I received an e-mail from Memoria Press saying they would be sending the Famous Men of Rome and Latina Christiana I books.  They were kind enough to say that if these books weren’t “for us” we should take a look around their website and let them know if we preferred something else.  I already owned Famous Men of Rome, so I checked out the website and responded that I would instead like to receive their Cursive Copy Book.  In response to my request, I was offered the Teacher and Student guides for Famous Men of Rome, as I only had the text, and Christian Studies I!   Oh, she said yes to the Cursive Copybook, too!  Is this the most generous, helpful, and BEST customer service around?! 

Now for the using and reviewing of this Classical Curriculum where I received materials geared for grades 3-7 and used them with a 5th grader:

Famous Men of series - We own several of these; many curricula include these in their historical fiction or living books suggestions.  Each chapter is a biography about a person of that time period.  The Memoria Press student and teacher guides are a helpful way to check what your child is learning; they could be used as a workbook or a spring board for narrations or as writing prompts, and I especially liked the hands-on maps and drawing pages!  This is definitely not a read and regurgitate workbook, but a tool to make sure the student (and parent) really knows the person and when he lived.

Latin:  Latina Christiana I – I took several years of Spanish in high school and college, so this clicked with me quickly.  I liked the way the lessons were laid out, with the student learning a Latin saying, some vocabulary, then some grammar, such as conjugations.  The CD is included when you purchase the student and teacher guides, but having the DVDs was extremely helpful and fun; I’m not sure I could handle actually teaching from just the book and CD with no previous Latin myself.  I especially liked learning the word meanings and my daughter said she “just liked it!”  I suspect she liked learning something totally new with Mom from a DVD teacher.

Latin Copywork – New American Cursive – I think a good handwriting program is important, for printing and cursive, but it only makes sense to use this Copy Book with Latina Christiana.  I like to fit as many subjects together as possible (unit study), so if you’re using Latin Christiana, then Cursive Copy Book of Latin Hymns and Prayers is a perfect match.  Obviously?!

Christian Studies – I’ve really been “winging it” when it comes to Bible history, especially the Old Testament, and I haven’t been doing a very good job.  We received Book I, Genesis through Moses, and it is jam packed with “Salvation History” and spiritual significance.  We covered Bible stories, historical facts, vocabulary activities, scripture memorization and those great maps similar to the Famous Men books (oh, that’d be geography).  I’d been looking for something to help me understand the history of the Old Testament better, along with the spiritual significance, and I think I’ve found it!

I liked the quote in the Christian Studies section, that the students “… embark on a three-year Bible reading course that builds faith by teaching Salvation History as real history.”

I’ll have to admit that I was a bit skeptical and overwhelmed by this Classical curriculum, but I’ve learned a lot:  I like Latin and I really needed help from Christian Studies.  I’m able to take what I feel we need and leave the rest aside.  I know that makes tried and true Classical people cringe, but I just can’t insist that we learn Latin at this point and time.  I didn’t have the opportunity to review any other Bible curriculum this year, so I was excited to receive the Memoria Press Christian Studies, and I know we’ll be able to use it!  I have their Children’s Bible on my wishlist, as well as the Parent and Student guides for Famous Men of the Middle Ages.   There are printable samples of most every book available at the website.  Please check them out!

Alas, I am at the end of my review year with TOS Crew.  It is bittersweet.

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