From Zero to Cicero: Our 5 year labour of love in Latin with Memoria Press

Memoria Press Latin

The Spark of Curiosity

It was 2021, a year after we started home educating our children using a classical approach when I stumbled across a blog post. In it, a seasoned mum described using Memoria Press Latin with her own children, and my interest was instantly piqued. Although we were already learning Latin through Classical Conversations, I couldn’t help but wonder what MP had to offer. (If you haven’t seen it yet, Cathy Duffy’s review of the Memoria Press Latin series is well worth a look!)

Curious, I visited their website and found an entire page dedicated to Latin, showcasing a complete learning trajectory from Grade 2 all the way to Grade 12. My children were eight, seven, and five at the time. After researching the materials online, I decided to start my oldest on Prima Latina. I placed the order directly with MP, paid an exorbitant amount for shipping from the US to the UK, rolled up my sleeves, and got to work! (As a side note for my fellow UK readers: Shipping rates have dramatically reduced for us in the UK since 2024!)

My Multilingual Background (With Zero Latin)

To give you some backstory: I love languages. I was born in Sri Lanka and raised in multicultural Dubai under a British education system, which meant I was constantly immersed in languages. I grew up navigating Sinhala and English at home, alongside Arabic and GCSE French at school. I have always been fascinated by words and how they interact across different tongues.

Yet, when I started Latin with my kids, I had absolutely zero prior knowledge of the subject. It was during these home educating years that my own understanding flourished; I actually swam through the depths of English grammar and sentence diagramming right alongside my children. And what a journey it has been! Over time, our toolset grew to include The Well-Trained Mind’s First Language Lessons, IEW’s Fix it, Classical Conversations’ Essentials, and now MP’s Latin programme. Through it all, my fascination with words has only deepened.

As with any venture into the unknown, I committed our Latin journey to the Lord in prayer, encouraged my son, and dived in.

Prima Latina: Overcoming the Initial Anxiety

I was immediately blown away by how straightforward Prima Latina was. The book opened with an explanation of the pronunciation rules. I later learned about Classical versus Christian (Ecclesiastical) pronunciation, and we chose Memoria Press’s recommended Christian style and never looked back. The lessons moved seamlessly through practical sayings, vocabulary, understanding derivatives, and an introductory declension and conjugation. It felt incredibly manageable, right down to the regular reviews that took place every five lessons. The curriculum also included several Latin prayers, which my son memorised and regularly recited.

If you are debating or feeling anxious about starting Prima Latina, don’t be afraid—it is remarkably simple and easy to teach. In fact, on the Classical Et Cetera podcast, the Memoria Press team shared how in the early days before the workbooks were published, Cheryl Lowe would write a lesson the night before and hand it to the teachers on their way into the classroom that morning! They laugh about it now, noting that it worked beautifully because every lesson followed the exact same structured, scripted format. All the teachers had to do was follow the notes. That has absolutely been my experience as well, all the way from Prima Latina to Third Form.

Latina Christiana: Managing Multiple Students

Once we finished Prima Latina, I moved my eldest into Latina Christiana while starting my second-born on Prima Latina. This meant teaching and learning a new level while simultaneously managing a book I already knew well. Thankfully, Latina Christiana followed the exact same familiar format and integrated some review from the previous book. We dived into fresh Latin sayings, new vocabulary, and a gentle introduction to formal grammar—all of which felt completely doable and enjoyable. We also continued reciting our prayers from the first book. Teaching my younger son was much easier the second time around, and it served as an excellent refresher for me, too.

Latin story by my daughter using Latina Christiana

First Form Latin: Stepping Up the Rigour

Next, we transitioned into the Form Series, starting with First Form Latin—which, as a quick tip, looks deceptively like Latina Christiana, so always double-check the cover text before buying! As we began, I realised with immense gratitude just how well our foundations in Prima Latina and Latina Christiana had prepared us. The book kept the same familiar, comforting layout we were used to: Sayings, Vocabulary, and Grammar, while introducing a few new features like oral drills and tests. However, the workbook at this level was substantially larger with a significant amount of writing. To ease tired hands, I adapted by doing parts of the exercises orally with my children.

Memoria Press: Latin Packages – how we use them.

When you purchase a Form Series complete package, you receive several items. After five years of regular use, here is my honest assessment of each component and how we use them day-to-day.

Student Text, Workbook, and Quiz book: I love that each lesson in the Student Text  is presented on just two compact pages. The predictable, consistent layout across the series makes it incredibly easy for students to navigate. The Workbook is used during the week for the exercises, and the Quiz book is used on Friday for the weekly quiz.

Teacher Manual & Answer Key: I use the manual to prepare ahead of time, noting any teaching tips or insights not included in the student text. While the lessons are scripted, my confidence grew over time, allowing me to teach independently without relying heavily on the script.

Streaming Videos & Flashcards: We initially used the streaming videos to help with pronunciation, though we rarely rely on them now. Additionally, I find managing (and storing) so many physical flashcards cumbersome. For years, I have simply tested my children directly from the grammar drills and vocabulary lists, which has been more than sufficient, though I am currently researching alternative methods for review.

Scheduling and Managing Multiple Levels

By this point, I had my oldest in First Form Latin, my second in Latina Christiana, and my third just starting Prima Latina. Those were interesting times! Yet, I found I could manage Prima Latina and Latina Christiana with zero preparation; for those levels, it truly was “open and go.” First Form, however, required about ten minutes over the weekend to review the student text and teacher manual so that I was familiar with the chapter before Monday’s lesson.
First Form is still relatively straightforward. You learn all five declensions (minus the fourth neuter), the first and second conjugations, first and second declension adjectives, and all six indicative active tenses. This felt entirely manageable and interestingly, the Classical Conversations Latin chants we had memorised over the years helped us in quickly recalling the declension and conjugation endings.

Latin story by my son using First Form

Second Form and Third Form: Braving the Upper Levels

Second Form Latin: The Teacher Must Study

Then my eldest moved into Second Form, and you know the drill: my second advanced to First Form, and my third stepped up to Latina Christiana. Second Form was a completely different story. To be honest, this was the first time in our journey when I had to sit down, study the text in advance, and truly learn the grammar myself just to keep up and help the kids. Suddenly, we were facing a mountain of complex grammar: third-declension nouns and adjectives (which are not as straightforward as those in First Form), the genitive and dative cases, prepositions, adverbs, the 3rd, 3rd-io, and 4th conjugations (both present and perfect systems), and the passive voice for the present system across all conjugations!
Phew! It was a massive leap from the foundational years, requiring serious mental focus from both teacher and student.

Latin story by my son using Second Form

Third Form Latin: Conquering “The Beast”

Then, this year, we moved into Third Form—and the jump was massive! I have heard Tanya Charlton refer to Third Form as a “beast,” and I heartily agree. We are only two units in, and we have already had to stop twice just to review and recap all that we have covered.

The volume of new material is intense. So far we have learnt the perfect passive system, imperative mood, vocative case, appositives, new third-declension adjectives, and irregular adjectives. On top of that, the translation work is on a completely different level. Did anyone say mental gymnastics? It truly stretches the mind, but the rewards of seeing the children translate these complex sentences are unmatched.

Our Independent Weekly Routine

For several years we used the MP Latin programme independently without a formal curriculum manual telling us what to do each day. Instead, I created a simple weekly plan that we still use today:

Monday: Introduce new chapter and review the grammar drill questions.
Tuesday: Review new chapter, complete a few exercises from the Student Workbook, practise conversational Latin, and review the sayings.
Thursday: Review the chapter again, finish the remaining workbook exercises, and complete a vocabulary review.
Friday: The weekly quiz.

This schedule was tweaked many times over the years to find what truly worked for our family.

Key Takeaways and Final Thoughts:

  • High Parent Involvement: This curriculum demands heavy active teaching. It will not work well as a hands-off, independent study for young children. You, as the parent, will need to commit to leading daily oral drills, recitations, and vocabulary review. As my teaching load increased with a rising tide of daily drills and recitations, I decided to have the children quiz each other! This approach was fantastic because it kept them constantly reviewing previous material.
    However, we reached a point this year where the sheer volume of checking and reviewing became too heavy for me to manage sustainably. Realising something had to change, I began searching for ways to simplify our routine. I have found two potential digital solutions for automating our vocabulary and grammar retention:

    Quizlet: You can create your own flashcards here.
    Anki: A powerful flashcard app using spaced repetition. This is the app we are currently testing at home.

    Also, as my children advance into higher levels, I am finding that I need to do my own learning to keep up with them. To manage this without adding to my daily stress, I am putting together a very gentle study schedule for myself—something short and realistic that fits around my daily homeschool responsibilities. On one episode of Classical Et Cetera, Martin Cothran shared his personal habit of translating a sentence or two every morning using an online Vulgate (the Latin Bible). Hovering over a word shows its conjugation, declension, tense, and case in a popup. I think that would be a fantastic way of keeping my Latin skills sharp.
  • Memorisation: Success in Latin requires regular, consistent review and repetition to make the vocabulary and grammar stick. If you are teaching multiple children like I am, it helps to plan out a routine that fits your family.
  • Grammar-First Focus: Instead of using the immersion method, the MP series relies on a steady, grammar-first approach. They explain the ‘why’ behind their philosophy in their articles and on the Classical Et Cetera podcast, which I found incredibly useful.
  • Aid with English Mastery: Memoria Press uses Latin to do the heavy lifting for English grammar. Because Latin roots form a large percentage of English words, studying it gives us a deeper understanding of our own language. For instance, in Third Form, I discovered how adjectives can function as nouns (for example, “the poor you have always with you“) and how some adjectives require a specific prepositional phrase to complete their thought (for example, “close to the house” or “full of water“). As Tracy Lee Simmons says in Climbing Parnassus, “One learned Latin to help one’s English – end of case” (p. 166)
  • Order, Structure, and Discipline: The mental discipline required to dissect and translate these complex sentences has been incredibly rewarding for us. Studying Latin isn’t just about memorising lists—I can see how it is actively shaping the way my children and I think.

    When I was trying to understand the core of classical education, Simmons’ words in Climbing Parnassus really resonated with me:
    “Once classical education pointed to an elite course in instruction based upon Greek and Latin, the two great languages of the classical world. Classical education did not set itself to instilling knowledge alone; it also sought to polish and refine. And neither rigour nor beauty in one’s use of language was obtained firmly without Greek or Latin. Together they provide both a mental gymnastic and training in taste.” (pp. 13-14)

    He notes that the book’s title (Climbing Parnassus) itself historically “became a code for the painfully glorious exertions of Greek and Latin.” (p. 16). It certainly feels like an exertion some days!

    He also beautifully references a quote by educationalist Sir Richard Livingstone, asserting that:
    “Not to know Greek is to be ignorant of the most flexible and subtle instrument of expression which the human mind has devised and not to know Latin is to have missed an admirable training in precise and logical thought.” pp. 180-181
Must read: Climbing Parnassus
  • Adding Song and Prayer: We’ve also woven Lingua Angelica and Latin prayers into our weekly routine. Lingua Angelica features lovely Latin songs sung in a traditional Gregorian chant style. We play these on rotation once a week just to familiarise ourselves with the flowing sounds of the language. In the mornings, we start our homeschool day together by reciting a formal prayer—alternating between the Sanctus and Benedictus, Gloria Patri, the table blessing, or the Pater Noster.
Lingua Angelica
  • Finally, some resources we have found useful:

Looking Towards the Future

As I look toward the future, I confess I am simultaneously excited and petrified. A storm of questions constantly circles my mind: What is in store for us? Can I manage the material as the stakes get higher? How will I manage multiple children as they all hit advanced levels simultaneously? Will we eventually need to enrol in the online Memoria Press Academy to offload the teaching burden?

More pressingly for us in the UK, how will these years of hard work translate to formal British examinations? Will we target standard GCSEs, or opt for American AP (Advanced Placement) exams?

I have also heard that UK Latin instruction differs “structurally” from the American system. For instance British schools historically order noun cases as Nom-Voc-Acc-Gen-Dat-Abl (putting similar case forms together), whereas American programs like Memoria Press use the layout of Nom-Gen-Dat-Acc-Abl. I wonder if this or other variations will pose a challenge for future exams?

We enjoy having Latin sayings on our whiteboard

My Final Encouragement: Just Dive In!

If you are standing on the edge of this decision, perhaps holding back because you don’t have a background in classical languages, my best advice is simply to dive straight in!

If your children are still small, you can start gently with Prima Latina. For slightly older kids, you can jump directly into Latina Christiana or First Form Latin. Both paths are completely doable even if you are entirely new to the language.

You don’t need a specialised Classics degree; you simply need a willingness to learn, adapt, and grow right alongside your children. And if you ever feel stuck, reach out to the Memoria Press customer service team. They are wonderfully supportive and will happily help you figure out the best plan for your schoolhouse.

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