Simply Classical History (Memoria Press)

Simply Classical History is the history strand of Memoria Press's adapted classical curriculum for learners with developmental delays and special needs. It is the program many families with neurodivergent children turn to when they want a classical education that does not pretend their child is not theirs.

Last updated: 2026-04-24 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Classical / literature-based / adapted for special needs
Worldview	Christian-ecumenical (Memoria Press is broadly Christian, the Simply Classical line is denominationally neutral)
Grades	K-8 (paced gentler than typical grade level)
Formats	Print
Cost tier	Standard
Parent intensity	4
ESA-common	Yes
Accredited	No
Established	Cheryl Swope's Simply Classical book published 2013; curriculum followed
Website	memoriapress.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	4	Substantive classical content, paced for the learner
Ease of teaching	3	Scripted but parent-intensive; method-based
Content quality	4	Carefully selected texts adapted for accessibility
Flexibility	4	Levels are placement-based rather than age-based
Value for money	4	Reasonably priced; uses widely available source texts
Worldview scope	3	Christian framing in some texts; secular history texts predominate
Visual/design	3	Memoria Press's clean classical aesthetic
Support resources	4	Cheryl Swope's writings, conferences, parent forums

Who the publisher is

Memoria Press, based in Louisville, Kentucky, is one of the major American classical Christian curriculum publishers. Founded by Cheryl Lowe in 1994 and now run by her family, Memoria Press is best known for its main classical curriculum sequence. Latina Christiana Latin, Classical Composition, Famous Men of Greece and Rome, the Memoria Press Online Academy, used widely in classical Christian schools and homeschools.

Simply Classical is a separate Memoria Press curriculum line designed by Cheryl Swope, an educator and author whose 2013 book Simply Classical: A Beautiful Education for Any Child argued that classical education was not only compatible with special-needs learners but, properly adapted, exceptionally well-suited to them. Swope's own twin children, one with Down syndrome, one with autism and other diagnoses, provided the experiential basis for the work, and the curriculum she developed at Memoria Press is the practical implementation of the book's argument.

The history strand specifically is one component of the broader Simply Classical curriculum, which spans language arts, math, history, science, fine arts, and faith strands across eight levels. The history strand uses a combination of Memoria Press original texts, third-party widely available materials (DK Ancient World readers, Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World, Famous Men volumes), and Memoria's own pacing guides that schedule the material in shorter daily chunks with extensive review.

Theologically, Memoria Press is Christian-ecumenical. Christian source material is present (Bible-history connections, Christian historical figures, prayer in some materials), but the curriculum is used widely across Catholic, Reformed, evangelical, and ecumenical Protestant settings. The history strand specifically is denominationally neutral; explicitly faith-formative work happens in the separate Simply Classical faith strand.

The core pedagogy

Simply Classical History teaches history through three principles: shorter daily reading sessions than the main classical curriculum, more repetition and review than typical, and a sequence paced one to two years behind a typical Memoria Press student. A child working through Simply Classical Level 4 history is encountering material that a typical Memoria Press second-grader might encounter, but at a pace that allows for extensive narration, illustration, recitation, and revisiting.

Scope and sequence runs across eight levels covering roughly the developmental range from late preschool through early adolescence in chronological-classical order: early American history at lower levels (introducing the child to the world she lives in), then the classical sequence (ancient civilizations, Greece, Rome, medieval, modern). The history strand integrates with the curriculum's literature, geography, and Bible work across each level. Level 1 begins with simple narrative history, picture books, family-life history, basic American story; Level 8 is reading Famous Men of Greece and substantial primary historical narrative at a measured pace.

Signature mechanics: (1) Pacing as accommodation. The same texts a typical classical student would encounter are present, but scheduled across longer time horizons. Story of the World Volume 1 might be a fall semester for a typical second-grader; in Simply Classical it might span an entire year or longer. (2) Repetition built in. Each lesson includes review of previous content alongside new material. The repetition is not remedial in the apologetic sense. Cheryl Swope argues, persuasively, that all classical pedagogy benefits from more repetition than American curricula typically deliver. (3) Multi-modal engagement. The same historical content is encountered through reading, narration, illustration, recitation, map work, and timeline construction. A child who does not retain content via reading alone may retain via the combination.

A day in the life

An eight-year-old working through Simply Classical Level 3 history sits with her parent at 9:30 on a Tuesday morning. Today's lesson centers on a chapter from Story of the World Volume 1, say, the chapter on ancient Egypt. The parent reads the chapter aloud, taking ten minutes; the student narrates back what she remembers; the parent guides the narration with prompts ("what did the pharaoh do? what did the people build?"). Then map work: the student colors the Nile region on a printable Egypt map, labeling Memphis and Thebes. Then a timeline figure: she places the Egypt figure on the family timeline and reviews where it sits relative to figures she placed last week. Tomorrow's history block will reread today's chapter, which she will narrate again with more detail.

A different child, the same age but with autism diagnoses, may follow the same lesson but with more discrete preparation: a visual schedule that shows how long the lesson will take, a sensory accommodation (perhaps reading the chapter aloud while the child holds a fidget tool), and the parent's adjustment of expectations around the timeline figure work. The Simply Classical curriculum design assumes accommodations will vary by child, and the structure supports them rather than fighting them.

What they do exceptionally well

Classical content delivered at the learner's pace. Editorial view: Simply Classical is one of the few American curricula that takes classical education seriously for special-needs learners, that is, that does not treat the special-needs population as needing a fundamentally different kind of education, but as needing classical education delivered with different pacing and accommodations. This is unusual and valuable. The curriculum's design philosophy rejects the dichotomy between rigorous education and accessible education.

Cheryl Swope's experiential authority. Curricula written by educators who have not lived the experience often miss the texture of what works. Swope is a credentialed educator and the parent of a child with significant disabilities, and the curriculum reflects both authorities. The pacing decisions, the choice to prioritize narration over written work at lower levels, the integration of repetition, these are practitioner decisions, not theorist decisions.

Memoria Press production quality and ecosystem. The Simply Classical curriculum benefits from Memoria Press's broader infrastructure, solid print quality, a free placement consultant, the Online Academy for families wanting live-class option, conferences, and a substantial parent community. Few special-needs-adapted curricula have this scale of supporting ecosystem.

What they do poorly

Pace can lag behind motivated learners. Simply Classical is paced for the learner who genuinely benefits from gentler, more-repetitive sequencing. A child whose primary need is accommodation in modality (audiobook access, visual schedules) but who reads at grade level may find Simply Classical's overall pace under-challenging. Memoria Press's main curriculum may be a better fit, with selective Simply Classical elements (particularly the literature accommodations) borrowed.

Limited materials at upper levels. Levels 1-6 are well-developed; Levels 7-8 are present but thinner, and there is no Simply Classical high school curriculum. Families using Simply Classical through middle school typically transition to one of: the main Memoria Press high school sequence (with continuing accommodations), Mother of Divine Grace special-services track, or a custom-built high school program drawing on accommodations from various publishers. The transition is real and requires planning.

Parent intensity remains high. Simply Classical does not reduce parent involvement compared to typical Memoria Press; in many cases it increases it. The lessons are designed to be parent-guided through reading, narration, and review. Families looking for an adaptive curriculum that lightens the parent load (perhaps via video instruction or self-paced digital) will find Simply Classical the wrong shape, though the Memoria Press Online Academy offers some Simply Classical live-class options that shift teaching load.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Simply Classical History if: the family has a child with developmental delays, autism, Down syndrome, or other special needs and wants a classical education adapted for the child's pace; the family wants Memoria Press's classical content with appropriate accommodations rather than a fundamentally different curriculum; the parent is willing to commit to a parent-led curriculum with substantial repetition; the child responds to multi-modal teaching (reading, narration, drawing, recitation).

• Skip Simply Classical History if: the child is gifted or at-grade-level and needs accommodation in modality only, not in pace (consider main Memoria Press with audiobook access and visual schedules); the family wants a turn-key digital curriculum that reduces parent load (consider Power Homeschool or selected video courses); the family is not classical and wants a different methodological frame for special-needs adaptation (consider Heart of Dakota for Charlotte Mason-influenced gentle pacing or Math-U-See plus All About Reading for traditional accommodation-friendly skill-based programs); the child is in high school and Simply Classical's grade range ends before the work the family needs.

Cost honest assessment

Simply Classical curriculum levels retail at roughly $200 to $400 per level for the all-subject package as of April 2026, with the history strand portion of any given level costing roughly $50 to $100 of that total when purchased as components. Individual texts within the history strand (Story of the World, DK Ancient World volumes, Famous Men) are widely available outside Memoria Press at standard retail.

Compared to other special-needs-adapted curricula, Heart of Dakota at roughly $250 to $400 per year is comparable, while Catholic Heritage Curricula's special-needs offerings are similarly priced. Compared to building a custom special-needs curriculum from generic materials with parent-developed accommodations, Simply Classical is more expensive but dramatically less time-intensive on the parent's planning side.

A realistic per-year cost using Simply Classical: $250 to $400 per child per year if buying the full level package; $50 to $150 per year per child if buying only the history strand and sourcing other subjects elsewhere.

ESA eligibility notes

Memoria Press is approved on most state ESA marketplaces, and Simply Classical materials are typically available within those approvals. Arizona ESA, Florida Step Up For Students MyScholarShop, West Virginia Hope Scholarship, and Arkansas LEARNS Act all approve Memoria Press materials including Simply Classical. Some state ESAs have specific funding mechanisms for special-needs students that increase available dollars beyond the standard ESA amount; families with diagnosed special needs should verify whether their state ESA includes such enhancements. Memoria Press's own ESA workflow allows families to submit orders directly for vendor reimbursement in approved states.

Alternatives

• Heart of Dakota, a family would pick Heart of Dakota over Simply Classical for a Charlotte Mason-influenced literature-based program with naturally gentle pacing that works well for some special-needs learners without explicit special-needs adaptation.
• Catholic Heritage Curricula, a family would pick CHC over Simply Classical for a Catholic-faith-integrated curriculum with explicit special-needs adaptations and a Catholic theological frame throughout.
• Mother of Divine Grace, a family would pick MODG's special-services track over Simply Classical for a Catholic classical curriculum with personalized accommodations and consultant support, when the family wants Catholic theological depth alongside classical content.

How we verified this

Our editorial team reviewed memoriapress.com, the Simply Classical curriculum pages, Cheryl Swope's published writings, and sample materials from Levels 1, 4, and 7 in April 2026. We cross-referenced the program structure with Cheryl Swope's Simply Classical book and Cathy Duffy Reviews' coverage of the Memoria Press curriculum. Pricing for Simply Classical curriculum levels verified April 2026 from the publisher's storefront.