabulary Digital Flashcards $17.45
Henle Latin First Year Teacher Manual: Units I-V or VI-XIV $23.75 ea.
Henle Latin First Year Quizzes & Tests: Units I-V or VI-XIV $11.85 ea.
Henle Latin First Year Streaming Instructional Videos: Units I-V or VI-XIV $55.00 ea.
Advanced Christian Latin by Robert Henle Grades 10+
$94.89 set (text, key, student, teacher, quizzes & tests, dig. flashcards)
Text $21.99 | Key $7.99
Student Guide $19.00
Teacher Manual $23.75
Quizzes & Tests $11.85
*Digital Flashcards $15.30
Henle Latin ird Year teaches students to reach beyond grammar and grasp the rudiments of rhetoric with the help of Cicero, perhaps Rome's most illustrious orator. Memoria Press' Student Guide, Teacher Manual, and Quizzes & Tests are sources of invaluable support in learning and mastering rhetorical Latin, even without the guidance of an experienced teacher. ese texts organize the course into a sensible schedule, o er a wealth of insight to assist students in their exercises, and provide levelappropriate assessments to determine mastery of Latin.
Grades 8+
Henle Latin First Year
Flashcards: Digital $17.45 | Physical $22.45
Henle Latin Second Year
Flashcards: Digital $17.45 | Physical $22.45
Henle Latin ird Year
Flashcards: Digital $17.45 | Physical $22.45
Bello Gallico by Hans-Friedrich Mueller Grades 10+
$77.43 set (text, teacher, lesson plans) Text $45.00 | Teacher $24.00
Lesson Plans $12.50
*Add physical ashcards to any set for only $5!
by Thomas Banks
parents had commendably unusual expectations of what their children should learn in school, and therefore my father began teaching me the bare bones of Latin vocabulary and grammar when I was just old enough to read. There is very little that I recall about the first textbook he gave me, except that it had a pistachio-green cover and was full of sentences like "Agricola feminam amat" and "Poeta puellae rosas dat" and so forth. I understood that this language, which to my unpracticed ear sounded stiff and lawyerly, was going to form a fair part of my education for the next several years, and I accepted the fact with more readiness than I normally accepted most choices made for me by grown-ups at that time of my life. This was probably due more than anything to my recognition that the only other foreign language I would have an opportunity to study was Spanish, of which I was and remain almost exhaustively ignorant. At that age, I mainly associated the language of Calderon and Quevedo with the villains in a few Sergio Leone westerns I had seen and with a telenovela (whose name I forget) that was sometimes playing in the background in our home.
Once we had exhausted the pistachio primer with its roses and farmers, I moved on to a rigorous and considerable block of a Latin grammar book that would prove to be one of the most important and, indeed, life-shaping books I ever opened. I did not realize this at first; my initial reaction was that the senatorial busts on the book's cover looked lifelessly barristerial, and a part of me wondered how a nation of arthritic judges had ever acquired an empire at all, much less kept it for so many centuries. But I had also by then learned that a dead language is in some ways easier to grasp than a living one, mainly because speaking exercises and oral examinations barely enter into it. And so, as I stood in no real danger of ever having to address the patres conscripti or debate in assembly the merits of the Gabinian Law, I kept up in my lazy way with the Romans more or less until graduation. By this point, I had to admit that Latin and its principal authors had taken up perpetual residence in my mind whether I wanted them there or not, and so I continued with the classics in college, ultimately completing my undergraduate degree in the subject and taking as my first real job a post where I was paid to inflict on twelve- to sixteen-year-olds that which had been inflicted on me. "Ego enim accepi a Domino quod et tradidi vobis…."
The study of Latin has staged something of a recovery in our country in recent years, and by "recovery," I mean in the sense that it is more widely taught in both public and private schools than was
the case fifty years ago. But, in my experience, the school boards and administrators of private classical schools generally look on Latin as a necessary subject that should occupy an ancillary place in a school's curriculum. To put it plainly, usually the Latin course is arranged so that the students can drop it just around the time they have acquired enough grammar to start reading Cicero and St. Augustine in the language in which those authors wrote. This state of affairs is unsatisfactory and the fault of no one in particular. Still, it is a sad fact that students often learn their case endings and their purpose clauses to no purpose beyond that, fully expecting that once they have memorized the last vocabulary list and mastered the ablative absolute they can close the book and begin to let their moods, declensions, tenses, and voices all begin to slip through the great sieve of forgetfulness. It would be foolish of us to blame them. We do not really expect more and, besides, that is where most of our learning went also.
The best case to be made for the study of the Latin language, so far as I can weigh the matter, has to be built on a stronger confidence and delight in the value of the language itself, the literature composed in it, and the civilization it represents. The language, the history of the Republic and the Empire, and that great body of writing from Plautus to the Patristic Age and beyond possess a legacy and discipline sufficiently commanding to train our students up in these things without having regularly to make any appeal beyond them. Under present conditions, teachers are too often forced to make their plea for Greek and Roman studies by only appealing to the afterlife of these things, to the fact that so much of our own American language of government and the public buildings by the Potomac have antecedents on the Tiber, or that Jefferson's and Burke's writings and cast of mind were so much formed by the study of Livy and Tacitus that we may as well find time for these and a few others of similar vintage. It strikes me that our common labor tends less to train up citizens and lovers of what is eternal and abiding and tends more to turn the abiding and the eternal into
acceptable fodder for minds that we ourselves have made fit inhabitants of nothing but the present. Sed nondum finis est. These failings are not irreparable, and a first step toward their rectification might begin with classical schools and the expectations they bring to the hiring of Latin teachers. The instructors we should seek are not the ones who feel the need to apologize for their subject or who treat it as simply an appendage of American civics or some such thing. A school should want its classics teachers to have the same unshakeable confidence in the value and dignity of Latin as the algebra and apologetics teachers have in the worth of their respective subjects. The expertise of classics teachers should not be limited to grammar and a few Roman authors; they should be living representatives of Romanitas itself.
Romanitas, as a principle of the civilization we live in, is not escapable, nor can anyone reasonably wish that it were. This is not to say that the Romans were the wisest or the bravest or the most honorable nation that ever existed, nor that their Empire, with its many sins and failures, ought to be evaluated by a more indulgent standard than we would apply to any other great past commonwealth. Yet there is in Rome something more expansive and complete than can be found in the history of nearly any other culture similarly ancient. One may profitably study the religion of pharaonic Egypt, but not so much Egypt's literature, for scarcely anything of this remains to us. We rightly admire the administrative and governmental work of Achaemenid Persia, but rarely her philosophy, for ancient Persia left little of this. But of Rome we can profitably study her religion, her literature, her government, her philosophy—not because she perfected any of these things, but because so many of the religions, poetries, laws, and philosophies of antiquity were gathered and taken up by Rome and so became Roman in the course of time. Which is another way of saying that all roads lead to her.
Thomas Banks lives and teaches in North Carolina. His writings have appeared in First Things , The European Conservative , Quadrant , The North American Anglican , and elsewhere.
StoryTime Treasures
More StoryTime Treasures
StoryTime Treasures
$53.18 set (guides & novels)
Student Guide $17.90
Teacher Guide $20.05
Little Bear $5.99
Caps for Sale $9.99
Frog and Toad Are Friends $5.99
Make Way for Ducklings $10.99
More StoryTime Treasures
$75.65 set (guides & novels)
Student Guide $17.90
Teacher Guide $20.05
Billy and Blaze $9.99
Blaze and the Forest Fire $9.99
e Story About Ping $5.99
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie $8.99
Stone Soup $8.99
e Little House $9.99
Miss Rumphius $8.99
$119.40 guide set (student & teacher guides)
$186.59 guides + novelsset (guides & novels)
Student Guide $13.95 ea.
Teacher Guide $8.15 ea.
NEW! Amelia Bedelia $5.99
Prairie School $5.99
e Courage of Sarah Noble $5.99
Little House in the Big Woods $12.99
NEW! Sea Story $9.99 | High Hills $9.99
Beatrix Potter novels $8.99 ea.
Recommended Supplement: Literature Dictionary $6.20
$75.36 guide set
(student & teacher guides) $108.63 guides + novelsset
and teacher guides & novels)
e Mo ats
Student Guide $13.95
Teacher Guide $13.95
e Mo ats $9.99
$100.48 guide set
(student & teacher guides)
$75.36 guide set
& teacher guides) $101.43 guides + novelsset
and teacher guides & novels)
$100.48 guide set
$100.48 guide
$75.36 guide set
$100.48
Grade 11
Mix and match any 10 or more individual Memoria Press literature guides and receive 20% o your literature guide purchase! Use coupon code LITGUIDE at checkout!
$100.48
Poetry for the Primary Stage
Grades K-2 | $10.80
Your child will be delighted by the whimsy and inspired by the beauty of the beloved poems in our Poetry for the Primary Stage anthology. ese selections are perfect for family read-aloud time or memorization practice.
Poetry for the Grammar Stage
Grades 3-7 | $50.18 set (student, teacher, anthology)
Student $17.30 | Teacher $19.45
Anthology
$19.00
Our illustrated anthology is the perfect companion for this study guide, which includes vocabulary work and comprehension questions, and beginning concepts of poetry analysis. Poems increase in di culty as students move through the book in each year of the grammar stage.
Grades 7+
$53.83 set (student, teacher, anthology)
Student $18.35 | Teacher $20.50 | Anthology $20.95
Revisit the Old World elegance of Irving's prose and the range of Poe's romanticism. Enjoy the Fireside Poets—Longfellow, Whittier, and Holmes. Rediscover the rich, varied authenticity of American literature with this anthology and study guide.
Poetry, Prose, & Drama (Book I): e Old English & Medieval Periods
Poetry & Prose (Book II): e Elizabethan to the Neoclassical Age Poetry (Book III): e Romantic to the Victorian Age Grades 8+
$53.83 set ea. (student, teacher, anthology)
Student $18.35 ea. | Teacher $20.50 ea.
Anthology $20.95 ea.
Did you ever wish you didn't have to sort through all the thousands of poems that have been written over the years to nd the best of the best? Cheryl Lowe has done the work for you in these British poetry anthologies, from legendary knights to staid Victorians. Use our accompanying study guides to lead students into a deeper understanding of the most important and in uential poetry, prose, and drama in the British tradition.
by Leigh Lowe
Afew years ago, I heard a humanities professor describe incoming freshman classes at an elite university. In addition to bemoaning students with short attention spans who wilt in the face of constructive criticism and meaningful feedback, this professor was discouraged by freshmen who, in general, lack experience reading long assignments or full texts, who are biblically illiterate (and thus cannot recognize scriptural allusions, themes, and motifs in literature), and who are more emotional than logical when forming and articulating arguments and opinions. It was not an encouraging assessment of top college recruits.
This made me wonder if similar complaints about the preparedness of STEM students are as prevalent. It seems, by contrast, that math and science students are better prepared with the fundamentals necessary for math and science programs at the university level and are rushing to STEM fields in droves. I asked my math-andscience husband if he thought there was a discrepancy in college readiness for humanities work versus STEM fields. He answered immediately and matter-of-factly: "STEM students are more prepared because the goals are still clear in STEM fields, and the path to achieve them remains constant." It seems pretty obvious to my husband, who spent years studying mathematics, physics, and engineering (as well as law), that STEM students are prepared for academic success because the ends in these fields are still objective and identifiable, and the coursework in K-12 education still supports the desired results. STEM education has resisted the modern educational trend to abandon that thing which matters most: an intentional plan with a set purpose. That is to say, a curriculum. Math and science education continues to follow an orderly system that pursues recognizable and achievable goals in grammar and high school programs. We see the results of this at universities.
Everyone knows what math and science courses have been completed when a student graduates high school. In traditional programs the sequence is clear, understood, and well-accepted. It starts early. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, pre-algebra, algebra I, algebra II, geometry, pre-calculus, calculus. Natural science, biology, chemistry, physics. Teachers and students know that mastery of each skill is necessary for advancement. We all accept that a student won't be able to do algebra without mastering arithmetic. Likewise, no calculus without algebra. True, methodologies might differ slightly, and new, secondary STEM topics get sprinkled into programs in discretionary ways, but the fundamental goals and sequencing of math and science curricula remain constant. Mathematicians and scientists recognize the need for a connected, cohesive curriculum, so the plan, which depends on foundational mastery and increases strategically in difficulty, produces
students who are ready for high-level academic engagement in the STEM fields.
This is no longer the case in the humanities—but it should be. Unfortunately, the world seems to have forgotten why we read, so it's no surprise that humanities sequences (when they exist) reflect a waywardness. Without a clear destination, how can teachers possibly know how to get there? When we don't know why we read, it doesn't matter what we read. Somehow, many educators don't understand—or they don't agree—that the purpose of literature is to better understand the human condition and to (hopefully!) develop the soul and grow in virtue. Without understanding these ends, reading is readily reduced to being merely a vehicle for extended phonics training and improved reading comprehension. When reading as a practical skill is prioritized over reading as a formative exercise, it's easy to see how the importance of a set curriculum can be cast aside and replaced by the whims of teachers and the times. It makes perfect sense that the classics would be abandoned. If there are not clear and meaningful goals attached to book selection, of course, any book will do. Why wouldn't the enduring works of history be questioned, removed, and replaced by what is popular, easy, or preferred by the teacher? If all we care about are phonics and reading comprehension, students might as well read from a cookbook—or a comic book.
This understanding of reading is in error. Reading just any book will not do; the Great Books are great for a reason. Humanities classes are as important for students as STEM classes, and the lessons the Great Books teach are just as practical. Just as math and science offer opportunities to explain and anticipate the physical world, the humanities offer opportunities to explain and anticipate moral life. My husband offered this clear example: "Physics allows us to send a rocket into space on paper before taking the risk in real life. In the same way, Anna Karenina allows us to see, on paper, the consequences of selfishness or sacrifice in marriage before effecting great pain or joy in real life." Life and death lessons are found in both physics and literature. This is why the curriculum counts. It takes a student years to prepare to do calculus, and it takes a student years to prepare to read Tolstoy or Dante or Shakespeare. A reading plan with a purpose should start at the very beginning of a student's education. Yes, we absolutely need to teach phonics and reading comprehension, but that is the starting line, not the finish line. The end must be clear, and students should be taught to read great works in all the necessary ways. This includes early and routine exposure to beautiful, elevated language; an intentional cultivation of biblical literacy; routine identification and explanation of literary devices; consistent training to recognize themes, symbols, and allusions; guidance in
forming logical opinions supported by textual evidence; and practice discussing a text (politely!) in community.
The very reason classics are classic is because they accomplish these goals—plus they teach us something essential about our human nature. They are the exemplars. Classics do it best—as declared by the collective opinion of history. If we can correct our memory lapse about the purpose of the humanities, we can enjoy the rich bounty of a classical literature curriculum and watch as students grow in ability and maturity with each text. Students, for example, will better understand sacrifice by the contrast of Toad's selfish, reckless adventures with Ratty and Mole's noble, selfless rescue adventures. They will share in the suffering of Hester Prynne and the comfort Pearl gives her. And they will shiver with warning at the destructive emptiness of Jay Gatsby's lavish life. Like being in a science lab, in literature we also get to experiment safely to see what works and what doesn't. Just as we learn about density to anticipate what objects might float or sink, we read timeless books to see what causes people to rise and fall.
The humanities help us to improve at being human, to learn to live lives of virtue and avoid the pitfalls of vice. The classics are so good that we are viscerally practicing life when we read them. We get to develop our judgment muscles. We're allowed to mull over stories without the pressures of reality. We can take as long as we want to think through a character's actions or motives. We can pause and consider how we might act in a similar situation. And we get the tremendous benefit of seeing how decisions play out—all from the safety of our armchairs. Reading is risk-free, but real life doesn't work that way. There are real constraints, real complications, and real consequences. And we are burdened by our human flaws—our pride, our cowardice, our blindness. As adults we know that life is full of struggles and hard decisions. Why wouldn't we want our children to practice a little through good literature?
The end of a humanities education—and the path to get there—is no less obvious for having been temporarily forgotten. The humanities make us better humans and enable us to "flourish" and live "the good life," in Aristotle's words, as individuals and in community. If this goal is lost, teachers understandably feel at liberty to play fast and loose with humanities curriculum. It is important that we remember the fundamental purpose of reading and commit to a set plan—a curriculum—that achieves this goal. In doing so, we could all take a lesson from the leftbrainers on the STEM side of education.
Leigh Lowe writes curriculum, trains teachers, and speaks publicly about classical education and the vision of Memoria Press and Highlands Latin School. Leigh is the daughter-in-law of Cheryl Lowe, founder of Memoria Press and Highlands Latin School. Leigh worked closely with Cheryl for years as a teacher, editor, and writer.
$62.65 set
(text, student, teacher, digital flashcards)
Grades 4-8
Text $20.05 | eBook $14.00
Student $20.50 | Teacher $20.50
*Digital Flashcards $12.65
$109.35 set (text, student, teacher, digital flashcards, videos)
Grades 3-8
Text $19.99 | Student $20.50 | Teacher $20.50
*Digital Flashcards $12.65 | Videos $55.00
Myths are everywhere in Western art and literature and are the essential background for a classical education. is is an ideal beginning book regardless of age! Each of the 30 lessons presents facts to know, vocabulary, comprehension questions, and a picture review and activities section.
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Meet Romans like Horatius, Caesar, and Marcus Aurelius—history's great men of action. Younger students especially will be fascinated by the abundant action and drama of the great city of Rome, its trials and tribulations, its rise and eventual fall.
$62.65 set
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Grades 5-8
Text $20.05 | eBook $14.00
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*Digital Flashcards $12.65
If you don't begin your classical education until middle or high school, we recommend that you start with Year 5.
Year 1 D'Aulaires' Greek Myths
Year 2
Famous Men of Rome
Year 3 Famous Men of the Middle Ages
Year 4
Famous Men of Greece, e Trojan War, and Horatius at the Bridge
Dive into the lives of the famous Greeks—history's great men of thought. Follow Heracles and Odysseus through journeys of myth, ght with Leonidas and Pericles in legendary wars, deliberate with Aristotle and Socrates. Learn of all those who contributed to the scope of Greek accomplishment that is still known today as " e Greek Miracle."
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Grades 5-8
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Year 5
Year 6
Year 7
Iliad, Odyssey, and e Book of the Ancient Greeks
e Aeneid and e Book of the Ancient Romans
Greek Tragedies (Euripides, Sophocles, Aeschylus)
Year 8 e Divine Comedy
Wind through the "dark ages" by the lights of Clovis, Charlemagne, Alfred the Great, Joan of Arc, and Gutenberg, among many others, and watch as the world transitions from the end of ancient times to the birth of the modern era.
$51.90 set (text, student, teacher) Grades 6-8
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And in the last installment of the series, join Suleiman the Magni cent, Sir Isaac Newton, Peter the Great, George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, and many more as they ght to lead and forge the emerging modern world.
Grades 6+ | $48.88 set ea. (text, student, teacher)
Text $20.10 ea. | *eBook $14.00 ea. | Student $20.50 ea. | Teacher $20.50 ea. (*not available for Renaissance & Reformation)
Combine each text with a Memoria Press Student Guide for a yearlong course. Each guide includes facts to know, vocabulary, comprehension questions, mapwork, and timelines, and the Teacher Guides provide thorough answers as well as unit tests.
Let Dorothy Mills take your student on an adventure to explore the geography, culture, architecture, and most prominent peoples of Egypt, Persia, Assyria, Israel, and more. Mills covers not only the valuable history and culture of the ancient peoples, but she also gives students an understanding of the people and neighbors out of which Christianity sprung.
The journey continues, starting in Crete and ending in the Hellenistic Age ushered in by Alexander the Great. Your student will learn about the wars and ideas, the art and architecture, the politics and philosophy that have shaped the course of Western civilization since the Greeks laid them out for us.
Like any good Roman course, this one begins with the she-wolf who nurses in infancy the legendary founders of Rome: Romulus and Remus. e rise and fall of a monarchy, the embrace of a republic with the simultaneous dislike for kings, and nally the rise of the Roman Empire teach unforgettable principles about human nature and society. Includes notes on the Roman culture, political system, and religion.
From the foundation of monasteries to the bell towers of universities, from the crowning of Charlemagne to the execution of Joan of Arc, Mills guides students through the spread of Christendom and the founding of a new civilization on the remnants of the Roman Empire.
It would be hard to overstate the reverberating e ects of this period on modern history. Politics, philosophy, art, theology—virtually no aspect of Western culture was left unchanged by the Renaissance and Reformation. Mills succeeds marvelously in giving readers a neutral ground on which to base their understanding of this time.
Events from Ancient to Modern Times Grades 3-7
$47.71 set
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Timeline Composition & Sketchbook $11.85
Timeline Handbook $11.85
Timeline Wall Cards $16.20
Timeline Digital Flashcards $13.10
Timeline Physical Flashcards $18.10
Students will master a total of 60 events from Greek and Roman history, the Middle Ages, American history, and Christian studies.
Grade 7
Worksheets $9.25
Key $9.25
To ensure retention and mastery we have created this cumulative review of Memoria Press' States and Capitals , Geography I & II, and Timeline Program .
by Olivia Coolidge | Grades 6-8
Text $9.99 | Student $13.95 | Teacher $13.95 is faithful retelling of the events of the Trojan War is wonderful preparation for reading the Iliad and Odyssey in later years. Your student will become familiar with the main characters, the gods and goddesses, and the storyline of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, presented in simple but captivating prose. Each lesson in the Student Guide has reading notes, vocabulary, comprehension questions, and an enrichment section with discussion topics, writing, art, and mapwork.
by Padraic Colum | Grades 6-8 | $11.90
Padraic Colum introduces young readers to Odysseus, the Greek hero of the Trojan War, who has been away from his home and his family for twenty years.
e Adventures of Odysseus & e Tale of Troy has all the essentials of Homer’s epic: the son, Telemachus, searching for news of his father and learning about the events of the Trojan War; the faithful wife, Penelope, refusing to marry again despite a throng of suitors; and Odysseus himself, struggling against monsters, storms, and the wrath of gods to be reunited with his family and regain his place as king of Ithaka.
by
Alfred J. Church | Grades 6-8
$11.90
Alfred Church's retelling of Virgil's Aeneid is a great introduction to the story of Aeneas, who escaped from the burning city of Troy and founded Rome, the New Troy. Reading this rst will help prepare students to tackle the more di cult writing of Virgil.
Samuel Butler translation | Grades 7+
$97.42 set ea. (text, student, teacher, videos)
$174.34 complete set (Iliad and Odyssey sets)
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Western civilization begins with the two greatest works of the ancient world: the Iliad and the Odyssey . The enormous influence these books have exerted in Western literature and art make them the perfect place to begin your study of Western culture. Samuel Butler's prose translations are both scholarly and easily accessible to students. The reading notes, focus passages, and comprehension and discussion questions in our Student Guides highlight important events, characters, and themes, allowing your student to more deeply understand these seminal works. The Teacher Manuals include additional contextual background information and teaching tips, as well as complete answers to the Student Guides and unit tests.
David West translation | Grades 8+
$96.06 set (text, student, teacher, videos)
Text $17.00
Student $20.50
Teacher $20.50
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After Homer, the Aeneid is logically your next Great Book to study. Virgil's epic story of the founding of Rome will come alive when read with the help of our study guide as you continue your quest to master the classics. is is a great preparation for AP Latin also. Our Teacher Manual has inset student pages with teacher notes and background information for each lesson.
by omas Babington Macaulay | Grades 6+
$37.82 set (text, student, teacher, medal, pin)
Text $9.25 | Student $9.25 | Teacher $11.85
Medal $5.50 | Lapel Pin $3.95
is study of Macaulay's 70-stanza ballad includes vocabulary, maps, character and plot synopses, meter, comprehension questions, teaching guidelines, and quizzes. Send us a recording of your students reciting the poem, and we'll send them a Winston Churchill Award certi cate, medal, and lapel pin.
by Dante Alighieri, John Ciardi translation
Grades 10+
$65.75 set (text, student, teacher, quizzes & tests)
$118.00 complete set (all books + videos)
Text $22.00 | Student $20.50
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Videos $55.00
e Divine Comedy is one of the crown jewels of both Western and Christian literature. is epic, allegorical poem illustrates Dante's spiritual journey of redemption that takes him through the pit of Hell (the Inferno) to the Beati c Vision of God (the Paradiso).
Grades 9+
$238.40 complete set (3 texts, 3 student guides, 3 teacher guides, 3 videos)
e Oresteian Trilogy by Aeschylus $13.00
e ree eban Plays by Sophocles $16.00
Medea & Other Plays by Euripides $11.00
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Videos $45.00 ea.
by Cicero, P. G. Walsh translation
Grades 10+
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Cicero's work On Obligations played a large role in Western Christendom but is daunting to read alone. Let us accompany your high schooler as he learns the principles of justice, wisdom, bene cence, courage, and propriety.
Aeschylus was the rst of the three great tragic playwrights. Join Orestes as he seeks to avenge his father's murder, but discovers, along with us, that revenge only begets revenge—that mercy and litigation are the better ends of justice.
by Cicero, Niall Rudd translation
Grades 10+
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e Republic became the blueprint of the U.S. government almost 2,000 years after it was written. In e Laws, Cicero defends his understanding of the upright moral life. His writings became the foundation for the West's philosophical discussion on the natural law.
Here is Sophocles' story of Oedipus, fated to unknowingly kill his father and marry his mother. is is the great myth, in uencing all subsequent literature. Fate, free will, the quest for knowledge and truth—the glory and downfall of Western civilization.
Euripides further developed the tragedy, instituting the deus ex machina, a prologue, and greater realism. His heroes are less resolute and more psychological, fraught with internal con ict. In them we see the extremes of human nature: cold reason and maniacal passion, nobility and cruelty, triumph and regret, grief and comfort.
edagogy is a word to which modern educators are especially attached. If you go to school to be a teacher nowadays, almost everything you will learn has to do with pedagogy, which is the science of how to teach—and you'll learn very little about what you will actually be teaching. It was not always this way, and, in some places, it is still not this way.
Pedagogy should be used like onions to season a salad. The modern educator's salad is often all onions.
Many modern educators would be scandalized if they heard this said, but pedagogy is not the most important thing in education. It's not that learning how to teach is unimportant; it's just that as educators—whether we're teachers by trade or educating our children at home— we need to remind ourselves that the "how" of education is a secondary and not a primary thing.
The idea that a myopic focus on the methods of teaching—divorced from what is taught—could somehow constitute an adequate preparation for a teacher is like saying that knowing only the steps of a recipe without regard for the ingredients would be adequate in the process of cooking a meal. Yes, it is important how you put everything together, but what you put in is primary.
Pedagogy has no separate existence from what it purports to teach, and, in fact, is quite dependent on what is being taught. The most important thing in teaching is not the how, but the what. Pedagogy does not determine content: Content determines pedagogy. Modern educators tend to put more emphasis on pedagogy, subordinating content to technique. Classical education aims to do the opposite.
While modern educators are transfixed by methods and techniques, the ancients and the medievals—in fact pretty much all educators up to about the first two decades of the twentieth century—were primarily concerned about the content being taught, not the technique of its teaching. They recognized that there is a logical order in which to present subjects—in accordance with the inherent order of the subject—and a logic in how to proceed systematically within each particular subject, but they knew that this order is connected to the content—no one thought much about the psychology of the student. If we are teaching basic content knowledge, we do this through lecture. If we are teaching skills, we do this through coaching. And when we teach ideas and values, we do this through the teaching of exemplary literature and narrative history.
It was only in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, after the rise of the academic study of psychology, that educators acquired a fixation on child development. In America, intellectual figures like John Dewey, William James, and Benjamin Bloom—and, in Europe, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi and Jean Piaget—
devoted themselves to analyzing how children learn. Much of what they discovered was helpful, but it is less helpful when it becomes the sole concern. Today's teacher education programs put little stress on what teachers are supposed to teach and instead have devoted themselves to the handing down of secondhand psychological theories that do little to help teachers understand their true mission of passing on bodies of knowledge and forming the souls of students in virtue and wisdom.
Not only have techniques overshadowed content, but this emphasis on the "how" has done something else: It has encouraged us to forget the things our children should know. This is less evident in mathematics and the natural sciences because of the self-evident objectivity and structure inherent in these subjects, but in other disciplines, especially in the language arts and the humanities—the subjects that bear most closely on our development as human beings created in the image of God and on our roles as citizens—the madness over method has proved almost fatal. There was once a well-understood body of literary and historical works that every student was expected to know—stories of history and imagination that gave us good examples to follow and bad examples to avoid. But the emphasis on so-called "thinking skills" and "problem-solving" and test prep has diminished the emphasis on particular texts, and has resulted in a crisis in the teaching of the humanities. It was once taken for granted that students read books in school. Those days are gone. If you doubt it, just ask a few recent high school graduates from your local public school which books they read. Many of them will simply give you a blank stare.
For classical educators of the past, the method of educating children was pretty straightforward. It involved two things: taking the skills they wanted students to master and training their minds to use them, and taking the knowledge they wanted students to learn—the best that has been thought and said—and getting it into their heads. That's what is meant by the "arts and sciences." The "arts" were skills to be mastered, and the "sciences" were the various bodies of knowledge to be learned. Everything else in education follows from this.
In the early grades, this meant learning how to read and write and memorizing basic arithmetical procedures and grammatical paradigms (best done in the study of Latin). It also meant memorizing facts and dates and passages of poetry and literature. Memorization. Drill and practice. These were the simple and straightforward principles on which education was based before the educational authorities wanted to turn all of us into amateur psychologists. This is how the great classical writers on education— such as the Roman teacher Quintilian—say children learn. They didn't need modern developmental
theories to know this works, just long experience and success in teaching this way.
These basic intellectual skills were the foundation for the study of grammar in the primary school, for higher arithmetic and history in the grammar school, and then, in high school, for the study of mathematics and the sciences, as well as an increasingly sophisticated study of the history and great literature of our cultural heritage— knowledge that students were expected to know and understand—which students would then imitate in their own writing and thinking. None of these things— memorization, practice, imitation—require any kind of sophisticated knowledge of developmental psychology. All they require is a little common sense.
Classical education, too, has a psychology, but unlike the modern understanding of the word, classical education actually believes in the psychē, which is the Greek word for "soul." The original definition of psychology was "the study of the soul." Classical education understands that in order to form the souls of our students—which is what teaching is—we must first know the form of the human soul. The great Greek philosopher Aristotle outlines the structure of the soul in his book Rhetoric. The soul, he thinks, consists of a
will, an intellect, and an imagination, and these must be appealed to through the three modes of learning: ethos, logos, and pathos—the three avenues to the soul.
Ethos has to do with the character of the speaker. Does the audience think the speaker is honest? Is he knowledgeable? Is he trustworthy? Can we believe in what he says? Sometimes we are persuaded of something simply because the person who told us so is reliable. We believe he is not someone who would lead us astray.
Logos has to do with the content of the presentation itself. Does it seem to be based on reality? Is the presentation of the content structured in such a way that it makes the case seem plausible? Are the facts it presents evident and is the logic valid? Sometimes we are so overwhelmed by the power of the material that we simply have a hard time disbelieving it. The facts are compelling; the arguments are powerful.
Pathos has to do with the emotions of the audience. Is the speaker able to make the audience want to believe him? Is he able to inspire us with his eloquence, to draw us in with his examples? Are we made happy by the picture he draws for us of what could be if we did what he wanted us to do? Are we made angry at an injustice that he argues should be righted? Does he make us feel empathy for those he asks us to help?
A teacher's character will determine whether a student respects him. A teacher's orderly and understandable presentation of a subject will help a student learn more easily. And a teacher's ability to enroll a student's emotions in what he is trying to teach will inspire the student to actively grasp what he is saying.
This was the idea St. Augustine was getting at when he defined education as "to teach, to delight, and to move." "To teach" has to do with logos, "to delight" with pathos, and "to move" with ethos—three modes of teaching for the three modes of the soul, and all of these derived from the Good, the True, and the Beautiful, which are the three modes of metaphysical reality (and ultimately, of God).
In an educational philosophy like that of classical education, in which we are concerned with the goodness of the teacher's character, the truth of the material being presented, and the beauty of the student's inspired response, we can see how these modes might be relevant.
But notice this: Of these three modes of persuasion (which are also modes of teaching and learning), only the third is even remotely psychological in the modern sense, but all three modes are psychological in the classical sense because they are in fact the three modes of the soul. All this was summed up succinctly by William Bennett, one-time U.S. secretary of education, who called education "the architecture of the soul."
Martin Cothran is editor of The Classical Teacher, author of Traditional Logic Books I & II, Material Logic, and Classical Rhetoric, and provost of Memoria College.
• Simply Classical: A Beautiful Education for Any Child by Cheryl Swope $26.00
• A Defense of Latin and Classical Education edited by Cheryl Lowe $10.80
• Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin by Tracy Lee Simmons $19.99
• From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics by Louis Markos $28.00
• From Plato to Christ: How Platonic ought Shaped the Christian Faith by Louis Markos $32.00
• e Recovery of Real Education: A selection of articles from e Classical Teacher $10.80
• e Great Tradition: Classic Readings on What It Means to Be an Educated Human Being edited by Richard M. Gamble $29.99
• e Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had by Susan Wise Bauer $35.00
• e Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise $39.95
• How to Read a Book: e Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren $19.99
• Figures of Speech: 60 Ways to Turn a Phrase by Arthur Quinn $49.99
• Rhetoric by Aristotle $8.00
• Medieval Literacy: A Compendium of Medieval Knowledge with the Guidance of C. S. Lewis by James Grote $29.95 FOR SCHOOLS
• Seven Myths About Education by Daisy Christodoulou $42.95
• Why Knowledge Matters: Rescuing Our Children from Failed Educational eories by E. D. Hirsch, Jr. $33.00
• e Schools We Need: And Why We Don't Have em by E. D. Hirsch, Jr. $17.95
• Why Freshmen Fail and How to Avoid It! by Carol Reynolds, Ph.D. $21.95
CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS & CHURCH HISTORY
• Fundamentals of the Faith: Essays in Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft $17.95
• Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli $35.00
• Socrates Meets Jesus by Peter Kreeft $22.00
• Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis $17.99
• e Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis $17.99
• e Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis $17.99
• e Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis $17.99
• A Preface to Paradise Lost by C. S. Lewis $39.99
• Early Christian Writings trans. by Andrew Louth and Maxwell Staniforth $15.00
• e Early Church by Henry Chadwick $18.00
• e History of the Church by Eusebius $20.00
PHONICS
• Teaching Phonics & Word Study in the Intermediate Grades by Wiley Blevins $39.99
• Phonics from A to Z by Wiley Blevins $37.99
$4.95 ea.
Whether you're looking for an elevator pitch for classical education to give a friend, a defense of the place of Latin in classical education, or encouragement in teaching your child to read and write, this series of concise, clear articles in convenient pamphlet format is for you!
What Is Classical Education? What Is Civilization? e Liberating Arts How Latin Develops the Mind Why Literature Matters How to Teach Your Child How to Read Latin: e Next Step After Phonics Christian Studies: How to Have Biblically Literate Children What Is Classical Rhetoric? A Defense of Penmanship How to Teach Logic e Grammar of Our Lives Citizens of a Larger World
e Story of Christianity
by David Bentley Hart
Grades 8+
Text $16.99
Student $20.50
Teacher $20.50
Hart gives a scholarly but readable portrait of the rich history of the Christian Church, covering 2,000 years of persecution, belief, discord, and faith. Our study guide walks you through Hart's text with additional background and contextual information, comprehension questions, and discussion questions that tie the history to scriptural passages and explore modern-day issues of faith and belief.
Grades 8+
Text $11.90
Student $19.00
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e Acts of the Apostles tells the exciting story of the travels, the teachings, and—in many cases—the martyrdoms of the apostles as they take the message of Jesus Christ from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth in the years immediately following Christ's life, death, and resurrection. is unit study will acquaint students with Christianity's infant stage.
e Wars of the Jews: e Fall of Jerusalem by Josephus | Grades 9+
Text $11.90
Student $19.00
Teacher $21.60
" ere will not be left a stone upon a stone." Our children may know of Christ's prophecy, but do they learn about its ful llment? Josephus is regarded as the most trustworthy source on the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. is follow-up to a study of Scripture is an introduction to the history of Christianity.
K-2
e Story Bible $32.99
Christian Studies Enrichment $15.10
e Story Bible is written especially for children who are beginning to read. e enrichment guide helps facilitate oral discussion for each Bible lesson.
Christian Studies I: All Major Bible Stories up to the Entry into Canaan
Christian Studies II: e Rise and Fall of Israel and the Period of the Prophets
Christian Studies III: All Major New Testament Stories
$178.48 set
(Christian Studies I-III student & teacher,
and Memory
Student $20.50 ea. | Teacher $23.75 ea. | Golden Children's Bible $22.99 | Memory Verse Digital Flashcards $16.35 | Memory Verse Physical Flashcards $21.35 | Old Testament Digital Flashcards $13.10 | Old Testament Physical Flashcards $18.10 | New Testament Digital Flashcards $13.10 | New Testament Physical Flashcards $18.10
Biblical literacy is just as important as cultural, moral, and functional literacy, and the material we use to teach children their faith should be just as rigorous and demanding as any other important subject. Our Christian Studies series is a systematic study of the major events and characters in Salvation History, using e Golden Children's Bible. Students work through a Bible timeline from Creation to Christ, memorize Bible geography, the books of the Bible, people and events in order, and discuss vocabulary and basic theological concepts common to all Christian faith traditions. At the end of this course your student will be thoroughly grounded in the knowledge necessary for advanced Christian studies.
Each lesson in the Student Guide includes facts to know, a memory verse, comprehension questions, and geography and timeline activities. e Teacher Manual contains thorough answers and additional insights and background information for each lesson, as well as unit tests.
Grades 3-6
$22.99
We chose this Bible to use with our Christian Studies I-III series for its simpli ed but poetically appealing King James text and beautiful illustrations. e stories are broken into small, digestible chunks, and written on a third-sixth grade reading level.
Grades 6-8
Text $14.10
Student $20.50
Teacher $23.75 is course takes students back through the highlights of the Bible, and reviews drill questions, memory passages, and more! It can serve as a review course for Christian Studies I-III or as a survey study of the Bible. Our text gives students an overview and background information for each book of the Bible.
Grades 9+
Student $20.50
Teacher $23.75
e Early Church $18.00
e History of the Church $20.00
Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea, wrote the rst book to recount the struggles and victories of the rst followers of Christ. In this year-long course, Chadwick's e Early Church is used as the main text, and students are directed to Eusebius' e History of the Church when ancient testimony is appropriate.
City of God by St. Augustine, Vernon J. Bourke ed. Grades 10+
Text $21.00
Student $20.50
Teacher $21.60
Quizzes & Tests $6.20
City of God , arguably Augustine's greatest book, is the source of some of Western society's greatest and most cherished beliefs. Augustine's book serves as the cultural fountainhead of all that followed, and it is unlikely that it will ever be equaled. e Teacher Guide contains helpful chapter summaries and an answer key for the Student Guide
by Cheryl
Lowe | Grades 3+ | $32.05 set (student, teacher, and digital flashcards)
Student $17.90 | Teacher $11.85 | *Digital Flashcards $7.95
Master the Greek alphabet, letter by letter, before tackling First Form Greek. Our new ashcards are an excellent tool to help students master the sounds and shapes of the Greek alphabet with quick recall.
by Christine Gatchell | Grades
4-8
An introduction to Greek grammar for younger students.
$76.87 Year One set
(text, workbook, audio, digital flashcards, tests, teacher key)
Year I Text $16.25 | Year I Workbook $17.90
Year I Tests $6.20 | Year I Teacher Key $17.90
Audio $10.00 | *Digital Flashcards $12.65
$76.87 Year Two set
(text, workbook, audio, digital flashcards, tests, teacher key)
Year II Text $16.25 | Year II Workbook $17.90
Year II Tests $6.20 | Year II Teacher Key $17.90
Audio $10.00 | *Digital Flashcards $12.65
$63.90 Year ree set
(text, workbook, audio, digital flashcards, tests)
Year III Text $20.50 | Year III Workbook $17.90
Year III Tests
$6.20 | Audio $10.00
*Digital Flashcards $12.65
Wall Charts (left) 22" x 34" (2 charts) $15.10
Desk Charts (right) 8.5" x 11" (2 charts) $10.30
Chart 1: the Greek alphabet; Chart 2: diphthongs, accent marks, pronunciation helps, and syllable names
Grades 7+
$136.89 complete set ea. (all 5 books, audio, videos, digital flashcards)
$77.11 basic set ea. (all 5 books + audio)
Text $16.25 ea. | Workbook $17.90 ea. | Teacher Manual $14.05 ea. | Teacher Key $17.90ea. Quizzes & Tests $6.20 ea. | Audio $10.00 ea. | *Digital Flashcards $15.30 ea. | Videos $55.00 ea. e Greek Forms Series is written for parents and teachers with or without a Greek background. e grammar is presented logically and systematically so that anyone can learn it. Based on the Latin Forms Series, this series has been adapted to account for the di erences between Greek and Latin, such as the new alphabet, overlapping sounds, more variation within paradigms, and less regularity with the addition of weekly vocabulary reviews, more frequent recitation, and an "expanded" dictionary entry for Greek verbs. First and Second Form Greek are the rst two years of our three-part series, which will cover all of the Greek grammar. Begin your systematic study of Greek grammar with our clear, concise Student Texts and ample practice exercises in the Student Workbook, including substantial translation exercises in Second Form. Weekly Quizzes & Tests ensure retention of the material, and the Teacher Manuals and Teacher Keys provide lesson plans, additional notes, and a comprehensive answer key. e Pronunciation Audio and Flashcards allow students to practice quick recall for mastery. Instructional Videos are also available.
*Add physical ashcards to any set for only $5!
by Danielle Schultz | Grades 5-8
$52.30
Kids are not going to rise to the difficult task of learning if all the adults are worrying about whether they are comfortable and having fun. That attitude alone tells students that what they are doing is unimportant. This tells students their time isn't important and neither is ours. Direct communication of knowledge—with lots of practice and opportunities to use and review new skills and knowledge—is the most time efficient way to learn. We are to redeem time, not waste it.
K-6th
Reading aloud to your children is one of the best gifts you can give them. e books we have chosen for our supplemental Read-Aloud Sets are beautiful in their art and their prose, and will help your child develop a taste for quality literature from an early age. Kindergarten Read-Aloud Set pictured. For a complete list of books in each set, visit MemoriaPress.com.
To complete the Literature & Enrichment portion of the K-2 curriculum, you will need the weekly read-alouds. You may already own many of these classic books, but you can also gather them at the library or purchase them from us. We schedule Literature ReadAlouds and American Studies Read-Alouds for older students in our 3rd-6th grade Curriculum Manuals. ese grammar school sets are supplemental as time and interest permit.
Reading quality literature is one of the best ways to spend leisure time this summer!
3rd & 4th e Story of the World, Vol. 1 by Susan Wise Bauer $19.95
5th e Story of the World, Vol. 2 by Susan Wise Bauer $19.95
6th e Story of the World, Vol. 3 by Susan Wise Bauer $21.95
7th
8th
e Story of the World, Vol. 4 by Susan Wise Bauer $21.95
e Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain $10.00
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott $16.50 e Call of the Wild by Jack London $3.99
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C. S. Forester $17.99
9th All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot $18.00
10th Great Expectations by Charles Dickens $11.95
11th e Man Who Was ursday by G. K. Chesterton $11.99
12th e Lord of the Rings: e Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien $17.99
Choose from:
• Jr. Kindergarten Read-Aloud $390.61
• Kindergarten Read-Aloud $407.62
• Kindergarten Science & Enrichment $393.56
• First Grade Read-Aloud $395.58
• First Grade Science & Enrichment $274.56
• Second Grade Read-Aloud $397.55
• Second Grade Science & Enrichment $203.25
• ird Grade Read-Aloud Novels $182.83
• ird Grade Read-Aloud Picture Books $366.61
• ird Grade American $149.74
• Fourth Grade Read-Aloud $141.51
• Fourth Grade American $85.90
• Fifth Grade Read-Aloud $120.84
• Fifth Grade American $72.88
• Sixth Grade Read-Aloud $90.41
• Sixth Grade American $68.90
Grades 3-7 | Journal $9.75 ea.
ese compact journals are designed to be completed in the grammar school years alongside the assigned summer reading for each volume of Story of the World, which provides an introduction to the time period students will be studying when they return to school. ere are 42 days of reading per book, and the journals require students to name the key events, characters, and dates for each chapter.
Tailor your lesson plans!
Purchase individual lesson plans for a speci c subject or customize a full-year Curriculum Manual to suit your needs. View samples and a full list of subjects online!
e Classical Core Curriculum is a complete classical Christian curriculum that emphasizes the traditional liberal arts of language and mathematics and the cultural heritage of the Christian West as expressed in the great works of history and literature. e curriculum has an early focus on the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and a special emphasis on Latin. Latin is the best way to gain an academic vocabulary and to learn the formal system of grammar, and is, along with math, the best early critical thinking skills training. e study of the cultures of Athens and Rome, as well as biblical and Church history, is designed to provide a basis for a proper understanding of European and American history.
$240.49 Full Set (all books + Curriculum Manual)
$30 Curriculum Manual Only
• Preschool Curriculum Manual
• e Very Busy Spider
• Prayers for Children
• Good Night, Gorilla
• Jesus Is With Me
• e Tale of Peter Rabbit
• Jesus Hears Me
• Jesus Knows Me
• Big Red Barn
• e Best Mouse Cookie
• Little Fur Family
• Bunny's Noisy Book
• From Head to Toe
• Goodnight Moon
• Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
• Numbers, Colors, Shapes
• Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings
• My Very First Book of Shapes
• ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book!
• Put Me in the Zoo
• Hand, Hand, Fingers, umb
• Cars and Trucks From A to Z
• My First Counting Book
• e Animals' Christmas Eve
• Big Dog ... Little Dog
• Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?
• A Children's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes
• 1 Is One
$160.01 Full Set (all books + 2-Day Curriculum Manual)
$70.70 Consumable Books Set (for additional students)
$30 Curriculum Manual Only
$390.61 Supplemental Read-Aloud Set
Character Building Supplements:
Myself & Others Book I Core Set $60.38
Myself & Others Book II Core Set $24.83
• Jr. Kindergarten Curriculum Manual
• Counting With Numbers
• Numbers & Colors
• Prayers for Children
• Alphabet Books 1 & 2
• Numbers Coloring Book
• Alphabet Coloring Book
• Alphabet Flashcards
• Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever
• Big oughts for Little People (Devotional)
• Hailstones and Halibut Bones (Poetry)
• e Book of Crafts: Jr. Kindergarten
• Alphabet Manuscript Wall Charts 5-Day Junior Kindergarten Curriculum now available! | $232.09 Check out the book list: MemoriaPress.com/JK-5
• My Very Own Scissors Book
Prices subject to change.
Curriculum Manual Only $30
Consumables Only $193.98
Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available!
Kindergarten Enrichment; Kindergarten Book of Crafts; Kindergarten Art Cards; Animals, Animals; A Child's Book of Poems; Music Enrichment
Numbers Book set; Rod & Sta Arithmetic 1 Student (Part 1), Teacher, and Practice Sheets; Arithmetic Flashcards: Addition & Subtraction; Memoria Math Challenge A
CURRICULUM MANUAL
Lesson Plans for One Year
RETAIL $714.22
PACKAGE PRICE $538.28
e Story Bible; Christian Studies Enrichment
Classical Phonics; Phonics Flashcards; First Start ReadingA-D; First Start Reading Storybooks A-D; Phonics & Reading Streaming Instructional Videos; Christian Liberty Nature Reader, Book K; Scamp and Tramp; Soft and White; Fun in the Sun; Animal Alphabet Coloring Book; Kindergarten Phonics Supplemental Workbook; Manuscript Practice Sheets; Cut & Paste Book
Kindergarten Morning Work; Manner of the Week Wall Charts and Flashcards
OPTIONAL
For extra practice as needed.
Primary Phonics Readers, Set 1
PENMANSHIP
Copybook I; Composition & Sketchbook I
SUMMER MODULE
100 Days of Summer Reading Book I and Summer Manuscript
NEED TO CUSTOMIZE? Go to MemoriaPress.com or call (502) 966-9115.
RETAIL $611.01 PACKAGE PRICE
$460.91
LITERATURE
Curriculum Manual Only $30 Consumables Only $194.80 Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available!
StoryTime Treasures set; More StoryTime Treasures set; Winter on the Farm; Christmas in the Big Woods; Little House Christmas Treasury
PHONICS & SPELLING
First Start Reading Book E; First Start Reading Storybook E; Traditional Spelling I set
*Videos available as streaming only.
MATH
Rod & Sta Arithmetic 1 Student (Part 2); Rod & Sta Arithmetic 2 Student (Unit 1), Teacher (Part 1), and Practice Sheets Book 1; Memoria Math Challenge B
SUMMER MODULE
100 Days of Summer Reading Book II; Summer Cursive
New American Cursive 1; Copybook II; Composition & Sketchbook II; Cursive Practice Sheets I; Alphabet Wall Poster; Penmanship Tablet
OPTIONAL
Lesson Plans for One Year
ENRICHMENT
First Grade Book of Crafts; First Grade Enrichment; First Grade Art Cards
For extra practice as needed.
Primary Phonics Readers, Sets 2-6 American Language Series
NEW USER ADD-ON SET $169.90
Classical Phonics; Phonics Flashcards; A Child's Book of Poems; Animals, Animals; e Story Bible; Christian Studies Enrichment; Rod & Sta Arithmetic 1 Teacher Manualand Practice Sheets; Arithmetic Flashcards: Addition & Subtraction; Music Enrichment OR
New to Memoria Press? You need these items from prior years.
Curriculum Manual Only $30
Consumables Only $272.78
Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available!
CURRICULUM MANUAL
Lesson Plans for One Year
SCIENCE
Rod & Sta Patterns of Nature set
New American Cursive 2; Copybook Cursive I; Composition & Sketchbook II; Prima Latina Copybook; Penmanship Tablet
AMERICAN/ MODERN
Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans
LATIN & GRAMMAR
Prima Latina complete set; Introduction to English Grammar
Rod & Sta Arithmetic 2 Student (Units 2-4), Teacher (Part 2), Practice Sheets Book 2, Supplemental Pack; Memoria Math Challenge C; Memoria Math Supplemental Workbook: Review of First Grade Math
Second Grade Literature set; Second Grade Literature Dictionary
NEW USER ADD-ON SET $155.70
New to Memoria Press? You need these items from prior years.
Classical Phonics; Phonics Flashcards; A Child's Book of Poems; Animals, Animals; Music Enrichment; e Story Bible; Christian Studies Enrichment; Arithmetic Flashcards: Addition & Subtraction; Rod & Sta Arithmetic 2 Student (Unit 1), Practice Sheets Book 1, and Teacher (Part 1)
OPTIONAL: ACCELERATED MATH
MORNING WORK
English Grammar Practice
Rod & Sta Arithmetic 3 Student, Teacher (Part 1), Tests; Memoria Math Notebook 2 x 2
Video, audio, and ashcards available in digital and physical versions!
PHONICS & SPELLING
Traditional Spelling II set
*Videos available as streaming only.
Second Grade Enrichment; Second Grade Book of Crafts; Second Grade Art Cards
SUMMER MODULE
100 Days of Summer Reading Book III
Curriculum Manual Only $30 Consumables Only $329.01 Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available! New to Memoria Press? You need this item. Latina Christiana Flashcards $17.30
Christiana set, LC Review Worksheets set; LC: Games & Puzzles set; Intro. to Lingua Angelica; LA Song Book and Audio
AMERICAN/MODERN
States & Capitals set CLASSICAL
Mammals set
Practice Sheets III
Lesson Plans for One Year SCIENCE
MATH
Adventures in Writing
D'Aulaires' Greek Myths set; Timeline Program *Videos available as streaming only.
Christian Studies I set; e Golden Children's Bible; Memory Verse Flashcards; Old Testament Flashcards
American Cursive 3
Rod & Sta Arithmetic 3 Student, Teacher (Parts 1-2), Tests; Memoria Math Notebook 3 x 3; Multiplication Flashcards: 0 to 12;Division Flashcards: 0 to 12; Memoria Math Challenge D
English Grammar Recitation Handbook and English Grammar Recitation Workbook I set and Flashcards; Core Skills Language Arts 3
Traditional Spelling III set
Grade Literature set; Poetry for the Grammar Stage set; e Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Video, audio, and ashcards available in digital and physical versions!
Rod & Sta Arithmetic 4 Student, Teacher (Part 1), Tests
Curriculum Manual Only $30
Consumables Only $167.04
Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available!
Rod & Sta Arithmetic 4 Student, Teacher (Parts 1-2), Tests, Speed Drills, Speed Drill Packet; Memoria Math Notebook 3 x 3
*Memoria Math Challenge D (p. 72) available for practice with all operations
Traditional Spelling IV set
Lesson Plans for One Year
Fourth Grade Literature set; Papa Panov's Special Christmas; Twelve Days of Christmas; A Promise Kept: e Story of Christmas; Good King Wenceslas
Classical Composition I: Fable Student, Teacher, Videos
Copybook Cursive II CURRICULUM MANUAL
SCIENCE
e Book of Astronomy set
GRAMMAR
English Grammar RecitationWorkbook II set; Core Skills Language Arts 4
In our third grade package, students complete half of D'Aulaires' Greek Myths, Latina Christiana, Christian Studies I, and States and Capitals, as well as parts of Poetry for the Grammar Stage, which they will continue to use through seventh grade. e purchase of this package assumes that you have the books that are in our third grade package and have completed the rst half of them.
If you are starting the Classical Core Curriculumin fourth grade, we have a discounted transitional package for you:
$856.61 Grade 4 for New Users
Visit MemoriaPress.com for a complete book list and more information.
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LATIN
Introduction to Lingua Angelica; LA Song Book and Audio
Video, audio, and ashcards available in digital and physical versions!
Alphabet Books; Alphabet Flashcards; Alphabet Coloring Book (p. 73); My Very Own Scissors Book (p. 67); Manuscript Charts (p. 82)
Kindergarten Phonics Supplemental Workbook; Classical Phonics; First Start Reading A-D; 100 Days of Summer Reading I; Phonics Flashcards (p. 68); Animal Alphabet Coloring Book; American Language Readers; Nature Reader K
Traditional Spelling I (p. 69); StoryTime and More StoryTime Treasures Literature Sets (p. 14); 100 Days of Summer Reading II; First Start Reading Book E (p. 68)
Counting With Numbers; Numbers Coloring Book; Numbers & Colors (p. 73)
Books; Memoria Math Challenge A; Rod & Staff Arithmetic 1, Part 1 (pp. 72-73)
& Staff Arithmetic 1, Part 2; Rod & Staff Arithmetic 2, Unit 1; Memoria Math Challenge B
Grade Literature Set
Eighth Grade Literature Set (p. 16); Poetry & Short Stories for the Logic
Classical Composition II: Narrative Student, Teacher, Videos
Core Skills Language Arts 5 and Rod & Sta English 5 Worksheets
Geography I set, including e United States Review set and Geography Flashcards
Curriculum Manual Only $30 Consumables Only $220.05 Supplemental Read-Aloud Sets also available! CLASSICAL
Rod & Sta Arithmetic 5 Student, Teacher (Parts 1-2), Tests, Speed Drills
Famous Men of Rome set AMERICAN/MODERN
Christian Studies II set; Copybook Cursive III MATH
CHRISTIAN
Grade Literature set
audio, and ashcards available in digital and physical versions!
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Curriculum Manual Only $30 Consumables Only $257.68
Second Form Latin complete set; Introduction to Lingua Angelica
Read-Aloud Sets also available! NEED TO CUSTOMIZE? Go to MemoriaPress.com or call (502) 966-9115.
Classical Composition III: Chreia & Maxim Student, Teacher, Videos
Rod & Sta Mathematics 6 Student, Teacher (Parts 1-2), Quizzes & Speed Tests, Tests
Geography II set, including Geography I Review set
Plans for One Year
English Grammar Recitation Workbook III set; Core Skills Language Arts 6
CHRISTIAN Christian Studies IV set
REVIEW
Geography & Timeline Review
ird Form Latin complete set
*Videos available as streaming only.
e Story of the irteen Colonies & the Great Republic set; American History Outline set; 200 Questions About American History set and Flashcards; eStory of the World, Vol. 4
Curriculum Manual Only $30 Consumables Only $265.26
Classical Composition IV: Refutation & Con rmation Student, Teacher, Videos
e Book of Trees set; Exploring the World of Biology set
$1,463.31
Lesson Plans for One Year
Henle Latin Second Year Student Guide, Flashcards, Quizzes & Tests, Text, and Key; Latin Grammar for the Grammar Stage
Traditional Logic I & II complete sets
e Book of the Ancient Romans set; e Aeneid set
Classical Composition VI: Encomium, Invective, & Comparison Student, Teacher, Videos
LITERATURE/POETRY
Ninth Grade Literature set; e British Tradition I: Poetry, Prose, & Drama set; e Book of the Middle Ages
Novare General Biology Text, Digital Resources, and Apprentice's Companion; Biology Coloring Workbook; Science Roots
e Story of Christianity set
AMERICAN/MODERN
Renaissance & Reformation Times set
*Videos available as streaming only. Video, audio, and ashcards available in digital and physical versions!
Curriculum Manual Only $30 Consumables Only $229.73 NEED TO CUSTOMIZE? Go to MemoriaPress.com or call (502) 966-9115.
Curriculum Manual Only $30 Consumables Only $225.39
CURRICULUM MANUAL
Lesson Plans for One Year
Mueller's Caesar (De Bello Gallico) Text, Teacher's Guide, and Lesson Plans
Classical Composition VII: Characterization and Classical Composition VIII: Description Student, Teacher, Videos
SCIENCE
Novare General Chemistry Text, Digital Resources, Complete Solutions Manual, Student Lab Report Handbook, and Experiments for High School at Home
History of the Early Church set
LITERATURE/POETRY
Tenth Grade Literature set; e British Tradition II: Poetry & Prose set
Hist y … sh ld ab a explain: it sh ld gi “the h and the why.” It is the business hist y to make pe le understand h they came to ; what s the igin and progress the state which they f m a part; what re the causes which in uenced each phase change the ginning almost to r n time. - HILAIRE BELLOC1
he truth will set us free. So says hrist. et if this is so—which of course it is—it follows that falsehood will enslave us. alsehood in history prevents us from understanding our past and, in consequence, our present. Properly understood, history is a chronological map that shows us not only where we have come from, but where we are and how we got here. It is also possible to project where we are likely to be going in the future by drawing the line of knowledge on the chronological map from where we have come to where we are now and extending the line into the realm of future possibilities. In this sense history can also be a prophet. This, however, is only true if the chronological map is accurate. If it has been drawn by those with prejudiced perceptions or a prejudiced agenda it will only succeed in getting us lost. There are few things more dangerous than an inaccurate map, especially if we find ourselves in perilous terrain. Perhaps at this juncture we need to proceed from hrist to Pilate, to pass from hrist's assertion that the truth will set us free to Pilate's question: What is truth? In the context of the study of history, the truth requires knowledge of three distinct facets of historical reality, namely historical chronology, historical mechanics, and historical philosophy; i.e., when things happened, how things happened, and why things happened. The last of these, though it is dependent factually on the other two, is the most important. If we don't know why things happened history remains devoid of meaning; it makes no sense. As such, historians must have knowledge of the history of belief. They must know what people believed when they did the things that they did in order to know why they acted as they did. They must have empathy with the great ideas that shaped human history, even if they don't have sympathy with them. This whole issue was addressed with great lucidity by Hilaire Belloc, perhaps the most important historian of the twentieth century:
The worst fault in writing history is the fault of not knowing what the spiritual state of those whom one describes really was. Gibbon and his master oltaire, the very best of reading, are for that reason bad writers of history. To pass through the tremendous history of the Trinitarian dispute from which our civilization arose and to treat it as a farce is not history. To write the story of the sixteenth century in England and
to make of either the Protestant or the atholic a grotesque is to miss history altogether.
learly frustrated at this supercilious approach toward the past that blinded many historians, Belloc offers a practical example of its effects upon scholarship:
There is an enormous book called olume of a Cambridge History of the Middle Ages. It is pages in length of close print . It does not mention the Mass once. That is as though you were to write a history of the Jewish dispersion without mentioning the synagogue or of the British Empire without mentioning the ity of London or the avy .
In order to avoid the chronological snobbery that presumes the superiority of the present over the past and which causes this lack of proportion and focus, historians must see history through the eyes of the past and not through the eyes of the present. Historians must put themselves into the minds and hearts of the protagonists they are studying; to do this adequately they must have knowledge of philosophy and theology in order to understand their own academic discipline and in order to remain disciplined in their study of it. An ignorance of philosophy and theology means an ignorance of history.
Hilaire Belloc's principal legacy as a historian falls into three areas. irst is his seminal struggle with H. G. Wells over the "outline of history"; second, his groundbreaking approach to the history of the Reformation; and finally, his telescopic and panoramic study of the great ideas that have shaped history. In addition, as a man of omnivorous taste and multifarious talent, he also wrote on rench and European history, military history, economic history, and English history. Since such a panoramic scope is too broad to be covered adequately in a solitary essay, we'll be focusing on Belloc's famous—or notorious—battle with H. G. Wells.
Belloc's war of words with Wells over the latter's publication of The Outline of History was one of the most controversial and high-profile academic battles of the twentieth century. Belloc objected to his adversary's tacitly anti- hristian stance—epitomized by the fact that Wells had devoted more space in his History to the Persian campaign against the Greeks than he had given to the figure of hrist—but it was the underlying philosophy of materialistic determinism in Wells' History that was most anathema to Belloc.
Wells believed that human "progress" was both blind and beneficial: unshakeable, unstoppable, and utterly inexorable. He believed that history was the product of invisible and immutable evolutionary forces that were coming to fruition in the twentieth century. Human history had its primitive beginnings in the caves, he said, but was now reaching its climax in the modern age with the final triumph of science over religion. The emergence of science from the ashes of "superstition" heralded a new dawn for humanity, a brave new world of happiness made possible by technology. Obviously, such an approach precluded any serious or objective consideration of the great ideas that had forged human history, since, in Wells' view, these ideas were shaped by superstition and ignorance, which had been superseded by humanity's "progress" towards modernity.
Wells' History had been, to Belloc, like a red rag to a bull. It was, therefore, no great surprise that he charged. Belloc accused Wells of prejudiced provincialism, claiming that "in history proper," Wells "was never taught to appreciate the part played by Latin and Greek culture, and never introduced to the history of the early hurch." urthermore, Wells suffered "from the very grievous fault of being ignorant that he is ignorant. He has the strange cocksuredness of the man who only knows the old conventional text-book of his schooldays and mistakes it for universal knowledge." The controversy reached a conclusion and a climax in , when Belloc's articles refuting Wells' History were collected into a single volume and published as A Companion to Mr. Wells's Outline of History. Wells responded with e oc ects, to which Belloc, determined to have the last word, replied with e oc ti ects
The lasting legacy and lingering lesson of the war of words between Belloc and Wells is its exemplification of the fact that one's philosophical presuppositions will invariably color one's understanding of the "outline of history." Belloc understood the beliefs of the past and, as such, could discern why people acted as they did; he could see why things happened as well as when and how they happened. Wells, on the other hand, regarded the beliefs of the past as superstitious and dismissed them. His chronological snobbery prevented his analysis of history from rising above the when and how.
Belloc's war with Wells also represented an encapsulation and embodiment of the clash between "progress" and tradition, a clash that was summarized succinctly by the poet Roy ampbell:
The orgy of irresponsible innovations and inventions— which now threatens to become a Gadarene stampede of headlong and irresistible impetus—was regarded as something beneficial and called "progress," which it certainly is, being downhill and completely without brakes: the most rapid and disastrous "progress" ever witnessed.
ampbell's words had the benefit of hindsight, being written in , a quarter of a century after the Belloc-Wells controversy and a few short years after the fruits of "progress" had enabled the atrocities of Hitler and Stalin and the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and agasaki. Belloc had foreseen that a blindly optimistic faith in "progress" could lead to "sheer darkness" and "strange things in the dark," whereas Wells believed that "darkness" was a thing to be found in the "dark ages" of the past and the future held the promise of "enlightened" scientific thinking. It would take the horrors of the Second World War to open Wells' eyes to the evils that could be unleashed by science in the service of "progressive" ideologies. Shaken out of his "progressive" dementia, Wells' last book, written shortly before his death in and entitled, appropriately, The Mind at the End of Its Tether, was full of the desolation of disillusionment. In the end, Wells' "progressive" optimism, already defeated in debate by Belloc, was defeated in practice by reality itself.
In the wake of the controversy with Wells, Belloc became increasingly preoccupied with historical questions. "In history we must abandon the defensive," he had written in , at the height of the war with Wells. "We must make our opponents understand not only that they are wrong in their philosophy, nor only ill-informed in their judgment of cause and effect, but out of touch with the past: which is ours."
Hilaire Belloc shows us that a true vision of the past enables us to understand the present. It situates us; it orientates us. Today, more than ever, our culture needs to heed the humanizing power of history.
Joseph Pearce is the series editor of the Ignatius ritical Editions, the Tolkien and Lewis Chair in Literary Studies at Holy Apostles College and Seminary, author of se e io phies o h isti n ite y fi u es nd p o esso t emo i
Hilaire Belloc, A Shorter History of England, London: George G. Harrap o., , p.
Hilaire Belloc, A Conversation with an Angel and Other Essays, London: Jonathan ape, , pp. -
Robert Speaight (ed.), e e s om i i e e oc, London: Hollis arter, , p.
The finest riposte to Wells' discussion of man's so-called primitive beginnings in the caves was given by G. . hesterton in The Everlasting Man, which was hesterton's own inimitable response to Wells' Outline of History. uoted in Michael oren, The Invisible Man: The Life and Liberties of H. G. Wells, London: Jonathan ape, , p.
Roy ampbell, "Books in Britain," Enquiry, London, ol. , o. (September ); quoted in Joseph Pearce, ooms u y nd eyond: The Friends and Enemies of Roy Campbell, London: Harper ollins, , p.
Hilaire Belloc, Preface to om Hugh G. Bevenot, OSB, Pagan and Christian Rule, London: Longmans, Green o, , p. ix
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Grades 5-8
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We have combined Guerber's e Story of the irteen Colonies and e Story of the Great Republic into one edited volume that makes for a perfect one-year survey of American history in the middle school years. e guide includes important facts, vocabulary, and comprehension questions, as well as enrichment activities such as mapwork, drawings, research, writing assignments, and more!
Student $9.25 | Teacher $6.20 is is a valuable tool for helping students learn to study well. Use this in conjunction with e Story of the irteen Colonies & the Great Republic and e Story of the World, Vol. 4 to teach students how to recognize, organize, and retain key pieces of information from what they read.
Grades 5-8
Student $11.85 | Teacher $6.20
Digital Flashcards $12.65
Physical Flashcards $17.65
Compiled from e Story of the irteen Colonies & the Great Republic and e Story of the World, Vol. 4. e Flashcards are based on our study guide, but can be used with any good American history course.
$309.60 set (text, student, teacher, quizzes & tests) Grades 9+ | Text $268.99 | Student $22.70 | Teacher $28.00 | Quizzes & Tests $6.20 is nation has long been called the "American Experiment"—an attempt to see if people could work together in a republic rather than having to be held together by a monarchy. In this year-long course, which covers the development of the American republic from its roughshod infancy through the turmoil of the 1960s, students will see how Americans have kept the country together so far, how they have almost ripped it apart more than once, how they might keep it together for the future, and how the American story connects to the grander narrative of the human experience. e Student Guide covers all Key Terms, Dates, Figures, and Structures, and utilizes primary source studies and comprehension and essay questions. e Teacher Manual provides a helpful Overview and Summary for each chapter, as well as answers and teacher helps for all content covered.
$51.21 guide set (student, teacher, quizzes & tests)
Grades 10+
Student $22.70 | Teacher $28.00
Quizzes & Tests $6.20
Text (12th Ed.) $179.79
is course covers the political, societal, and religious upheavals, particularly in Western Europe, that have shaped and reshaped the continent in the last seven hundred years. Students will study events leading to the rise of Europe through the formation of contemporary Europe, including the French Revolution, Napoleonic Europe, World War I & II, and the Cold War. e texts include helpful maps, timelines, and illustrations. e Student Guide requires students to note Key Terms, Key Figures, Key Dates, and Key Structures, in addition to comprehension questions, short essay questions, and timeline and map activities. e Teacher Manual has answers to the Student Guide plus background information for the teacher, and an overview, summary, and conclusion for each lesson, focusing on the material students need to master.
From Constantine to Saint Louis
$113.05 set (text, student, teacher, quizzes & tests) Grades 10+
Text $71.95 | Student $22.70 | Teacher $24.75 Quizzes & Tests $6.20
is course covers the tumultuous transformation of Europe in the Dark Ages and the High Middle Ages, from the barbarian invasions and the conversion of Constantine to the Crusades and the rise of feudalism. e study guide helps the student pull out key terms, gures, and events, and provides comprehension and short answer essay questions.
by Edward Eggleston
$65.83 set
(text, student, teacher, flashcards, wall maps)
Grades 3-6
Text $11.99
Student $15.10
Teacher $15.10
Flashcards $5.95
Wall Maps $25.00
By the end of this course students will be able to map all 50 states and capitals. We recommend that this guide be used with Don't Know Much About the 50 States. New Wall Maps include one labeled and one blank for practice.
Africa, & Europe
Grades 4+
$78.58 set
(text, student, teacher, digital flashcards + U.S. Review student and teacher)
Geography I Text $18.35 | Geography I Student $16.20
Geography I Teacher $17.30 | U.S. Review Student $6.20 U.S. Review Teacher $9.25 | Geography Digital Flashcards $20.00 | Geography Physical Flashcards $25.00
A unique geography program designed for students pursuing a classical Christian education, this course covers the area that constituted the ancient Roman Empire and the geography relevant to the Bible. Each region is explored in its historical context, providing interesting and thoughtprovoking facts, but the main goal of this course is for students to learn to map the countries and their capitals.
Grades 7+
$87.27 set
(text, student, teacher, classroom atlas, digital flashcards*)
Text $20.05 | Student $20.95
Teacher $20.95 | Atlas $15.00
*Geography Flashcards: Digital $20.00 | Physical $25.00
*same as flashcards in Geography I set
Oceania, & the Americas
Grades 5+
$60.58 set
(text, student, teacher +
Geography I Review student & teacher)
Geography II Text $18.35
Geography II Student $16.20
Geography II Teacher $17.30
Geography I Review Student $6.20
Geography I Review Teacher $9.25
is more advanced geography course solidi es the mapping skills learned in Geography I-II but adds a study of the landforms, topography, famous landmarks, climate, culture, and religion of each continent. is is a perfect prelude to high school history.
Students continue to deepen their understanding of past and present as they learn to map the rest of the countries and capitals not covered in Geography I. At the end of this course, students will have mapped the entire world.
Practice Map Pad: United States notepad of 50 two-sided sheets (11" x 17") | $11.85
“My two boys, 4th and 6th grade, just finished their first week of classes. We could not be more impressed with the instructors and the content of these classes. They far exceeded our expectations. Thank you!” Megan - MA Parent
“Memoria Academy has been a breath of fresh air for us this year. It has been challenging for my students but
Thank you!” Laura - MA Parent
by Dr. Carol Reynolds
Inteaching the fine arts, the mission of the classical pedagogue is clear: Take the joy children inherently feel for learning and shape that joy toward the end of acquiring an understanding of the arts.
This principle applies to most subjects: Toddlers, for example, want to make numerical sense of the world and are excited to begin counting. That enthusiasm breeds the strength that will sustain them as they slough (or dance) through the multiplication tables and, ultimately, embark upon the thorny path of higher mathematics.
Initially, educators and parents tend to view artistic instruction for their children no differently. The tiniest child claps, dances, and draws with glee as parents look on with delight. That same child, if guided, builds those nascent skills throughout the elementary grades (honing them via natural activities like staging dramas between stuffed toys and superhero figures or embracing winsome music). All proceeds smoothly until the student encounters a series of invisible walls. The initial wall can be called The Wall of Seriousness. The child first feels its confines when an adult glances at his dynamic or lovely drawing and says, "That's very nice. ow it's time to do serious work."
Students will encounter other walls after this, including an imposing one topped with barbed wire named The Time-Wasting Wall. Through various subtle and not-so-subtle cues, a student comes to understand that effort spent on learning about or developing artistic expression can be viewed by the world as a waste of time and resources.
Such assessment of the fine arts grates on the nerves of anyone with a modicum of exposure to Western classical ideals. et Platonian quotes about music's power or biblical admonitions to "Sing unto the Lord" are no match for the modern belief that, except for an overtly talented child, the fine arts are best handled as an elective. Think how interwoven this view has become in the fabric of modern education, starting with the common choice: "Pick an Elective: Band, hoir, Art, or rama." The inherent integration of the arts with all disciplines falls to defeat.
Truth be told, study of the fine arts has been in free fall since the early twentieth century, disabled by factors as disparate as the damage from two world wars to the ubiquitous presence of electronic devices that remove the need to acquire skills in order to partake of artistic expression. Added to that, core values that long upheld the fine arts have been shattered by a kaleidoscope of moral distortions, as well as a popular attitude that the arts are primarily entertainment. With the arts unmoored from classical standards of virtue and beauty, the imperative for their study is eroded. inally, with fewer children
having regular exposure to the performing arts, vibrant links that students would draw between art forms and every other branch of study are weak at best. In short, the clock is hard to wind back.
So what is the answer to such a depressing predicament? irst, a decision has to be made by each educator and each institution. Either the arts matter or they are a pleasant diversion from serious study. If they matter, the pedagogy that elucidates them needs to be implemented and supported. The pedagogy itself is well established, albeit in need of rediscovery by most teachers and institutions.
ext, eliminate demoralizing terminology, starting with the term "elective." Allocate an optimal—as opposed to convenient—time slot for studying the arts, thereby slashing the subtext that this study is not actually necessary. ind a way for every student (and teacher ) to gain some kind of hands-on experience grappling with one of the creative arts, even at the most basic level. The possibilities are endless: mosaics, clogging, constructing a dulcimer, learning to light a backdrop. The goal is to experience the creative process and, thus, build or enhance an appreciation for all artistic masterpieces.
Third, The Wall of Indifference needs to transform into a Path of Excitement. Academic studies provide a perfect place to set this process in motion. If, for example, the theme is rench history of the seventeenth century, little illuminates that era better than the luxurious systems of Baroque court dance, decorative art, and regal music demanded by Louis I and his Bourbon successors. Where the topic might be Russia, the psychologically probing paintings by the nineteenth-century Wanderers movement provide a prime vehicle for analyzing the glories and failures of the Rurik and Romanov tsars.
such connections instill a stirring toward artistic beauty and power in a child's mind and heart.
Education has been described as a banquet—a lovely, useful image—yet at a banquet something has to hold the food and drink. The fine arts serve two purposes in this analogy: first, by presenting the banquet's offerings on beautiful, golden platters, and second, by serving as plat du jour. While not every dish appeals universally, nor guarantees optimal nourishment (macarons glacé, anyone?) the vast body of Western classical art overflows with spiritual, intellectual, and emotional nutrition.
We must restore the arts to their rightful, central place in the curriculum, and once we do there will be no shortage of ways to interweave them. The artistic profiles of significant figures across all branches of study offer one avenue. George Washington, for example, was a widely admired social dancer. Thomas Jefferson was a good violinist and lover of Mozart's and Haydn's music; John . ennedy was a refined patron who raised Americans' awareness of the classical performing arts. More rich examples include persons like Albert Einstein, an accomplished violinist who regularly lost himself in music while grappling with his discoveries—"I see my life in terms of music," he once said—and Winston hurchill, who revealed not just his passion but his philosophy through nearly five hundred paintings when he took up the brush at age forty. In fact, could not hurchill's iconic statement, "When I get to heaven I mean to spend a considerable portion of my first million years in painting, and so get to the bottom of the subject," serve as a watchword for the quest to recover the depth and glory of the entire Western canon?
A student studying general science may devour the acoustical principles that distinguish the sound of a silver flute from a wooden clarinet. A study of mathematics can be strengthened by learning the numerical factors that generate a Bach fugue or support the rearing of the horses in Remington's iconic bronze cowboy sculptures. ance is primarily geometry in motion. These examples are emblematic, not exceptional. As their effect accumulates,
The steps toward recovering the place of the fine arts in the curriculum are not rickety, nor is there a locked door at the top of the stairs. Rather, we are invited to ascend a grand staircase of polished marble, guarded by the silent statuary of all that classical education enshrines. The view from the top will not disappoint.
Dr. Carol Reynolds is a widely acclaimed author and speaker, as well as a professor at Memoria College. She regularly leads arts tours throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, recently in partnership with the Smithsonian Institute.
with Dr. Carol Reynolds | Grades 8+
$170 set (textbook, student workbook, DVDs, teacher manual download)
Textbook $39.95 | Student Workbook $29.95 | DVDs $106.10
Join Professor Carol as she travels the world using music as the window into political and cultural history. e expanded second edition includes a separate Textbook—now including art and additional information—and a Student Workbook—with more activities, questions, and timelines—which both still correspond perfectly to the rst edition DVDs.
with Dr. Carol Reynolds Grades 5+
$49.95 set (2 DVDs totaling more than 4 hours)
In this course, Professor Carol—along with 38 other historians, scholars, and artists—takes you on a journey through America's musical history. When we sing the songs our greatgrandparents learned around a camp re, read the poems they recited, and study the paintings or quilts they created, we visit the past in a tangible way.
with Dr. Carol Reynolds | Grades 8+
$119 set (text, workbook, DVDs)
Text $24.95 | Assignments & Quizzes $22.95
Here you will nd a description and explanation of how Christians have worshiped God in song for over a millennium. In addition to the sheer beauty of the songs themselves, you will learn how musical notation developed, who the great Christian composers were, and how historical circumstances a ected the musical worship of the Church. DVDs include musical performances and Professor Carol's unparalleled commentary.
by Patrick Fata | Grades
2+
Text $17.50 | Student $17.50
Teacher $18.50 | Audio $10.00
Open the door for your students into a new, melodic world. is course introduces the concepts of rhythm, meter, and musical notation in short, straightforward lessons in the Student Text and ample practice of concepts in the Student Workbook. e streaming audio tracks provide short clips of all concepts and examples, and the two-color Teacher Guide provides answers and tests.
Grades K-2
Art Cards K-2 (5" x 7")
$11.85 ea.
Art Posters K-2 (11" x 17")
$36.05 ea.
by Patrick Fata | Grades
3+
Student Book $17.90
Audio $10.00
Enrich your child's primary education with beautiful pieces of art from the most in uential artistic movements in history, including the Renaissance, Romanticism, Impressionism, and more! ese supplements are coordinated with our primary Classical Core Curriculum sets.
by Kyle M. Janke
Grades 9+
$97.61 set
(student, teacher, digital flashcards, videos)
Student $20.50 | Teacher $20.50
Digital Flashcards $12.45 | Physical Flashcards $17.45
Videos $55.00
In A Classical History of Art, the timeless qualities of Greek expression inform a succinct and cohesive survey of 5,000 years of Western art. From the prehistoric period to the beginning of modern art, this study demonstrates the signi cance of classical values in the development of the sculpture, architecture, and painting of the West. Focused on cultivating fruitful and revelatory discussion, this curriculum presents the features, terms, and pertinent discussion questions of each major period, supplemented by close analysis of major works, lessons in visual composition, master copy drawing assignments, and 80 color ashcards. In the Instructional Videos, Kyle Janke walks your student through the course in twelve lessons, with lectures and thoughtful discussion points that complement and supplement the student text. For the educator, student, or curious individual, this course will produce the ardent and enlightening dialogue necessary to direct your interactions with great art.
Grades 3-4
$23.75
is course aims to deepen your student's appreciation of music by grounding the greatest pieces in the canon of Western classical music in their historical context, and by introducing the foundational musical concepts of notation, rhythm, pitch, form, and melody to give a fuller understanding of the inner workings of the pieces and of music in general.
Students will begin with color theory and basic art techniques. They will create projects that relate to literature, science, Mesopotamian and Egyptian art, portraits, landscapes, still life, and much more!
Classical Core Curriculum supplement
Grades K-2
$22.70 ea.
ese supplemental guides coordinate with our Classical Core Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade programs. Each guide includes an overview of each read-aloud book, author and illustrator biographies, oral reading questions, and a simple language lesson, as well as resources for the history, culture, and science lessons, biographies of the artists, and poetry lessons. Lessons from Music Enrichment are scheduled here as well.
Classical Core Curriculum supplement
Grades Jr. K-2 | $20.05 ea.
e creative arts are an essential part of primary school education. ese activities reinforce number and letter recognition, strengthen ne-motor skills, and foster creativity and con dence. ere is a craft project for each read-aloud in Memoria Press' Jr. K-2 curriculum packages, and additional crafts that focus on art concepts. Enjoy each of your creations and the time spent together making them.
Classical Core Curriculum supplement
Grades K-2
$15.10
Music Enrichment goes into more detail about each song studied in our Enrichment Guides, including a short backstory on each song and its composer, as well as a few interesting facts and discussion questions. Purchase of this book also includes links to playlists so you can listen to good recordings of each piece.
Grades K+
Wall Charts (11" x 8 ½") $17.90
Digital Flashcards $9.85 |
Be respectful, listen carefully, look for opportunities to include others, chew with your mouth closed—these simple, thoughtful guidelines for good manners are a great aid for your classroom or homeschool. ere are 36 manners, one for each week of your school year. Each week, hang up the wall chart as a helpful visual aid and use the short explanations and examples on the ashcards to discuss proper behavior at the dinner table, around the home, and out in public.
Grade K
$17.35
Kindergarten Morning Work is designed to practice quick recall of concepts already taught in the Kindergarten Curriculum. It purposefully does not introduce new concepts, but allows young students to build con dence and gives teachers the opportunity to gauge mastery. Two days a week students will review penmanship, phonics, color words, number awareness, and the manner of the week.
Grade K
$7.10
Fine-motor skills are critical for primary students to master. We have paired this Cut & Paste Book with our kindergarten phonics and reading program so that students can practice their scissors skills, using glue, and tracing letters while working on mastery of beginning phonics sounds. e pages are in the same order that students study the alphabet in First Start Reading, with additional pages for the h-consonant teams of sh, th, ch, and wh as they are introduced.
Recommended for Ages 3-5
My Very First Scissors Book $7.10
My Very Own Scissors Book $7.10
Help your student develop hand strength, ne-motor skills, and independence with one or both of these books.
Start Reading: Phonics, Reading,
by Cheryl Lowe | Grade K
$54.20 set (Books A-D + Teacher Guide)
Student Books (A-D) $8.15 ea.
Teacher Guide for Books A-D $21.60
FSR is a balanced, age-appropriate approach to phonics and reading, with a serious focus on correct pencil grip and letter formation. e program uses the traditional (vowel-consonant) approach to phonics combined with word families. e FSR kindergarten program consists of 4 student books with artist-drawn pictures to color, drawing pages for each letter or phonogram, and over 40 stories. e Teacher Guide leads you through the program and provides helpful assessments and teaching tips.
Grade K | $274.30 set
Everything you need to teach your student to read uently, including lesson plans!
by Cheryl Lowe
Grades K-2 | $20.05
ese phonetically arranged word lists require students to rely on their mastery of letter sounds. Coordinates with First Start Reading, or is a good supplement to any phonics program.
by Amber Wheat | Grade K | $17.35
Designed to be used in conjunction with First Start Reading to reinforce the phonetic concepts learned each week.
by Amber Wheat | Grade K | $16.80
Provides the extra practice needed to master manuscript printing. Correlates with the letter students are working on in First Start Reading.
$55.00
Let primary specialist Michelle Tefertiller teach your students how to read! ese streaming videos use all the books in the Kindergarten Phonics & Reading Set.
by Cheryl Lowe
Grades K-1
$8.15-$10.85 ea.
ese Storybooks feature the same targeted phonetic stories found in First Start Reading, with beautifully illustrated black and white pictures to help students stay engaged as they read.
First Start Reading, Book E by Michelle Tefertiller | Grade 1
Student Book E $8.15
Teacher Guide for Book E $11.85
We complete our phonics for reading program at the beginning of rst grade with First Start Reading Book E, which includes long vowel teams, sounds of soft c and g, and the three sounds of y
Grades K-2
(4¼'' x 5½")
$27.00
Flashcards for the nearly 200 phonograms used to spell the 44 sounds of the English language.
100 Days of Summer Reading Books I-III
Grades K-2 | $9.25 ea.
Reading is a subject that should continue through the summer to avoid regression.
ese summer reading journals are a perfect way to encourage young children to continue working on reading uency. e font size gets smaller for each journal, and each page is divided in half for drawing and writing short summaries. Kindergarten has the unique goal of reading a book a day for 100 days!
Grades K-2
$67.50
Classic stories from e Jungle Book, e Wind in the Willows, Tom Sawyer, and Doctor Dolittle have been adapted in these early readers so young children can read good stories on their level.
Phonics from A to Z
$37.99
A manual for teachers who want to go deeper into the subject of phonics and reading.
$39.99
An excellent phonics resource for grammar school teachers.
Grades 1-2
Traditional Spelling I, Instructor Julia Lasoi
Traditional Spelling II, Instructor Michelle Tefertiller $55.00 ea.
Join master primary school teachers Julia Lasoi and Michelle Tefertiller for Traditional Spelling! Clear explanations and gentle encouragement will keep your students engaged and give them con dence as they master their spelling words each week. We suggest you watch these interactive lessons alongside your student to prepare for the parent-led activities in the second half of the week, which are scheduled out in each Teacher Manual
by Cheryl Lowe and Michelle Tefertiller |
Grades 1-6
$105.90 I & II set ea.
(student, teacher, practice sheets, videos, supplemental workbook, supplemental workbook key)
$41.95 III set (student, teacher, practice sheets)
$36.06 IV, V, and VI set ea. (student, teacher)
Student $17.90 ea. | Teacher $20.05 ea.
Practice Sheets (I-III only) $6.20 ea.
Supplemental Workbook (I & II only) $9.25 ea.
Supplemental Workbook Key (I & II only) $9.25 ea.
Videos (I & II only) $55.00 ea.
is comprehensive, phonetic approach to teaching spelling is the culmination of our phonics program. Once students have mastered reading "consonant-vowel-consonant" words with short vowels in kindergarten they are ready to begin a spelling program. Traditional Spelling is the perfect next step toward reading uency. Traditional Spelling provides students with an extensive mastery-based study of phonics through sixth grade.
Lessons feature a variety of phonetic activities that utilize each week's spelling words, including writing and oral dictation practice, crossword puzzles, color-coded phonogram activities, short stories or riddles on the student's reading level, and Greek and Latin root word exercises.
Traditional Spelling VI is available now!
Why did we write a phonics program? Let's face it, there are so many phonics programs out there that finding one is not the real problem— it's choosing one Ever since Why Johnny Can't Read was published in , phonics programs have multiplied like rabbits. In the early days at Highlands Latin School we had been patching together different phonics materials—each of which had some features we liked, but not all—so we wrote a program that would include all the components necessary for a robust indergarten reading program.
A phonics program that combines printing instruction and practice with phonics allows students to print the words they are learning to read. The primary purpose of a phonics program is to teach a child to read, but spelling and printing are an important—though secondary—skill. If you are teaching letters and sounds to a three- or four-year-old, you definitely do not want to put much emphasis on printing, if any at all. But, for the five- and soon-to-be-six-year-olds in kindergarten, it's time to start working on those printing skills. Though printing is not a necessary skill for reading, it is a valuable learning pathway. It forces the student to slow down, sound out, notice details, spell, and practice fine motor skills. There is nothing more direct and effective than printing new words for the beginning reader. Since they are going to have to practice printing with something, why not the phonetic words they are learning to read?
It is difficult to find a program that gives pencil grip its due, or one that gives the teacher the techniques needed to teach and monitor pencil grip. It can be daunting to get a child to change his pencil grip if it is an ingrained bad habit, but what hand skill do we learn that is more important than writing? our child's tennis or golf coach will insist on correct grip and so, also, should we insist on correct pencil grip. This is not an item of personal preference. orrect pencil grip reduces hand fatigue and will make the writing component of an academic education much more pleasant.
Moving the eyes and hands from left to right when blending and reading is a critically important physical skill for the beginner. Most children catch on to this quickly, but there are always a few who struggle and become confused with the left-right directionality of reading, so there is no reason to take any chances. First Start Reading requires students to trace with a pencil on a dotted line underneath all the blending and
reading throughout the whole program. By printing all the words they are sounding out and reading, left-right directionality is constantly reinforced for students. The amount of repetition in FSR ensures that every child masters this skill.
Classical Phonics: A Child's Guide to Word Mastery was originally published in (under the title Word Mastery), and was a gold standard for traditional phonics at the turn of the century, before the look-say programs of the s. It is an outstanding example of the traditional and commonsense approach to teaching phonics, which is why we republished it and use it to practice word families alongside First Start Reading. In traditional phonics, the student learns the short vowel sounds and one sound for each consonant initially, practicing these sounds in threeletter consonant-vowel-consonant words, such as pat, pet, pit, pot. After mastering short vowels, the exact order of new phonetic principles is not critical, but most traditional phonics programs are fairly consistent in adding new sounds in a logical, orderly way. A typical order would be consonant blends, long vowels with silent , long vowel teams, digraphs, sounds of , etc. These phonetic principles are taught in the context of word families. This sensible approach to phonics is almost immediately understandable by the teacher and student
A nontraditional approach to phonics, developed in the last half of the twentieth century, requires students to learn all the sounds for each phonogram (the letters and teams that spell the sounds of the English language) initially and to use "spelling rules" to apply them. Using this approach subordinates reading to spelling and makes the process of learning to read unnecessarily complicated.
One more feature that makes First Start Reading a strong phonics program is the use of s and the liquid consonants ( , , , ) for beginning blending rather than the stop consonants ( , , , , ). and the liquid consonants can be voiced without a vowel sound, which is impossible with the stop consonants. Using the liquid consonants for blending eliminates this problem so the child is not trying to sound out bat like "buh-a-t ." That "uh " has to be voiced with the stop consonants but not with s and the liquids. First Start Reading begins with all of the consonants that can be blended smoothly and without any intervening vowels ( , s, , , f)
Other phonics programs tend to rush over short vowel sounds and blending much too quickly. The sounds of the consonants are easy to learn because most of them say their sounds in their names (w, y,
c, and are exceptions), but the vowels, on the other hand, are very nuanced and their sounds are very similar—especially and . These are by far the most difficult sounds in phonics, but what a difference they make Pit and pet are very different words, but and make such similar sounds. First Start Reading provides mastery learning for the short vowels, incorporating the same mastery drill found in Classical Phonics. The short vowel words are drilled three ways and then followed up by an assessment. irst, students must read the beginning consonant correctly in a list of words, as all of the words rhyme. Second, students must read the vowels and ending consonants correctly as all of the words begin with the same consonant. In the last list, students must know every consonant and vowel. Each assessment is important and identifies potential problems. When students sail through the last assessment they know the primary sound for each consonant and the short vowels, and they are ready to move on to the next phonetic principle. It's this kind of assessment that informs the teacher what the student really knows and can do, and that ensures a solid foundation is laid down in the beginning. The short vowel sounds are just too important to rush over.
First Start Reading consists of five consecutive workbooks for the child, enabling him to complete all of his work in an orderly way. or each letter, there are coloring pictures, drawing space, printing lines, and, finally, writing lines and stories to read. At the end of the course, parents have all of the child's important work from that magical first year in convenient books.
Anybody familiar with Memoria Press products knows that we like direct, simple, thorough, orderly materials and mastery learning. o distracting, busy pages, no cartoons or clip art, and no frills—just classic design and handsome, age-appropriate art. Students shouldn't be forced to use materials that are silly, ugly, cartoonish, and insulting to the child, as if children have to be entertained to keep their attention.
Adults may be bored with the unvaried format of the books in First Start Reading , but that is because adults do not have the child's delight in repetition and dislike for surprise and change. hildren like the same format for every lesson. They work securely and happily because they know what to expect and what they need to do.
Cheryl Lowe was the founder of Memoria Press and the author of the Latin Forms Series, irst Start Reading, and many other books. She also founded Highlands Latin School in Louisville, Kentucky, where all Memoria Press materials are developed and tested.
Levels A-D | Grades K-3 | Student $19.35 ea. | Teacher $6.20 ea.
Memoria Math Challenge provides students the daily practice and repetition needed to achieve mastery of basic arithmetic skills. Emphasis is placed on speed and accuracy. Level A focuses on writing numbers, counting, and addition to seven and subtraction facts up to six, Level B continues with addition and subtraction facts up to 10, Level C gives students practice with immediate recall of addition and subtraction facts up to 18, and Level D (new!) is designed for the year students are learning their multiplication and division facts. Level D is also a great resource for students of all grades needing to practice the four operations and ensure mastery of basic arithmetic.
Arithmetic Flashcards
Addition & Subtraction, 0 to 18
Digital $9.85
Physical $14.85
0 to 12
Digital $9.85
Physical $14.85
Grades 7+
$140.00 Memoria Pre-Algebra set
(text, teacher, solutions key, quizzes & tests, videos)
Student Text $35.00 | Teacher Manual $35.00 | Solutions Key (Student Text, Quizzes, & Tests) $30.00 | Quizzes & Tests $20.00 | Videos $55.00
$164.00 ea. Memoria Algebra I or II set
(text, teacher, solutions key, quizzes & tests, videos) Student Text $45.00 | Teacher Manual $45.00 | Solutions Key (Student Text, Quizzes, & Tests) $40.00 | Quizzes & Tests $20.00 | Videos $55.00
Division Flashcards
0 to 12
Digital $9.85
Physical $14.85
e Memoria Algebra Series covers the mathematical discipline of algebra in three books, beginning with Memoria Pre-Algebra. Transition seamlessly from arithmetic to the rst principles of algebra in this exhaustive and logically sequenced program that fosters mastery rather than frustration.
Based on the beloved VideoText program, this updated and expanded series features a comprehensive Student Text and optional Instructional Videos that guide students step by step through each lesson and provide abundant exercises for mastery. e Teacher Manual and complete Solutions Key make the content accessible for those without an advanced background in mathematics. e Quizzes & Tests include two versions of each assessment for practice and repeated attempts.
Still need original VideoText? Buy at MemoriaPress.com!
Rod & Sta Math books teach your student number facts and arithmetic skills to mastery using clear, uncluttered lessons and plenty of drill practice.
Grade 1 Arithmetic (3rd Ed.)
Student Part 1
$8.50 | Student Part 2 $8.50
Practice Sheets $21.50
Teacher Manual $25.95
Speed Drills $5.95
Grade 2 Arithmetic (3rd Ed.)
Student Unit 1 $8.50 | Student Unit 2 $8.50
Student Unit 3 $8.50 | Student Unit 4 $8.50
Practice Sheets 1 $9.50 | Practice Sheets 2 $9.50
Supplemental Pack $2.25 | Teacher Manual Units 1-2 $15.25
Teacher Manual Units 3-4 $15.25
Grade 3 Arithmetic (3rd Ed.)
Student $15.50
Teacher Manual Part 1 $15.25
Teacher Manual Part 2 $15.25
Tests $2.75
Digital $9.85 | Physical $14.85
Grade 4 Arithmetic
Student $17.95 | Speed Drill Packet $9.50
Teacher Manual Part 1 $14.75
Teacher Manual Part 2 $14.75
Tests $2.95 | Speed Drills $5.50
Grade 5 Arithmetic
Student $17.95
Teacher Manual Part 1 $14.75
Teacher Manual Part 2 $14.75
Tests $2.95 | Speed Drills $5.50
Grade 6 Mathematics
Student $17.75
Teacher Manual Part 1 $14.75
Teacher Manual Part 2 $14.75
Tests $2.75 | Quizzes and Speed Tests $5.25
by Leigh Lowe
Recommended for Ages 4-5
$34.70 set (2 books)
Teaches letter recognition, letter formation, and pencil grip. is is a gentle introduction to phonics.
by Leigh Lowe
Recommended for Kindergarten
$34.70 set (2 books)
Continued practice with numbers, counting, and patterns for the kindergarten student who is ready to move beyond simple tracing. is a nice supplement to any kindergarten math program.
Deck contains one card for each letter of the alphabet. Each card has the upper- and lowercase letter on one side and a simple illustration on the ip side that allows practice with the beginning letter sound.
Numbers & Colors
Recommended for Ages 4-5 $17.35
is book introduces each number through 15 and color words with tracing and coloring activities.
Coloring Books
Recommended for Ages 4-5
Alphabet $7.10
Numbers $7.10
Practice number and letter recognition while developing ne-motor and coloring skills.
See also: Alphabet Wall Charts and Alphabet Wall Poster (p. 82)
Grades 3+
$74.39 set (student, teacher, The World of Mammals, What Is a Mammal?, What Is the Animal Kingdom?)
Student $17.30
Teacher $19.45
e World of Mammals $21.65
What Is a Mammal? $9.95
What Is the Animal Kingdom? $9.95
e young student's natural fascination with animals makes this in-depth study of the habitats, behaviors, and classi cation of mammals a wonderful grammar school course. Lessons draw from e World of Mammals, What Is the Animal Kingdom?, and What Is a Mammal? and include comprehension questions, drawing exercises, and observation pages.
Grades 3+
Student $17.30 | Teacher $20.50
Teach your student the story of the sky! is guide covers stars, constellations, the solar system, and the zodiac.
Grades 4+
$70.47 set (text, student, teacher, field guide, digital flashcards)
Text $17.90 | Student $17.90 | Teacher $20.05
eBook $12.00 | Peterson Guide $9.99
Digital Flashcards $12.45 | Physical Flashcards $17.45
A narrative approach to the life of insects that takes your student through classi cation, anatomy, and more!
by Sarah Jo Davis and Kalee Miller | Grades 5+
$83.60 set (text, student, teacher, field guide, coloring book, digital flashcards)
Text $20.50 | Student $17.90 | Teacher $20.05
Peterson Guide
$9.99 | Coloring Book $11.99 Digital Flashcards $12.45 | Physical Flashcards $17.45
e Book of Birds is a thorough introduction to a fascinating avian world, covering everything from anatomy and the physics of ight to social habits and habitats.
by Sean Brooks | Grades 6+
$69.53 set (text, student, teacher, field guide, Tree Book)
Text $17.90 | Student $17.90 | Teacher $20.05
Peterson Guide $9.99
e Tree Book for Kids and eir Grown-Ups $15.95
Do you know that the very gift of breath is the result of the oxygen that trees and plants produce? Or that trees and plants provide the means of sustenance for all life on Earth?
e Book of Trees , along with the Student Workbook and Teacher Guide , will teach your student both plant morphology and taxonomy (the di erent parts and di erent kinds of plants), as well as photosynthesis and respiration. Other chapters cover owers and fruits. e second half of the course is dedicated to tree observation and classi cation.
by Christopher O. Blum & John A. Cuddeback Grades 6+
Text $21.95 | Student $14.05 | Teacher $15.10 is introduction to natural history instills in the beginning student of biology a love for the beauty and order of the animal kingdom through the eyes of the classical naturalists. Students will be led from the invertebrate animals through the ve great vertebrate classes to the culmination of the natural order, a consideration of man as the knowing animal and as a steward of Creation.
Grades 5-9
Text $18.99 ea.
Supplemental Student Questions
Teacher Key & Tests
$9.25 ea.
$6.20ea.
J. H. Tiner's illustrated science books for middle school students are written from a biblical perspective and have won numerous awards. Each includes review questions and activities for every chapter, and Memoria Press has written supplemental questions, unit reviews, and tests for each book.
Choose From:
Exploring the History of Medicine
Exploring Planet Earth
Exploring the World of Mathematics
Exploring the World of Chemistry
Exploring the World of Physics
Exploring the World of Biology
Exploring the World of Astronomy
Novare Science Grades 6+
See full book and price lists on MemoriaPress.com!
Novare is committed to a mastery-learning paradigm. Accurate explanations and a thorough treatment of the subject matter characterize these courses from start to nish. e Digital Resources download includes quizzes and exams, a teacher key, weekly review guides, and more.
Physical Science
Earth Science
Introductory Physics
General Chemistry
Choose From:
Accelerated Chemistry
Physics: Modeling Nature General Biology
Manifestum est enim quod homo per intellectum cognoscere potest naturas omnium corporum, said St. Thomas Aquinas: " or it is manifest that man is able to know physical things through the intellect." The truth that the human mind is able to know the natures of all bodily things may indeed be manifest, as Aquinas here testifies, but it is no less noble for being evident. By this statement, Aquinas does not mean that any one of us in fact knows all things, nor does he mean that the natures of material things are all equally open to our knowing them, nor indeed that our knowledge exhausts their intelligibility or even attains the specific differences of natural bodies. et he certainly did mean to point to the universality of the mind as a power of knowing. The mind is not an organ like the eye that has but one proper object—color—and can say nothing about the proper objects of the other senses. The savor, aroma, and temperature of a glass of Burgundy are things that the eye cannot see. The mind, however, roams freely over the material reation, never once stopping to say of the world that surrounds it: "I have found my limit; it is here that my knowing must come to an end." Even the wildest speculations of today's cosmologists—who with reckless abandon reify time, multiply dimensions, and propagate multiverses—merely confirm Aquinas' dictum and Aristotle's insight: The only limit acknowledged by the human mind is the limit of reality itself. The mind, as such, is open to the knowledge of all things, which is why the mind, as mind, must be immaterial: In order to be capable of receiving the forms of things into itself, it must not already be determined to a particular form, but be in itself a perfect receptive openness to all forms.
It is this very principle of the universality of the human intellect, so essential to understanding the dignity of the human person, that makes the multifarious manifestations of modern science at once so very important and so very vexing. or modern science, like the Roman god Janus, has two faces. One of those faces is open to all of reality, from the primeval atom through the eons of stellar clusters and the steady growth of life on Earth, to the human mind itself as an image of the first cause and final end of all that exists, that immaterial intelligence identified by the Sage as "thought thinking itself." This face of modern science looks upward with wonder and awe, and with a thoughtful puzzlement ponders the seemingly inexhaustible order and intelligibility of the cosmos, day-by-day unfolded in laboratory, classroom, field station, and observatory.
The other face—how very tragic it is—glares, winces, and even sometimes snarls. This is the face that rejects the search for the first cause and insists that science attend only to what its instruments reveal—but not as a wise and humble matter of practice, rather as a dogmatic injunction—for it holds to be real only those things revealed by its instruments. This is the science that refutes itself by suggesting that all things in nature and human affairs are determined by material causes alone, that these causes themselves are radically unintelligible because they work only by probabilities and chances, and—though it does not trumpet the embarrassing claim loudly—it must ultimately admit what its principles declare that man is not really a knower.
The first face of modern science, the calm countenance of pious learning, is the face worn by the vast majority of those who study nature today: stargazers, birdwatchers, homeschooling mothers, all children, many armchair philosophers and some professional ones, and a surprising number of field and laboratory scientists. They have learned from Galileo that the moon is made of rocks, from William Harvey that the blood circulates, from Joseph Lister that they ought to wash their hands, and from many scientists many other truths besides. They are comfortable with the periodic table, unafraid of what the geological record may reveal, and even pay a respectful if somewhat quizzical regard to the mysteries of quantum physics. And many of them regularly worship ature's God.
The second face of modern science is also widespread, and seems to hold what T. S. Eliot once called "all the most valuable advertising space," enjoying bully pulpits in academia and the media, from which it trumpets in dreary monotony the dirge of chance and necessity, of the land beyond freedom and dignity, and of the universe without a cause.
What do men of faith require in order to find in that first science the great good of truths lasting and significant? What can men of faith do to offer some measure of composure and peace to those now wearing the anguished and angry faces of that second science?
Such questions admit of no brief and easy answers. et there is a way forward. We must have both a determination to use with great care the words that we employ to formulate our claims about nature and a confidence that nature's deep and beautiful order points the way back to its reator. These two principles do not themselves offer all that we seek, but they are the essential starting points for inquiry.
The first of these principles is methodological: The only adequate science is one whose findings can at last be expressed in the terms of—or at least in continuity
with—the same ordinary language that we use to give an account of our everyday experiences. rom this methodological principle follows the need to make the most careful sifting possible of the words that we choose to formulate our findings about nature. Such care is all too often absent from the speech of the popularizers of an agnostic or atheistic science. Hand-waving and obfuscation are there the norm, as when rancis rick asks us to ponder the "hypothesis" that we "are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules," but then are treated to a remarkable spectacle of hide-and-seek in which all the essential explanatory terms remain unexamined. At times, however, the kind of shell game with words that modern science can devolve into is revealed by one of its players with shocking candor, as when Richard eynman, in the course of answering a question he had posed for himself—"What is energy?"—declares that "it is important to realize that in physics today, we have no knowledge of what energy is."
eynman's ensuing discussion is, of course, not lacking in value. et, although a obel Prize-winning physicist is forced to admit that this word he is putting into constant use— energy—lacks a definition, it can nevertheless be posed as a foundation stone in a much larger edifice, as in this startling definition in an otherwise admirably sober book: "Physics is the study of energy and its interaction with matter." And this declaration is, perhaps predictably, soon to be followed by a discussion of "the best-known equation in the world," E mc , from which we learn to consider that "energy has mass, and mass is a form of concentrated energy." So energy is matter, and matter is energy, and "physics" is the study of them both. It is very far from being self-evident that the Aristotelian definition of physics as the study of "nature" or of "mobile being" is inferior to this misty conception. And if modern science has such a difficult time explaining what it is that it studies, should we be surprised to find that its theories and conclusions are often similarly expressed in terms that ba e and amaze? Our response must first be
always to carefully attend to the meaning of the words that we employ to express what we have apprehended of nature's intelligibility.
The second principle is one of attitude rather than method: the conviction that nature's beautiful order was created for us to understand, to delight in, and to give thanks for. It is a corrupt version of modern science—and an ideology rather than any form of knowledge—that would seek chiefly to dominate nature or to reinvent it according to our whim rather than to understand it. When Richard Rorty declared that the "undesirable sense of wonder" of "Plato, Aristotle, and orthodox monotheism" should be set aside, he recommended in its place a program of truly astonishing Prometheanism:
The hundred-odd years spent absorbing and improving on arwin's empirical story have, I suspect and hope, unfitted us for listening to transcendental stories.
In the course of those years we have gradually substituted the making of a better future for ourselves, constructing a utopian, democratic society, for the attempt to see ourselves from outside of time and history. Antiessentialism is one expression of that shift. The willingness to see philosophy as an aid to creating ourselves rather than to knowing ourselves is another.
ature is either the source and the measure of our knowledge, or, if it is somehow beneath us and we are somehow its measure, then nature— including human nature—is merely some kind of cosmic playdough that we manipulate at will. The dire practical implications of such a view are evident to all men and women of good will. How is it to be refuted? ot so much by argument—for this view does not repose upon argument—as by example. It is by the patient and sober, but loving and attentive study of nature, and by the careful exposition and sharing of the results of that study, that confidence will be restored in the harmonious vision of nature as an ordered cosmos through which man the wayfarer makes his way home to his reator.
h istophe um io o y nd h isto y nd hi osophy o Science) is professor of history and philosophy at the Augustine Institute and the co-author of ature's Beautiful Order
e Simply Classical Curriculum has been adapted especially for students ages 0-21 who have signi cant learning challenges. All curriculum packages are fully customizable to t your needs and goals and your student's strengths and weaknesses. With a slower pace and ample review, the curriculum makes the rich, beautiful content of classical Christian education accessible to all.
Readiness Levels
• My First Words (Ages* 0-2) $132.82
• Level A (Ages 2-3): Readiness, Rhythm, & Rhyme $240.49
• Level C (Ages 4-5): Animals, Alphabet, & Aesop $230.37
Primary Levels
• Level 1 (Ages 5-6): Sentences, Sums, & Stories $401.01
• Level 2 (Ages 6-8): Comprehension, Calculations, $317.55
• Level B (Ages 3-4): Essentials, Etiquette, & Ear Training $195.91
Grammar Levels
• Level 4 (Ages 8-10): Mozart, Maps, & Myths $524.74
• Levels 5 & 6† (Ages 9-12): Grammar, Greece, & Gratitude $732.99
Scholar Levels
• Levels 7 & 8† (Ages 11-14): Poetry, Pleiades, & Promises $571.96
• Levels 9 & 10† (Ages 13-16): Knights, Knaves, & Knowledge $828.22
Advanced Levels
View samples and shop now!
• Levels 11 & 12† (Ages 15-18): History, Homer, & Heroes $571.14
†Available in a one- or two-year pace. Two-year pace price shown.
by Cheryl Swope | $26.00
e humanity of the child with special needs—the humanity of any child—must determine the education he receives. In this revolutionary book, Cheryl Swope guides parents, teachers, and schools in implementing the beauty, depth, and richness of a classical education for students with signi cant learning challenges.
Simply Classical Copybook Series by Cheryl Swope | Ages 5-8, chronological age or skill level
$10.30 ea.
Book 1, Manuscript Book 2, Manuscript or Cursive Book 3, Manuscript or Cursive Book 4, Cursive Strengthen penmanship, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, ne-motor skills, and memory through the time-honored tradition of copybooks. Habits of accuracy, neatness, and patience are taught through the truth and comfort of Holy Scripture. Shorter selections help accommodate for writing di culties while providing the full bene ts of copybook and memory work, and the simple, clean pages help students focus on the task at hand.
My ankfulness Journals by
Cheryl Swope
Ages 6-12, chronological age or skill level
Beginner or Intermediate
$9.75 ea. ese journals let students practice cursive while thinking about God's daily blessings in their lives. e Intermediate Journal has a smaller font size and less tracing.
Simply Classical Prima Latina Copybook by Leigh Lowe
Ages 8+, chronological age or skill level
$16.80 is copybook in the New American Cursive font features Latin vocabulary and prayer copy practice that correlates to the lessons in Prima Latina. ese simpli ed copy exercises are a great way to help your students practice Latin while developing penmanship skills.
by Cheryl Swope
Ages 4-11, chronological age or skill level
$10.30
Ages 4-7, chronological age or skill level | $15.10 (3 manuscript letter charts, 3 number charts) Reinforce your teaching with desk charts. Bold, targeted letters assist visual discrimination.
by Cheryl Swope | Ages 9+
Aesop Copybook, Cursive $10.30
Aesop Copybook, Manuscript $10.30
Aesop's Fables $14.99
e Aesop Copybook is a lovely companion to Aesop’s Fables. It will strengthen your student's writing and composition skills while giving the opportunity to contemplate the timeless wisdom of Aesop's fables and learn from the gentle moral instruction they provide.
Simply Classical: Character Building
Myself & Others
Savor small moments of wonder with your child as he learns the simple beauty of nature. is book can stand alone as a delightful supplement to any program.
Need help?
Not sure where to start?
Visit SimplyClassical.com to take a free readiness assessment or join the discussion on our forum. Or email us at specialneeds@memoriapress.com.
Lessons for Social Understanding, Habits, & Manners by Cheryl Swope | Ages 3-13, chronological age or skill level ese 14-week sets provide simple, standalone lessons in common courtesy, character, and compassion that often seem neglected today, as well as lessons in developing good safety and health habits. With easy-to-teach instructions, each book provides 4-day lessons that can be taught in as little as 30-60 minutes per day over a single semester or summer. e lessons cover ve areas: Rules, Health, Safety, Manners, and Listening.
by Cheryl Swope
Ages 6-9, chronological age or skill level
$17.30 ea.
is series gives your struggling writer an incremental, multi-sensory approach with an oral/aural emphasis. Each week includes targeted Word Study exercises to promote linguistic awareness, cognitive exibility, and improved spelling skills.
√ Improve auditory discrimination
√Increase cognitive exibility
√Strengthen listening skills
√Build spelling con dence
by Cheryl Swope
Ages 6-9, chronological age or skill level
Student $22.70 ea. | Teacher $11.85 ea. (Book 2 only)
is series combines copybook, grammar rules, and composition into one carefully sequenced series of explicit instruction so students can practice early writing skills with con dence. Choose from Bible Story or Read-Aloud editions.
$49.36 set (student, teacher, Little Bear, Little Bear's Visit, Caps for Sale, & Blueberries for Sal)
$47.78 set (student, teacher, Billy and Blaze, The Story About Ping, Keep the Lights Burning Abbie, & Stone Soup)
Ages 6-9, chronological age or skill level
Blossoming readers need more than practice; they need to discover the riches of a good story. With simpli ed exercises in word study, composition, and oration, these delightful guides provide a joyful introduction to children's literature. Teach essential language arts skills as your students encounter stories of tenderness, bravery, and kindness. ese adaptations of the Memoria Press originals have been created especially for struggling learners or students with special needs.
by Tara Luse
Ages 3-5, chronological age or skill level
$11.85 ea.
ese activities reinforce number and letter recognition, strengthen ne-motor skills, and foster creativity and con dence. Book One contains letter crafts from Memoria Press' Jr. K Book of Crafts Book Two contains story crafts from Memoria Press' Jr. K Book of Crafts Enjoy each of your creations and the time spent together making them!
by Cheryl Swope
Ages 6-9, chronological age or skill level
$22.70
Use this book as a summer intensive, a supplemental resource alongside Simply Classical Writing , or as a focused review. Students will work with capital letters and end marks, types of sentences, common and proper nouns, parts of speech, and word selection. Each lesson is paired with practice exercises and a thought for further re ection. Exercises can be taught over 2-4 days for younger students, or 1-2 exercises can be covered per day for older or more advanced students.
Ages 7-9, chronological age or skill level | $22.70 is guide helps you teach American history, poetry, music, art, and science through the Simply Classical Level 3 American History ReadAloud set, maps, classical music selections, and art cards. Everything is scheduled for you weekly with thoughtful discussion questions, science activities, and topics for art and music appreciation that will enrich your year and expand your child's cultural, scienti c, and general knowledge.
Choose from:
New American Cursive 1
New American Cursive 2: Scripture & Famous Quotations
New American Cursive 2: Quotations from Famous Americans
New American Cursive 3: Scripture & Lessons on Manners
New American Cursive 3: Famous Quotes & Lessons on Manners
Cursive by
Iris Hat eld
Grade 5-Adult |
$25.75
Whether you are a beginning older student or are ne-tuning your penmanship later in life, these self-guided lessons make learning cursive a pleasure. Practice just 15 minutes a day to get remarkable results.
Create customizable worksheets in the New American Cursive font to integrate handwriting practice with any subject (Windows only). Startwrite Software
$29.95
New American Cursive by Iris Hat eld
Grades 1+
$25.75 ea.
e New American Cursive (NAC) penmanship program is an easy-to-follow resource for learning cursive. Simpli ed letter forms and clear instructions teach your student to write in a fast, legible script. Developed by Iris Hat eld, an educator with 55 years of experience in the handwriting eld, the workbooks improve the process of teaching handwriting and allow students to start at a younger age.
In NAC 1, learn how to form each letter, step by step, with clear starting dots and direction arrows. Correct pencil grip, paper position, and posture are illustrated throughout. Fifteen minutes of workbook practice a day is all it takes! NAC 2 will continue to teach correct letter forms and how to easily connect each letter. Proper size, spacing, and slant are emphasized in 125 instructional exercises. In NAC 3 you will further enhance cursive skills by practicing your best handwriting while learning about manners and correspondence protocol.
Wisdom Scriptures by Iris Hat eld
Grades 3+
$14.05
is easy-to-use supplemental resource for mastering a legible, attractive cursive enhances the pleasure of writing by practicing a di erent, inspiring wisdom Scripture verse each day. It also includes 50 helpful penmanship tips to improve cursive skills.
Available in Manuscript (blue) or Cursive (green) (11'' x 17'') | $17.90 ea.
ese visual aids reinforce each letter of the alphabet while young students learn to read and write or practice their penmanship. Each illustration is handdrawn. e cursive charts use the New American Cursive font.
New American Cursive Teaching Charts by Iris Hat eld and Tara Luse
Grades 1+ |
$17.90
e New American Cursive Teaching Charts make great visual aids for the home or classroom. e charts feature letter illustrations for the entire cursive alphabet along with copy words. ese charts make an excellent supplement to the New American Cursive program.
Manuscript and New American Cursive (22'' x 34'') | $8.15 is poster lists the entire alphabet in manuscript and cursive. It is the perfect resource if you don't have the space for our Alphabet Wall Charts .
by Cheryl & Leigh Lowe
Grades
K-2
$45.36 set (Copybooks I-III)
$16.80 ea.
Copybooks include memory passages, copybook exercises, and drawing pages, incorporating Scripture from the King James Bible and classic children's poems.
(New American Cursive font)
Grades 1-6 | $16.80 ea.
Copybook Cursive I is perfect for second graders alongside NAC 2 or older students needing more practice.
Copybook Cursive II includes Scripture passages from Christian Studies I, the 15 brightest stars from Astronomy, and the major gods from D'Aulaires' Greek Myths. In Copybook Cursive III, students practice their penmanship with beautiful memory passages from Christian Studies II e college-ruled lines of Copybook Cursive IV are perfect for older students honing their penmanship with the Scripture passages from Christian Studies III
Grades K-6
$9.75 ea.
I: 5/8" Ruled for Younger Students
II: 1/2" Ruled for 1st-2nd Grade Students
III: College-Ruled for Older Students
Our Composition & Sketchbooks allow students to write and illustrate compositions.
Grades K-2
Manuscript or Cursive
$16.80 ea.
ese workbooks are designed as summer practice for rising rst and second graders. ey are arranged in lessons to be completed three times a week during the summer.
(New American Cursive font)
Ages 6+ | $16.80 ea.
Our Cursive Practice Sheets include pages for practicing each cursive letter, Scripture copywork, and blank practice sheets. Book I is a good companion to NAC 1 , Book II is extra practice for NAC 2 , and Book III is wideruled for any older student who needs more practice.
Grades 1-2 |
$35.00
Get to know the heroes of the Bible while working through writing exercises that include key word outlining, paraphrasing, and summarizing stories. Teacher's Manual eBook is included.
Grades 3-5 | $35.00 is theme-based writing curriculum will help young students enjoy learning to take notes, summarize narrative stories, write from pictures, and compose creative essays.
Grades 3-4
Student $11.85
Key $11.85
by James A. Selby
| Grades 4-12
$96.22 set ea. (student, teacher, videos)
Student $21.95 ea. | Teacher $29.95 ea.
Videos $55.00 ea. (available for I-VIII)
Grades 6+
$99.00 set
(teacher manual, student packet, portable walls, DVDs) is twelve-week course for middle and high school empowers teachers to help students become competent and con dent public speakers.
is introductory program focuses on narration, outlining, dictation, and copywork to help students become more pro cient in listening and writing skills, a great preparation for Classical Composition . is yearlong writing course uses focus passages from Charlotte's Web , Farmer Boy , A Bear Called Paddington , Mr. Popper's Penguins , and e Mo ats
Classical Composition is our study in the progymnasmata ("the before exercises"), a combination writing and pre-rhetoric program that teaches students the fundamental writing skills of style, arrangement, and invention in clear and systematic lessons. e nine stages of Classical Composition will not only teach the art of communication, but are designed to produce what Quintilian once called "the good man, speaking well."
e structured lessons in the Student Guides help students become con dent writers as they thoroughly master the incremental skills of each stage. e Teacher Guides provide sample answers for every exercise as well as scripted Chalk Talk. Optional Instructional Videos are also available if you'd like the support of a master teacher to help guide you and your students through the lessons.
Grade 2
Student $9.25 | Teacher $11.85
Designed for the nal year of primary school, this program is used as morning work or oral practice of many basic aspects of language arts, from capitalization and punctuation to language and reading skills.
Grades 3-8
English Grammar Recitation Handbook $11.85 Digital Flashcards $12.65 | Physical Flashcards $17.65
Student $14.05 ea. | Teacher $15.10 ea.
Memoria Press' English Grammar Recitation is perfect for the student who needs an English grammar program that coordinates with his study of Latin. 150 grammar questions with answers and examples, designed to be studied and memorized much like a catechism, are compiled in the English Grammar Recitation Handbook. ese questions are learned over the course of six years in just thirty minutes a week. Students are given practice exercises in the Student Workbook and the opportunity to practice immediate recall with the Flashcards. e Teacher Guide provides answers to all exercises.
See also: Introduction to English Grammar (p. 4)
Starting late? No problem! Complete Fable and Narrative in one year and get a reduced price of $138.98 for both sets of Student and Teacher Guides and videos.
CLASSICAL COMPOSITION STAGES:
I: Fable (pictured)
II: Narrative
III: Chreia & Maxim
IV: Refutation & Con rmation
V: Common Topic
VI: Encomium, Invective, & Comparison
VII: Characterization (1 semester)
VIII: Description (1 semester)
IX: esis & Law
Browse a rich collection of instructional courses and free content.
Listen to Latin pronunciation, music, and more.
Utilize our fl ashcards in a fully digital format with a profi ciency system.
by Martin Cothran | Grades 7+
$81.23 complete set ea. (text, workbook, key, quizzes, videos)
$45.14 basic set ea. (text, workbook, key, quizzes)
Text $16.25 ea. | Workbook $19.00 ea. | Key $11.85 ea.
Videos $55.00 ea. | Quizzes & Tests $6.20 ea.
Material Logic: A Course in How to ink by
Martin Cothran
| Grades 9+
$97.48 complete set (text, workbook, key, quizzes, videos)
$47.98 basic set (text, workbook, key, quizzes)
Text $16.25 | Workbook $19.00 Key $11.85 | Quizzes & Test $6.20 Videos $55.00
Material Logic is a course in how to think. It covers the branch of logic called "informal logic" that deals with the content of argumentation. It can be used as a follow-up to Traditional Logic or simply as an introduction to the rudiments of classical philosophy for high school students. e program covers the ten ways something can exist, the ve ways of saying something about something else, de nition, and division.
Traditional Logic I and II cover the branch of logic called "formal logic," which is concerned with the form and structure of reasoning. It focuses on the procedural aspect of reasoning, its mechanics, how we properly get from two premises or assumptions to a conclusion. e program is designed to teach students a practical mastery of the art of argument.
Traditional Logic I presents the four kinds of logical statements, the four ways propositions can be opposed, the three ways in which they can be equivalent, and the seven rules for the validity of syllogisms. In Traditional Logic II students will master the use of the nineteen valid categorical argument forms through the memorization of a medieval mnemonic device, and learn the three kinds of hypothetical arguments. Students will study examples of arguments from history and literature.
e Texts explain challenging concepts in clear, concise language. e accompanying Student Workbooks include enough exercises to ensure that the student masters the material before moving on. e Teacher Keys include answers to the workbooks, quizzes, and tests. Instructional Videos are also available if you would like a little help from the author teaching the material. Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions
by Peter Kreeft & Ronald K. Tacelli
$35.00 (optional supplement)
Classical Rhetoric:
Aristotle's Principles of Persuasion
by Martin Cothran | Grades 9+
$156.37 complete set
(basic set + How to Read a Book & Figures of Speech)
$100.45 basic set
(student, teacher, quizzes, videos, Aristotle's Rhetoric)
Student $29.95 | Teacher $11.85
Quizzes & Tests
$6.20
Videos $55.00 | Aristotle's Rhetoric $8.00 How to Read a Book $19.99 Figures of Speech
$49.99
Classical Rhetoric is a guided tour through the rst part of the single greatest book on communication ever written: Aristotle's Rhetoric. is course involves a study of the fundamental principles of political philosophy, ethics, and traditional psychology. Your student will not only learn the basics of political speech, but also the elements of good character, the seven reasons people act, and what elicits speci c emotions under particular circumstances and why.
Mortimer J. Adler & Charles Van Doren
