Start Memoria Press in 5th Grade?

[lilamom]

I'm considering using Memoria Press's 5th grade curriculum, but I'm nervous about jumping "all in." Could anyone who has used their program help me out?

I am homeschooling one child and we've used some of MP's materials off and on for the last few years and generally really liked them. I find them a bit dull, personally, but DD seems to thrive on the direct, clear instructions and memory work. I've long wanted an all-in-one curriculum that I can tweak *just* a bit rather than putting together my own package.

My hesitations are:
-Composition: DD is great with words, so I mostly just want her to practice writing with correct grammar and varied topics that challenge her to *think* as she writes.
-is it TOO rote or cut/dry? I want her to learn facts but also how to think about and use facts
-DD and I both love history and SOTW, so I'd want to include a lot more reading than what is assigned with MP
-I'm personally not a fan of their slogan of "Saving Western Civilization One Student at a Time" Probably not a big deal, but maybe?

Thanks!

[Green Bean]

Go for it! Ignore the slogan. 

[Dianthus]

Don't do it!

We did this year and hated it. You have some experience so should know what you're getting into. My kids did ok for maybe 2 months, but every subject is the same format. Dictionary searches, tons of writing, flashcards. Meh. The composition was awful, that didn't last a month.

My kids were OK with the lit guides, mostly because they already liked the books I chose.

We did the Guerber history and it is a really dry and awkward old text.

[Dianthus]

Just read your Latin post. I forgot, I actually like the MP FFL, but I think it's generally in their 4th grade program? which boggles my mind. My 12 yr old has done well with FFL after GSWL and KGWL. 

[Ting Tang]

We transitioned to MP for much of 3rd and 4th grade this year. It’s a bit repetitive, and First Form Latin was just so uninspiring. We switched our Latin. I probably like the Classical Comp and Christian Studies best. We don’t do all the recitation, so I’m not sure my boys got the best education this year since we didn’t use it the classical way. I also need a new grammar program since we are not doing the MP Latin. Since this year was so “meh,” I have yet to purchase any curriculum for next year.  We went from it taking too long to my tweaks causing me to question if we’re doing enough. The end of the year is a welcome sight. I feel very lost because I built it up in my mind but I don’t know how great it actually was…

Edited March 27, 2022 by Ting Tang

[2_girls_mommy]

I would say try it.  If you don't love the composition, then you can do something else for it instead next year.  One year of their writing isn't going to hurt anything if you go back to something else later.  It will just give some new tools, even if you end up not loving it. For the history, just add lots of picture books and extra readings like you would with SOTW.  If you know how MP works, and you are wanting it, and the writing is the only thing you are worried about, I would say one year isn't going to hurt.  I'd ignore the slogan if it bugs you, and add more books handles your other problems.  And you said is it too rote? I don't think so.  I have used lots of MP, and the memorization helps the subjects they are working.  It doesn't seem to be just memorizing for the sake of memorizing, IMO.  

[Green Bean]

I just had to add- if you view the MP guides as just dictionary work and answering questions or are just handing them to your kid to do alone, then yeah, it's dry and boring and all that. But what MP is trying to do with all those questions is to teach the kids to discuss, to think deeply, to formulate a succinct answer, and communicate it well. They aren't intended to be independent workbooks. Once I figured that out, it was a homeschool game changer and now here we are sailing along, learning, and progressing.

Different experiences for different folks. It's all good, though.

[lilamom]

13 hours ago, Green Bean said:

I just had to add- if you view the MP guides as just dictionary work and answering questions or are just handing them to your kid to do alone, then yeah, it's dry and boring and all that. But what MP is trying to do with all those questions is to teach the kids to discuss, to think deeply, to formulate a succinct answer, and communicate it well. They aren't intended to be independent workbooks. Once I figured that out, it was a homeschool game changer and now here we are sailing along, learning, and progressing.

Different experiences for different folks. It's all good, though.

Super helpful perspective. Thank you!

[2_girls_mommy]

On 3/28/2022 at 9:25 PM, Green Bean said:

I just had to add- if you view the MP guides as just dictionary work and answering questions or are just handing them to your kid to do alone, then yeah, it's dry and boring and all that. But what MP is trying to do with all those questions is to teach the kids to discuss, to think deeply, to formulate a succinct answer, and communicate it well. They aren't intended to be independent workbooks. Once I figured that out, it was a homeschool game changer and now here we are sailing along, learning, and progressing.

Different experiences for different folks. It's all good, though.

Totally agree.  We never did most of the writing nor used the guides as workbooks.  The year we did Christian Studies I had each kid keep a blank composition book WTM style.  Then I had them do something about the lesson after we had discussed the readings with the questions and done the memory work practice.  I would have them draw a family tree of a family or draw a picture and label it.  Occasionally I would find something useful in the workbook and we would fill out parts of it.  

When we did science we often did the same, lots of reading and discussion, some writing, but definitely not all of it. 

[Ting Tang]

On 3/29/2022 at 9:35 PM, 2_girls_mommy said:

Totally agree.  We never did most of the writing nor used the guides as workbooks.  The year we did Christian Studies I had each kid keep a blank composition book WTM style.  Then I had them do something about the lesson after we had discussed the readings with the questions and done the memory work practice.  I would have them draw a family tree of a family or draw a picture and label it.  Occasionally I would find something useful in the workbook and we would fill out parts of it.  

When we did science we often did the same, lots of reading and discussion, some writing, but definitely not all of it. 

I've been thinking that a good way to do MP would be to buy the teacher manuals, skip the student books, and buy notebooks.  That way you don't feel bad about spending the money on something that was barely written in.  I have so many $ worth of barely used materials here because I gave up on them writing everything. Heck, sometimes we just do the reading and I do not bother with the questions. I do like the activities and map work, though.

[Dianthus]

It's not just the excess writing and repetitive nature. The texts we used were dry. My son was excited to choose their Astonomy. It is SO dry, so dull, so lacking. I can't believe it's sold as a year of science. The bulk of it is memorizing names of stars, and history of constellations. My daughter chose The Book of Birds. Still dry, but she was interested specifically in birds, so it worked, but still didn't seem like science. 13 Colonies and the Great Republic is an awkward old text and difficult to read aloud, hard to understand due to the awkward language,  and boring. I wasn't impressed with Famous Men of Greece, which is their own text, but I don't remember specifics. I did like the lit guides, that they did dig deeper into the lit, but I agree, if we do those again, I'll just get the teacher guide and use as a companion. Son did d'aulaires Greek myths, which was like the lit guides. I would use it again as above as teacher companion.

I liked that they use KJV in their Christian studies, and I did like their Golden Children’s Bible that they recommend. Its language is pared down, but very similar to KJV. I overall didn't like the Chistian studies and dropped it, which was frustrating since it was a large part of why I moved to MP, to incorporate more thorough Bible study and memory.

Glad it works for some people.

[Ting Tang]

10 hours ago, Spirea said:

It's not just the excess writing and repetitive nature. The texts we used were dry. My son was excited to choose their Astonomy. It is SO dry, so dull, so lacking. I can't believe it's sold as a year of science. The bulk of it is memorizing names of stars, and history of constellations. My daughter chose The Book of Birds. Still dry, but she was interested specifically in birds, so it worked, but still didn't seem like science. 13 Colonies and the Great Republic is an awkward old text and difficult to read aloud, hard to understand due to the awkward language,  and boring. I wasn't impressed with Famous Men of Greece, which is their own text, but I don't remember specifics. I did like the lit guides, that they did dig deeper into the lit, but I agree, if we do those again, I'll just get the teacher guide and use as a companion. Son did d'aulaires Greek myths, which was like the lit guides. I would use it again as above as teacher companion.

I liked that they use KJV in their Christian studies, and I did like their Golden Children’s Bible that they recommend. Its language is pared down, but very similar to KJV. I overall didn't like the Chistian studies and dropped it, which was frustrating since it was a large part of why I moved to MP, to incorporate more thorough Bible study and memory.

Glad it works for some people.

I have to agree about the Astronomy.  My kids were proud to memorize those lists, but it really is boring. I have looked at some of the other texts and feel the same.  I was very excited about the Latin, too, but now that I have separated myself from it...  I don't see how any child enjoys First Form Latin in the 4th or 5th grade.  It takes a certain kind of student with a certain level of maturity.  Now we are doing the silly mouse Minimus Latin curriculum, and it is so much more engaging.  I just don't know what I am going to do this next year.  Everything is a continuum with MP.  I like the Christian Studies and Classical Composition, but the rest...MEH.