Training Happy Hearts: Learn about the Famous Men of Greece with Ease and Independence! {A Homeschool Review Crew / Memoria Press Review}

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

If you are looking for a well-written and designed classical history resource Famous Men of Greece by Memoria Press is worth a peek.

I had just been thinking about how I would like to refresh my 11-year-old’s history studies with something self-paced and mostly independent when an opportunity to review products by Memoria Press arose. Thus, I grabbed my son, showed him the options, and he chose the Famous Men of Greece set, a classically-based history resource designed for children in grades 5-6.

Shortly thereafter, we received our review materials - a text, a Student Guide, a Teacher Guide, and flashcards.

All three books are formatted in the same softcover size and are designed to be open-and-go.

The textbook, written by John H. Haaren and A.B. Poland is broken into 32 chapters which introduce students to the rise, Golden Age, and fall of Greece, by beginning with discussion about Greek Gods and then carrying forth with introducing the lives and minds of thirty famous Greeks to include Aristotle, Ptolemy, Odysseus, and Alexander the Great. Written in an engaging and understandable style - with both black-and-white and full-color images throughout, the text helps student establish a grasp on the faces and places which made Ancient Greece and its impact.

Corresponding to each chapter in the text are workbook pages in the Student Guide which follow a similar pattern chapter by chapter, using the following sections:

Facts to Know, which names and defines essential people, places and concepts and, sometimes, lists famous quotes, too

Vocabulary, which presents a short list of terms that students will come across in their reading and can note the definitions of

Comprehension Questions, which ask for straightforward information from the chapter

Activities, which are primarily mapwork

Additionally, the Student Guide contains periodic review pages, which ask students to do such things as define words, name who said specific quotes, describe events, review geography, and recall important people, places, and concepts, thereby encouraging students to review and retain learning from prior chapters.

At the end of the Student Guide there are also pages for Greek Gods and Their Roman names, notable quotes, timelining, drill questions, and maps. Correcting and reviewing the Student Guide is made super simple with the Teacher Guide, which is almost identical to the student workbook, but has the answers typed in the blanks and includes the addition of seven tests, a final exam, and keys for all tests and exams.

The flashcards are well-constructed, traditional cards that can help students with memory and drill work.

**How Did We Use Famous Men of Greece?**

When our review copy of Famous Men of Greece set came in, I introduced it to my 11-year-old during a 1:1 on our back deck. Together, we tag-read the first chapter and worked through the first pages of the Student Guide. He told me he liked the book. Hoorah!

After that one sitting, my son began to self-pace through the material with me checking in on his progress about once a week. By the time he got to the first Review portion of the Student Guide he had tired of the workbook-style of learning so asked if we could just chat about some of the material, which we did, continuing to use the materials in this way - an easy, effective, mostly-independent approach for my son.

**What Does My Son Have to Say about Famous Men of Greece?**

When I asked my son for his thought to share in this review, he said:

The Famous Men of Greece is a fun-to-read, independent learning material set. The way it works is that you read a chapter or so of the book and, then, answer questions about what you read.

I like the reading part, but the workbook gets a bit old. It is a lot of writing, which gets repetitive. It does make sure you know what you're reading through. I plan to finish the book and parts of the workbook. I would recommend this to students who like Ancient History or traditional schoolwork and who are in fifth through seventh grades.

Considering my son has picked the text up since I had him give his review thoughts, I would say the materials are a success here.

Would I Recommend This Classical History Resource?

Since Memoria Press offers classical homeschooling materials, if your family follows a classical approach, the Famous Men of Greece set will fit right into your homeschool. The materials, in my opinion, would also be fully appreciated by traditionally-minded homeschoolers who benefit from straightforward, open-and-go, read-and-respond-to-prompts type materials and those who have children that want to move forward with learning independently off screens.

Here, because we tend not to have a traditional, workbook-type learning, the text and Teacher Guide (with its written answers which helped me to easily jump right into discussions/checks of my son's independent work) were our favorite parts of the set.

Overall, I have found Famous Men of Greece to be a well-organized, open-and-go set with opportunities to learn history, improve geography, understand the impact of Greek men of thought, and let students work independently. Thus, I am pleased that we have begun using it and recommend as a worthwhile resource for studying classical history.

Learn More

Over twenty Homeschool Review Crew families reviewed Famous Men of Greece or other Memoria Press, history, Latin, or math resources. Be sure to click on through to find blog, social media, and video reviews about each family’s experience.