Cycle 1 Week 24 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 24 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 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 24 English
In Cycle 1 Week 24, we learn the last three linking verbs: stay, smell, and grow. I prep the notebooks with one 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 two of the linking verbs and have the children write the last one.
- Write two 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 three 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:
- stay: place both hands firmly in front of you without moving them (symbolizing stability and staying the same)
- smell: gently wave your hand toward your nose (symbolizing smelling something)
- grow: start with one hand low and then slowly raise it upward, spreading the fingers as if something is getting bigger (symbolizing growth and change over time)
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 perform this for their parents at the end of the year celebration. 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 print out these North Atlantic maps. I will use these this week instead of the trivium table maps that I usually use because they show these North Atlantic 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. Also, this week I don’t outline the locations. I let the children do this during our community group time.
Cycle 1 Week 24 Geography: North Atlantic
This week we learn about the North Atlantic. Each child gets a North Atlantic map and a few markers. I go over each location with the children and encourage them to outline Greenland and Iceland with different colored markers. Then I tell them to make little wave lines for the Davis Strait and the Denmark Strait. I give each of the children a bag of arctic animal stickers (arctic fox, polar bear, orca whale, and a beluga whale). I get these stickers from this Wild Life sticker book and this Ocean sticker book.
First we swim along the Davis Strait and I have the children put a beluga whale sticker somewhere by this strait on their maps. I explain to them that a strait is a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water and is typically located between two landmasses. I point out that the Davis Strait connects the Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea that we learned about a couple weeks ago!
Then we come ashore to Greenland and I tell them to put their polar bear sticker either inside or next to Greenland because polar bears are native here! Next we get back into the water and swim along the Denmark Strait. I have the children put an Orca Whale next to this strait. Finally, we swim ashore to Iceland and I have the children put a sticker of an arctic fox here since this is the only true native animal to Iceland!
I teach the children a song to the tune of Kum Ba Yah to help the children learn these North Atlantic locations. See my video below:
As we sing the song together several times, I have the children point to each location. Then I play a little game with the kids where I say, “Quick, find the polar bear! Where do polar bears live?” I do this for each location.
Depending on time, I give each child a few different color markers and let them color in these North Atlantic locations and the Canadian provinces and waters they learned a few weeks ago. They get to take their maps home with their 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 together. We have a South America and Africa 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 the Portuguese Empire 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:
When Napoleon threatened the Portuguese Empire, King John VI fled to Brazil. His son, Dom Pedro I, declared Brazil independent in 1822.
Here is the history sentence with silly words:
When chameleon threatened the cheese Empire, King yawn VI fled to spill. His son, Dom torpedo I, declared Brazil descendant in 1822.
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 we sing the song together a few more times.
Cycle 1 Week 24 Math: The Identity Law
This week in math we are learning about the Identity Law. While I’m prepping during the week, I print out an identity law for addition puzzle and an identity law for multiplication 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 identity law on my tutor board and teach them a song to the tune Polly Wolly Doodle. 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 continue to learn the 5th Declension Noun Endings. See my tutor video below 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. I also have everyone give the person who gets out a high five since we are learning the “5th” declension noun endings.
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!
Science
This week in science we learn about some markings on the globe. First I show the kids my picture of the different markings of the globe on my tutor board and explain a little about each one. 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 teach them a song to the tune of Polly Wolly Doodle to help them remember these different markings on the globe. See my video below:
I have the kids sit in a circle and we sing the song together while passing around my inflatable globe that I brought in during week 21.
After singing the song normally, I give each child a silly voice stick. These are large popsicle sticks that I painted and wrote some silly voices on.
Here are the silly voices I wrote on these sticks:
- Mouth closed
- 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
We sing the song a few more times in these different silly voices.
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
Timeline (Presidents)
This week I save “timeline” for last because we are learning about the Presidents this week. I give each of the children a laminated handout of photos of all the presidents and a dry erase marker.
I play the Classical Conversations presidents song for the kids and I encourage them to make a check mark or dot on each president that has the following:
- a smile
- a red tie
- glasses
- mustache
So the first time we listen through the song, they mark which presidents are smiling, the second time we listen they mark any president with a red tie, etc. The last time we listen to the song, I give the children a star sticker and tell them to place it on their favorite president.
Personalized Student Timeline Cards
I also want to share with you these personalized timeline cards that I made for the children in my class! I make one for each child and write a few things about the child on the back of the card. Then I laminate them and before our class time begins, I tape each of them up on the wall like I’ve done before with timeline cards.
As soon as they walk into our room and notice that THEIR pictures are on the timeline cards this week, I let them find theirs and take it off the wall and keep it as a gift from me.
I am happy to personalize one for your child or your whole group! Check these out more in my Etsy shop linked below!
Presidents Games
As we learn about the U.S. Presidents this week, here are three games we’ve loved using at home to learn the names and faces of our nation’s leaders.
1. 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!
Review
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):
- 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 24 Tutor Plans
Cycle 1 Week 24 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.
I hope you have a wonderful summer!!
