Cycle 2 Week 5 At Home Activities for Classical Homeschooling

By Cycle 2 Week 5, our homeschool rhythm is really starting to feel like second nature. The kids know what to expect and I love seeing them take more ownership of our routine, whether it is asking to sing a memory song again or proudly showing me their latest work.

Each week brings something new to discover, but the consistency we have built is what makes it all click. It is such a gift to slow down, learn together, and watch their excitement grow day by day.

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

Cycle 2 Week 4 Recap

In Week 4, we dove into the story of David during Bible time, learned our fourth Family Way, and enjoyed singing memory songs together. Geography was all about European rivers, with plenty of fun using our Geography Passports, felt maps, and Draw Europe. History focused on the Magna Carta, supported by our history placemat, history activity in our Cycle 2 Memory Work Activity Books, and songs, while science introduced producers, consumers, and decomposers through our science placemat and our Food Chain Dominoes game. We wrapped up with math, Latin, and English memory work—complete with a new pronoun song and memory cards—plus some favorite review games to end the week on a fun note. Read more about what we did at home during Cycle 2 Week 4 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 each week 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 2 Week 5. Visit my channel for tutor ideas for many other weeks and other videos with homeschooling tips and encouragement.

Morning Devotional Time

We always begin our mornings together around the breakfast table. This is one of my favorite parts of homeschooling life. There is no rush to get out the door. We can take our time to read and talk 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.

Bible Study: Lesson 5 (Who Was David?)

This week we started Lesson 5 about God’s covenant with Davide from the Foundations of the Bible study by Driven by Grace. We read about all about David in the The Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible. The beautiful pictures and faithful retelling help my kids connect with what they are hearing. My daughters also enjoyed coloring the corresponding activity page from the Foundations of the Bible Activity Book, also from Driven by Grace. We have also been enjoying listening to the David memory work song from Driven by Grace. Her songs are really catchy and have helped us remember this Bible memory work.

If you would like to know more about our full morning devotional routine, you can read my post about it here.

Also, here are the Bible stories we read from The Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible (TCICB) that went along with the Foundations of the Bible Study Lesson 5 about God’s covenant with David.

Day of the Week	Bible Passage	Story Title	Page in TCICB
Monday	2 Samuel 7:1-3	God’s Promise to David	pgs. 180-181
Wednesday	1 Samuel 9:1-8	David is Kind	pgs. 182-183
Thursday	2 Samuel 11:1-3	David and Bathsheba	pgs. 184-185
Friday	2 Samuel 15:1-6	Absalom Rebels	pgs. 186-187

The 24 Family Ways

We also learned our fourth Family Way from The 24 Family Ways by Sally and Clay Clarkson. We began memorizing the Bible verse that goes with it, Colossians 3:12. I write both the Family Way and the Bible verse on chalk boards that hang near our kitchen table so we can see them often.

While I read, my girls colored the corresponding page from their 24 Family Ways coloring books.

After reading, I played two songs for them. One was our Bible memory work song about David (from @drivenbygrace), and the other was a song to help us remember the Bible verse. I have found songs that match with each Bible verse and Family Way, and we use them often. Most of the songs I use are from Steve Green’s CDs. Songs are such a powerful tool for helping children memorize Scripture. You can download my matchup of the 24 Family Ways with Bible verses and songs from my Resource Library.

We always end our devotional time with prayer and singing a few hymns from this gem of a book called My First Hymnal by Karyn Henley.

Math and Language Arts

After devotional time, we moved into our daily math work. I’m continuing to use The Good and The Beautiful for math, and it’s been such a good fit for us. My oldest is working through Level 1, and my 4-year-old is doing their Preschool curriculum, which I’ll explain more below.

Read here why I decided to switch from Saxon math to The Good and The Beautiful (TGATB). I like doing math right after devotional time because everyone is fresh, and it’s easier to be consistent this way.

This year we are starting to do more focused language arts with my oldest, and it has been such a joy. We are using The Good and The Beautiful Level 1 Language Arts and Literature curriculum, and we have been loving it so far.

The curriculum covers everything she needs at this stage—phonics, reading, spelling, grammar, writing, and handwriting—all in one open-and-go program. The lessons are beautifully illustrated and very engaging, which keeps her interested from start to finish. Each lesson takes us about 30 minutes a day, which is the perfect length for her attention span right now.

I also picked up some of the readers that go along with the program, and she has really enjoyed them. They give her extra practice with reading and help her gain confidence as she sees herself making progress. I am so encouraged to see her excitement grow as she realizes how much she is learning.

Preschool with my 4-year old

With my 4-year-old, I am keeping things very simple. She is working through The Good and The Beautiful Preschool Curriculum along with a Handwriting Without Tears book, and that combination has been perfect for her.

I don’t believe children at this age need to be doing formal bookwork yet. I think play, stories, and being part of family life are the most important. But I like having these gentle resources because she often wants to do what her older sister is doing. Having her own activities gives her a sense of ownership and keeps her engaged.

We even call this her “math,” and she beams with pride when she sits down with her workbook. It is such a sweet way for her to join in without adding pressure, and it gives us a fun rhythm we can enjoy together.

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. I either record myself singing or download the CC songs to the Voice Memos app on my phone. Then I make a weekly playlist of all the memory work songs. That way, I can just plug my phone into my car when we drive and we can listen to them! See my playlist of Cycle 2 Week 5 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 focused on some of Europe’s well-known cities: London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, and Orleans. My 6-year-old especially loved the activity in her Cycle 2 Memory Work Activity Books where she unscrambled the city names and then found their locations on the map.

We learned a song to help us remember these cities to the tune Row Row Row Your Boat which is super catchy.

The girls were also thrilled to add new stamps to their Cycle 2 Geography Passports once they could name each city with confidence. These passports continue to be one of their favorite parts of geography time and make learning feel like an adventure. I recently figured out how to fit the stamps to these sticky circular labels which makes it even better!

We also added Liechtenstein as our featured European country in their European Countries Workbooks. My oldest enjoyed finding it on our large felt Europe map and then continued building out her hand-drawn map of Europe with the book Draw Europe by Kristin J. Draeger. It has been so fun to watch her skills grow each week as she sees the continent take shape piece by piece.

My girls love taking the European countries off and on of our large felt Europe map as we learn their names and locations. Download paper maps of Europe with all the countries labeled here!

I have the patterns for all the European countries, as well as a tutorial about how to make this kind of map in my 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 European countries!

European Songs Tonie

Alongside our mapwork, my daughter has been listening to her European Children’s Songs Tonie on her Toniebox. It has become a sweet background to our school days and has helped her soak in even more about European culture and music. Geography truly continues to be a highlight of our week.

Drawing Europe

My daughter is absolutely loving Draw Europe by Kristin J. Draeger! My 6-year-old has had so much fun following the step-by-step lessons and filling in her own map of Europe. This week she proudly added a few more countries, including Albania and Montenegro.

This book has been such a wonderful addition to our geography time. It gives her a sense of ownership and confidence as she learns to build Europe piece by piece. She is always so proud to show me her progress, and it’s been amazing to watch her excitement grow as she realizes she is learning to draw the continent herself.

History

This week in history we studied Joan of Arc and the Hundred Years’ War. Our history placemat was such a helpful tool for sparking conversation and digging a little deeper into this time period.

My daughter especially enjoyed singing the history song while working through the activity in her Cycle 2 Memory Work Activity Book, where she practiced putting the parts of the history sentence in the correct order. She also loved coloring a picture of Joan of Arc, using her history placemat for inspiration.

My girls also enjoyed coloring these Joan of Arc paper dolls from the Story of the World Activity Book Volume 2 (student pg. 109). These activity books have great activities that go along with the history!

One of the highlights of the week was reading You Wouldn’t Want to Be Joan of Arc. The silly style of the book kept us laughing, but it also gave us a clearer picture of who Joan was and why she is remembered as such an important historical figure. Make sure you check out the entire Cycle 2 booklist I made for this year. I have amazing picture books that relate to the memory work for each week of Cycle 2!

We continued reading more from The Story of the World, Volume 2 as well. My daughter is doing such a great job listening carefully and retaining the details, and it has been so encouraging to see her interest in history grow.

I’ve been using the helpful matchup from Driven by Grace, which shows exactly which pages in the book line up with each week of Cycle 2. It makes it easy to connect what we’re learning in Foundations with our read-aloud time at home.

NEW Cycle 2 History and Science Placemats

I’m so excited to share these brand-new Cycle 2 History and Science Placemats with you! 🌟 These 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. Weeks 7-12 are NOW available too!

Science

This week in science we explored three important cycles in nature—the water cycle, the carbon and oxygen cycle, and the nitrogen cycle.

The girls enjoyed the color-by-number water cycle page in their Cycle 2 Memory Work Activity Books, and they used their science placemat as a guide to help them visualize each stage. These placemats continue to be such a great tool for making the memory work feel more tangible.

One of the highlights of the week was playing our homemade game, Journey Through the Cycles of Nature. My 6-year-old and I took turns drawing cards with questions about the different cycles, and each correct answer let us move forward on the board.

It was such a fun way to review, and we learned a lot just by answering the different questions. You can grab this game at the end of my post for FREE!

We also played another game with the cycles of nature cards and dry erase die that I plan to use with our community group as a tutor. The kids took turns rolling the die to match cards to the correct cycle. The cards were a wonderful visual for pulling everything together, and I’m so glad we tried it out at home too!

We also read the picture book Water Is Water: A Book About the Water Cycle  by Miranda Paul. It explained big concepts like condensation and precipitation in such a simple way, and it really helped my daughter connect the terms to what we see happening in nature. Make sure to check out my entire picture booklist with great book recommendations for each week of Cycle 2! To top it off, we sang a lively song to the tune of Skip to My Lou that helped us memorize all three cycles.

Math, Latin, and English Memory Work

On the last day of our week, we focused on the math, Latin, and English memory work. My girls worked on the activities in their Cycle 2 Memory Work Activity Books, which gave them fun and simple ways to practice each subject.

We reviewed our math skip counting together and sang both the Latin noun endings and started learning our pronoun song. I love using songs for memory work. They’re fun, easy to prepare, and incredibly powerful for helping kids remember. Plus, once a song is learned, it’s simple to review again later, whether at home, in the car, or during playtime. Here is the pronoun song we are learning to the tune Here We Go Looby Loo. I have a video with the hand motions I’m teaching the kids in my tutor group too.

The memory work activities kept things engaging and gave my 6-year-old and 4-year-old extra practice with writing and tracing. Having dedicated time at the end of the week to pull these subjects together worked really well for us, and it gave a sense of closure before heading into the weekend.

Cycle 2 Pronoun Memory Cards

I also just made these fun Pronoun game cards to play during Cycle 2. 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 love playing, and it gives them tons of practice without it feeling like drill. This set has quickly become one of our favorite go-to grammar review tools! By the way, this is the paper cutter I use all the time and it has worked great for me!

Memory Work Review Games

Another one of our favorite ways to review is with fun, themed board games. I created a set of Candyland-style games that make memory work review exciting and interactive for kids. These games can be used with any cycle and are a great way to practice all of the memory work subjects together.

We’ve been playing Memory Work Kingdom, a fall-themed review game (since fall is fast approaching!). It works just like Candyland, but with the addition of memory work review built in. Players move along the board by drawing cards with color blocks or picture spaces, then answer a review question that matches the space they land on. Correct answers let them stay put, but if they miss, they move back. The game also includes fun twists with slides and ladders to keep things lively. The first player to reach the castle wins!

The best part is that I now have a fall version, a winter version, and a spring version, so you can rotate them throughout the school year. You can grab each one individually, or get the seasonal bundle with all three at a special price.

These games have been such a hit in our home. They are perfect for community review days, family game nights, or just a fun way to end your homeschool week. You can find them all in my shop below.

Planning Our Homeschool Week

Instead of printing out detailed lesson plan templates this year, I have been using my homeschool planner to keep everything organized. It has been such a helpful tool for me as I think through our week.

I use the Cycle 2 memory work pages in the planner to map out how we will practice the memory work together. These pages make it easy to see each subject at a glance and jot down games, songs, or activities that I want to use with my kids. I also use the weekly and daily planning pages to schedule what we will do each day for math, language arts, and reading.

I’ve tried to simplify things this year so I don’t need to spend a lot of time prepping or printing. Having the Cycle 2 Memory Work Activity Book and my Cycle 2 Picture Book List ready to go means I can sit down and plan the week quickly without extra work.

Another part of the planner that I love is the monthly habit tracker. I use it to write down a few habits I want to focus on each month, like improving my health and being more present with my kids. It’s been a great reminder of the small but meaningful steps I want to take.

This planner has truly helped me stay organized so far this year, and it makes planning feel simple and purposeful instead of overwhelming. Get one for your homeschool year here!

Picture Books for Cycle 2 Week 5

Here are all the picture books we enjoy this week:

1. Geography from A to Z  by Jack Knowlton
2. Draw Europe (Draw the World)  by Kristin J. Draeger
3. See Inside Castles  by Katie Daynes
4. Paolo, Emperor of Rome by Mac Barnett
5. A Medieval Feast  by Aliki
6. You Wouldn’t Want to Be Joan of Arc! by Fiona Macdonald
7. Joan of Arc by Christine Platt
8. Water Is Water: A Book About the Water Cycle  by Miranda Paul
9. Harold and the Purple Crayon  by Crockett Johnson

You can see my ENTIRE Cycle 2 picture book list for each week of Cycle 2 here!

Cycle 2 Week 5 Memory Work Games

Here is the science game I mentioned in this post plus a Latin endings BINGO game that you can play with your kids this week to practice the memory work. You can sign up below to receive these FREE games below.

I hope you are having a great school year so far! Please comment below with any questions or share what’s been working well for your family so far!