Cycle 1 Week 21 Tutor Plans for Classical Homeschooling
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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 21 Tutor and Memory Work Ideas
New Grammar
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 21 English
In Cycle 1 Week 21, we learn about the helping verb and linking verb: to be. I prep the notebooks with these helping and linking verbs, leaving a horizontal line where the children will write “to be”, and the first letter of each word blank. The children will fill in these letters. See picture above. Depending on the ages of the kids in your class, you could adjust this to meet their level:
- Write some of the helping and linking verbs and leave some blank for the children to write.
- Write some of the helping and linking verbs with dots for the children to trace.
- Write only the first letter of each helping and linking verb and have the children write the remainder of each word.
As the children are writing, I start singing a new song we will learn with all of these helping and linking verbs. This song is to the tune of She’ll Be Comin Round the Mountain. See my video below.
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.
Then I hand out a silly voice card to each child and we sing the song in different silly voices. Get these silly voice cards for FREE from my resource library below:
Free Silly Voice and Movement Cards
You could also make silly voice sticks to give to each child. 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
Sometimes I use the sticks and sometimes I use the cards to mix things up. The kids love doing this! It’s a fun way to make them laugh and keep them engaged.
Then, 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.
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 21 Timeline
First, I have all the children practice singing this week’s part of the timeline song with me a few times. I also practice this myself, before our community day, so I know it well.
Then I choose one child to go outside the room with a parent volunteer while the other children work together to hide the first timeline card somewhere around the room. I explain to everyone that we will sing this week’s part of the timeline song louder if the child is close to where the card is hidden, and quieter if the child is far away from where the card is hidden.
Once the card is hidden, I tell the child who is outside to come back in the room. I explain to them that they need to find the hidden timeline card. If we sing loudly, that means they are close; if we sing quietly, that means they are far away.
After the child finds the card, they put it up on the wall on painters tape in the correct spot.
Then another child goes outside the room and we repeat the process until all the timeline cards are found. The children absolutely LOVE this game! It’s a great way for them to hear this week’s part of the timeline song a lot and have a lot of fun in the process.
Once all the timeline cards are taped to the wall, we go over the timeline motions. We sing the song together, trying to do the hand motions at the same time. See my video below which includes the hand motions for this week in the timeline section:
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.
During the week before our community day, I prepare these Canada maps. These are also the maps I used last week instead of the trivium table maps that I usually use because they show these Canadian locations much better. I print out a map for each child and this week I DO NOT laminate them or put them in a dry erase pocket sleeve. I outline the Canadian waters we are learning about this week in marker, each in a different color.
Cycle 1 Week 21 Geography: Canadian Waters
This week we learn about the Canadian Waters. Each child gets a prepared Canada map with each of the Canadian waters outlined in a different color. I go over each Canadian water with the children and teach them a little sound/motion to help the children remember these:
- Great Bear Lake: raise your hands up and curl your fingers like a bear and growl
- Great Slave Lake: rub your fingers on your eyes like you’re crying
- Hudson Bay: shiver like you are cold and say “Brrr” since there are icy waters in the Hudson Bay
- Baffin Bay: make a sound like running water and act like you are taking a “bath”
- Labrador Sea: put your hands up and bend your wrists and pant like a dog
I teach the children a song to the tune of He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands to help them learn these Canadian waters. See my video below:
As we sing the song together several times, I have children first point to each of the Canadian waters. Then I have the children do the little hand motion for each of the waters as we sing them. After we sing the song a few times, I give the kids each a polar bear sticker from this sticker book to put on their Canada maps. Polar bears live around some of these Canadian waters because it’s really cold in these places.
Depending on time, I give each child a few different color markers and let them color in these Canadian waters and the Canadian provinces we learned last week! They get to take their Canada maps home with their polar stickers on them.
I want to also share about one way we love learning about geography at home. My daughter loves putting together this USA and Canada puzzle. We have an Africa and South America puzzle as well! 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!
Countries of Africa Notebook!
My children have also loved working through this Countries of Africa Notebook that I made. There is a page for each of the 54 countries of Africa plus Western Sahara. Each day, the kids get to discover one or more countries as they learn about their location, capital, iconic animal, popular dish, flag, and a fun fact.
The kids can color the maps, animals, and flags for each country as they explore! At the end of the notebook, there is a complete reference of all the African flags. I have also included two labeled maps of Africa with all the countries marked (one in color and one in black and white). Plus, there are blank maps for your children to fill in as they learn about each country. A great book to read alongside this workbook is, J is for Jollof: An African Alphabet by Dr Gloria Fátúsìn. This book has great visuals and more information about some of the popular dishes in Africa.
Learning the Countries of Africa
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.
We also made up a fun song to help us learn all of these African countries!
Cycle 1 Week 21 Math: The Associative Law
This week in math we are learning about the Associative Law for addition and multiplication. While I’m prepping during the week, I print out an associative law for addition puzzle and an associative law for multiplication puzzle for each child. I print them on different colored paper. I cut them out and put the puzzle pieces for the two puzzles in a little plastic bag for each child.
When it’s time for math, I first show the children the associative law on my tutor board and teach them a song to the tune Do Lord. See my video below:
I hand out the plastic bags with the cut up puzzle pieces to each child and encourage them to try to put the two puzzles together as we continue to sing the song together.
History
We learn about the exploration of Canada 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:
John Cabot and Samuel de Champlain explored Canada and the St. Lawrence River. Creation of the Hudson's Bay Company, in 1670, eventually led to war between Britain and France. The maple leaf is the symbol of Canada.
Here is the history sentence with silly words:
John Rabbit and Samuel de complain explored Canada and the St. Florence River. Creation of the Hudson's Neigh Company, in 1670, eventually led to roar between Britain and Ants. The maple leaf is the dimple of Canada.
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.
Latin
In Latin this week we continue to learn about the 4th Declension Noun Endings. See my tutor video for the tune we sing these to. I show the children the noun endings that I have written on my tutor board and we sing the song together as I point to each one.Latin
I ask them to help me decide on one noun ending that I can circle. For example, I could circle the noun ending “-us.” We all start out sitting in chairs and begin singing the song of these noun endings. When we sing “-us”, we all stand up and stay standing until we say “-us ” again.
After we sing through the song once, I have the kids tell me another noun ending to circle. For example, I could circle the noun ending: “-ibus.” Then we all start out sitting again and as we sing through the song, anytime we sing the noun endings “-us ” or “-ibus”, we change positions (either stand or sit). We repeat this until all the noun endings are circled. Once this happens we sit, then stand, then sit, etc. every time we say a new noun ending. It gets a little crazy but the kids love it!
Science
This week in science we learn about the five circles of latitude. I show the children my inflated globe with the circles of latitude drawn on it.
Then I teach them a song to the tune of The Muffin Man to help them remember these.
I have the children sit in a circle and we pass around the inflated globe as we sing the song. Whoever is holding the globe when the song ends gets to throw it up in the air. Each child gets a chance to throw the globe into the air. I also got each child a little mini world ball that they can take home with them!
I also 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.
For review this week, we play a game called Invisible Man. I draw two people on a white board with a medium amount of details. For example, I include eyes, glasses, hair, a necklace, etc. I give the people silly names like “Captain Wiggly Arms” or “Lady Glitter Socks.”
When a child answers a review question, they get to erase ONE body part. The goal of the game is to make the people invisible/disappear before class time is over. It’s fun to announce what kind of person is left before asking another review question. For example, “We now have a one arm, shoeless, hairless Lady Glitter Socks.”
I prefer to ask review questions on the fly instead of preparing them ahead of time. Here are some example questions I ask (remember I have the youngest children in my group):
- What is an ocean zone we learned about last week?
- What is one part of a volcano?
- What is a volcano called that is erupting?
- What was one of the Mesoamerica regions we learned about?
- Do you remember one of the African countries or rivers we learned?
- Tell me the area of one of the shapes we learned recently?
- What is one of the helping verbs we have learned so far?
Printable and Editable Cycle 1 Week 21 Tutor Plans
Cycle 1 Week 21 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!
