Memoria Press          

Memoria Press is known for their Classical Curriculum.  They offer books like Latina Christiana, Copybooks, Christian Studies and the Famous Men series (among others). 

Memoria Press allowed us to choose what product we would like to review.  I am so thankful that they allowed us that freedom.  I chose Christian Studies 1 and Famous Men Of Rome.

Christian Studies 1 works along side the Golden Children's Bible.  I liked how the books felt and was impressed by their quality, however, I was a little disappointed by the Golden Children's Bible.

In the Memoria Press catalog they explain why they use this version of the Bible by saying ". . .its slightly simplified, but poetically appealing, King James text along with its beautiful, accurate, and age-appropriate illustrations."

My issue was with the word "accurate".  I was really bothered by the illustration of the ark being built.  In the picture, several people are building it (more than just Noah, Mrs. Noah, the sons and their wives).  My 7 year old daughter pointed this out to us and stressed that it would be cruel for Noah and God to let someone work hard on building the ark and then watch them drown when the floods came.  I don't see that as accurate.  There are also illustrations of the Nebuchadnezzar's statue that are not biblically accurate.  In the Bible it was 9 feet wide and 90 feet tall.  The picture depicts it very differently.   

I was not impressed by the Bible they linked the study to, however, the student/ teacher books Memoria created were very solid, and educational.  The teacher and student books where great resources for deeper learning.  I loved that my children had maps to associate with the story.  They are now able to point out several locations without any help.  That impressed me.  I also enjoyed the vocabulary and important facts in the workbooks. 

I'm not a classical educator and I have no desire to learn Latin as a language, but I enjoy knowing Latin in regards to bible study.  I appreciated the little bits of Latin that are explained.  It made the text richer. 

I think my children learned through the stories and the review that Christian Studies 1 supplied. In the future, I will read from our family bible rather than the story book when using this study.  Truly, my only issue with this resource was the Bible version they chose.   Everything else about Christian Studies 1 was exceptional.  You can see a sample of Christian Studies 1 here.

Christian Studies 1 can be purchased for $17.95 for the Student Book, $20.95 for the Teacher Book, and $17.95 for Golden Children's Bible, or you can purchase the whole curriculum sets 1-3 for $119.95.

Famous Men of Rome was totally different than anything we'd ever tried before.  It took a little adapting, but it is something we have really enjoyed.  The Famous Men of Rome is designed for children 4th grade and up.  Mine are younger than this so I had to adapt it a little.  I looked it over and just liked it too much not to use it with them.  Rather than read the story as a read aloud, I did it like readers theater and they acted out what I read.  From there we reviewed the story by orally answering the student questions.  At night we would sit at dinner and they would tell their Daddy about the king we'd studied that day and how they died or what adventure they'd encountered. It was impressive how much they would actually remember for their ages.

The issue some parents might have with Famous Men of Rome is that it isn't always clear about the myth vs. fact.  They present and discuss fortune tellers and false Roman gods.  Some parents might be squeamish about these topics.  I was not.  I liked the opportunity these stories presented to repeatedly remind my children that there is only one God. 

I believe that knowing about false gods in history and the present equips us to spot the flaws and defend our faith with greater knowledge.  

I told someone at church that my children were studying Rome and they where appalled.  They thought that it would create confusion or make God seem less true.  I asked my husband what he thought about it and I loved his answer.  He pointed me to the story of Paul who confronted the people of Athens in Acts 17:23.  In this passage, Paul clearly has enough knowledge of false gods to create an opening for discussion. 

Here is the bottom line: Some things we learn because we believe them and we can't get enough knowledge on the subject to satisfy us.  Other things we study out of necessity, to answer questions we might be asked and to round out our impressions of things we do not believe.  

Famous Men of Rome tackles some big concepts--concepts that open the doors for greater conversation.  Sure you'll learn about the rise and fall of Rome, but you'll also learn values from these stories.  Your children will learn the bad things that can come from jealousy, and the importance of brotherly love.  They'll learn about patriotism and the willingness to risk everything for their beliefs.  Roman beliefs were notoriously flawed, but we can and should learn from their willingness to take their beliefs to the grave if need be.  Misplaced or not, Christians could stand to learn from this bravery.

All that to say, Famous Men of Rome is a success in my home.  See a sample here. 

Famous Men of Rome can be purchased for $39.95 (text, teacher and student book included)

If you wish to know what others think please visit the crew blog.  

Happy Learning!