Memoria Press ~ A Review

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Over the past weeks my daughter has been learning Latin with Latina Christiana Complete Set from Memoria Press. Latina Christiana is intended for students in 3rd through 6th grade. With that said, it is a complete Latin grammar course for beginner students of all ages. The course was written specifically written for the teacher with no Latin background. Memoria Press has a whole Latin curriculum beginning with Prima Latina for Early Elementary grade levels and First Form through Fourth Form Latin Levels. This curriculum uses the Christian or ecclesiastical pronunciation system which is closer to modern English. The other system is Classical.

The curriculum has a total of 25 lessons. The Teacher Manual is a mirror copy of the student workbook but with overlaid answers. It also had lesson plans and teaching instructions. And of course the Teacher Manual has the quiz and test answers. The Pronunciation CD provides the student with pronunciations for each lesson. It also has the prayers and songs. The Instructional DVD's consist of 3 disks. Lessons are on average about 15 minutes.

Here is my daughter eager but apprehensive to start this new adventure. 

In Latina Christiana the goal for students by the end of the year are:

• Pronounce, spell, and translate 200 Latin words
• Learn 25 Latin sayings, two prayers, and three songs
• Define noun, verb, and adjective
• tense, number, gender, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person
• Conjugate verbs 1st and 2nd conjugation verbs in present, imperfect, and future
• Decline 1st and 2nd declension nouns and adjectives
• Singular and plural forms of 1st and 2nd declension nouns (nominative case)
• Complete Latin sentences, subject/verb agreement in number/person
• Make adjectives and nouns agree in number/gender
• Recite and spell five cases of Latin nouns
• Derivatives
• History and Geography (Optional)

As I stated earlier, Memoria Press has a whole Latin Curriculum. While Latina Christiana fits into their standard 3rd - 6th grade model, this course can be used for all ages. Third graders can complete the course in one year but may need two years to compete it. The older elementary age child should be able to complete the course in an academic year. A high school student may be able to complete this course in a semester.

So what exactly are the components of the curriculum?

1. Greetings, oral conversations, oral recitation, oral review
2. New Lesson: saying, vocabulary, derivatives, grammar, history (optional)
3. Exercises
4. Written drill with CD (3x a week is recommenced)
5. Review, games
6. Quiz

The curriculum is very flexible depending on your schooling situation. We opted to complete one lesson a week. Each lesson has the above components. After 5 lessons there is a cumulative test over the lessons. There is a quiz after each lesson. Each lesson begins with a saying. The saying for Lesson 5 is, Mea culpa which means My fault, I am guilty. Students practice sayings from previous lessons. Each lesson has new vocabulary words. Some of the vocabulary words from Lesson 5 are pugno - I fight and luna-ae - moon. Again, students needs to practice vocabulary words from previous lessons. Vocabulary flashcards are included in the complete set. I had my daughter go through the vocabulary cards twice a day. The grammar section introduces the student to Latin declensions or conjugations, etc. These need to be memorized. Students then have an exercise section where they put into practice what they have learned. They translate phrases and saying that they have been learning. They answer fill in the blank questions pertaining to grammar questions. There is a section on translation from Latin to English and English to Latin. Sometimes there will be a declension fill in the blank. Last, there is a Derivatives section where the student must complete sentences with derivative they have learned. The quizzes at the end of the lessons are a wonderful way to ensure that students have mastered the lesson. 

Here my daughter is working hard at practicing her Latin vocabulary. 

It is FINALLY TEST TIME. My daughter did wonderful on her first test. 

She made a 94%!

Here is some snapshots from one of the video sessions. 

At first my daughter was very unsure that she would be able to learn Latin. She proved to herself that she was very capable of learning Latin and doing it very well. It took time and hard work but it is fun to watch her master Latin. 

I would highly recommend Memoria Press and Latina Christiana to homeschoolers and educators. Definitely check out what my Fellow Crew Members had to say about this curriculum. Some of the other crew members reviewed the other Latin levels so definitely check the reviews out. 

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