Simply Classical Curriculum

Simply Classical is the Memoria Press curriculum the publisher says has been adapted especially for students with significant learning challenges. The publisher says the complete program offers a slower pace with ample review.

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

At a glance

Method	Classical; the publisher describes classical Christian education adapted for students with special needs
Worldview	Christian. Memoria Press describes its philosophy as classical Christian education, and the Level 4 page says studies are informed by God's Holy Word, with passages learned in accord with the historic Church Year. The publisher names no denomination on the pages we read. Our directory category, Christian · Ecumenical, is Every Homeschool's classification, not the publisher's term
Grades	Sold by level rather than grade, from My First Words through Levels 11 & 12. The publisher labels sets by chronological age or skill level, for example Level A ages 2-3, Level 1 ages 5-6, Level 4 ages 8-10, and Levels 11 & 12 ages 15-18
Formats	Print sets of books and workbooks, with a Curriculum Manual in each level set from Level A onward and a guidebook in My First Words; the Level 4 set includes streaming Prima Latina instructional videos; Memoria Academy lists live online special-needs classes
Cost tier	Standard: current set prices run from $132.82 (My First Words) to $830.47 (Levels 9 & 10, two-year pace) (retrieved October 2026)
Parent intensity	5 (Every Homeschool rating)
ESA-common	Not stated on the publisher's pages
Accredited	Not stated on the publisher's pages
Established	The publisher's pages do not state a year for the Simply Classical Curriculum. The companion book is listed as a Second Edition, copyright 2019
Website	memoriapress.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	4	The publisher describes a slower pace with ample review; in our assessment, the classical subjects (Latin, literature, classical studies) are kept across the levels while the pace is slowed
Ease of teaching	3	Each level has a Curriculum Manual with lesson plans; in our assessment, the sample plan shows a substantial list of teacher tasks each day
Content quality	5	In our assessment, each level pairs a Curriculum Manual with named books, readers, and workbooks, for example the Level 4 set with literature, Latin, mythology, and mammals
Flexibility	3	Placement is by readiness assessment, and the publisher says all levels can be customized by moving up or down in a subject
Value for money	4	Current set prices run from $132.82 (My First Words) to $830.47 (Levels 9 & 10, two-year pace) (retrieved October 2026); see the cost section
Worldview scope	3	Christian content is part of the levels: the Level C page says each day opens and closes with prayer, and the publisher's FAQ says the Memoria Press curriculum as a whole is Christian
Visual/design	4	The publisher's Quick Reference Guide lists an emphasis on books with elegant illustrations
Support resources	4	The publisher offers free readiness assessments, a free online forum, free customer service, a curriculum map, and a companion book

Who the publisher is

The Simply Classical Curriculum is credited to Cheryl Swope, whom the publisher's page calls its creator. The same page says she holds a master's degree in special education and lifetime K-12 state teaching certifications in learning disabilities and behavior disorders. The page says she shares the hopeful message that a classical Christian education offers benefits to any child. Her companion book, Simply Classical: A Beautiful Education for Any Child, is a Second Edition (copyright 2019, 303 pages, perfect-bound) published by Memoria Press and listed at $26.00 (retrieved October 2026). The book page lists parents, teachers, homeschooling families, and classical school headmasters among the readers who will benefit.

Memoria Press describes itself as a family-run publishing company that produces classical Christian education materials for home and private schools, and it lists a mailing address in Louisville, Kentucky. The publisher's Quick Reference Guide says the Simply Classical packages are based on the classical Christian education provided at Highlands Latin School and adapted for students with significant special learning needs.

The same guide says who the curriculum is for and who it is not for. It tells families to choose Simply Classical when a student has moderate-to-severe special needs, or when the family expects the student to need significant, lifelong adaptations because of a diagnosed learning disability, and to choose Memoria Press's Classical Core Curriculum when the student's special needs are only mild to moderate. The About page says parents of children in a long list of categories, including autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, dyslexia, and global developmental delay, have expressed appreciation for the progress of their children in the curriculum. Memoria Press sells the program as complete level sets and offers online courses through Memoria Academy, where the special-needs classes listed as of October 2026 were Level 6/7 and Level 8/9 literature, limited to eight students, with a parent required to attend.

The core pedagogy

The publisher lists ten key features of the program, among them a slower pace with ample review, books with elegant illustrations, multi-sensory presentation, oral language components that reduce the demand for written responses, skills checklists in the early years, themed levels, a trivium approach, and Socratic questioning at every level. The sets run from My First Words, then Levels A, B, and C (readiness levels), then Levels 1 through 4, then paired Levels 5 & 6, 7 & 8, 9 & 10, and 11 & 12. The Quick Reference Guide groups them as Readiness (Levels A-C, age or ability 2-5), Primary (Levels 1-3, age or ability 5-9), Grammar (Levels 4-6), Scholar (Levels 7-10), and Advanced (Levels 11-12). It describes the one-year levels as 34 weeks long, with optional 8-week extensions in most of them, and describes Levels 5 through 12 as two-year levels at the standard pace or one year at an accelerated pace.

Memoria Press says placement starts with readiness assessments: a student who scores Yes or Emerging on approximately 80 percent of the total items in a single category is ready for that level, and when a student scores that in all categories for a level, the parent may teach the entire level for that child. All levels can be customized by moving up in a stronger subject or down in a weaker one. Each level set from Level A onward includes a Curriculum Manual; the Level 1 page lists the manual at $30.00 (retrieved October 2026) and links a sample lesson plan, a readiness assessment, and a supply list.

The publisher's scope and sequence places Latin as follows: Level 3 introduces Prima Latina in its second semester, Level 4 is the entire Prima Latina course, the paired Levels 5 & 6 and Levels 7 & 8 each cover half of Latina Christiana, and the paired Levels 9 & 10 and Levels 11 & 12 each cover half of First Form Latin. The publisher's Level 4 page says the level begins daily study of simplified, introductory Latin and is designed for a few concentrated hours, four to five days a week. The Levels 5 & 6 page lists D'Aulaires' Greek Myths as core Classical Studies, and the Level 4 page lists Little House in the Big Woods with student and teacher guides.

Signature mechanics: (1) Readiness-based placement, with free assessments that, per the Simply Classical page, cover a range of categories from language and cognition to fine-motor skills. (2) Oral language and recitation, which the publisher's feature list describes as components that promote oral language development and reduce the demand for written responses. (3) Copybook work: the Level 1 set includes Simply Classical Copybook: Book One, Manuscript, in which students copy Scripture, maxims, poetry, and other literature selections. (4) Latin beginning in Level 3 or 4, as described above. (5) Themed, integrated levels, for example Level 3 titled "Literature, Latin, & Liberty" on the publisher's set list.

A day in the life

The publisher's Level 1 sample lesson plan is a weekly grid with a column for each weekday. In the first week of the sample, each day opens with an opening prayer, the alphabet, and counting. The rows that follow cover reading and phonics, arithmetic, copybook and memory work, Christian studies, and a row called Wonder, Beauty, & Imagination that covers literature, science, history, world studies, art, and music. In the sample, most rows list tasks for the teacher, such as pages of the First Start Reading Teacher Guide to read, and tasks for the student, such as completing pages in the copybook or writing practice on the arithmetic practice sheets. The sample does not give clock times or minute counts for the subjects.

For other levels, the publisher says Level 4 is designed for a few concentrated hours four to five days a week, and its Quick Reference Guide lists a 4-day week, to allow for doctor appointments, therapies, or rest, among the adaptations built into Levels 2 and 3.

What they do exceptionally well

Placement by readiness. The publisher provides free readiness assessments, which its Simply Classical page lists for Levels A through 11 & 12, and says on that page that when a student scores Yes or Emerging on approximately 80 percent in all categories for a level, the parent may teach the entire level for that child. In our assessment, this is a practical answer to the problem that age labels do not fit students with significant learning challenges, and the publisher's own set labels use age or skill level.

Classical subjects kept at slower pace. The sets include Latin, classical studies, and literature at the levels described above, and the publisher says the program offers a slower pace with ample review. In our assessment, the program keeps the classical content and changes the pacing rather than replacing the content.

Published scope and support. The publisher posts a Quick Reference Guide with scope and sequence tables, a curriculum map and a guide for transitioning to the Classical Core, and recommendations for students after Levels 11 and 12. In our assessment, families can see the plan for a level before buying it.

What they do poorly

Teacher preparation load. In the publisher's Level 1 sample plan, most rows list tasks for the teacher, such as reading guide pages and preparing materials before presenting a lesson. In our assessment, a parent should expect to spend time on preparation and presentation, which is the basis for our parent-intensity rating of 5.

Level sets include books from other publishers. The Level 1 set, for example, lists Rod & Staff Grade 1 Math alongside Memoria Press titles. A family that wants a program made entirely of one publisher's materials should read the set contents before ordering.

Pace choice at Levels 5 and above. Levels 5 through 12 are sold as paired sets at either a one-year pace or a two-year pace, each with its own price, so a family has to decide on the pace when ordering.

Christian content is part of the program. The publisher says everything in the Memoria Press curriculum speaks of the glory of God, with explicit references to the faith and Scripture in some materials and implicit ones in others (FAQ). Families that want a secular special-needs curriculum would be adapting the program.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Simply Classical if: your student has significant learning challenges and you want classical Christian content adapted for that pace, as the publisher describes; you want to place your student by readiness assessment; you are comfortable teaching most lessons yourself with a Curriculum Manual; you want free placement tools and a free online forum.

• Skip Simply Classical if: your student's special needs are only mild to moderate (the publisher's guide points those families to Classical Core); you want a program your child can do largely independently; you want a secular curriculum; you prefer to buy a program made only of one publisher's materials.

Cost honest assessment

Current prices on the publisher's pages (retrieved October 2026):

Set	Current price
My First Words	$132.82
Level A	$235.42
Level B	$195.91
Level C	$231.22
Level 1	$392.77
Level 2	$208.61
Level 3	$339.15
Level 4	$529.39
Levels 5 & 6, one-year pace	$733.97
Levels 5 & 6, two-year pace	$748.97
Levels 7 & 8, one-year pace	$607.81
Levels 7 & 8, two-year pace	$622.81
Levels 9 & 10, one-year pace	$815.47
Levels 9 & 10, two-year pace	$830.47
Levels 11 & 12, one-year pace	$599.64
Levels 11 & 12, two-year pace	$614.64

The companion book is $26.00 (retrieved October 2026). The publisher's special-needs page also lists individual subject areas, and the Level 1 set page lists optional enrichment books separately from the core. Sale prices change, so check the current price for a level before ordering.

ESA eligibility notes

The Simply Classical pages that Every Homeschool read in October 2026 do not mention state education savings account programs or marketplaces, and the publisher's support page does not list them either. Families using state education funds should check their program's approved-vendor list and its rules for students with disabilities, and confirm with Memoria Press customer service before ordering.

Alternatives

• Memoria Press Classical Core Curriculum, a family would choose the Classical Core over Simply Classical when, as the publisher's Quick Reference Guide describes it, the student's special needs are only mild to moderate or the family can provide accommodations within the existing Classical Core materials.
• Classical Conversations: the organization describes a Christ-centered homeschool curriculum rooted in the classical model, offered through local communities, with programs listed by age from Foundations (age 4+) through Challenge (age 12+). In our assessment, a family would compare it with Simply Classical when it wants a community-based classical program; the publisher describes Simply Classical as level sets adapted for students with significant learning challenges.
• Timberdoodle: the company describes all-in-one curriculum kits for children from toddlers through 12th grade that can be customized, with practical, hands-on materials. In our assessment, a family would compare it with Simply Classical when it wants a kit-based, hands-on approach; the publisher describes Simply Classical as level sets of books, workbooks, and a Curriculum Manual.