TOS Review - Memoria Press First Start Reading and Classical Phonics

Memoria Press is a "family-run publishing company that produces simple and easy to use classical Christian education materials for home and private schools." Relatively new to the homeschool world, established in 1994, Memoria Press is not a widely known name. At least, I'd never heard of them before being given the opportunity to review two of their products: First Start Reading and Classical Phonics.

Memoria Press' philosophy is a Classical Christian education with an emphasis on cultivating wisdom and virtue through affordable products for anyone, even those who have no history of teaching or previous knowledge of the topic!

They offer comprehensive curriculum in these subjects:

• Packaged curriculum for grades K-6
• Latin studies (yes, LATIN!) for grades 1-8+
• Phonics
• Grammar
• Literature
• French
• Rhetoric & Logic (grades 7+)
  
• Classical studies (grades 3-8)
  
• Christian studies (grades 3-8)
  
• American/Modern studies (grades 3-8)
• Classical/Christian (grades 6-12)
• New America Cursive (grades 1-3)
• Copybooks (including Christian, Bible, and famous figures quotes to practice penmanship, grammar, spelling, literature, memorization, accuracy, etc.)

They also offer an online academy program and discounted BETA testing curriculum products.

Classical Phonics is a book of phonetically arranged word lists that offer repetition and practice while going through the First Start Reading program. While learning the new sounds and blends in their FSR workbooks, children have the reinforcement of the word lists in Classical Phonics in short, manageable doses (read: not overwhelming!). The pages focus on word family lists, which seems to me to be a very effective way of teaching a child a certain sound or blend in a way that provides the least frustration and the most progress in a short amount of time.



First Start Reading is a four-book package that includes a comprehensive Teacher's Guide and three workbooks. The Teacher's Guide is very well laid out with easy-to-follow instructions, little to no prep work, and, at times, the philosophy behind the tactics being employed.

The workbooks are simple, colorless, well thought out, and provide ample room for little hands to practice their letters, draw their own pictures, and color the simple drawings provided.

Now: on to the fun part! I get to tell you how we used this in our homeschool and how much we loved it!

I opened the package when it arrived and looked at the beautiful, well constructed workbooks very briefly before they were practically snatched away by the children. My four-year-old was ecstatic when she learned that they were for her! The first few days of instruction went smoothly and she was begging to do her letter book at all hours of the day. I could hardly complain about that!



It was the second week, however, that really sold me on the First Start Reading program. We began the first simple sound blending workbook pages - and - it clicked! She understood, she blended, she recognized, and she read her first sentence! It was an exciting day and I just had to shout it from the hills (*cough* share it on facebook)!

It's not that I haven't tried other phonics programs. I have. They did not click. I tried with both of my older children and found nothing but frustration! Joshua learned how to read when he was attending school, and is now an absolutely avid reader. My almost 6 year old first-grader Emmy though is still easily frustrated by her attempts to read and hates to sit and practice even the simplest books. I know she knows her letters and sounds very well, but somehow making them all blend together brings on the tears.



So I decided to try First Start Reading with her, too. Well, why not? I certainly couldn't hurt! I skipped ahead to workbook C (4 year old Elayna is in workbook A) which is full of letter reviews, word family lists, short stories (with spaces for her to illustrate with her own drawings), and pages of blank lines for dictation practice.

She loves it. She doesn't get frustrated by it. There are no tears. And - she's already reading far better than she was 2 weeks ago.

If you are a mom and you're reading this, I'm sure you can understand that those last few sentences are the highest possible recommendation that I can give. I can't even think of anything more to say.

I plan to start using Prima Latina with Joshua as soon as it arrives, along with their cursive program.

First Start Reading (Teacher's Guide, workbooks A, B, C) sells for $29.95 here.
Classical Phonics sells for $14.95 here.

Need a curriculum map for the Memoria Press website? Here you go!

To request a catalog: go here!

Or call 1-877-862-1097.

*disclaimer: I was provided with these products in exchange for an honest review and nothing more.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Visit to Washington

The drive on the first day of our trip was.... Slow....to say the least, but the following day was fast and furious! Up at 3, airport at 5, flight before 7.

Actually, the Indianapolis airport was great. It wasn't crowded, we didn't have to wait in any lines at all, and even if we did, they had a FAMILY lane through security, which is the best invention since the Jetway.

We made it through our first flight, our layover in Denver, and the tried to take someone else's luggage in Portland, but all in all it was an uneventful trip west.

Going back through PDX on the way east, though, was not a fun experience.

Oh, but the rest of the trip was SO much fun! What a blessing to be able to watch my kids play with their cousins, to connect the little dots in their heads about who goes where and with what family, to be taught just a tiny bit by Papa and spoiled just a smidge by Grandma Snicklefritz.

We swam in the pool.

Ate blackberries.

Hiked in the woods.

Bonded with our cousins.

Swam in cold, clear pools of mountain streams.

Hung out and drank coffee.

Went to the zoo.

Celebrated a first birthday (and a 36th birthday, and a 37th anniversary!)

Visited old familiar places.

Saw beautiful sunsets.....

....and my sweet grandma.

Went to the coast.

And got a little crazy with a hummer on the beach......




Okay, maybe a LOT crazy with the hummer on the beach...

It's hard sometimes, to be so far away from people I love so much, but I will try and savor every memory we made in the (very) short two weeks we spent in Washington!

Change

And no, not the money-in-the-pocket sort of "change". I'm talking about the much more difficult to come by "CHANGE". Real change. Heart change. Change of direction. Or as some would say, change of trajectory.

You know, you sit on your comfy little couch, with your comfy little food in your tummy, your comfy little stove warming you up, and your comfy little fuzzy socks on your feet, playing Angry Birds. That sort of change of trajectory, the kind that gets the little angry birdies to do their job properly so you can move on to the next level. And the next, and the next. That kind of change of trajectory, right?

Wrong.

No, I'm talking about Impossible Change.

You know the kind; it's the ones we hear in so many cliche's: "Once a thief, always a thief.", "You can't change a tiger's stripes." and so on.



Like the Sugar Maple trees in the woods around our home. They look like completely different creatures in the different seasons. Perhaps the tree is being dishonest since it is not showing all sides of itself at all times and to all people. Perhaps we cannot look to it and see the Glory of its Maker at all since it does so very much changing, over and over and over again?



Here in America especially we are infatuated with the endless possibilities before us. We don't want to be tied down, corralled into a certain path or a certain lifestyle or a lifelong partner we're committed to for our entire lives! "Give us Change!", we yell. Or at least, "Give us the opportunity to change ourselves when it suits us."

And don't try to take that freedom away, lest you want the wrath of fractured relationships and hard feelings to mar your day.

On the other side of the coin, we're also obsessed with the "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.", mentality. I can change on a whim, for any purpose I see fit, YOU, however, will NEVER change. Thus, I can't deal with you any more. Goodbye*.

*cue slamming door.

So much is our society wrapped up in these thoughts that if you are perceived as being a "doormat" not only does your IQ go down by 30 points but your entire ability to be seen as a reasonable, productive, valuable member of society and other relationships is shattered.

How can you let them treat you like that? Why don't you just walk away? LOVE must be tough. You must have low self-esteem. You must be gullible. You must be stupid. You must have no idea of what your true worth is in God's eyes or you just simply wouldn't be in this position. People treat you like you let them treat you.

In other words, There. Is. No. Excuse.



There is no excuse. No one changes. Not REALLY.



It's... impossible.



Impossible.

Isn't it? There are classes all over the place and TV shows about people reinventing themselves. Complete transformations! The Biggest Loser! The Apprentice! Go back to school and get your degree through night classes! It doesn't matter if you're 20 or 80!

And yet... perhaps the real problem is that we've simply stopped believing in true change. We've become cynical. We feel powerless to actually change ourselves, hence the reality shows to get people moving. We look at each other and think, I can't change who I am (and maybe I don't even want to) and you can't change who you are, so let's just call it quits. We've written off everyone in our lives that hurt us without looking back - because they'll never change.

Maybe, just maybe, we should look out our windows this month, as the wind blows the leaves from the golden trees and rethink this just a little. Yes, the Sugar Maples didn't turn into Frasier Firs, but the changes that did occur are no less real. They've gone from blending into the forest full of green to great golden orbs of light, each one with its very own shade of yellow, orange, or red. But naming the colors themselves does justice neither to the sight that welcomes us as we step outside nor to the Creator of each leaf, each branch, each distinct shade of golden light.

Perhaps we should reread the verse in the Bible that we think only speaks of forgiveness. Maybe it speaks a little more about losing our cynicism towards people:

"Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?". Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

Shall we keep then a literal account of every wrongdoing? Every offense? Every hurt feeling, or just every time the person broke one of the commandments and it affected you? Just holding our breath while we wait for the ticker to hit 490.

Or maybe Jesus was speaking a little bit about not losing that belief that someone could change. Maybe He didn't want us to write off people, cut them out of our lives, or shut our hearts away under lock and key so quickly.

Maybe we should dwell a little more on this verse: "But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." and a little less on exactly what everyone around us needs to do to implement the "right" changes in their lives.

Even then, while dwelling on that verse, our focus should not be on the change itself, but rather the security in knowing your value and worth to the One who made you who you are. You are maybe a leopard who can't change his spots, or a chameleon who changes their spots every 30 seconds. God made you who you are and the price He paid for your life says it all. No offense or hurt feelings should shake that conviction within your own soul. But I'll write more about that later (if I can get my head wrapped around it).

He paid it for your life. Not so He can change you, but because He loves you. The change comes with the knowledge of that love. Not by convincing yourself that you need to do it or by convincing someone else they need to stop doing x,y, and z.

Stop trying to change other people, and stop trying to change yourself. No matter what the motivation is, it won't be enough. You can't do it. Only He can.

Like the butterfly and the Maple tree, one thing that we can be sure of is that the result will be breathtaking!

"Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."


**verses quoted, in order of posting: "Matthew 18:21-23; 19:26, Philippians 1:6

AIMS Education Foundation - TOS Review!

I was able to receive a copy of AIMS Education Foundation's Getting Into Geometry book for Grades K-1 for review last month, and I am very happy to be able to share this with you!

AIMS Education Foundation is a non-profit foundation that provides hands-on science and math for students grades K-9 in an affordable, easy-to-use format.

They offer:

• Activity Books
  
• E-Activities
• Essential Math
• Classroom Sets
• Labs, Kits & Components
• Literature Links
• Math Resources
• Science Resources
• State Specific Science (for certain states)
• AIMS Magazine

The Activity Book that I was given to review -


Getting Into Geometry - is aimed for grades K-1 children and contains 48 activities and is 264 pages. Included with the book is a cd of printable worksheets to use, a very helpful tool to go with this book!

The book is laid out in very easy-to-use fashion, with lessons clearly outlined under headings such as, Key Question, Learning Goal, Management, Procedure, and Connected Learning, among others. The Procedure heading is broken into specifcs steps to follow in teaching a classroom about the concept for that lesson.

If there is a printable to go with that lesson, it will be found immediately following the lesson plan so you know exactly what you are looking for on the cd to print out in appropriate quantities for the children you are teaching.


I enjoyed the layout, the prep work was very minimal thanks to the very specific instructions and plan to follow. I used this with my grade 1 girl and pre-K girl and they enjoyed the activities very much and asked several times to do more! This appeals very much to a kinesthetic learner, but I believe every lesson in the AIMS products would as they have a philosophy about the most effective way to learn:

"At AIMS, we believe that hands-on math and science is the most effective way to develop conceptual understanding." - from the AIMS website, emphasis provided by me.

The lesson plans and activities are definitely aimed at being a tool for the classroom teacher, with multiple students to teach and direct in these hands-on activities, however, I did not find it terribly difficult to adjust to teaching only two children. I find Getting Into Geometry to be a valuable homeschool tool for me that I will continue to use this year and may branch out to other AIMS products for my son as well.

The beginning lessons start out very simplistic, but they do build upon each other and could be used over any period of time that you deem appropriate.

You can find the Getting Into Geometry book here at the AIMS Educational Foundation website for $24.95 or call 888.733.2467 for more information.

For more reviews on this and other AIMS Education Foundation products, you can see them here at the TOS crew blog!

*I received this product free of charge in return for an honest review only.