Cycle 1 Week 23 At Home Activities for Classical Homeschooling

Searching for fun and engaging ways to practice the Cycle 1, Week 23 memory work at home? Read along as I share about activities, games, and books that have enriched our homeschooling week.

In this post, I share with you about my weekly homeschool rhythms with my small children (ages six, four and two). I explain about the activities, games, and readings we do together to practice the Cycle 1 Week 23 memory work (new grammar) at home throughout the week.

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

Cycle 1 Week 22

Last week we finished up Cycle 1 Week 22. My girls learned about some more African countries as they continued to work through their new African Countries workbook. We played a South America dice game which also includes the South American countries that we will learn about next week. My daughters loved making their own Canadian flags as we learned about the British North America Act of 1867. We also enjoyed playing a British North America Act of 1867 tic tac toe game that I made. We played another fun game where my girls put different kinds of weather and clouds on their “sky” as we moved through different weather fronts. Read more about what we did at home during week 22 here. If you’re curious about what we did at home during the first semester of Cycle 1, read more here. You can also get a peek into our first couple of homeschool weeks here.

Review Games

Also make sure to check out SIX different fun review games you can play with your children as we approach the end of the year! These include an Easter/spring themed “candy-land” style memory work review game, a Tornado geography game, a history monopoly style board game, science Old Maid, helping and linking verbs card games, and Latin noun endings Bingo. Read more about all these games and how to get them here.

Tutor Ideas for Classical Homeschooling

If you are part of a Classical homeschooling community, are you tutoring? If you are, be sure to check out my posts with tutor ideas for all twenty-four weeks here.

Also, I have a youtube channel where I make videos with tutor and memory work ideas each week. Below is my tutor video for Cycle 1 Week 23. Visit my channel for tutor ideas for many other weeks and other videos with homeschooling tips and encouragement.

Morning Devotional Time

I begin each day with our morning devotional time. This is my favorite part of the day with my kids. It is also one of my favorite things about homeschooling. I love that we don’t have to rush out of the door in the morning. My kids get the sleep they need and we can linger over breakfast and read God’s word together.

I have learned some morning habits that help us all get down to breakfast at the same time. This helps me make the most of our morning time together. Read more about these habits here.

Once we are all sitting around the breakfast table and my kids start eating, I begin with our Bible study time. I read to them a small passage from my Bible and then the corresponding story in The Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible. (TCICB). This Bible has BEAUTIFUL illustrations and is very accurate to the truth of the actual Bible.  We follow along with the Bible readings and study that corresponds with the Bible memory work we are learning. 

Bible Study

What Bible study am I doing you might ask? I love using the Foundations of The Bible study from @drivenbygrace. This Bible study goes along with Bible memory work. Lindsey, the author of the study, matches the stories from TCICB that go along with the Bible study and Bible memory work for that week.  If there aren’t enough Bible stories for each day of the week, then I find others that go along with the theme.   After I read, I try to ask my kids a few questions about it to see how much they understood.  My six year old is pretty sharp at this. 

If you’re curious about more of what I do in our morning devotional time, read my post about it here.

This week, I read Lesson 23 from the Foundations of the Bible study about the Five Sacrifices in the Tabernacle. The Bible stories from TCICB that I read each morning either correspond to the Bible study or part of this week’s memory work. See the end of this post for my PRINTABLE lesson plans with details of what I read each day.

The 24 Family Ways

As I read to my kids from the Bible Study Lesson, I have them either color their 24 Family Ways coloring book or one of the activity pages from the Foundations of the Bible study activity book. This works well because they can concentrate on coloring and listen to me read.

After I read the part of the Bible study lesson to them and we talk about it, I go over the Family Way (from Sally and Clay Clarkson’s 24 Family Ways) we are learning about this week. We also work on memorizing the Bible verse that goes with that Family Way. I write both the Family Way and the Bible verse on chalk boards that I have hanging up by our kitchen table so we can see them often. 

I also have found songs that match with each Bible verse that I play after we eat breakfast.  The songs I use are mostly from Steve Green’s CDs. Songs are amazing for helping children memorize the Bible. Download my matchup of the 24 Family Ways with Bible verses and songs from my Resource Library.

Singing Hymns

Then comes my kids’ favorite part, SINGING HYMNS!  I stumbled over this gem of a book called My First Hymnal by Karyn Henley and it is AWESOME!  I let my kids each choose a hymn to sing and I sing it for them (sometimes they join in).  It’s great that they are learning hymns and the ones in this book are fabulous for kids. I also show my kids one of these Attributes of God letter cards from @drivenbygrace.

Math and Language Arts

Each day I try to do at least a little math and language arts with my oldest daughter. This year she is working through The Good and The Beautiful Level 1 math curriculum. Read here why I decided to switch from Saxon math to The Good and The Beautiful (TGATB). TGATB is very open and go and a good mix of lessons and activities. It’s beautiful too! I try to do a lesson with her after our morning devotional time. She is usually the freshest then and if I wait until later in the day to do it, I’m not as consistent.

I also have this Handwriting without Tears for my oldest daughter and the first level for my younger daughter. Sometimes it works out to have my girls do some of this in the mornings. If we don’t have enough time the, I have my older daughter do a bit in the afternoon when it’s quiet time. I don’t do it every day with her, just a few times a week.

Weekly Memory work songs

I try to review as much of the weekly memory work with my kids as possible during the week with songs and games. Often when I’m cleaning up breakfast, I play this week’s playlist of memory work songs. We also listen to these songs in the car when driving. See my playlist of Cycle 1 Week 23 songs for English, Science, Math and Geography below.

Daily Subject Focus

I like to dive deeper into one subject each day. I’ve found that focusing on just one subject each day is very manageable and doesn’t feel overwhelming. Here is our usual weekly schedule (you can download this template here):

Geography

This week in geography, we learn about South America (East). First, I show my girls where Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana are on their placemats. We continue looking through and reading these picture books about South America:

• South America (Blastoff! Readers, Level 3: Discover the Continents) by Emily Rose Oachs
• Mapping South America (Mapping the Continents) by Paul Rockett
• South America by Claire Vanden Branden

Make sure you check out the entire Cycle 1 booklist I made for second semester! I have amazing picture books that relate to the memory work for each week in the second half of Cycle 1 (weeks 13-24).

South America Dice Game

My daughters and I play this South America dice game that I made. We switch off rolling one or two dice and trying to name the country that matches the number (or sum) rolled. This game also includes the South American countries that we learned about last week! You can get this South America dice game for free with my other Cycle 1 Week 23 Memory work activities at the end of this post.

We sing a song together to the tune of Camptown Races. This helps my girls remember these South American countries. See my video below.

My daughter also enjoys putting together this South American 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 Canada and Africa this year!.

Countries of Africa Notebook!

My girls also continue coloring in their Countries of Africa Notebook this week. I really enjoyed making this book and I’m excited to share it with you all! 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. We also enjoy reading J is for Jollof: An African Alphabet by Dr Gloria Fátúsìn which 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 as part of the geography this second semester. 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. Also see my video for how to make this map with a few simple materials. You can find more information and links for these materials here.

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

History

This week in history we learn about the Liberation of South America. We enjoy playing this Liberation of South America Four in a Row game I made which helps my children learn the history sentence. You can get this game for free with my other Cycle 1 Week 23 Memory work activities at the end of this post.

South American Weaving Craft

My daughters also have fun weaving their own God’s Eye. I glue two popsicle sticks together to make a cross and let them choose a few colors of yarn to use. I cut out about two feet of each color of yarn and help them get started weaving the first color of yarn around the popsicle sticks. When the first color of yarn is about to run out, I help tie a knot to the next color of yarn and they continue to weave. My daughters surprise me by how well they do weaving the yarn around the popsicle sticks. This video is a great tutorial about how to do this craft! This history activity is from the Cycle 1 Week 23 Sandbox Ezine (pg. 12). You can find the Sandbox Ezine on ccconnected.com. Follow the steps below if you’re unsure how to find it.

• Login to ccconnected.com
• Click on “Learning Center” on the left-hand side of the screen.
• Click on “Foundations” at the top of the screen.
• Scroll down and click on “Cycle 1, Week 23.”
• Click on the “Sandbox Ezine” and you’ll find this history activity on page 12!

This is a super fun craft and a great way to talk about some South American history!

Timeline Image Coloring Page

Each week I also give my kids the Timeline Image from Scribblers in ccconnected.com. My girls enjoy coloring a South American Llama this week. I like to laminate these each week and make a timeline of them on our wall as we go through the school year.

Science

This week in science we learn about some types of clouds. My girls and I enjoy reading Clouds by Anne Rockwell, Clouds by Mary Meinking, The Cloud Book by Tomie dePaola, What Are Clouds? by Ellen Lawrence, and What Are Clouds Made Of? by Debbie Vilardi. I show my girls these large cloud cards (I also use these as a tutor during Cycle 1 Week 23) so they can see what each type looks like.

Weather Fronts and Clouds Game

My girls and I continue to enjoy playing this Weather Fronts and Clouds board game that I made. I cut out different kinds of weather and clouds and give some to each of my girls. We move our game marker through the different weather fronts along the game board and stick the different clouds and kinds of weather to our sky depending on what the game says. This game is such a fun way to learn about these different weather fronts and the different types of clouds that we will learn more about next week! You can get this game for free with my other Cycle 1 Week 23 Memory work activities at the end of this post.

My daughter also colors the Science coloring page from Scribblers Cycle 1 Week 23 in ccconnected.com with the different types of clouds on it. We sing a song together to the tune of I’ve Been Working on the Railroad. This helps my girls remember these different types of clouds. See my video below.

Cycle 1 Review Games

As we approach the end of the year, I’m excited to share with you several fun games that will help your kids review the Cycle 1 material they have learned!

Memory Work Meadowland

Memory Work Meadowland is a fun Easter/Spring themed review game that I recently made. This “Candy-land” style board game is the perfect way to review ALL of the memory work subjects from this year!

For this game, you will need:

• Memory Work Meadowland game board (laminate if you wish)
• A game marker for each player (markers from another board game, small pieces of paper, candy, etc.)
• Memory Work Meadowland cards cut out and laminated if you wish (print out several copies of cards)

How to Play Memory Work Meadowland

To play this game, shuffle all the cards and place them face down within reach of all players. The youngest player goes first. On a player’s turn, he or she draws a card.

The card may contain a single color block, two color blocks, or a picture of a place on the board.

• Color card: player moves to the next space that matches the color on the card
• Card with two colors: the player moves to the second space that matches
• Picture card: player moves tot he space that matches the picture

The player must then answer a review question of the subject corresponding to the color or picture of the card. If the player answers correctly, he or she keeps his or her game marker on that spot. If the question is not answered correctly, player goes back to previous spot.

Some tiles on the board are shortcuts with water slides. If a player lands on a tile with the beginning of a water slide, he or she must slide forward to the tile where the water slide ends. If a player lands on a space that contains the bottom of a ladder, he or she must climb the ladder back up to the space with the top of the ladder (ladders make you go backwards in this game!).

Players switch off drawing cards and answering review questions. The first player to reach the church WINS!

You can purchase this Memory Work Meadowland board game from my Etsy shop. I love giving away games and activities away for free. However, this game took me a lot more time to make and I would greatly appreciate your support if you desire to purchase this game from my shop.

Historyopoly!

I also want to share with you this Cycle 1 History Review board game! Step into the past with this engaging and educational history-themed board game where players buy, trade, and own famous historical events! This Monopoly-style game is a great way to review the Cycle 1 history!

This game includes ALL of this historical events from Cycle 1 history in Classical homeschooling. For example, some of the historical events are: The British North America Act of 1867, Prince Henry of Portugal, The Kush, Japan’s Heian Period, and The Romans.

Players roll a die and move through key moments in history. When a player lands on a historical event, they recite the corresponding history sentence in order to claim it as their own! There are also fun Discovery cards that can help or hinder the journey through history, historical currency, flag markers, and historical game markers representing different eras.

This game is PERFECT for learning about and reviewing Cycle 1 history! Download it from my Etsy shop below!

Science Review Old Maid Game

Another fun review game that you can play with your children is this “Old Maid” science review card game!

This game reviews the science memory work from Cycle 1, Weeks 13-24. There are 28 different science themed cards + 4 different “Old Maid” options. Download it for FREE below!

Presidents Games

Also, as we learn about the U.S. Presidents next week, I want to share three games we’ve loved using at home to learn the names and faces of our nation’s leaders.

Presidents showdown

Think of this as a fast-paced face-off game. Each player is dealt an equal stack of president cards, each featuring key facts such as years in office, age at inauguration, executive orders signed, vetoes used, and more. On each turn, a player rolls the custom die to determine the category for the round. Players flip over the top card from their pile and compare the chosen category. The president with the highest number in that category wins the round and collects the card. If there’s a tie, the cards go into a discard pile and the next winner takes it all!

Presidents Memory Card Game

This game is great for learning about the Presidents while building memory and recognition. Simply lay all the cards face down and players take turns flipping over two at a time, trying to find matching pairs of presidents. The player with the most matches at the end wins!

Presidents bingo

This Bingo game includes 20 unique bingo cards and caller cards with all 47 presidents. Each player gets one bingo card and an older sibling or parent uses the caller cards to draw a president at random. Players mark that president if he appears on their board. The first to get 5 in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) shouts “Bingo!” and wins! Another fun way to learn about the presidents with your kids!

Lesson Plan Templates

Click here to download an EDITABLE template of my detailed lesson plans for Cycle 1 Week 23. Here is a blank template you can download too.

Picture Books for Cycle 1 Week 23

Here are all the picture books we enjoy this week:

1. South America (Blastoff! Readers, Level 3: Discover the Continents) by Emily Rose Oachs
2. Mapping South America (Mapping the Continents) by Paul Rockett
3. South America by Claire Vanden Branden
4. Clouds by Anne Rockwell
5. Clouds by Mary Meinking
6. The Cloud Book by Tomie dePaola
7. What Are Clouds? by Ellen Lawrence
8. What Are Clouds Made Of? by Debbie Vilardi

You can see my ENTIRE Cycle 1 picture book list for weeks 13-24 here!

Cycle 1 Week 23 Memory Work Activities

Here are activities to help practice the remaining memory work. You can sign up below to receive these AND the activities I mentioned above for geography, history, and science.

• Linking verbs cards
• Latin noun endings BINGO game
• Math properties ice cream scoop activity

How has homeschooling been going for you so far? Can you believe we are already on week 23?! Comment below and share a highlight of your homeschool year so far!