Core Skills Workbooks (sold by Memoria Press)

Core Skills is a group of phonics, spelling, and language arts workbooks that Memoria Press sells. Memoria Press's product pages list Houghton Mifflin Harcourt as the publisher of some of them, and Memoria Press places Core Skills Language Arts workbooks in its Classical Core grade sets for grades 3 through 8. The publisher's own pages describe the Language Arts workbooks as supplemental workbooks that reinforce grammar, vocabulary, and writing skills.

Last updated: 2026-10-08 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Subject-specialist workbooks (Every Homeschool classification), sold within Memoria Press's classical catalog
Worldview	Every Homeschool classification carried over from the directory (Christian · Ecumenical, a term Memoria Press does not use to describe its curriculum), not a finding about these workbooks. Memoria Press says its entire curriculum is Christian, explicit in some materials and implicit in others; the Core Skills pages we read do not describe the religious content of the workbooks, and several of them list Houghton Mifflin Harcourt as the publisher
Grades	Core Skills Language Arts: Grades 3-8; Core Skills Phonics: Grades K-2; Core Skills Spelling 1: listed with Simply Classical Level 2; Spelling 2: no grade label on its page
Formats	Print workbooks; the Language Arts 1 page lists a 122-page paperback
Cost tier	Budget (Every Homeschool classification); $9.99 to $12.49 per workbook, retrieved October 2026
Parent intensity	3 (Every Homeschool rating)
ESA-common	Not verified
Accredited	Not applicable: workbooks, not a school
Established	Not stated; the Spelling 1 page and the Phonics K and Phonics 2 pages show a 2014 copyright date
Website	memoriapress.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	4	Scored from the publisher's descriptions only: the Phonics series page lists skills from consonants and vowels to diphthongs, with unit and general assessments
Ease of teaching	4	The Phonics series page lists skill boxes, exercises, and assessments in the Phonics 2 and 3 workbooks, and the pages we read list no teacher editions; scored from descriptions only
Content quality	4	Scored from the publisher's descriptions only: skill boxes, context activities, unit reviews, and "By Me!" books in Phonics 2 and 3
Flexibility	5	Each workbook is sold on its own page, and Memoria Press also places the Language Arts workbooks in its Classical Core grade sets and Phonics 2 in its Simply Classical Level 2 set
Value for money	5	Language Arts $12.49, Phonics $9.99 to $12.49, and Spelling $9.99 per workbook, retrieved October 2026
Worldview scope	3	Memoria Press's FAQ describes its whole curriculum as Christian; the pages we read do not describe the workbooks' religious content, so this score is a midpoint placeholder rather than a rating of their content
Visual/design	3	Not assessed from the workbooks; the publisher's pages give no design details, so we hold the midpoint
Support resources	3	The pages we read list no teacher editions; Memoria Press's Curriculum Manuals schedule specific pages, such as Core Skills Language Arts 3, page 60, in the third grade sample

Who the publisher is

Memoria Press's About page describes it as a family-run publishing company that produces classical Christian education materials for home and private schools. The page says the company has developed a K-12 classical curriculum at Highlands Latin School in Louisville, Kentucky, where it says its programs are written and field-tested, and it lists Highlands Latin School among the institutions it calls the Memoria Press Family.

The pages we read do not describe Core Skills as a Memoria Press publication. The Core Skills Language Arts 1 page and the Core Skills Spelling 1 page list Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt as the publisher, and the Core Skills Phonics series page lists Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The individual pages for Phonics K and Phonics 2 list the publisher as Other, and the Language Arts 3 to 8 pages list no publisher. The Core Skills pages we read do not list Memoria Press as the publisher. The first page of the Memoria Press sample PDFs for Language Arts 3 and Phonics 2 carries a "Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company" copyright line. This review describes these workbooks only as Memoria Press's pages do.

Memoria Press says its entire curriculum is Christian, with explicit references to the faith and Scripture in some materials and implicit ones in others, and says it has released a separate line of products for educators in public settings. The FAQ does not say which products are in that line. The pages we read state no denominational affiliation, and the Core Skills pages do not describe religious content one way or the other.

The core pedagogy

The publisher's pages describe each Core Skills group this way:

• Language Arts, Grades 3-8. The series page lists Core Skills Language Arts 3 through 8 at $12.49 each and says the supplemental workbooks reinforce grammar, vocabulary, and writing skills. A Language Arts 1 page is listed separately.
• Phonics, Grades K-2. The series page lists titles numbered K, 2, 3, and 4 and says the series helps students become successful readers, with practice pages that link phonics skills with spelling and reading. Memoria Press also sells Phonics 1 on its own page, which the series page does not list. The series page says Phonics 2 is used in the Simply Classical Curriculum Level 2 and features skill boxes, exercises, context activities, unit reviews, "By Me!" books, self assessments, unit assessments, and general assessments, covering consonants, vowels, consonant blends, and consonant digraphs. It lists Phonics 3 as covering short and long vowels, syllables, silent consonants, r-controlled vowels, y as a vowel, the schwa, and diphthongs.
• Spelling 1 and 2. The Spelling 1 page carries a description introduced with the words "From the publisher:" that says the spelling program features word lists built around similar sounds and patterns with varied and relevant exercises, and lists it with Simply Classical Level 2.

These workbooks are not the same as other Memoria Press lines. Memoria Press describes First Start Reading as a complete phonics course, and sells a separate Traditional Spelling series that it calls a comprehensive, phonetic approach to teaching spelling. Memoria Press's copybooks are listed under Penmanship, and the publisher's Simply Classical Curriculum is described as adapted for students with significant learning challenges, for ages 2 to 21.

Memoria Press places the Language Arts workbooks in its Classical Core grade sets: Core Skills Language Arts 3 in the third, 4 in the fourth, 5 in the fifth, 6 in the sixth, 7 in the seventh, and 8 in the eighth grade set.

A day in the life

The publisher does not state a daily time or a pacing for the Core Skills workbooks on their product pages, so none is given here. Memoria Press's own Third Grade Curriculum Manual sample shows how one of them is scheduled: it lists Core Skills Language Arts 3, page 60, on Friday of week 1 in the grammar and composition block, alongside English Grammar I Lesson 1 and Introduction to Composition. The manual lists it among a larger set of books for the grade.

What they do exceptionally well

Low per-workbook prices. The publisher lists Language Arts at $12.49, Phonics at $9.99 to $12.49, and Spelling at $9.99, retrieved October 2026. In our assessment, that is a low cost for a single workbook.

Sold individually. Each Core Skills workbook has its own page, so a family can add one title without buying a grade set, and Memoria Press also schedules the Language Arts workbooks inside its Classical Core sets.

A stated skills list for phonics. The Phonics 2 and 3 descriptions name the skills the workbooks cover and the kinds of assessments they include. In our assessment, that helps a parent see what a given level covers before buying.

What they do poorly

Not a complete program. The Language Arts page describes the books as supplemental workbooks, and the Phonics series page describes practice pages. The publisher separately sells First Start Reading as a complete phonics course. In our assessment, families wanting a full reading or language arts program should not rely on these workbooks alone.

Little description on the product pages. Most Core Skills pages give a title, a price, and a sample link, and the Language Arts 3 to 8 pages list no publisher. In our assessment, families should open the sample pages before buying; the Language Arts 3 and Phonics 2 sample PDFs are scans of six pages each.

No teacher editions listed on the pages we read. The pages we read list no teacher editions or answer keys for Core Skills. A family that wants an answer key should confirm with the publisher before ordering.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Core Skills if: you want an inexpensive supplemental workbook in phonics, spelling, or grammar; you use Memoria Press grade sets that schedule these workbooks; you want to add a single title without a full set; you are comfortable buying from a publisher that describes its whole curriculum as Christian.

• Skip Core Skills if: you need a complete reading or language arts program; you need a teacher edition or answer key listed on the product page; you need the workbooks' religious content described on the product page before you buy, since these pages do not describe it.

Cost honest assessment

All prices below are Memoria Press's, retrieved October 2026.

• Core Skills Language Arts 3 through 8: $12.49 each.
• Core Skills Language Arts 1: $12.49.
• Core Skills Phonics: Phonics K, 3, and 4 are $9.99 each, and Phonics 2 is $12.49. Core Skills Phonics 1 is $12.49 on its own page.
• Core Skills Spelling 1 and Spelling 2: $9.99 each.

For reference, the First Start Reading A-D Set, which the publisher lists for kindergarten, is $54.20. The price on the page you order from is the one that applies.

ESA eligibility notes

Whether any state ESA marketplace lists Memoria Press or the Core Skills workbooks was not confirmed for this review. The publisher's pages that we read do not state which ESA programs accept its products. Families should confirm with their program administrator that the specific items they plan to buy are eligible and whether the program applies restrictions to religious curriculum.

Alternatives

In our assessment, a family that wants phonics or language arts materials from a different publisher could compare these with Core Skills. Each publisher's own site is the place to check its scope and prices.

• Explode the Code
• All About Reading
• The Good and the Beautiful