Memoria Press Science

Memoria Press says its science program has two goals before high school science: introducing students to nature through the study of birds, insects, trees, mammals, and the heavenly bodies, and giving them a narrative account of the development of the sciences. It then points students to the Novare Series for high school science. In our assessment, the early years are a nature-study and natural-history approach rather than an experiment-first one.

Last updated: 2026-10-15 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Classical, subject-specialist, nature-study and natural-history approach before high school; the science curriculum page says it introduces nature in the elementary years before laboratory-style science
Worldview	Christian. The publisher says its products are developed from the perspective of a Christian worldview. Its science curriculum page says students learn the history of science from a biblical perspective, and the Novare General Biology page describes that text as combining up-to-date science with a Christian worldview. The Novare Physical Science page and Novare Earth Science page each say the course is not written from a young earth perspective. The pages for the nature-study sets that we read state no position on the age of the earth
Grades	Grade 2 (Patterns of Nature) through Grade 11 (Physics: Modeling Nature) on the publisher's grade pages, plus supplemental science and enrichment sets for Kindergarten and First Grade; see the grade table below
Formats	Print readers, student workbooks, and teacher guides; digital flashcards in the Memoria Press App with some sets (for example The Book of Insects); Peterson field guides in several sets
Cost tier	Standard (see the cost section)
Parent intensity	3
ESA-common	Not stated by the publisher; confirm with your state program
Accredited	Not stated for the science sets; Memoria Academy says it is accredited by the Classical Latin School Association (CLSA)
Established	The publisher's pages do not state a start year for its science line
Website	memoriapress.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	3	In our assessment, strong in observation and classification at the nature-study stage; the publisher says nature study in the elementary years comes before laboratory-style science and that students then study high school science with the Novare Series
Ease of teaching	4	In our assessment, sets pair a reader with a student workbook and teacher guide (for example Mammals and Trees), with little setup at the nature-study stage
Content quality	4	In our assessment, classic source texts: the Book of Insects reader is compiled from stories written by Arabella Buckley and Julia McNair Wright in the late 1800s, and the Book of Birds program uses several classic books on birds
Flexibility	3	Each set is sold individually, and the publisher places titles by grade on its grade pages
Value for money	4	In our assessment, modest prices: the Mammals, Astronomy, Insects, Birds, and Trees sets run from $37.80 (The Book of Astronomy) to $85.40 (The Book of Birds), and Patterns of Nature is $11.75 (retrieved October 2026)
Worldview scope	3	The publisher says the history of science is taught from a biblical perspective, describes its Novare General Biology text as combining science with a Christian worldview, and says the Novare Physical Science and Novare Earth Science texts are not written from a young earth perspective
Visual/design	3	In our assessment, a functional workbook design; the publisher describes What is a Mammal? as colorfully illustrated and the Tiner books as illustrated
Support resources	3	Teacher guides with the sets we read; the science page also lists Modern Biology Instructional Videos (streaming) for Grades 9+

Who the publisher is

Memoria Press says Cheryl Lowe founded it and that it has developed a K-12 classical curriculum at Highlands Latin School in Louisville, Kentucky, where its programs are written and field-tested.

The publisher's science page says that before high school science, students first meet nature through the study of birds, insects, trees, mammals, and the heavenly bodies, and then receive a narrative account of the development of the sciences, "science in a story form." The page says they are then ready to study high school science using the Novare Series. The science curriculum page lists five aims: appreciation of nature; introducing nature in the elementary years before laboratory-style science; teaching students to observe, define, and classify animals, plants, and heavenly bodies; a narrative account of the development of the sciences; and formal instruction in high school with physical science, biology, chemistry, physics, and more. It adds that J. H. Tiner's illustrated science books, with Memoria Press guides, teach the history of science in middle and high school.

An article on the publisher's site ("The Nature of Science," from The Classical Teacher, Winter 2012) describes the approach as observation, definition, and classification, says students should know insects, trees, and birds before they learn laboratory instruments, and calls it an Aristotelian approach. It says the science materials are meant to be covered in approximately one hour each week, covering constellations, bugs, birds, and trees along with the Tiner books, and adds that to many homeschoolers the approach will sound like Charlotte Mason but is really just common sense.

The core pedagogy

The publisher's grade pages place its science titles as follows:

Grade	Science titles listed on the grade page
Kindergarten and 1st	Supplemental Science & Enrichment Sets
2nd	Patterns of Nature Set
3rd	Mammals Set
4th	The Book of Astronomy Set
5th	The Book of Insects Set
6th	The Book of Birds & History of Medicine Set; The Book of Birds Set; Exploring the History of Medicine Set
7th	The Book of Trees Set; Exploring the World of Biology Set
8th	Novare Physical Science Set
9th	Novare General Biology
10th	Novare General Chemistry
11th	Physics: Modeling Nature, Second Edition

What the product pages say about the sets:

• Patterns of Nature (Grade 2): 30 lessons bound in an illustrated workbook that introduces seasons, seeds, wildflowers, weeds, trees, mammals, insects, songbirds, and the celestial bodies; the set includes a Student Book and Teacher Manual.
• Mammals (Grades 3+): the readers What is a Mammal?, What is the Animal Kingdom?, and The World of Mammals, a student workbook of questions, and a teacher guide with answers, quizzes, and tests. The page says students answer comprehension questions and also learn by drawing the animals they study.
• The Book of Astronomy (Grades 3+): constellations, the motion of the earth, and the names of stars; the page says it was developed with 3rd graders in mind.
• The Book of Insects (Grades 4+): a reader compiled from classic stories, a workbook Memoria Press wrote on insect identification and anatomy, and the Peterson First Guide to Insects.
• The Book of Birds (Grades 5+): the page says the program uses several classic books on birds, was developed at Highlands Latin School, and is used with 5th graders. The study guide includes comprehension questions, diagrams, enrichment activities, and worksheets for field observations.
• The Book of Trees (Grades 6+): a reader, student book, teacher guide, The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown-ups, and the Peterson First Guide to Trees; the page says it covers plant morphology and taxonomy, photosynthesis, and respiration.
• Nature's Beautiful Order (Grades 6+): 18 lessons through the animal kingdom, by Christopher O. Blum and John A. Cuddeback, for grades 6 through 8.
• Tiner science sets (Grades 5-9): the Exploring the History of Medicine page says Memoria Press loves John H. Tiner's science books for middle school students, that he writes from a biblical perspective, and that Memoria Press adds supplemental review questions, unit tests, and a final exam.
• Novare titles (assigned on the grade pages for Grades 8 through 11): the Novare General Biology page lists Classical Academic Press as publisher and says its Apprentice's Companion includes 38 different experiments. The Novare Physical Science page says Memoria Press completes the course in Eighth Grade without requiring the experiments, lists the 12 experiments as optional, and says students seeking one high school credit should complete them.

The publisher's FAQ says Memoria Press does not align its program with the Common Core or Next Generation Science Standards.

Signature mechanics: (1) Reader plus workbook plus teacher guide in the nature-study sets. (2) Drawing and field observation, as the Mammals and Birds pages describe them. (3) Peterson field guides bundled in the Insects, Birds, and Trees sets. (4) Novare texts for high school science, assigned on the grade pages for grades 8 through 11.

What the publisher says about time

The publisher sells lesson plans for most of these sets separately and describes them as weekly schedules (Lesson Plans page). The Winter 2012 article above says the science materials are meant to be covered in approximately one hour each week.

What we think they do well

Named content at each stage. The product pages describe what each set covers: 31 common North American birds in the Book of Birds, insect identification and anatomy in the Book of Insects, constellations and the motion of the earth in the Book of Astronomy, and plant morphology and taxonomy in the Book of Trees. In our assessment, a family can see what a student will study before buying.

Classic source texts. The Book of Insects reader is compiled from classic stories written by Arabella Buckley and Julia McNair Wright in the late 1800s, per the publisher, and several sets include Peterson field guides. In our assessment, the readers are narrative rather than textbook in form.

Placement by grade. The publisher lists science titles on its Second through Eleventh Grade pages, so a family using the Classical Core can see where each title sits from Grade 2 through Grade 11.

What we think they do poorly

Laboratory-style science comes later by design. The publisher says it introduces nature in the elementary years before studying laboratory-style science, and the Novare Physical Science page lists its experiments as optional in Eighth Grade. In our assessment, families who want weekly hands-on experiments at the elementary level should look at programs built around them (see Alternatives).

High school science relies on Novare titles. The grade pages assign Novare titles in grades 8 through 11; the Novare General Biology page lists Classical Academic Press as publisher and the Physics: Modeling Nature page lists Novare. In our assessment, families should check what each grade-level set includes and budget for the Novare texts, and should read each Novare page, since two of them say the course is not written from a young earth perspective.

No alignment to state or national science standards. The publisher's FAQ says it does not align its program with the Common Core or Next Generation Science Standards. Families who must show alignment to a state framework should check their state's requirements.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Memoria Press Science if: you are running a classical or Charlotte Mason-influenced homeschool and want science that begins with nature study; you want to build natural-history knowledge before laboratory methodology; you want a grade-by-grade list of titles from Grade 2 through Grade 11; you are comfortable with a Christian worldview, which the publisher says its products are developed from.

• Skip Memoria Press Science if: you want weekly hands-on experiments at the elementary level; you need alignment to the Next Generation Science Standards or a specific state framework; you want every grade's science text to be a Memoria Press title, since the grade pages assign Novare titles from Grade 8 on; your student responds primarily to video or app-based science content.

Cost honest assessment

Current prices from the publisher's science page, retrieved October 2026:

Set	Price
Patterns of Nature Set (Grade 2)	$11.75
Mammals Set (Grades 3+)	$74.39
The Book of Astronomy Set (Grades 3+)	$37.80
The Book of Insects Set (Grades 4+)	$70.47
The Book of Birds Set (Grades 5+)	$85.40
The Book of Birds & History of Medicine Set	$116.40
The Book of Trees Set (Grades 6+)	$69.53
Nature's Beautiful Order Set (Grades 6+)	$51.10
Tiner science sets (Grades 5-9)	$30.44 to $34.44
Novare Physical Science Set (Grades 8+)	$144.90

The science page lists the other Novare titles with price ranges by component, from $18.95 to $121.95. It also lists Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock as a separate "All Ages" product at $33.95; its product page does not present it as part of another set.

ESA eligibility notes

The memoriapress.com pages that we read do not mention education savings accounts or state marketplace approvals, so we do not list any here. A family using an ESA should ask its state program whether Memoria Press is an approved vendor and whether individual science sets are reimbursable. Because the publisher describes parts of its science sequence as taught from a biblical perspective or a Christian worldview, families should also check their state program's rules on religious materials.

Alternatives

• Apologia, a family would choose Apologia over Memoria Press Science when it wants a science sequence from one publisher that runs from its Young Explorer elementary series for grades K-6 to a high school path that includes biology, chemistry, and physics; its Our Approach page says the scientific evidence points to the earth being young, thousands rather than millions of years old.
• Real Science-4-Kids, a family would choose Real Science-4-Kids when it wants an atoms-first approach with experiments; its site describes an "Atoms First" method, books 1-4 for elementary and books 5-7 for middle school, and experiment kits.
• Berean Builders, which Memoria Press itself sells as an optional supplement, a family would add when it wants more science alongside the nature-study sets; the publisher's page describes it as a history-based approach and lists the K-6 sets at $49.00 and the middle and high school sets at $79.00 (retrieved October 2026).