Author Archives: Leigh Lowe

Repetition, Memorization, Recitation

Painting of children learning their school lessons through repetition, memorization, and recitation.

Memorization is the cornerstone of a traditional education. At Memoria Press, we use repetition, memorization, and formal recitations to create a comprehensive, connected, and consistent experience for students from junior kindergarten through twelfth grade. Naturally, if memorization is the goal, repetition and recitation are the complements—repetition as the preparation and recitation as the proof and […]

Memoria Press Curriculum

graphic of classic books and quill pens

What is a classical education? The essential core of classical Christian education includes the study of Latin and the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome. — Cheryl Lowe What is the goal of classical education? Classical education focuses on the development of the whole student—heart, mind, and soul. It strives to give students a broad […]

A Case for Memoria Press Study Guides

A teacher takes a Memoria Press Study Guide for Charlotte's Web.

Many of us did not have the privilege of a classical education growing up, but we recognize its value and want it for our children. Because all people are worthy of its ends (Truth, Goodness, and Beauty), classical education should be available to all who seek it. However, it can seem intimidating and overwhelming to […]

Vade Mecum: “Go with me.”

Repetitio Mater Studiorum. “Repetition is the mother of learning.” In our classical tradition we exalt repetition as a valuable tool for learning. But beyond prizing repetition as an aid in memorizing individual goals (Latin grammar forms, multiplication tables, Shakespeare soliloquies), a connected classical curriculum offers valuable repetition about important truths over the long course of […]

The Case for the College

I remember being flabbergasted twenty-five years ago when my mother-in-law, Cheryl Lowe, casually mentioned that she’d like to start a college one day. At the time—the late 90s—Memoria Press operated out of the Lowe family garage attic. Mrs. Lowe and Martin Cothran worked on their Latin and logic programs on weekdays, and Cheryl’s son, Brian […]

The Contemplative Reader

The contemplative reader

How we approach a book can parallel the way we approach life itself. We can spend our time merely in pursuit of pleasure or we can strive toward a higher goal—the pursuit of what John Henry Newman calls the “philosophical habit of mind.” We would never dismiss the pleasure that reading can bring, but we […]

Lightning & Other Uncertainties

man walking in front of a wall with lightning in distance

Herman Melville’s (very) short story, “The Lightning-Rod Man,” should be required reading for anyone who consumes the daily news. It rings with modern relevance despite being published in 1854. In the story, we meet a homeowner who lives in a mountain region in Albania known since ancient times as Cape Thunder. He is enjoying a […]

How to Have a Children’s Book Club

book club

Children’s literature could save the world. I believe that. Stories and books are the primary means of passing culture on to children and have been for countless generations. If we claim to want authority over our children’s education we should refuse to relinquish the privilege of educating them to technology in our homes, cars, and […]

In Defense of Grasshoppers

an illustration of stack of books written in defense of grasshoppers

In Aesop’s well-known fable, “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” the lazy Grasshopper fails to prepare for the future, choosing instead to sing away autumn days in the sun. The industrious Ant, by contrast, works hard collecting grain and preparing for the upcoming winter. The story tells us that when winter finally comes, the hungry Grasshopper […]

Sacrificial Friendship In Charlotte’s Web

a young farmer's daughter sits on a log with her piglet friend thinking contemplatively

Charlotte’s Web, written by E. B. White in 1952, is a quintessential book for children. While conveying important truths about the nature of people and the world, it is also an imaginative, happy story about life on a family farm. The book gives us a clever glimpse into the lives of our animal friends while […]

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