TOS Crew Review - Memoria Press First Start Reading and Classical Phonics

Memoria Press is a company that produces Classical-style curriculum for Christian homeschoolers and private schools. Their program for teaching children to read encompasses two products - First Start Reading, and Classical Phonics. Both can actually be used independently of each other, but work wonderfully when paired together.

First Start Reading includes 3 student workbooks and one Teacher's Manual.  The Teacher's Manual walks the instructor step-by-step through each lesson, giving a script of what to say, as well as helpful hints to encourage the students.  It is written to a classroom environment, but is easy to adapt to a one-on-one homeschool instruction situation.  The student workbooks focus on learning new phonics sounds and then learning how to blend those sounds with earlier learned sounds - in fact, by the 5 Lesson, the student is reading their first simple sentence!  The workbooks include handwriting practice for each sound, word, and sentence, helping to make the curriculum mutli-sensory - hearing, seeing, and writing the letters.  There is also a space in each lesson for the student to color pictures and draw their own pictures, incorporating the material taught in the lesson.

Here are some sample pages of the Workbook:

• Lesson 1, Book A
• Lesson 3, Book B

Classical Phonics is a handbook of phonetically organized word lists (that coincide with the order of sounds and words taught in First Start Reading), which can be used to help a student practice the new sounds and words they've been learning, or to test them on what they already know.  Below are some sample pages (you can click to enlarge the images):

I used First Start Reading and Classical Phonics with my 4.5 year old, Nathan.  While I felt the method of teaching was good (teaching several phonics then moving into words that use those phonics), for us, the workbook required a little too much writing coordination for my little boy.  He got frustrated by his lack of ability to write well, and was not overly interested in coloring or drawing pictures.  All of these things I find typical for a boy his age, at least in my house, so I don't know that those things would be a struggle for an older beginning reader, or perhaps a girl.   I didn't see this as a negative against the curriculum, just more of something that made it not quite the right fit for us.  Overall, I thought the quality of the program was very good, and would recommend it to those who have young early readers who enjoy handwriting and drawing! 

The Classical Phonics book was a helpful, non-workbook way to reinforce what we worked on in First Start Reading, and could easily be used on it's own to teach basic phonics and reading. However, it is not scripted like the First Start Reading Teacher's Manual, which doesn't intimidate me, as I've taught reading a few times by now, but if you happen to be one who wants some guidance as to what or how to teach, I'd recommend First Start Reading.  But, if, like us, you have a student who is hesitant to do a lot of writing, and you feel confident teaching early reading without a script, Classical Phonics is a great tool!  I feel both programs together give the perfect blend of styles and reinforcement.

First Start Reading is priced at $29.95 (that includes the Teacher's Manual and all 3 Workbooks), and Classical Phonics is $14.95.  Both are included with Memoria Press' Classical Kindergarten Curriculum, as well.

Be sure to see what my fellow Crew Mates thought of First Start Reading, Classical Phonics, and other Memoria Press materials, by checking out the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog!

Disclaimer: I was given this product specifically for the purpose of reviewing here on my blog as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. I received no other compensation in regards to this review.