Fun and Simple Ways to Review Cycle 2 Memory Work (Weeks 13–18)
Looking for simple, fun ways to review Classical Conversations Cycle 2 memory work from Weeks 13–18? Here’s how we use games, activity books, and favorite read-alouds to make review week something the whole family looks forward to!
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We just wrapped up Cycle 2 Week 18, which means it’s time for one of my favorite weeks in our homeschool — review week! Every six weeks, we hit pause on new material and spend the whole week reviewing what we’ve learned so far. It’s become one of the rhythms I look forward to most because it gives us all a chance to slow down, play games, read good books, and celebrate how far we’ve come.
Why We Take a Review Week Every Six Weeks
If you’ve never tried building a review week into your homeschool routine, I really encourage you to give it a try. Taking one week off from new material every six weeks has been such a gift for our family. It prevents burnout, gives us a refreshing change of pace, and most importantly, it helps cement all that memory work into long-term memory.
Review week is also the perfect time to catch up. Maybe you had a rough week earlier in the cycle, or life just got busy. This is your chance to circle back to anything you missed without the pressure of keeping up with new content. It’s a built-in grace week, and honestly, we all need that sometimes.
For my kids, review week feels more like a fun break than school. We play games, pull out puzzles and activity books, and read a lot of great picture books. They don’t even realize how much reviewing they’re actually doing — and that’s the best kind of learning.
Review Activity Books
One of our go-to tools for review week are my Cycle 2 Review Activity Books. I created two sets — one that covers Weeks 1–12 and one that covers Weeks 13–24 — and they are packed with fun activities that help reinforce the memory work across every subject.
Each day during review week, I pull out a few pages from the activity books for us to work through together. The activities are simple and engaging — things like fill-in-the-blank, matching, coloring, and more — so my kids enjoy working through them without it feeling like a test. It’s a really easy way to touch on all the subjects from the past several weeks without having to come up with review activities on my own.
Using both the Weeks 1–12 and Weeks 13–24 books during this review week lets us go back and revisit material from earlier in the year too, which is so important for keeping it all fresh. You can grab both activity books below!
Fun Review Games
Games are one of the best ways to make review feel like play instead of work. Each day this week, I pulled out at least one game for us to enjoy together, and my kids had a blast.
Cycle 2 Historyopoly
We pulled out our Cycle 2 Historyopoly game again this week, and my kids were thrilled. This game is modeled after Monopoly but uses all of the Cycle 2 history sentences. The kids love rolling dice, buying properties, and answering history questions as they go around the board. It turns history review into something they actually ask to play, which is a huge win in my book. You can grab this game here!
Memory Work Meadowland
We also had a blast playing Memory Work Meadowland, a Candy Land style game that covers memory work from every subject. The colorful board and simple gameplay make it easy for all my kids to stay engaged while reviewing, and it always feels more like playtime than schoolwork. Plus, it’s Easter themed, which was perfect timing since Easter isn’t far away! It put us all in a festive spring mood while we played and reviewed together. You can grab this game here!
Great Artists Memory Game
Since we just finished up focusing on Great Artists in our fine arts rotation, this was the perfect week to pull out the Great Artists Memory game. The kids match famous artworks and artists while reviewing what they’ve been learning, and it’s such a fun way to reinforce all that fine arts material. They loved flipping the cards over and trying to remember where each match was hiding! You can check this game out here!
Great Artists Mini Books
Along with the memory game, we also worked on a few of our Great Artists Mini Books this week. Since we just wrapped up the Great Artists portion of fine arts, it was a great time to pull these out and review the artists and artworks we’ve been studying. My kids love putting together the mini books because they get to color, cut, and fold — and then they have a little keepsake that helps them remember each artist. It’s one of those hands-on activities that makes learning stick. Grab these mini books here!
Geography Passport Review
Geography is one of the areas I love to focus on during review week, and our Cycle 2 Geography Passport is the perfect tool for it. We pulled it out several times this week to go back over all the locations we’ve learned so far this year.
We also put together our Europe puzzle this week, which was super fun and a great hands-on way to review all the European locations we’ve been learning. I love these Geo Puzzles because the pieces are actually shaped like each country!
For another fun geography activity, I took all the European countries off our large felt Europe map and my girls and I worked together to put them all back up in the correct spots. It was a great challenge and really showed me how much they’ve been retaining!
We also worked through a few more countries in their European Countries Workbook, which they always love. Between the puzzle, the felt map, and the workbook, we got in tons of geography review this week without it ever feeling like a chore.
My oldest daughter is working toward Geography Master at the end of the year, so I make a point of spending extra time with her on geography during review weeks. We go back through not just the recent weeks, but all the geography from the entire year so she can stay fresh with everything. She also pulled out her Draw Europe book this week and used it to help her finish drawing her own map of Europe, which she wants to turn into a placemat! I love seeing her take ownership of her learning like that. It’s so encouraging to watch her confidence grow each time we review. These review weeks are a big part of how she’s preparing for that goal, and she’s doing an amazing job.
If your child is also preparing for geography mastery, I highly recommend using the Geography Passport as a review tool. It gives them a visual way to track what they’ve learned and makes it easy to quiz them week by week. You can grab it below!
A Week Full of Great Books
Review week is also a wonderful time to slow down and read more than usual. This week we especially enjoyed reading through several Great Artists picture books that tied in beautifully with our recent fine arts focus. It was so fun to revisit the artists we’ve been learning about and see their stories and artwork come to life through beautiful illustrations.
We also pulled out some of our favorite picture books that review the recent material my kids have been learning across other subjects. I love finding read-alouds that connect to what we’ve been studying because it reinforces the memory work in a way that feels natural and enjoyable. There’s nothing like curling up together with a good book and realizing your kids are learning while they listen. Make sure you check out my Cycle 2 Picture booklist with great books that go along with each week of cycle 2!
Reading lots of great books is one of the things that makes review week feel so special and restful. It’s a welcome change of pace from our usual routine, and it reminds me why I love homeschooling so much — we have the freedom to slow down and savor the learning.
Making Review Week Simple
If the idea of planning a whole review week feels overwhelming, I want to encourage you — it doesn’t have to be complicated! Here’s what our typical review day looks like:
We start the morning with our devotional time and listen to memory work songs. Then I pull out a few pages from our review activity books. After that, we play one game. And throughout the day, we read together. That’s it! No elaborate planning, no stress. Just simple activities that make review fun and keep the learning going.
The key is to keep it light. Review week should feel like a break, not more work. Use the tools and games you already have, read favorite books, and enjoy the slower pace. Your kids will surprise you with how much they remember, and you’ll be so glad you took the time to pause and celebrate all the progress you’ve made together.
I hope this gives you some ideas and encouragement for your own review week! Taking a week to review every six weeks has truly become one of the best parts of our homeschool year. It’s refreshing, it’s fun, and it’s such a joy to see how much my kids have learned. Happy reviewing, friend!
Let’s Chat!
I’d love to hear from you — what’s your favorite way to make review week fun in your homeschool? Drop a comment below and let me know! And if you’re looking to make your next review week simple and stress-free, head over to my shop to grab the review games and activity books we used this week. If this post encouraged you, I’d be so grateful if you’d share it with a fellow CC mom who might need some review week inspiration too.
Also, be sure to enter your email in the form below to get Week 19’s free games — they go right along with the Week 19 memory work and are a fun, easy way to make learning at home even more enjoyable! Happy reviewing, friend!
