Cycle 1 Week 16 Tutor Plans for Classical Homeschooling

Looking for creative tutor ideas for Cycle 1, Week 16 in classical homeschooling? Read along for fun ways to introduce the memory work. If you’re a couple weeks behind me, see my tutor ideas for Cycle 1, Week 13, Week 14, or Week 15. You can also find my tutor plans from each of the twelve weeks of first semester here.

Please note, I am not affiliated with any Classical education organization; these are simply my own ideas and suggestions based on my experience as a tutor. I hope they inspire and support you as you plan for Cycle 1, Week 16.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

We love being part of our Classical homeschooling community. Read more about how God redirected our path from private education to homeschooling and Classical education here.

Are you new to the Classical model and want to know more about it? Keep reading below about how it’s organized, the different cycles, our community time, and MORE!

If you already know about the Classical homeschooling model and you are ready to jump to the actual tutor ideas, click here.

A Classical model of homeschooling

We are part of a Christ-centered homeschool program that follows the Classical model. The younger children, ages 4-12, focus on a memorization-based curriculum which acts as the groundwork of learning that is built upon in later years.

Children and their parents learn key facts across the core subject areas including history, science, English, mathematics, geography, and Latin. Tutors use fun activities, games, songs, and lots of energy to introduce the new material. The parents can then expand on that material at home throughout the week.

Cycle rotation

The material is divided into three cycles, which each last one year. The cycles continue to rotate every three years, so most children who start when they are kindergarten age, complete each cycle at least twice. This allows them to develop a deeper comprehension and grasp of the material through repetition.

Cycle 1 material

This year, in Cycle 1, we are learning about ancient world history, biology, earth science, Latin noun endings, and English prepositions and verbs.

The following ideas are what I’m planning to do with the group of kids I am tutoring this year (ages 4-6). You may use these ideas if you are also tutoring in a Classical homeschooling community, or if you’re a parent who is looking for memory work ideas to use at home.

Also, you don’t have to be part of any particular Classical homeschooling group to use these ideas! These are ideas to help children learn key concepts in the core subject areas. If you are a homeschooling parent, or just a parent who wants to supplement what your kids are currently learning in school, these ideas will be helpful for you.

Community group time

Our homeschooling community has been meeting on Tuesdays. Our leader starts off the morning with everyone together in a big group setting. She typically begins that time with a devotional reading and prayer, and then continues with some announcements, celebrating birthdays, the pledge of allegiance, and anything else she wants to cover with everyone.

After this time, we split off into our different groups based on age. The tutors lead their groups into different classrooms and begin the New Grammar part of the day. This is when the tutor introduces the memory work for each core subject. Check out my post and video about how to make your own tutor board!

Cycle 1 Week 16 Tutor and Memory Work Ideas

English

I like to start with English each week. I have purchased a lined notebook for each child in my class to use and I lay these out on the table before our class time begins. When the kids walk into the room, they find their notebook which shows them where to sit.

I love using these notebooks because I think it’s great for the kids to get some writing practice. During the summer, I decorate the front of each notebook with each child’s name and a fun biology design related to Cycle 1 (see below for picture). You can download a template of this biology themed notebook cover here and customize for your kids.

In these notebooks, I write each week’s English memory work on a blank page as large and neatly as I can. I use a light colored marker, so that the kids can trace my writing and easily see their own writing with their pencil.

I lay the notebooks out on the table before our class time begins. After English, I collect them and bring them back the following week. At the end of the school year, they will have all 24 weeks filled out and they can take their notebooks home with them.

Cycle 1 Week 16 English

In Cycle 1 Week 16, we learn the next three helping verbs: has, have, had. I prep the notebooks with one of the helping verbs already written, one dotted helping verb that the children can trace, and a horizontal line where I will have the children write the last helping verb. See picture above. Depending on the ages of the kids in your class, you could adjust this to meet their level:

• Write two of the helping verbs and have the children write the last one.
• Write two of the helping verbs normally and then write the last one very lightly or with dots so the children can trace.
• Have the children write all three helping verbs on their own.
• Write out all the helping verbs, but leave spaces in place of the “H” at the beginning of each one, and let the children fill in the “H’s”.
• Write the first letter of each helping verb and let the children write the rest of each word.

As the children are writing, I sing the same song we sang last week beginning with the definition of a helping verb, and I continue singing with the addition this week’s helping verbs. This song is to the tune of This Old Man. See my video below. We will sing this song each week through week 19.

I love making little jingles to the memory work we are learning. Children memorize much quicker if it is to a song, and it’s more fun too! It’s also a great way to review the material throughout the week at home. It is so easy to play the week’s songs while you’re at home or in the car.

I hand out a sticker for each child to stick to the front of their notebook. It’s fun to find stickers that relate to some of the material we are learning about that week.

I also teach the children some simple hand motions for each of these helping verbs:

• has: move your hand in a sweeping motion over your shoulder (symbolizing a completed action in the past)
• have: use one hand to draw a check mark on the palm of the other hand (symbolizing that the action has been completed)
• had: place one hand flat behind you (symbolizing an action that was completed further back in time)

I have the children practice singing the song with me while doing the hand motions from last week and these new hand motions a few times.

Then, I lead a game where the children pick a hand motion they learned this week or last week and show the class without saying anything. The other children try to guess which helping verb the hand motion is for. I give each child a chance to show a hand motion.

Prepositions Review

I also have the kids sing and do the hand motions to the entire preposition song that we worked on last semester. I plan to have them review this once each week for the remainder of the year. See my video of a slowed down version of the entire Preposition song (weeks 2-12) and the hand motions below:

Also, check out this handout for stick figure drawings of each of the hand motions for the ENTIRE Preposition song if you want a refresher.

Timeline

I like to follow English with Timeline. Each week, I use these Timeline Cards: Set 1 (Ancient World), Set 2 (Medieval World), Set 3 (New World), and Set 4 (Modern World) I highly recommend investing in them (you should get all four sets) whether you are a tutor or a parent. I consistently use them as a tutor and also at home with my kids.

Since I have the younger children, I like to tape the paper letter that the timeline event starts with at the top of the card. I have found these letters at my local Dollar Tree. Some of the children in my class can’t read yet, so this helps them identify the event I’m referring to.

Cycle 1 Week 16 Timeline

Before our class time begins, I put seven pieces of painters tape on the wall and I hide the cards around the room. When it’s time to start Timeline, I tell the children to look around the room and see if they can find 1 or 2 cards (depending on how many children are in my group), and to bring them back to their seats.

I sing this week’s part of the timeline song as the children are looking for the cards. I sing it myself instead of playing the music so I can control the speed of the song. See my tutor video for the tune of this week’s timeline song.

When the cards have all been found and all the children are back in their seats, I go through each timeline event in the correct order and see which child has each card.

For example, I say, “The first card is Age of Industry. What letter does “Age” start with?”

A child answers, “It starts with the letter “A.”

I say, “Correct! Who has a card with a letter A on it?”

I instruct whoever has this card to walk up to where I have put the painters tape on the wall, and to stick the card to the first spot on the wall. We repeat this for each timeline event until all the cards are on the wall in the correct order.

After all the timeline cards are on the wall, I give each child a set of miniature timeline cards (this link only works if you are logged into ccconnected.com).

You can find these cards on ccconnected.com. Simply log in, click on “Forums” on the left hand side of the screen, and search for “mini timeline cards.” These are such a great resource and I love using them at home with my children too!

I encourage each child to try to put their cards in the correct order as I sing this week’s part of the timeline song. The catch this week is that they can only use their tiny hands to move the cards. They can’t touch the cards with their normal hands at all. I give each child two tiny hands (one for a finger on each hand). They can look at the cards in order up on the wall for help if they need.

Once all the children have their cards in the correct order, I have them go stand against the wall in front of the timeline cards and we go over the motions together. I put these spot markers against the wall in front of each timeline card so it’s clear where each child should stand. See my video below which includes the hand motions for this week in the timeline section:

We sing this week’s part of the timeline song and practice the motions together a few times.

Geography

Now for geography! The children are now sitting at the table which follows the timeline part well where the kids were standing. I like to try to alternate active parts with sitting to mix things up and keep the kids engaged.

I prepare these trivium table maps ahead of time. You could always print a map too and laminate it. This is the printer and laminator I have and use all the time. I outline the features we are discussing this week in dry erase marker, each in a different color.

Cycle 1 Week 16 Geography: African Waters

This week we learn about African waters. I give each child a trivium table map and a homemade goldfish for the kids to point to the different locations with.

These homemade crackers (goldfish or other shapes) are a nutritious snack my children enjoy regularly. I thought this would be a great opportunity to share them with our homeschool friends!

I teach the children a song to the tune of Three Blind Mice to help them learn these locations. See my video below:

We sing the song together several times while pointing to the different locations with the goldfish. Then I say to the kids, “Who remembers what the blue river is called?” Then I ask, “who remembers what the green river is called?”, etc.

Depending on time, I give each child a few different colored dry erase markers and let them color in some of the places we have learned about so far this year. Or if you need to move on to the next subject because of time, you definitely don’t have to do this.

I have also found that it works best to review geography WHILE we are doing geography. The kids have their maps in front of them and it’s really easy to talk about places we have learned about previous weeks.

Learning the Countries of Africa

I also want to share some of what I’m doing at home with my children this semester to help them learn the geography. We are LOVING learning the countries of Africa and I made this fun Africa map that we have on our wall by our kitchen table with all the countries made out of felt.

My girls love taking the countries off and on as we learn their names and locations. Download a paper map of Africa with all the countries labeled here.

I have the patterns for all the African countries, as well as a tutorial about how to make this kind of map in my Etsy shop.

My daughter is also enjoying putting together this Africa puzzle. She absolutely loves puzzles and it’s a great way that I can spend some time with her while the younger kids nap. I especially love these Geo Puzzles because the pieces are the actual shapes of the countries. They have puzzles for the other parts of the world as well! We have also enjoyed putting together South America this year.

We also made up a fun song to help us learn all of these African countries!

Cycle 1 Week 16 Math: Area of a Rectangle

This week in math we are learning about the area of a rectangle. Before our group time begins, I make a couple of large rectangles on the floor with painters tape.

When it’s time for math, I first show the children my rectangle drawing on my tutor board and explain to them the area formula. Then, I teach them the beginning of our geometry song to help them remember this formula. See my video below:

We will continue to sing this song for the next four weeks, adding a formula to it each week.

I divide the children into two groups and have them stand around the two rectangles made with painters tape on the floor. I have them do the following as we sing our geometry song together:

• Walk along the edge of the rectangle
• Tip toe along the edge of the rectangle (they must stay on the tape!!!)
• Hop on one foot along the edge of the rectangle
• Hop on the other foot along the edge of the rectangle
• Jump from the inside of the rectangle to the outside

History

We learn about the civilizations of Mesoamerica this week. I say the history sentence once NORMALLY to the kids and tell them to listen very carefully. Then I say the history sentence again but with some “silly words” added in. I tell the kids that if they hear a silly word, to raise their hand and try to tell me what the correct word should be. Here is the correct version of the history sentence:

Three of the advanced civilizations of Mesoamerica from 1200 BC to AD 1500 were the Olmecs, the Mayans, and the Aztecs.   

Here is the history sentence with silly words:

Wee of the advanced vacations of Australia from 1200 Baby to AD 1500 were the T-rex, the Lions, and the Tic Tacs.   

Each time I say a silly word and the kids catch it, I ask them to correct it. Then I say the history sentence from the beginning, correctly, until I get to the next silly word. This way the kids are hearing the history sentence correctly several times. I repeat this until I have said all the silly words and the whole history sentence correctly.

Then I hand out these cute shaky eggs to each of the children and encourage them to shake their eggs as we sing the history song a few more times.

Latin

In Latin this week we are continuing to learn the 1st Declension Noun Endings. See my tutor video for the tune we sing these to. I bring in my kermit puppet this week because he also has pretty big eyes and a BIG mouth to say “ahh” at the doctor. I remind the children that we pronounce the noun ending “-ae” the same way we say “eye.” We also say the noun ending “-ā” the same way we say “ahh” at the doctor or dentist.

I give each child a silly voice card (you can download these silly voice cards for FREE below) and we play “Duck, duck, kermit” (or Duck, duck, goose). The children sit in a circle and rotate using my kermit puppet to gently tap on each person’s head as we sing the noun endings together (in our different silly voices). I encourage them to tap on a different person’s head ONLY when we say a different noun ending. The child who is being tapped when the song ends is the next person to use the puppet. I make sure each child gets a turn using the puppet.

Free Silly Voice and Movement Cards

You can also make these silly voice sticks. These are large popsicle sticks that I painted and wrote some silly voices on.

Here are the silly voices I wrote on these sticks:

• Loud to soft
• Slow like a sloth
• Close eyes
• Squeaky voice
• Super smiley
• Excited
• Whisper
• Crying
• Fish/pucker face
• Pouty
• Scared
• No teeth
• Quiet to loud
• Mad
• Hold your nose
• Tongue out
• Mouth closed

Science

This week in science we learn about four kinds of volcanoes. I explain to the children what the four kinds of volcanoes mean and show them the pictures I drew on my tutor board. I love using these science cards to help me learn about our topic and explain it in a quick and simple way to the children. Then, of course, the parents can expand on it more at home.

I give each child a spot marker to stand on and I teach them a song to the tune of I’m Gonna Sing, I’m Gonna Shout. I love using songs to help the children remember the different concepts we are learning. We sing the song together several times together normally. See my video below:

Then I tell the children that we are going to act like each kind of volcano as we sing. The children begin standing on their spot marker. We sing the song together and they do the following motions as we sing each kind of volcano:

• Active: jump up in the air and spread your arms up high!
• Intermittent: jog quickly in place
• Dormant: squat down
• Extinct: lay down on the ground and act like you’re dead/sleeping

I have the children repeat this several times as I sing the song. The song is quick, so at the end everyone’s hearts will be pumping hard!

For review this week, we play a game called Lovebug! This is a fun Valentine’s Day review game, similar to the Stinky Feet! review game we played during week 13.

Before community group, I cut out and laminate this love bug sign and heart cards. You can download these for free! You can also just draw a heart on a white board and use sticky notes as the cards if you don’t want to print anything out.

The heart cards have either a positive number on the back or a negative number with a bug. The numbers are from -2o to +20 in increments of 5.

I split my class into teams. I ask the first child a review question from any subject and after they answer they get to pick a heart card off of the board. If they don’t know the correct answer, I let the rest of their team help. They turn the card over and see it’s a “love bug” card or not. A “love bug” card is a negative number with a bug on it.

Whatever point value is on the back of the card gets added or subtracted from the team’s score.

The game ends when all the heart cards are gone! Whichever team ends up with the most points wins! Or you could switch it up and have the team with the least points win.

I prefer to ask review questions on the fly instead of preparing them ahead of time. Here are some more example questions I ask (remember I have the youngest children in my group):

1. Do you remember what 8 fluid ounces is equal to?
2. What is one part of the geosphere that you remember?
3. The Kush mined gold along what river?
4. What is a location in Western Africa that we learned about?
5. Do you remember the name of one of the places in Ancient Africa?
6. Do you remember any of the compound prepositions?
7. What is one of the helping verbs we have learned so far?
8. When we sing the noun cases song, what word comes after “nominative…”?

Cycle 1 Valentine’s Day Cards

Since it’s getting close to Valentine’s Day, I made some fun Valentine’s Day cards that relate to the memory work from Cycle 1. Download them here!

Printable and Editable Cycle 1 Week 16 Tutor Plans

Here is a printable EDITABLE template of these Cycle 1 Week 16 Tutor Plans. Here is a blank template too!

Cycle 1 Week 16 Memory Work Activities

Also check out the FREE activities and games that you can use at home to help your kids practice the memory work this week.

Blessings to you on this homeschooling journey!