Four Violet Reviews: Classical Composition with Memoria Press~ REVIEW

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I'm excited to share another homeschool gem from Memoria Press. We have been using their Classical Composition I: Fable Set for a month or so. This set is intended for grades 4-12 and came with a Student Book, Teacher Guide and the ever so helpful Instructional DVD set. I knew it would be a stretch for Kaden to work through this program, but I really wanted to work on his writing skills and imagination. And he has never used a course from Memoria Press that he didn't absolutely love.

So, I'm going to share about this Teacher's Guide first. Ya'll I needed this Guide big time with Kaden. When I say he has an ounce of creativity and imagination I am being very generous. He does not like to write because of his poor motor skills and handwriting, so I knew I would need all the help I could get. This Guide is scripted, as a Mom with a special needs child that means I have a security net on what to say and it makes presenting new concepts easier. In the beginning it gives a thorough explanation of what is in each lesson and what your child will be asked to complete. Next you have a very nice Rubric to help you determine if your child has mastered each lesson. This was extremely helpful as it pointed out some areas I need to pay more close attention to with Kaden. You also get a brief introduction to the Fable stage, which is the first of fourteen stages in the Progymnasmata. You can learn more about Progymnasmata in the appendix in the back of the Guide, but it basically means the before exercises to prepare students by imitating great writers which trains the mind to think clearly and rhetorically.

Suggested Sequence

Fable (4th)

Narrative (5th)

Chreia/Maxim (6th)

Refutation/Confirmation (7th)

Common Topic (8th)

Encomium/Invective/Comparison (9th)

Characterization (10th)

Description (11th)

Thesis & Law (12th)

The DVD set consists of 4 DVDs that contains video instruction taught by Dr. Brett Vaden, an instructor at the Highlands Latin School and the Memoria Press Online Academy. Each DVD contains 5 lessons, 20 lessons of video instruction in total. I will say at first Kaden did not want to watch them, but after a few days he decided that he would give them a try. And he was pleased that they were helpful and not too boring he said. I found them very helpful because the pressure of instructing Kaden on this new writing adventure was off of me.

The Student Book is simple and repetitive, perfect for sensory sensitive kiddos like Kaden. Let me share what's in it and how we used it. The lessons all start out with a Fable to read. For Kaden most lessons took 2-3 days to finish. After reading the Fable we discuss it and then complete the three Plot Components- Recognition, Reversal and Suffering. This took a lot of help for Kaden to grasp and I was thankful for the Teacher's Guide in those moments. :) There are 2 Variation sections. The first one you are given a sentence and must give at least 2 synonyms for the selected words. And then rewrite the given sentence with the new words 3 different ways. Another tricky one for Kaden, but by the time we got to lesson 3 he was doing this portion completely on his own!!!! The 2nd Variation has you also give synonyms, but this time it's for a selected group of words.

In each lesson your student is asked to summarize the Fable by creating an outline. At first Kaden drew pictures as he was struggling with finding the words in his head. And I just have to say that this is why I think it's supper awesome that Memoria Press starts with Fables, because they are so short and for someone with Special Needs or a child the struggles with writing this makes the new task manageable and not so out of reach. Kaden has finally successfully outlined in a few short sentences 2 different Fables at the time of this Review....which is a big accomplishment in my books! Last, but not least the students are asked to paraphrase the Fable twice. Once as closely to the original story as possible and once in an abbreviated version. This was really fun for us. Actually Kaden and I both did this at the same time and then read them out loud to Mahala and she chose a winner.

There is a Final Draft that you can chose one of your paraphrased writings and correct any mistakes and rewrite a final copy. I did not do this with Kaden yet. I decided at the end of the course I would have him pick one each week to do this and use it as a kind of review.

So, what did I think? I loved it, I learned that Kaden can think outside of his logic-minded box when given the opportunity. This course helped me see a different side of Kaden. I think it gave him the confidence to express himself differently. Kaden enjoyed every single Fable, not once complained about any of the exercises and has improved in both length and quality with his daily journal writing. We will definitely continue using this program and I suggest if you have a child with Special Needs to look into this set for writing. To take your time and not rush and use the exercises that works for you at that moment. So, if you need to circle back around and finish up something later...do it, it is worth the extra work to see your kiddo have that unexpected light bulb moment.