{CC} Cycle 3, Week 3

Helllllo, CCers!

Here are some ideas for keeping Cycle 3, Week 3 fun and creative.

Here is my regularly scheduled disclaimer: we keep it simple here at Gettin' Skooled!  Our core is our weekly memory work.  After that, we focus on math and phonics.  But, we are a creative family and always need a little bit of inspired craftiness for fun.  Here are a few ideas!

HISTORY

I think this is such a fun idea: we're going to make our own tea mugs and have a tea party!

Here's a great source with ideas and directions.  The good thing is you can often find mugs to paint at the Dollar Store.  

Here's a fun YouTube video by SchoolHouse Rock about the Boston Tea Party.  

If making tea cups are not your thing, you can make a boat!  I couldn't find the original source for this photo and idea.  If you know, send me the info and I'll credit it.  

Here are the directions found on Pinterest:

Milk carton with the top cut off. Cover the carton with brown paper. clay in the middle of the carton to stick a straw in. cut out a blue triangle for the sail-tape to the straw. staple a tea bag with the string to the side of the carton. students can toss out the tea from the ship!

Here's a book I definitely want to check out at the library:

LATIN

Just an idea: use Easter eggs to match the Latin pronouns.

{source?}

ART

Draw Write Now - Book 5, Page 28 (New Nation)

{CC} Cycle 3, Week 2

Heeeeere we go with CC Cycle 3, Week 2 ideas!

Here is my regularly scheduled disclaimer: we keep it simple here at Gettin' Skooled!  Our core is our weekly memory work.  After that, we focus on math and phonics.  But, we are a creative family and always need a little bit of inspired craftiness for fun.  Here are a few ideas!

Whuuuut?!?  We get to do Pilgrim crafts this week?!?  Two weeks in a row of fuuuuun craftiness!

HISTORY

There are lots of toilet paper pilgrim ideas out there, but I just love this idea of adding my kids' photo.  Plus, we can totally save these and use them as napkin holders at Thanksgiving!

{via}

I know my little Scoutie Girl would love to make a pilgrim girl hat:

{source and directions here}

For some reason, I think my 2 kindergarteners will really like making this drawing:

{via}

This one might be biting off more than we can chew, but for some reason, I think my kids might be into painting some 2x4s and making a wooden pilgrim:

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Great YouTube video here that works for both Cycle 3 Week 2 AND 3:

GEOGRAPHY

We'll continue to use the mnemonic devices packet I mentioned in Cycle 3, Week 1 to memorize the states and capitals.  

Definitely going to show the kids this YouTube video of a man drawing through the capitals of the US (to an original song).  They will love this. 

SCIENCE

Might have to make a skeleton out of q-tips and label the parts.  Could also use different types of pasta.  

{via}

Love this demonstration by A Cuppa for Mama on why we have bones!

ART

Here's a fun art project idea for the week:

Another idea is to make symmetrical bugs:

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Draw Write Now

(Cycle 3 Match Ups here)

Book #3 - Pilgrims in England  (page 50)

Book #3 - Sailing to America  (page 54)

Book #3 - Plymouth  (page 56)

Happy Homeschooling!

{CC} Cycle 3, Week 1

Now that I am going to be officially homeschooling 3 kiddos (eek!), I am trying to take a little extra time this summer to plan out our lesson plans and ideas for the upcoming Fall year.  I will be homeschooling one 3rd grader and two Kindergarteners.

Typically, I like to keep things very simple with our homeschooling.  We keep "the main things the main things" as I've been told.  We stick to the memory work, Bible, Math, Phonics, and Handwriting (ok, and a little Spanish, Drawing, and Piano here and there).  We read library books each week that correlate with our memory work.  But, in addition to that, I like to have my options open in case we need a little creative inspiration.

There are SO many ideas surrounding Columbus.  So excited!

HISTORY

Here are a couple of Columbus Ideas:

This used to be a set sold by Oriental Trading Company, but I feel confident we can make it without the set!

These egg cup ships are another option.  All it takes is an egg carton, play dough, and toothpicks.  Lots of other Columbus ideas here.  Another idea: have the kids decorate paper towel rolls to use as their telescopes.  

{Tutorial here by Crayola}

Snack idea from here.  So easy and the kids would LOVE this!

This will be our book of choice.  Hoping to buy the entire pack of D'Aulaire books.

LATIN

I think I'll make a hopscotch board like this to help the kids learn our Latin Prepositions!  We can add to it each week.

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GEOGRAPHY

Personally, I am going to spend the whooping $3 to buy this packet of Mnemonic devices to learn the States & Capitals.  Harrisburg, Pennsylvania = Hairy Pen?!?  C'mon!  That is brilliant!

ART

Loving this idea of making a piece of art with "found" objects around the house.  Could make the project, then identify the different "OiLs" in the art.  Art is always my favorite!  Can't wait to do this with the kids and hang it up in our (soon-to-exist) art display area.  

{instructions over here at Art in the Big Green Room}

I also love this idea of contrasting Piet Mondrian and Romero Britto.  Very simple and they'd be able to fill in the spaces with different oils.  

{via}

Draw Write Now 

(match ups for all of Cycle 3 here)

Book #2  - Columbus  (page 10)

Book #2 - Sailing West  (page 12)

Book #3 - The Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria  (page 14)

I'll be updating this as I come across new ideas.  

Happy Homeschooling!

{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'!