Doing CC Cycle 2 at home in the primary years

Some of the big questions I get from parents beginning Foundations with their kids, especially in the primary years (K-3), are: 

1. What do I do at home?
2. Do I need a full curriculum on top of CC?
3. If not, what DO I need? Is CC enough?

Here is what we have found to be true over the last three years and how we anticipate supplementing the Foundations curriculum at home.

First, during the CC academic year, our week consists of two parts: Community Day and The 
Rest of the Week. On Community Day, that is all we do. It is three to six solid hours of learning, socializing, and fun, and after that (whether they a enrolled just in Foundations or Essentials as well), we are all wiped out. The only other thing we do on Community Day is soccer practice, and even that feels like too much a lot of weeks. (And yes, we count Community Day toward the 180 days required by our state.)

The Rest of the Week, we follow the Seven Rs of Homeschooling that I have shared elsewhere. The curriculum we will use this year will have the Cycle 2 material as the backbone, supplemented by math and reading. Foundations includes math memory work, but not math instruction. It also does not include any phonics/reading/spelling instruction, nor specific writing instruction until Essentials (ages 9 to 11). Finally, it does not include any religious instruction, although they do provide optional Bible memory work (knowledge of the Bible, not Bible verses).

It does include social studies (Timeline, History, Geography), science (Science memory work and the weekly experiment or project), language (English Grammar and Latin), and math memory work, as well as Fine Arts (art or music). How much you want to supplement that is up to you. Some families choose to use an entire box curriculum alongside Classical Conversations. Some on the other end of the spectrum only do the memory work, math, and phonics. Others (like us) choose to lightly supplement science and social studies with real books and fun projects throughout the year. 

So here is what you need to homeschool with CC:

1. Foundations Guide (currently the 4th edition)
2. Tin whistle in the key of D (which you can get through CC or any retailer)
3. A way to learn math
4. A way to learn phonics
5. A way to learn the Bible
6. A plan for learning and practicing manuscript and/or cursive.
7. Books and other materials rich in content (whether literature, history, or science) to be read to or by your children throughout the year.

Did you notice that I don't use the word "curriculum"? I want to encourage you to think outside the box, so to speak. Your child needs to learn to read. That does not mean you have to purchase the entire "kindergarten reading curriculum" from XYZ publisher. There are many ways to piece a "curriculum" together, whether it is through your library, workbooks, ebooks, or online resources.

To give you an idea, here is are some of the specific resources we are planning to use with our daughter (age 8) this year during Foundations Cycle 2.  (See the links to previous articles for more details about these materials). We have a four-year-old son as well, but the main thing he will be doing with us is the memory work and Bible learning, as he attends preschool the rest of the week.

Redemption (Bible): A combination of Bible Road Trip, Grapevine Bible Studies, and the Picture Smart Bible, as well as CC Bible memory work. We also read tons of books that emphasize character traits, and this year plan to use Character Trails as well.

Recitation: Foundations Guide, Write through the Bible (Phil 2:1-18), and Philippians in 28 Weeks.

Reading: 
To supplement history (medieval period to modern times): Usborne's Encyclopedia of World History, primarily, and the CC Timeline cards.

To supplement science (topics in Earth Science and Physical Science): Ecology and Astronomy (goes exactly with weeks 1-12) and the information in the CC Cycle 2 App (science snippets), plus books from the library.

Writing: Copywork from CC Connected (a subscription service through Classical Conversations) , and all sorts of other copywork, including some from the Draw Write Now! series.

Arithmetic: Saxon Math 5/4 and theIXL website.

What about you? What are you using in CC Cycle 2?

P.S. As a homeschooling mom, I can sometimes feel overwhelmed in the clutter of our daily activities. If you feel the same, may I encourage you to check out the Conquer Your Clutter Super Bundle? It is on sale 1/25 through 1/30 and has some amazing resources to help in this area! I'm excited to dig into it!