Cycle 2 Week 4 Tutor Ideas for Classical Homeschooling

Each new week in Foundations brings fresh energy and fun, and I’m excited to dive into Week 4 together! Whether you are tutoring in community or looking for simple ways to review at home, here’s a peek at what I have planned for Cycle 2, Week 4.

I like to keep our activities simple, hands on, and full of movement, especially for our youngest learners, so that everyone can stay engaged. Below you will find my Week 4 plans, organized by subject.

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 encourage and inspire you as you prepare for Cycle 2, Week 4.

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.

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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 2 material

This year in Cycle 2, we’re learning about pre-Reformation to modern history, ecology, astronomy, and physics; Latin verb endings; English pronouns, adverbs, and conjunctions; skip counting, conversions, and more!

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 2 Week 4 Tutor and Memory Work Ideas

Geography – European Rivers

This week in geography we are learning the European Rivers: Seine River, Rhine River, Elbe River, Po River, Danube River, and the Volga River.

Before introducing the new material, we take a few minutes to review the seas and countries we have learned so far in Europe. We sing our Western European Countries song to the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down. (If you want to use it, I shared a video of it last week: Cycle 2 Week 3 Geography Song).

To make this week’s geography lesson fun and memorable, I’ll be giving each child a little fish figurine to “swim” down the rivers on their laminated trivium table maps. I will have already outlined the rivers in different colors with dry erase markers. This makes the rivers stand out clearly and helps the kids connect the names to the map visually. As we move through each river, I’ll tell a short story that helps them remember the names and connect them to the places in Europe where those rivers flow.

Our little fish sets off on a grand adventure through the rivers of Europe!

• He begins in the Seine River in France, where he sees a fast train rushing by. Just like the Seine flows through Paris, French trains zoom through the country. Seine sounds like train.
• Next, he jumps over into the Rhine River, gliding past castles and hills covered in vines. The Rhine is famous for its vineyards and wine. Rhine sounds like vine.
• Then he jumps over into the Elbe River, where church bells are ringing in the old city of Dresden. Elbe sounds like bell.
• The fish makes his way to Italy, were he slips into the Po River. This is where farmers grow wheat for pizza dough and rice for creamy risotto. The Po Valley is Italy’s farmland. Po sounds like dough.
• Swimming across the Adriatic Sea, he enters the Danube River, where he hears a band playing tubas and violins. Vienna, along the Danube, is home to “The Blue Danube” waltz. Danube sounds like tuba.
• Finally, he makes a long journey to the Volga River in Russia, where children are playing volleyball along the riverbank. The Volga is the longest river in Europe and an important part of Russian life. Volga sounds like volleyball.

As we follow the story, the children will move their fish from river to river, naming each one aloud. I will also teach them a short song to the tune of Row Row Row Your Boat (see video below). We’ll sing it several times while pointing to the rivers.

After practicing several times, I will ask a few questions: “Where did the fish see the vineyards? Which river had the pizza dough?” This helps the geography stick in a playful and meaningful way.

English – Nominative Pronouns

This week we are learning about Nominative Pronouns, and I’ll be introducing them with a fun song. We’ll be singing all of the pronouns from this week through Week 13 to the tune of Here We Go Looby Loo. To start, I’ll sing just the beginning of the song with this week’s nominative pronouns.

Once the children have heard it, I’ll invite them to sing along with me a few times. To keep it active, I’ll add a simple motion: we’ll swing our arms to the left and then to the right with the rhythm of the song (see video below). The motions give their bodies something to do while their minds focus on the words, which makes memorization easier and more fun.

After practicing together, we’ll sing it a few more times in different ways: quiet voices, loud voices, whisper, etc.

Timeline

The timeline stays the same each cycle, and this week we continue with the next seven cards.

I often use these Timeline Cards in class: 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 4-6 year old 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 2 Week 4 Timeline

Before our class time begins, I put seven pieces of painters tape on the wall. For timeline this week, we’ll sit together on the floor in a circle. I’ll pass out one or two timeline cards to each child, depending on the size of the class, and we’ll go through the events in order.

I’ll begin by saying the first timeline event, “Early Native Americans.” Then I’ll ask, “What letter does Early start with?” A child will answer, “It starts with E!” I’ll respond, “Correct! Who has a card with the letter E on it?” The child with the card will hold it up, I’ll demonstrate the hand motion, and then that child will place the card face up in the center of our circle.

We’ll continue in this way, naming each timeline event, practicing its hand motion together, and having the child with the card place it face up in the center. Once all of the cards are laid out, I’ll spread them out so everyone can see.

Next, the kids will close their eyes while I secretly remove one card and hide it behind me. When they open their eyes, they’ll have to guess which card is missing! The child who guesses correctly will get to place the card on the wall in the correct order along a strip of painter’s tape.

To make this extra fun, we’ll sing together as the child hops over to the wall:

🎵 “Timeline hop, timeline hop, hop, hop, hop.
Timeline hop, timeline hop, hop, hop, stop.” 🎵

Once all the cards are taped to the wall, we’ll review the timeline motions again quickly. Then we’ll sing the full timeline song together, trying to match the hand motions at the same time.

See my video below for this week’s motions:

Math

This week in math we are skip counting the 7’s and the 8’s. To start, I’ll give each child a printout of the 7’s. These beautiful skip counting cards are from @kimberlyvieley and her Etsy shop HomeandHopeCo.

Each child will also get an eyeball ring. First, we’ll sing through the 7’s to the tune of Frère Jacques (see my tutor video for the tune), and I’ll have them “look at” each number with their eyeball ring as we sing.

Then we’ll sing the 7’s again, but this time we’ll change up the speed:

• Slowly
• Faster
• Really Fast

For the 8’s, we’ll switch tunes and sing to Oh! Susanna (see my tutor video for the tune). I’ll hand out action cards (get these for FREE below), and each child will perform the action on their card as we sing the 8’s together. The silly actions add energy, laughter, and another layer of memory to our skip counting practice while we sing. We repeat the song with different action cards each time, and the kids always get really into this.

You can download my UPDATED printable Silly Voice and Action Cards for free by entering your email in the form below and I’ll send them straight to your mailbox!

Silly Voice and Action Cards

This simple mix of songs, rhythm, and movement makes skip counting much more memorable for young learners.

History

This week our history sentence is: English King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215, limiting the king’s power. Later, England’s King Edward III claimed to be king of France and began the Hundred Years’ War in 1337.

To help the kids learn this sentence in a fun way, we’ll play the “Silly Words” game again.

First, I’ll sing the history sentence correctly and ask the children to listen carefully (see my tutor video for this week’s tune). Then, I’ll sing it again, but this time I’ll sneak in some silly words. For example:

English King John signed the Mango Carton in 1215, limiting the king’s shower. Later, England’s King Edward the Bee claimed to be king of Fries and began the Hundred Bears’ War in 1337.

Whenever they hear something silly, the kids raise their hand and tell me the correct word. Each time they correct me, I go back and repeat the sentence correctly from the beginning until I get to the next silly word. This way the children hear the correct sentence many times while laughing and staying engaged.

Once all the silly words are fixed, I’ll have everyone stand up and march or dance around the room as we sing the history song together. The movement keeps their energy up and helps the memory work stick.

Science

This week’s science sentence focuses on some parts of the food chain: producers, consumers, and decomposers. I want the children to not only memorize the categories but also recognize examples of each in God’s creation.

To start, I’ll draw three columns on the board labeled Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers. Then we’ll play a dice game to make the review interactive.

I’ll use a large die with clear plastic sleeves, and on each side I’ll place an image representing either a producer, a consumer, or a decomposer (two of each, so all six sides are covered). Each child will take a turn rolling the die. Whatever category it lands on, the child will pick one of the matching cards I’ve prepared and tape it under the correct column on the wall or whiteboard. You can grab this Food Chain Game HERE!

We’ll keep playing until all the children have had a turn and the board is filled with different examples. Once the chart is complete, we’ll take a few minutes to look at the pictures together and talk briefly about what makes each one a producer, consumer, or decomposer.

To finish, I’ll teach the children a simple song to the tune of Oh! Susanna that goes along with this week’s science sentence. You can find my video for this week’s tune below:

Latin

Our Latin memory work this week focuses again on the first conjugation verb endings in the imperfect tense:
-bam, bās, bat, bāmus, bātis, bant. See my tutor video for the tune we sing these to!

We’ll begin by saying each ending together, and then I’ll sing them to the Latin song. Once the children are familiar with the sound and rhythm, we’ll turn it into a movement game.

On my tutor board, I’ll have all six endings written down. The children will tell me which one they want me to circle first. Everyone will start standing, and as we sing through the song, whenever we reach that circled ending, we’ll all sit down. Then we’ll stay seated until the song circles back to that ending again, at which point we’ll stand up. Since each ending is sung twice, we’ll end up standing by the end of the song.

Next, the children will pick a second ending to circle. Now the game gets trickier! We’ll start standing again, but each time we sing one of the circled endings we’ll sit down, and when another circled ending comes around, we’ll stand back up. The more endings we circle, the sillier and more active it becomes. By the end we’re sitting and standing constantly, which turns into both a hilarious workout and a fantastic way to memorize the endings.

This game always brings lots of laughter while giving the children tons of repetition in a way they’ll remember.

For review this week, we are going to play Stinky Feet again because my class loves it. It’s such a simple game, but the kids always love it and it keeps them engaged while practicing all their memory work.

Before community day, I prep by cutting out and laminating a Stinky Feet sign and little foot cards (you can download these for free). If you don’t want to print anything out, you can simply draw stinky feet on a whiteboard and stick Post-it notes on top. On the back of each foot card are numbers ranging from –20 to +20 in increments of 5.

Here’s how it works:

1. I split the class into two teams.
2. I ask the first child a review question from any subject. If they don’t know the answer, I let their team help.
3. Once they answer, they get to pick a foot card. If it’s a positive number, their team adds the points to their score. If it’s a “stinky foot” (a negative number), those points are subtracted!
4. To make it extra silly, if a child gets a stinky card, I sometimes have them take off one shoe. This part isn’t necessary, but it makes the kids giggle and keeps the energy high.
5. The game continues until all cards are gone. The team with the highest (or lowest, if you want to switch it up!) score wins.

I personally like to ask questions on the fly to keep things lively, but here are some example questions I’ll use with my Abecedarians:

• What is something God created and do you remember which day He created it on?
• What was one of the land biomes we learned about last week?
• Who did Pope Leo III crown Holy Roman Emperor?
• In 1054 what happened to the church?
• Do you remember the definition of a pronoun?

This game works beautifully because it mixes fun, suspense, and review! The kids don’t even realize how many times they’ve practiced the material!

Our NEW Cycle 2 Memory Work Activity Book

If you’re looking for a fun way to review the memory work at home with your kids this year, check out our NEW Cycle 2 Memory Work Activity Book. I created this notebook to give kids a fun way to practice their memory work, without adding extra prep for mom, dad, or grandma.

Inside, there’s one short activity for each subject for all 24 weeks of Cycle 2. When we do geography on Monday, they do the geography activity for that week. When we get to Thursday, they do the science page. It’s so easy to match to whatever we’re focusing on that day.

I love that it keeps things simple and fun. It’s NOW available in digital and printed form, and there is a sample page you can take a peek at if you would like too! Check it out below!

NEW Cycle 2 History and Science Placemats

These brand-new Cycle 2 History and Science Placemats are designed to make memory work fun and interactive for kids, whether you’re using them alongside Classical Conversations or on their own as a way to dive deeper into history and science.

Each placemat is filled with colorful visuals and simple explanations that bring the topics to life. Just print, laminate, and use them again and again during meals and review time. They’re an easy, no-prep way to dive deeper into the history and science topics with your kids. Get your set for the first six weeks below. Future weeks will be available soon!

Cycle 2 Pronoun Memory Cards

These Pronoun Memory Cards cover all 75 pronouns from Cycle 2, Weeks 4–13 and can be used in three different games. Each card includes a sentence, a colorful image, and the pronoun type, making it easy for kids to connect meaning with usage.

You can sort them by pronoun type, play a classic memory match, or try the fill-in-the-blank version for an extra challenge. My kids loved playing, and it gave them tons of practice without it feeling like drill. This set has quickly become one of our favorite go-to grammar review tools!

Cycle 2 Geography Passport

We also have a fun addition for geography review — the Cycle 2 Geography Passport! Whether you’re a tutor or a homeschool parent, this printable resource helps kids track their Classical Conversations Cycle 2 geography week by week with full-color maps and matching cut-and-glue stamps.

Each page highlights that week’s memory work with clearly labeled locations, making it easy for young learners to connect what they’re memorizing with what they see on the map. Kids love collecting stamps as they “travel” through the world. You can also print these stamps on these sticky circular labels which makes it even more fun!

You can use the Geography Passport at home with your own children, or print it out for use in class. A group license option is available if you’d like to use it with your tutoring class or community group.

It pairs perfectly with the Cycle 2 Memory Work Activity Book, giving your students or children a hands-on, engaging way to practice their memory work all year long. If you’d like both resources, be sure to check out the bundle option available in my shop!

Printable and Editable Cycle 2 Week 4 Tutor Plans

Here is a printable EDITABLE template of these Cycle 2 Week 4 Tutor Plans. Here is a blank template too! If you want the plans as they are, here is a PDF version (filled out) and a PDF version (blank).

Cycle 2 Week 4 Memory Work Games

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 this helps give you some ideas and songs to use whether you are a tutor or a parent. Please comment below if you have any questions about anything.

Blessings to you on this homeschooling journey!