Classical Conversations Cycle 2 Lesson Plans!
Well, week 2 of 2nd semester is here! I’d like to say I’m back to our routine, but that just hasn’t happened yet! Our oldest son was still home from college so we were busy spending time with him, getting things he needed to take back with him (like winter clothes!!), and just still out of sorts when it comes to routine!
I’m hoping this is our week to get things back to normal! Is that possible? When you have one in challenge and a 4 year old in Foundations, you don’t get much of a choice! But that’s the thing I love about being part of Classical Conversations…the accountability and structure it gives me.
Last time we were in Cycle 2, I made these plans for my daughter and niece who were both in Foundations at the time! I’ve updated them to match the new CC Guide! I now have a 4 year old in Foundations, so I’ll also put some ideas for preschoolers too!
Note: Although these lesson plan posts are about our Foundations lessons, I try to make sure not to include any intellectual property from Classical Conversations Foundations program. To follow along and do the Foundations program, you will need a Foundations Guide and be part of a CC Community! No actual “memory work” is included here.
History:
For older kids: Over the next couple weeks we will be learning about WWI, so this week you can spend time looking at some of the leaders of the countries involved in WWI. I love to use a notebooking approach to learning, so you can pull up information about the different leaders and take some notes. If you have a CC Connected subscription, you can use the History Highlights as a great place to start. You can use pictures of the people, the flags, the country names (all clip art from online) to decorate their pages. Basically each day you can covered one person. By the end of the week, you will gather all your notes and make a notebooking page with your summary of what is learned.
Here’s an example of a different week…..
For younger kids/preschool: Since the topic of WWI is a little advanced for the younger kids, you could keep it simple this week. You can find coloring sheets of famous people online and print them out. Then you can have them color one each day while singing the history song.
You can also find small pictures online of each WWI leader and print them out. Then glue them onto the map of Europe where they belong! Or download this WWI leader Geography worksheet.
Science:
For Older Kids: Spend time each day researching the states of matter in different science books you might have on hand. I love What’s Science All About and the DK Science Encyclopedia as well. Read some and then take some notes each day. Collect all your notes at the end of the week and put them together into a summary of what you learned! You can use the notebooking pages and draw some illustrations.
I also love this unit study by Homeschoolden.com! It’s $5.99 for the download, but it looks really cool! Plenty to choose from and learn from!
Hands On: Use water to make solid, liquid and gas. Take water and freeze to make solid. Did the ice take up more room as it froze or less? Then heat the ice on the stove… watch as it returns to liquid, then eventually to gas as it steams. Obviously this doesn’t cover plasma, but its a simple way to see something change back and forth.
Younger kids/preschool: I love these simple worksheets that younger kids can use to learn the differences between solds, liquids, and gases! Especially the hot chocolate worksheet! End the day with some hot chocolate for everyone!
Geography:
Baltic Europe: One way to study geography besides learning to locate or draw, is to learn about the countries you’re locating. Look online for some basic information about some of the countries this week. Print the flag, find a famous landmark, learn about a local food/cuisine, etc.
Each day, practice locating the countries.
At least two times, trace or draw the countries for this week. Maybe color them in using the colors from their flags!
Younger kids/Preschool: use the Table Time Maps from CC to review places on the map each day! Use a simple black line map and tape it to a window that gets lots of sunlight. Then tape a blank piece of paper over top. Have them trace the countries learned! You might have to go over the lines on the map with a marker so it shows through easily!
Literature & Language Arts:
If you have kids in Essentials then they will do their Task Sheets, Charts, and then work on their IEW papers.
Spelling is also done daily using the spelling curriculum of your choice (or the one provided in the EEL Guide)
Read each day from Old World Echoes or some other read aloud that connects to this cycle.
And don’t forget about reviewing Memory Work from previous weeks!!
These memory work system cards will help you review all your new and old memory work in a systematic way!! It takes about 15 min a day and you’ll see the difference. Don’t take our word for it…..
I personally use these and recommend them. It’s a great resource to help you keep on track and rotating through memory work! – Debbie C
These led my little memory master to victory last year! – Ess B.