{CC} Cycle 2, Week 7 Printables

Here are some printables I created to use during class this week in Classical Conversations.  Hope they are helpful to you!

Here is the free Skip Counting 13's Printable HERE.

I wasn't crazy about doing motions to this long history sentence, so I decided we would draw the history sentence instead.

Get the free History Sentence Drawing Grid HERE.  I plan on uploading a pic of what I drew in the grids soon.  Since I tutor Apprentices, I keep it simple and draw stick figures for the people.  For example, for Martin Luther, I will draw a smiling stick figure holding a Bible and wearing a hat.  You can see an example of our last history drawing here.

Hope these help!

Happy Homeschoolin'!

{CC} Cycle 2, Week 6 Tutor Plans

Here are my plans for our Cycle 2, Week 6 class...

Sidenote: I will not be listing the actual memory work on this page as I believe CC does not allow it.

Timeline - We will sing the timeline while playing musical chairs.  The kids love this one!

History Sentence - We'll sing the song while doing the following motions:

Renaissance period - Act like you're painting on a canvas, then act like you're hitting a period at the end of a sentence when saying "period."

1300 - 1650 - put your hands facing one another in a "C" shape, pull them a part

da Vinci - make a V with your fingers, then put your finger to your temple (like you have an idea), then pull it away, making little circles (hard to explain!)

Shakespeare - act like you are writing a play, then act as if you are being dramatic on a stage (one hand on your chest, one hand up in the air in stereotypical "Shakespeare" fashion)

Michelangelo - use your left hand as a palette and use your right hand to mix the paints on your palette, then paint the ceiling

Copernius - Make a C with your right hand, then make a fist with your left hand (the sun) and circle it with your thumb or finger of your other hand (a planet)

Geography - Trace on our dry erase pockets.  We may sing the song on CC Connected of "We'll be coming 'round the mountain."  Also, I print out the map provided by ReeneH.

English - Say the memory work to the "Everywhere We Go" chant (if you don't know the chant, you can watch this video here).

Everywhere we go....(kids repeat) *marching
People want to know...(kids repeat) *marching
Possessive Pronouns...(kids repeat) *reach out and grab something
(list the pronouns here...)
Possessive Pronouns!

If you want to repeat it at this point...you can chant:

And if people can't hear us...(repeat)
We'll shout a little louder....(repeat)

Then, repeat the entire chant over...louder.

Latin - Erase-a-word

Math - 11's - say the 11's while doing head/shoulder/knees/toes, 12's - say the 12's while punching the air

Science - Motions

Noise - Cover your ears
Air - Hold your nose while making a yucky face
Water - Act like your drinking dirty water while making a yucky face
Land - Touch the floor and pretend to shake something off your hand
Thermal - Pretend to wipe off your forehead
Radioactive - Bring hands together.  Drop them and open in an explosion.

Art Project - This is a tough one!  I'd possibly like to make a coat of arms.  Or, I may use the Final Project as uploaded to CC Connect, again by ReneeH.

Review Game - I am going to split the kids up into 3 groups and do review games.  The first group will Stinky Feet, the second group will do Pick a Bug, the third group will do Potato Head.  You can find how to do Stinky Feet and Potato Head here.  For Pick a Bug - I'll have several different plastic bugs in a bag.  Each bug will correlate to a different subject.  As they pick out the bug, they will have to say the memory work for that subject.

{CC} Cycle 2, Week 5 Tutor Plans

Now that we're almost 5 weeks into Cycle 2, I realize that I need to change how I am blogging our experience with Classical Conversations.  Instead of spending a ton of time blogging our supplemental ideas for each week, I've decided that, instead, I will start posting my weekly tutor plans.  Since discovering Sue Patrick's Workbox system (another great video tutorial here), we spend a lot less time doing CC crafts and a lot more time on supplemental subjects (like Story of the World, handwriting, or phonics).  

I tutor an Apprentice class.  Most of these ideas can be altered to work for any age group.

Here are my tutor plans for Cycle 2, Week 5:

Timeline: Limbo.  We'll bring in a pool noodle and play limbo while singing the timeline song.  This year, I've decided not to do the sign language motions while teaching the timeline because it felt like the kids had to work as hard to learn and remember the motions as they did the timeline).

History Sentence - We'll do hand motions while we sing the song.  Here are the motions I've decided on:
100 years war - flash 10 fingers twice, then clap twice
Joan of Arc - make an arc in the air like a rainbow
King Charles VII - Mime putting a crown on your head, then put up 7 fingers
led - throw your arm in front of you like you are leading a charge
defeat England - put the air like you're in a boxing match
In the late - Use both fingers to point  beside as if to indicate a later time
fleas on rats - ball your left hand up then use your right pointer finger to show a flea on the rat
killed - stick your tongue out of your mouth like you're dead

Geography - Trace the geography memory work on our dry erase pockets.  I use these pockets here (simply because I got sick of how difficult it was to wipe of the laminated maps).  Sing the cities to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

English - Everyone who...Game.  I call on everyone who has a (green shirt/pet/plays Minecraft/homeschools) to repeat the English memory work.

Latin - Funny Positions.  Here is the sheet I use.  I print it out and paste the funny positions on popsicle sticks.  I also let the kids choose some positions as well.  When going over the Latin endings, I'll also show them the visual aid uploaded by amanadanease to help them with the pronunciations.

Math - Skip counting 9's: cut and paste worksheet on CC Connected uploaded by amandanease (thanks, Amanda!).  Skip counting 10's: have the kids grab a partner and give high fives (with both hands) while counting the 10s.

Science - Hand motions (as suggested by CC Connected)

Art - After a short discussion about perspective, we will draw and then color the picture here.  If my kids were a little older, I'd probably do something just a little more detailed like this.  Fun!

Review Game - Snowball Fight (as described here.)  I will type out the review questions on pieces of paper.  I'm going to split up the kids and have the moms quiz the kids.  If the child answers the review question on the paper correctly, he/she gets to crumble it up and make a snowball.  At the end of the review session, they get to have a snowball fight with the papers they earned during review.  Obviously, this is not the most environmentally friendly review game, so we won't be doing it often.  However, since this is Texas, it may just be the only snow these kids ever see, so I'd like to treat them.  

Happy Homeschoolin'!

{CC} Cycle 2, Week 4 History Sentence

Here's a free printable for drawing the history sentence for Cycle 2, Week 4!

Here is what I drew:

Personally, I'm pretty proud of my drawing for the 100 years war...

Here is what my 7 year old son drew (a couple of the embellishments he drew in the car on the way home):

Since the drawings were fairly simple, the kids had no problem finishing these in class.  We sang the history sentence song while they were drawing.  

To download, click here!

Happy Homeschoolin'!

{CC} Cycle 2, Week 1 Science

Here's a free printable for future CC Cycle 2 tutors and parents for helping your kiddos remember the biomes.

Here is a sample of what I drew for each of the biomes:

Tip: If using these sheets in a CC class, I would strongly encourage you to make simpler drawings.  It was very difficult for the kiddos to make similar drawings in under 4 minutes.  Instead of drawing a polar bear for the Tundra section, for example, you may just want to draw a snowflake.

Tip: Again, if for class, make a couple of copies of your drawings for the kiddos to copy if they wish. 

To download this file, click HERE.

Happy Homeschoolin'!

{CC} Cycle 2, Week 3

Here is our list of ideas that we will use when making our plans for our homeschool week for Classical Conversations - Cycle 2, Week 3:

History

Eleanor of Aquitaine {via}

For history this week, I think we may "act" out the crusades.  After reading a little about the crusades, I think I will have one child represent Richard the Lion-Hearted, one child represent the Muslims, and one child represent the Jews.  They will probably use very non-middle age weapons such as light sabers, but the pretending will be fun.

{via}

A little info where we can learn about the weapons and armor used in the Crusades.

Here is an incredible homeschool resource page for ALL of World History.  I will definitely be using this link for future reference.  

Middle Ages for Kids - some very simple info regarding the crusades

Not sure this has any thing specifically to do with Eleanor of Aquitaine or Richard the Lionhearted, but I really like the idea of making this castle together!

{via} 

Awesome timeline of the Middle Ages and Renaissance period (and important figures).  Super helpful!

Science

Food Chain game and free printable from Teach Beside Me.  Also recommends a couple of The Magic School Bus books.

Food Chain idea from Bookish Ways in Math and Science

FUNNY YouTube video just for pure entertainment.  Merrick loves this video.  ;)

Geography

I will probably end up just making some food from some of the western european countries we'll be studying this week.  For example, I will make some crepes while we talk about France and a Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Potato Omelet) while we talk about Spain.  But, here are some craft ideas as well:

Ireland - Irish recipes here at DLTK (though, truthfully, I'd rather just pick up some Irish soda bread from the local store).  I really like this idea from Choices for Children (picture below) for my younger kids.  There's also a version for older kids in the shape of Ireland itself.  

England - Palace guard craft made out of toilet paper rolls by DLTK.  Of course, we'd have to watch a YouTube video on the changing of the guard.  And, I will most definitely have to throw in a video like this one!  Watch the movie Robin Hood (I loved this movie as a kid!).  

Portugal - Some craft ideas from Culture Cottage.

Spain - Since we will only be talking in very broad terms about these countries this week, I will probably tell them what stood out to me the most on my trip to Spain (many years ago) - the flamenco dancing and the bull fighting.  I will probably just show them a couple of YouTube videos like this one (Flamenco Dance) and this one (Guitar) and this one (bullfighting - if we watch this one, we'll only watch the first 2 minutes).  Then, we'll probably act out a flamenco dance performance where my daughter dances and my sons play the guitar (or dance).  Scout, my daughter, will totally dig that!  We might even have to give Marcos, my husband, a performance when he gets home!  Here is a cool post on how to make maracas out of leftover plastic eggs from Easter.  

France - I like the idea here of making an Eiffel Tower out of Legos!  I also like this idea from The Chocolate Muffin Tree of making a "stained glass window" like the one in Notre Dame.  My husband and I just returned from Paris this past week and have lots of pictures to share with the kiddos of these windows (and all of Paris, really).  

There are lots of great Europe Unit Study boards on Pinterest.  Here's a good one!

Or, we could always do a Europe Lapbook!

As usual, here is my disclaimer: 

I should mention...this is just a list of resources and ideas.  We don't actually complete all of these activities.  In a typical day, we have a Bible lesson, review the CC memory work, do phonics and math, and (perhaps) complete one craft activity or game that correlates to our memory work. We also spend time reading together.  Merrick will be in the 2nd grade starting Fall 2013.  The twins will be 4 years old.  Aside from the Bible lesson, I do not expect any thing from the twins in regard to their formal education.  If they choose to join us, they may.  If they do not want to participate, they may play independently.  

I'm linking up to the Cycle 2 Weekly Link Up Page on Half-a-Hundred Acre Wood blog.  It is one of the most helpful blogs there is for CC parents!

{CC} Cycle 2, Week 2

Obviously, these plans are in the early stages.  I am going to be a CC tutor for the first time next year (our second CC year) and want to be fully prepared!  My goal is to spend the summer planning little by little so that during the actual CC school year I can just focus on the execution. 

HISTORY SENTENCE

Middle Ages for Kids - lots of info made simple

Love this art activity from Deep Space Sparkle:

This would be great for both Merrick and possibly the twins.  

Very cool - web site where kids can explore a castle.

Merrick would LOVE this funny video about all the kings and queens of England starting with William the Conqueror.  Must watch!

GEOGRAPHY

I really like the two ideas below for sea craft ideas from Tonya at Make and Takes.

ENGLISH

Poor Daffy Duck learns that not knowing your pronouns can get you in trouble!  (Warning: Elmer Fudd does use his gun in this clip.)

Pocket full of pronouns from Teacher Bits and Bobs

Free pronoun printable and interactive chart with Teachers Pay Teachers

ART

Let's Learn about Symmetry from All Things Heart and Home.  I remember doing this same kind of project with a butterfly when I was a young girl and I LOVED it.  

Here is a symmetrical butterfly art project that is just a bit more advanced for kids that are just a bit older.  It's from Deep Space Sparkle, one of my favorite go-to sites for art resources for kids.

SCIENCE

It's been tough trying to find games or activities surrounding consumers.  The kids did like watching this video over my shoulder however (especially the part where the elephant puts an entire pumpkin in his mouth):

Several links to some food chain games here at Mrs. Thompson's class blog.

That's it for now!

I should mention...this is just a list of resources and ideas.  We don't actually complete all of these activities.  In a typical day, we have a Bible lesson, review the CC memory work, do phonics and math, and (perhaps) complete one craft activity or game that correlates to our memory work. We also spend time reading together.  Merrick will be in the 2nd grade starting Fall 2013.  The twins will be 4 years old.  Aside from the Bible lesson, I do not expect any thing from the twins in regard to their formal education.  If they choose to join us, they may.  If they do not want to participate, they may play independently.  

I'm linking up to the Cycle 2 Weekly Link Up Page on Half-a-Hundred Acre Wood blog.  It is one of the most helpful blogs there is for CC parents!

{CC} Cycle 2, Week 1

Here are our plans and ideas for Classical Conversations - Cycle 2, Week 1...

HISTORY SENTENCE

It is pretty hard to find ideas and activities surrounding Charlemagne.  Truthfully, I'm not going to worry about this too much.  Week 1 will be our first week back to CC for Merrick, and the twins' first week in CC (they just turned 4).  It will also be my first week as a tutor (eeeek!), so we will probably keep it simple.  We will probably just end up borrowing some good books on Charlemagne from the library and reading those together.  

However, I do love some of the ideas displayed here at Cup of Tea blog:

I may just have to get that Story of the World activity book this year!

Charlemagne for kids

Also, I think we are just going to HAVE to make a family timeline this year!  I will not expect much from the kiddos on this one.  I thought perhaps we can just add one person a week.  There is some great info on how to do this (along with free printables) at Half-a-Hundred Acre Wood blog.

SCIENCE

We must, must, must build a biome in a bottle!  How cool is this?!?

Directions and more pics here.  

More biome resources:

Biome worksheets on Enchanted Learning (requires a membership)

World Biomes Pin Map (with free printables).  Just glue the map to a piece of corkboard and use straight pins to place the biome cards.   

Oh.my.gooooodness!  I just found this "Biome song" that uses Minecraft as the backdrop.  Merrick will   be soooo excited to see this!  

Another biome song written by a teacher.  This one is very educational!

GEOGRAPHY

Youtube video of the Continents and Oceans song

This is a great game we can play to learn the continents!

Another good idea: make a map out of a Chinet oval plate (could do a paper mache globe as well, but this seems easier).

Scoutie Girl thinks it would be awesome to paint an interactive map like this one:

If we made this map, we could laminate the continents and names of the oceans and continue to play with it over and over again.  I could even use it as a tutor at CC.

ENGLISH

Fun idea for teaching the 8 parts of speech (blog origin unknown)

8 parts of speech CC chant on Youtube

Parts of speech posters ($2.50 at Teachers Pay Teachers)

Other fun ideas:

Marshmallow Catapult!

Books to borrow from the library:

The Minstrel in the Tower

Books to Purchase:

The Apprentice

The Sword and the Tree

Tales of Robin Hood

That's it for now!

I should mention...this is just a list of resources and ideas.  We don't actually complete all of these activities.  In a typical day, we have a Bible lesson, review the CC memory work, do phonics and math, and (perhaps) complete one craft activity or game that correlates to our memory work. We also spend time reading together.  Merrick will be in the 2nd grade starting Fall 2013.  The twins will be 4 years old.  Aside from the Bible lesson, I do not expect any thing from the twins in regard to their formal education.  If they choose to join us, they may.  If they do not want to participate, they may play independently.  

I'm linking up to the Cycle 2 Weekly Link Up Page on Half-a-Hundred Acre Wood blog.  It is one of the most helpful blogs there is for CC parents!