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We have used many different homeschool materials from Memoria Press over the years. So when we had the opportunity to review The Book of the Ancient Greeks by Memoria Press, we jumped at the chance. I’m happy we could add this to our history program.

Over the years, we have used Language Arts and Latin materials by Memoria Press. However, we hadn’t used many of their history curricula. Since we are studying Ancient history in our homeschool, their Ancient Greeks program would fit in nicely with our studies.

Overview of This History Program

If your family follows a classical approach to homeschooling, then this program will fit right into your homeschool. Memoria Press offers classical homeschooling materials. This definitely fits the bill.

You don’t need to be a classical homeschooler, though, to use this in your homeschool. Many families would enjoy using it.

I received a teacher manual, student manual, and student workbook for this review. This history program is designed for students in 7^th and 8^th grade.

History Text

The text is written by Dorothy Mills, who wrote various history books back in the 1920s. We are familiar with her work and enjoy her style of writing history. Our current history program uses a text that compiles several of her written works in it. She is a great writer. I was excited to see she wrote this text.

Student Workbook

The student workbook is simple and easy to use. Each chapter in the text has accompanying workbook pages. The workbook is set up as follows:

• Facts to Know
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension Questions
• Activities

The Facts to Know section defines some essential names and concepts kids should know. For example, in one chapter, the facts were things such as Homer, Iliad, and the Homeric Age. After each term is a brief description.

The Vocabulary section lists some words kids will come across in their reading that they need to define.

The Comprehension Questions are very straightforward. The questions are based on important information from the chapter.

At the bottom of the page are some Activities. It might be mapping, timeline, some writing assignment, etc. The activities are centered around important ideas from the reading.

History Review

Periodically, throughout the workbook, students have a review. The review covers several chapters.

Unit Test

After a Review, there is Unit Test. The Unit Test covers the material from the student workbook. However, kids are now expected to answer without the help of word banks and such. So it makes it a little more challenging.

Teacher Manual

The teacher manual is almost identical to the student workbook. One exception is the teacher manual has the answers written in the blanks. Another difference is that there is a test and test answer key in the back of the book.

Using These History Materials in Our Homeschool

I used The Book of the Ancient Greeks for this review with my 9^th-grade daughter and 7^th-grade son. My daughter filled in the student workbook while my son contributed to the discussions.

We did one lesson a week during the review period. Our schedule was as follows:

• Day One: Go over the Facts to Know and Vocabulary. At first, we did this together, but my daughter began doing this independently after a couple of weeks.
• Day Two: I would read the chapter aloud to my son and daughter. We would discuss the chapter as I read it.
• Day Three: My daughter would do the Comprehension Questions in her workbook.
• Day Four: Review the material from the week.
• Day Five: After Chapters 1 and 2, my daughter did the review pages. However, I plan to add activities on this day in the future.

My kids really enjoy the student text. They find it interesting and enjoy listening to it. My son said he wants to keep the book for himself when we are done with it. He LOVES learning about Ancient Greece.

When I asked my 9^th grader, who did the workbook, her thoughts, she said the text is straightforward, well-structured, and reads more like a story than dry text. She really liked it a lot. My girl thought the questions were simple and you could find answers quickly. She also liked the vocabulary and felt that the vocabulary words related well to the topic and text. The words didn’t feel like they were just thrown in there.

Overall, I agree with my kiddos. I find the text enjoyable and the work relevant to their learning. If another mom was asking about materials on Ancient Greece, I would definitely recommend this history program.

How You Can Use This History Program in Your Homeschool

I find these materials would fit in nicely with other history programs. For example, we could easily use The Book of the Ancient Greeks with our current history curriculum. As we began studying Ancient Greece, we had no problem adding these materials to our study.

You could use The Book of the Ancient Greeks as a unit study of Greece. I know some families take a unit study approach, which would work well. You have your reading materials, vocabulary, and activities all included.  

The text itself would be a great addition to any homeschool. I think it is a great option to dry history books. The information is broken down nicely within the chapters. Kids could easily use it as a resource for additional information on a particular topic in Ancient Greek Studies.

As you can tell, we enjoy using The Book of the Ancient Greeks in our homeschool. I’m glad we had the opportunity to review it. There are so many other great products by Memoria Press that the Review Crew reviewed. You’ll want to read their reviews and see what else they offer.

Happy Homeschooling!