Cycle 1 Week 23 Tutor Plans for Classical Homeschooling

Searching for fun and engaging tutor ideas for Cycle 1, Week 23 in classical homeschooling? Read along for creative 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, Week 15, Week 16, Week 17, Week 18, Week 19, Week 20, Week 21, and Week 22. 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 23.

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 23 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 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 23 English

In Cycle 1 Week 23, we learn the next four linking verbs: seem, appear, look, and sound. I prep the notebooks with two of the linking verbs already written, one dotted linking verb that the children can trace, and a horizontal line where I will have the children write the last linking verb. See picture above. Depending on the ages of the kids in your class, you could adjust this to meet their level:

• Write three of the linking verbs and have the children write the last one.
• Write three of the linking verbs normally and then write the last one very lightly or with dots so the children can trace.
• Have the children write all four linking verbs on their own.
• Write out all the linking verbs, but leave spaces in place of the first letter of each word, and let the children fill in those letters.
• Write the first letter of each linking verb and let the children write the rest of each word.

As the children are writing, I sing the same song we started singing during week 20 beginning with the definition of a linking verb, and I continue singing with the addition this week’s linking verbs. This song is to the tune of The Ants Go Marching. 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.

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.

Linking Verb Hand Motions

Here are some simple hand motions I also teach the children for each of these linking verbs:

• seem: hold one hand out, palm up, and tilt it slightly side to side (symbolizing considering something)
• appear: start with hands close together near face, then open them outward (symbolizing something becoming visible or coming into view)
• look: place your hand flat near your eyes as if shading them from the sun (symbolizing the act of observing)
• sound: cup your hand behind your ear as if trying to hear something more clearly (symbolizing the action of listening)

I have the children practice singing the song with me while doing these hand motions a few times.

I also have a video singing all the linking verbs and doing the hand motions. See video below:

Then, I lead a game where the children pick a hand motion of any linking verb they have learned and show the class without saying anything. The other children try to guess which linking 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.

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 South America maps. I will use these next week as well instead of the trivium table maps that I usually use because they show these South American countries much better. You can print these maps and put them in a dry erase pocket sleeve or you can laminate them. This is the printer and laminator I have and use all the time. I outline the countries we are discussing this week in dry erase marker, each in a different color.

Cycle 1 Week 23 Geography: South America (East)

This week we learn about South America (East). Each child gets a prepared South America map in a dry erase pocket sleeve with each of the countries outlined in a different color. I give each of the children a little eyeball ring to put on their finger. Then, I encourage them to point to each of the countries with their eyeball ring as I go over each one.

We continue to sing the song we began last week to the tune of Camptown Races to help the children learn these South American countries. See my video below:

As we sing the song together several times, I have the children point to each country with their eyeball ring finger. Then I play a little game with the kids where I say, “Quick, put your eyeballs on the green country! What’s that country called?” I continue to do this for each country.

Depending on time, I give each child a few different colored dry erase markers and let them color in these countries. Or if you need to move on to the next subject because of time, you definitely don’t have to do this.

I want to also share about one way we love learning about geography at home. My daughter loves putting together this South America puzzle. We have an Africa and USA and Canada puzzle as well! 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!

History

We learn about the liberation of South America 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:

In the early 1800s, San Martín of Argentina, O'Higgins of Chile, and Bolívar of Venezuela fought to liberate South America from Spain.

Here is the history sentence with silly words:

In the swirly 1800s, San Martín of Hyena, O'Higgins of Frilly, and Bolívar of Mozzarella fought to alligate South America from brain.

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 miniature guitars to each of the children and encourage them to strum their guitars as we sing the history song a few more times. Whenever we sing the phrase “they fought,” I encourage the children to making a fighting motion in the air with their guitars. I make it very clear that they are just doing this in the air and not hitting anyone or anything with their guitars.

Cycle 1 Week 23 Math: The Distributive Law

This week in math we are learning about the Distributive Law. While I’m prepping during the week, I print out a distributive law puzzle for each child. I print them on white cardstock. I cut them out and put the puzzle pieces in a little plastic bag for each child.

When it’s time for math, I first show the children the distributive law on my tutor board and teach them a song to the tune Be Careful Little Eyes What You See. 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 puzzles together as we continue to sing the song together.

Latin

In Latin this week we learn the 5th Declension Noun Endings. See my tutor video for the tune we sing these to.

We play a game called “Sparkle” this week! I have the children all sit down in a circle. I start us off by singing the first noun ending, “-ēs,” and then the child sitting to my right sings the next noun ending. The child sitting to their right sings the next noun ending, etc. We keep doing this until all the singular and plural noun endings have been sung and the song ends. When a child sings the last plural noun ending, the child to their right who is supposed to go next, says, “Sparkle!” and that child is “out,” meaning they just go sit somewhere outside the circle.

Then we start from the beginning of the Latin song and do it again. Each child sings a Latin noun ending until we sing through all of them. The child who is supposed to sing next, says “Sparkle” and now that child is out. We keep doing this until only one child (or the tutor) is left! It’s fun to see how long the tutor lasts in this game!

You can also hand out a silly voice card (get these below) to each child. The kids love doing this! It’s a fun way to make them laugh and keep them engaged, especially when they are getting tired.

Free Silly Voice and Movement Cards

Science

This week in science we learn about some types of clouds. I spread these spot markers out on the floor and tell the children to each pick one to stand on. Then I show the children a picture of each type of cloud and also teach some fun and simple motions we will do as we sing each type of cloud:

• Cumulonimbus: start with hands together and move hands apart vertically signifying that cumulonimbus clouds are big and tall.
• Cirrus: start with hands together and move them apart horizontally while closing and opening hands since cirrus clouds are wispy.
• Stratus: put hands together and move them horizontally in a straight line since stratus clouds are straight and smooth
• Cumulus: move hands farther and farther apart in a bouncy motion since cumulus clouds are puffy
• Stratocumulus: do the same motion as for cumulus clouds, just move hands farther apart each time since stratocumulus clouds are bigger and lumped together.

Then I teach them a song to the tune of I’ve Been Working on the Railroad to help them remember these.

We sing the song together several times while doing these motions for each type of cloud.

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.

Timeline

This week I change things up a bit and follow science 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 23 Timeline

Before our class time begins, I put seven pieces of painters tape on the wall and I hide the cards around the room. I try to pick spots that aren’t too difficult to find, but also not too easy. Then 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 will say, “The first card is Age of Information and Globalization. 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 the correct card to walk up to where I have put the painters tape on the wall, and to stick the card to the correct spot on the wall. We repeat this for each timeline event until all the cards are on the wall in the correct order.

Then I give each child a large cloud card (since we are learning about clouds in science this week). I tell everyone to close their eyes and I choose one child to go up to the timeline cards on the wall and cover up one of the cards with their large cloud. Then everyone opens their eyes, we talk about what kind of cloud it is, and I ask if anyone can figure out which card is covered up.

When someone guesses the correct card, I uncover it and we practice the hand motion for that event. Each child gets a turn to cover one of the timeline cards. Then, I have all the children stand up and we sing through this week’s part of the timeline song while doing the hand motions. See my video below which includes the hand motions for this week in the timeline section:

For review this week, we play a game called Rotten Egg. This is a fun Easter review game, similar to the Stinky Feet and Love Bug review games we played during previous weeks. We played this game last week and the kids loved it, so I bring it in to play again this week.

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

The egg cards have either a positive number on the back or a negative number with a rotten egg. 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 an egg 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 “rotten egg” card or not. A “rotten egg” card is a negative number with a rotten brown color.

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 egg 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.

Sample Review Questions

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. What is an ocean zone we learned about last week?
2. What is one part of a volcano?
3. What is a volcano called that is erupting?
4. What was one of the Mesoamerica regions we learned about?
5. Do you remember one of the African countries or rivers we learned?
6. Tell me the area of one of the shapes we learned recently?
7. What is one of the helping verbs we have learned so far?

Printable and Editable Cycle 1 Week 23 Tutor Plans

Here is a printable EDITABLE template of these Cycle 1 Week 23 Tutor Plans. Here is a blank template too!

Cycle 1 Week 23 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!