Classical Latin with Memoria Press

Memoria Press provides excellent classical Christian curriculum and First Form Latin is no exception!

We were blessed to receive the First Form Latin Complete Set for review, which was very complementary to the classical model we use at home for homeschooling. My daughter was at ease with the use and got started right away.

So much comes in your First Form Latin Complete Set that it makes it easy to learn Latin!

The First Form Latin Complete Set from Memoria Press is a complete package with includes everything you need for one year of Level 1 Latin. Intended for grades 4 through 9, the set includes the following:

3-DVD set (streaming is also available for purchase)
Teachers Manual (sample pages)
Teachers Key (sample pages)
Student Text (sample pages)
Student Workbook (sample pages)
Quizzes and Tests book
Pronunciation CD
Flashcards

In my experience with Memoria Press, they are good about laying out a structured approach to the course – this one is no different. It is structured for a 4 day workweek, working on Latin every day of the week. If you have a co-op day, using it 4 days a week is very feasible with the layout. The 5th day is planned for reworking materials if needed after taking the pre-test/quiz. So it’s still flexible and, like most homeschool curricula, you could easily adapt it to the schedule that works best for you.

A suggested schedule looks like this:

Day 1 – LESSON – watch the video or teach from the manual

Day 2- WORKING – work on recitations and grammar questions – complete at least one worksheet – go through flashcards

Day 3- WORKING – continue with recitations, grammar questions, flashcards, and worksheets (there are 4-6 worksheets per lesson)

Day 4+ – work through the rest of the worksheets until ready by oral drills in textbook and quiz

Again, this is where it’s flexible. An older student or more experienced student may work through several worksheets per day completing all worksheets in 2 days or even 1 and then ready for review and quizzing. But you could easily spend 2 weeks on the lesson if you are working at a slower pace.

Memoria Press also has supplemental suggestions including the use of Lingua Angelica and Famous Men of Rome (read my review of this great curriculum here)

The First Form Latin was very easy for us to use.

The First Form Latin Complete Set is easy to use even if you aren’t familiar with Latin and how to teach it. the Teachers Manual makes it easy to teach and understand. With about 10 pages of introduction explaining how the course is set up and work, as well as a sample schedule, supplemental suggestions, and teaching tips. You are off to the best start from day 1. It does take a little pre if you haven’t used to get familiar with the manuals and the materials but not much. I read through everything the first day and we got started the next day but you could easily do it the same day. It is not that time intensive.

Since the lessons are presented through the DVDs, you student could work fairly independently if they have had any exposure to Memoria Press materials, Latin, or foreign language and definitely, an older student could work through the program independently. It is very intuitive to use.

There are 34 lessons on the DVDs in First Form Latin. The “teacher” on the DVDs, Glen Moore, has a good voice for teaching and a sense of humor which makes it easier to watch the DVDs and learn. They are definitely not “dry.” My daughter and I watched the lessons together so I would be able to refer back to the lesson if questions arose.

The Student workbook is a consumable workbook where your student answers questions from the lesson, diagrams sentences in Latin and English, drills, writes out declensions, as well as translating and working on vocabulary. There is a good variety of exercises for the students to work through so each lesson builds on the previous and isn’t the same repetitive exercises. The workbook assignments are listed in the Teacher Manual.

The Quizzes and Test book is also consumable. There are quizzes for every lesson which are typically two pages each. Every 5 to 7 lessons there is a full test, which is longer because they are cumulative. I loved that the pages are perforated so they were easy to remove for the student to work on them.

The Teacher Key is spiral bound and in color., This made it easy to use for reference and grading. All the questions and answers for the workbook, quizzes, and tests are in the Teacher Key. I liked that the questions are in black print but the answers are printed in blue ink to make them easier to read.

The Student Text is a softcover book that has information for the lesson. The exact language is available in the Teacher Manual. The Student Text has a big print which was easy to read and my daughter used it as a reference throughout all the workbook exercises.

The Pronunciation CD has all the correct pronunciations for vocabulary words and grammar forms. It is broken up by lesson so it’s easy to refer to. And the flashcards are a great way to work through the vocabulary words and grammar forms. There are very quotes that are referenced in the lessons on the flashcards.

Overall, we thought First Form Latin Complete Set is a great Latin Program.

My daughter liked the program and found it easy to use. The exercises were good to practice what is learned and she liked the video lessons. We will definitely keep moving through the lessons and could certainly see us continuing through the program.

Check out what the rest of the Homeschool Review Crew has to say about First Form, as well as other Memoria Press products likeSecond Form Latin Complete Set, Third Form Latin Complete Set, and Fourth Form Latin Complete Set. There are also reviews of their beginning Latin programs like Prima Latina Complete Set and Latina Christiana Complete Set. And there are some great reviews of Nature’s Beautiful Order and The Book of Trees, which is some great curricula you may want to check out if you aren’t familiar with it. Click the banner below to check out all these great reviews.

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