Classical Conversations Cycle 2 Ideas and Prep {Foundations}

Welcome to my Classical Conversations Cycle 2 ideas and prep info post! Each year I love putting together a YouTube video showing what all I’ve done to prep for the upcoming year of CC. I try to link to eeeeeverything in the comments so my fellow CC parents can easily find it but the lists of links grows and grows each year and has outgrown the YouTube description box! So I’m moving my info over here to have it all in one place.

STOP: If you are brand spankin’ new and don’t know anything about CC, go read this post first. Understanding how CC works will make a lot of the rest of this make more sense.

Here’s the video I made. I recommend watching this because I go into more detail and show many of the resources. This blog post is mostly meant to be a companion to the video with links to all the things I referenced.

This post contains some affiliate links. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link I make a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you!

What do I need to start Classical Conversations Foundations?

The only two things you HAVE to have are the Foundations Guide and a tin whistle. Past that, everything else is just extra – you can do as much or as little as you’d like!

Foundations Guide: This is what contains everything you’re going to learn in CC for all 3 cycles – memory work, science experiments, maps, fine arts, etc. All 3 cycles are in this one book so you only have to buy it your first year then you’re set for all subsequent years.

Tin whistle: There are a gazillion options, this is the one we have.

Additional items from the CC bookstore

Maps: Not required, but I really like the geography trivium tables for tracing maps. They fold up nicely for putting in a backpack or the pocket of a notebook. (Pro tip: they are terrible to erase – use some rubbing alcohol to clean them every so often and that’ll get the dry erase marker residue off that regular erasing leaves behind)

Timeline Cards: A very, very popular item that I like (but are not at all necessary if you have little bitties or are on a tight budget) are the timeline cards. They’re beautiful and full of great info – a great way to dig in deeper to each event in the timeline song! But they’re not a must have so don’t sweat it if you can’t/don’t want to get them.

FYI since I see this question each year: there are four packs of them and you need ALL four for one year (common misconception is that you need one pack per cycle). We use the same timeline every year so once you buy the cards you’re set for every cycle going forward (one, two, three, and four).

Storing and organizing these CC resources

Foundations Guide Tabs: I have tabs on my Foundations Guide to make it easier to find the various items. I did these my first year because the guide was overwhelming to me but I found that I really didn’t need them that much those first few years (I found them more useful once I started tutoring) so it’s not a must do. The tabs I used are here and you can see exactly where put the tabs in a previous prep video here (the tab portion is 8 minutes in)

Timeline card storage: There are a ton of ways people like to store their timeline cards – in binders in page protectors, in a box, in a basket, hole punched on a ring, etc. I keep mine in a box with dividers for each week. The box I use is no longer available so I can’t link it but in this video I showed a bunch of options (10 min in to the video). The timeline cards are 5×8 so look for a box or container that will fit 5×8 cards. Here is one on Amazon that I know works and these are the dividers I use in my box.

Tin Whistle case: You probably want something to put your tin whistle in. Listen, for the first four years of doing CC we did not have any sort of special tin whistle case…one child carried his in a ziploc bag, another in the cardboard tube his was mailed in. Fancy, I know ;). So it’s not a must have, but nice to have. Last year I finally got around to making actual cases for our tin whistles. I sew so I made them myself (loosely following this tutorial) but if I didn’t sew I would buy these – made by a fellow CC mom, lots of colors, and great quality.

Digital Classical Conversations Resources

CC Connected: CC Connected (or CCC) is an online resource available to you after you’ve paid your tuition. There are links to the memory work, additional resources put out by CC, and a forum for parents to chat and ask questions, and a file sharing section where CC parents can share resources they create. Many of the links I share here come from the CC Connected forums.

App(s): CC has an app for each cycle. I don’t love it, it’s clunky and not the most user friendly but it’s nice to be able to listen to the songs from my phone so we use it nearly every day. The app has all the memory work except the timeline song. Search “classical conversations” in the App Store and it should pop up. (fyi these are still available to purchase and use but CC no longer updates operating systems compliance and such so I don’t know how much longer these will be relevant)

CC recently came out with a newer app called CC Connected Lite. It’s I guess supposed to replace the apps I mentioned above but I don’t ever use it so I don’t know much about it. You have to have a CC Connected account to use it.

iTunes: If you don’t have access to CC Connected, the same songs are available on itunes. You can purchase the memory work by week or by subect. The app and the cd/itunes songs have basically the same content on them so it’s a matter of preference. When I started CC I bought the album that has the full timeline song on it because I wanted it on my phone and it’s not on the app.

But take note: all the memory work is available with your CC Connected subscription (which is included in your tuition) so you can listen that way too. In the past it was easier for me to use the app or cd/itunes so I paid for those, but if you don’t want to pay for those you can also listen straight from the website (just log in each time you want to listen) or download them as mp3s and put them on your phone, etc. I have a tutorial on how to do that linked below in the Yoto section.

Speaking of the Yoto, we now use a Yoto player for our CC memory work and LOVE that! I have more details later in this post, including a tutorial of how exactly to get the CC memory work on your Yoto. The Yoto player has replaced my need for the app or the digital downloads that I used to use so if you already have a Yoto player (or plan to get one soon…they make a great addition to your homeschool!) make sure you check out that section. (You can also use the Yoto app for free and play it from your phone without owning a Yoto player so you could put the playlists on your phone that way as well)

BEFORE WE MOVE ON: Here is your reminder that you *don’t* have to do all this! I’m about to share a LOT of links and ideas and examples. It is definitely not necessary to do all, or even any, of this. I do because 1) I enjoy it, 2) this is our 7th year of CC so I’m comfortable with the basics now, and 3) I have multiple kids of multiple ages. Please don’t let this overwhelm you – take what looks good to you and ignore the rest!

Flip Books, Fridge Facts, and Trifold Boards for memory work

The Foundations Guide is an amazing resource but I don’t prefer to use it for day to day use. Here are a few popular options for displaying or using your memory work:

Fridge Facts: 8.5×11 pages with a full week of memory work per page. I print these, laminate, and put on rings – we display these in our school room and the kids can easily get them down to reference

These are the ones we have (on CCC) and here are two other options on Etsy (one \ two)

Flip Books: These are a smaller 4×6 size. There are several versions – some have the memory week together by week (ex: all of week 1 on one page) and some have the memory work by subject (ex: all science from all weeks listed together). These are a great portable, on the go option. They do not have a lot of pictures though so these are better for older kids who can read.

I use a photo album from Dollar Tree that has exactly the correct number of pages. If you don’t have a Dollar Tree near you or can’t find that, these albums on Amazon were curated by a CC parent who makes some of the flipbook files to be exactly the right size for flipbooks.

There are a bunch of options of where you can get these (both CCC and non-CCC options!) so you can pick based on which ones you like the look of most and if you want to print/cut yourself or have them printed as pictures)

Option #1: has options for pages done by subject or by week and are jpg files so you can upload them to the picture printing service of your choice (Amazon photo, CVS, Snapfish, etc.) and have them printed as 4×6 pictures so that you can slip them in the photo album with no cutting involved
Option #2: has options for by subject and by week but these are pdfs so you’ll have to cut them yourself
Option #3: this is not a free option, but there are also some on Etsy that I thought I’d link in case you prefer the aesthetics of those or do not have access to CC Connected for the versions I linked above.

Trifold Board printouts: If you want a larger display of memory work, these trifold board print outs are perfect. Each memory work peg for each week is on a separate 8.5×11 page.

These are the ones I use, found on CCC
All cycles of Bible can be found here (Bible is not an official part of CC; it is not in your guide and you won’t do this at your community day, but CC does provide some Bible memory work for those who want it)
If you want multiplication written out instead of just the skip counting numbers for weeks 1-11, go here (scroll down in the comments of the thread to find the file, someone linked it in the comments)

At our old house I had each paper in a page protector and hung them up on the wall using these command hooks. Above the memory work I hung the timeline cards using these command clips.

To see a better description of how I set up our memory work wall, check out this video (20 minutes in) from a previous cycle (but same concept)

At our current house we have less wall space so I don’t have a large area to make as big of display. So I still use the pages in page protectors that I put together years ago but now I display them on this magnetic whiteboard using these magnets. I can only fit 6 sheets of paper so I leave off the Bible and Fine Arts ones.

For a while, after we’d moved but before I decided to use the small white board for the trifold pages and timeline cards, I displayed each week’s timeline cards on a beaded garland over our large white board that has little clothespins. I found mine at Hobby Lobby but if you don’t have a HL near you or they no longer carry them I also found one on Etsy that would work perfectly! So there’s another option, depending on how much space you have and what look you’re going for!

Trifold Board alternative: If you don’t have access to CCC, if you want something to display that’s a little bit smaller, or you just prefer a more artistic/aesthetic look, these cards on Etsy are beautiful! They would be such a lovely addition to your school room and take up less space (they’re intended to be printed as 5x7s so they’ll be smaller than the trifold pages I linked from CCC). See them here: History / Science / Geography / Latin / English / Math / Bible

Memory Work Picture Binder: If you prefer something bigger than the Fridge Facts but smaller than having each subject on it’s own piece of paper, check out this Memory Work Picture Binder. It’s got the weekly memory work on two pages that you can put in a binder (or would be perfect in menu covers for your morning basket) and has fun, colorful illustrations that are great for your non-readers.

Worksheets

For several years I printed all my kids’ worksheets for the whole year, punched holes in them, and stored them in a a file folder box by week (so the week one worksheets were in one folder, then week two, and so on). Each week I’d pull out the worksheets for that week and put them in my kids’ binders. (You can see how I used to set up their binders here)

Now that I have my own spiral binding maching I spiral bind their worksheets into booklets. This is way easier on me because I don’t have to remember to switch the worksheets out each week.

I’m going to link to all the worksheets I’m using with my kids as well as some others that we aren’t using this year but are great options. This is a mix of links to worksheets on CCC as well as some on Etsy.

Worksheets on CC Connected

Here are some worksheet options on CCC (and if you aren’t on CCC don’t worry, I’ve got a lot of worksheet options for you too…see below)

I am not using all of these (in fact, not most of these) with my kids this year but I have used most of them in the past so linking here to give you lots of options.

The Sandbox – a curated set of worksheets that people at CC have selected; this has some of what they consider the best worksheets shared by parents in the forum as well as booklists, activities, etc. for each week. If you don’t want to sift through CC Connected or even just all the worksheets I have here, this is an easy button – just download the Sandbox for each week and print what you want from there.

Map worksheets – I love these for practicing geography! (these are also located in the Sandbox each week but I’ve linked to a file that has all of them so you don’t have to comb through each Sandbox issue if you don’t want)

Worksheets for all subjects – These cover all the subjects (history, latin, English, geography, science, math, and timeline) and have options for all ages. There’s tracing, coloring, cut and paste, fill in the blank, copywork, and more. Some of these are in the Sandbox but not all of them.

Tracing worksheets for all subjects – If you like to have your kids trace the memory work each week, these worksheets are great! They have all the subjects each week.

Weekly workbook – This has a “workbook” for each week that reviews all the memory work

Weekly review sheets – One fill-in-the-blank page per week that reviews all that week’s memory work. Here is one option and here is another option

History copywork – print and cursive options

History tracing and hands on worksheets – This set has tracing sheets as well as some fun hands on, cut and glue-type activities.

Science cut and paste – Fun cut and paste worksheets for science (also are in the Sandbox, I believe, but here are all weeks in one place)

Science worksheets – These are colorful and fun worksheets for practicing the science memory work

Science and English worksheets – these look good but as of me writing this post not all the weeks have been brought over from the old CCC. Maybe at some point they will be but at least you can have these for the weeks that are available. Same with these geography worksheets – only a few weeks got salvaged from the old CCC.

Bible copywork – print and cursive options

Presentation Planner – A great way for kids to plan our their presentation each week

Presentation Planner for Essentials Students – This presentation planner has the kids make a KWO for their presentation so it’s great practice if you have an Essentials student!

The Math Map

The Math Map – I have also printed out The Math Map for my kids to use as supplement to our usual math program. If you are a new CC family you may not want to worry about this, it’s not directly related to Foundations but it’s CC’s math program that they are starting to use in Challenge (jr high/high school ages) and also making a beta version (that is not a full curriculum yet) available for the lower ages too.

(Tutorial on how to download that here. See a comparison between the various levels here.)

$the math map$

Non CC Connected worksheets

Memory work coloring pages – These are beautiful coloring pages for all of the memory work each week. If you have a child who loves to color, you are going to LOVE these! You can get all the memory work, just history, just science, or just geography. I print these and spiral bind them to make a coloring book for my kids to use through the year.

She also has a science journal that goes along with the science experiments the kids do in class at community day.

Use code MYCHOCOLATEMOMENTS for 20% off anything in her shop. Also, if you order before July 31 you’ll get these beautiful, full color history pages (perfect for displaying the memory work!) as a free bonus!!

We Draw to Learn – These walk your child through how to draw a picture that go along with each week’s science memory work. There are both drawing instructions as well as coloring pages.

Use code CHOCOLATE for 25% off all items in her shop

Geography worksheets – Simple coloring pages for each week’s geography

More Geography worksheets – These are a little more involved than the ones linked above. These not only have a page to color but also have some fun crossword puzzles, seek and finds, vocabulary, and facts. Use the code CHOCOLATEMOMENTS for 15% off anything in her shop.

Science worksheets – These science worksheets are SO COOL! They have fun worksheets (codes, puzzles, etc.) plus songs, hand motions, crafts, memory work posters, and more! It’s a very comprehensive resource! Use the code CHOCOLATE20 for 20% off anything in her shop.

History worksheets – Handwriting, worksheets, activities, facts…this has it all! Made by the same person who made the science ones I linked above, these are great! Use the code CHOCOLATE20 for 20% off anything in her shop.

History worksheets – Another option, though not quite as comprehensive as the ones linked above. Fill in the blank for each week’s history memory work plus a little bit of extra information to dig deeper into the history sentence.

Math worksheets – created by the same person who made the science and history ones I shared above

English worksheets – also created by the same person who did the science, history and math ones from above

Weekly review sheets – These have spots for the kids to write/fill in the blank all the memory work for the week. There are a few versions on Etsy so I’m linking those here.

Weekly Review option #1
Weekly Review option #2 (pictured below) use the code CHOCOLATEMOMENTS for 15% off anything in her shop. (if you don’t want to print your own and prefer to have a printed one mailed to you, that’s also an option here)
Weekly Review options #3 (available in print or cursive)

If you need an easy button

Memory work worksheets – These are worksheets for all the memory work. You can purchase downloadable files (the full file with all the memory work or just individual subjects) or you can purchase a premade workbook of them from Amazon (no printing required!) – book of weeks 1-12, books of weeks 13-24, or book with all 24 weeks.

NOTE: these are definitely for older students – there is a lot of writing involved as well as application of the concepts learned; I would not buy these for younger kids

Weekly review booklet – Another easy button option is the weekly review option #2 I linked above…she has that in a physical book format so you can just order the booklet and not have to download/print your own.

Hands on Activities and Additional Resources

Now let’s talk about what other activities (besides worksheets) I’ll be using with my kids (or am not using but recommend). I’ve broken them down by subject. Some are on CCC, some are not:

History

Visual cards – We’ve loved using these the last few years, especially with my non-readers! I laminate them, cut them out, and put magnets on the back so the kids can put the history sentences in order on our whiteboard or fridge.

History sentence supplement – If you want something to read to your kids (or for them to read to themselves) that expands on the CC history sentence of the week with a few additional details, here is a great option! This is something that I wished I’d had when my kids were younger because we didn’t need or want a full blown history curriculum but my kids LOVED learning the history sentences and this is perfect for giving them some more info about those. Use the code SWEETDEAL15 for 15% off anything in her shop.

History hands on activities and crafts – These are easy crafts/activities that line up with each week’s history sentence. They use simple materials found around your house.

European History Unit Study – Another CC mom has created an European History unit study to go along with cycle 2. The curriculum incorporates multiple subjects (history, geography, science, Bible), has recommended read alouds, and dives deeper into CC’s European history focus! If you want a done-for-you comprehensive supplement for CC, you should check this out. From what I can tell this does’t include all the information for you in the document (like some of the other supplements that I have shared where you print and read the info to your kids) but instead gives a curated list of books/other sources to use to read from.

Story of the World – Volume 2 (The Middle Ages) and Volume 3 (Early Modern Times) of the Story of the World series matches up nicely with cycle 2. We use these as read alouds but there are worksheets you can get to go along with the books if you want to make this a more in depth curriculum. (See match ups to each week of Cycle 2 here)

Science

Science videos – My kids love love LOVE the science videos from Awesome Science TV! They beg to watch them each week. Awesome Science TV isn’t specifcally a CC company, there are lots of science videos besides CC related ones, but they make a set of videos that specifically lines up with the CC memory work and they’re so good! They are funny, do a great job expanding on the science for the week and making it come to life, and they always point back to God and his goodness. Huge thumbs up from me (and my kids). Join their monthly membership through Patreon here or purchase the whole set of videos here.

Science memory work supplement – The same person who made the history sentence supplement I linked above also has a science one. Again, perfect if you want a quick summary of each week’s science sentence to expand on at home. Use the code SWEETDEAL15 for 15% off anything in her shop.

Science hands on activities and crafts – The same person who makes the history activities and crafts also makes a science one.

Velcro activities – I love how these velcro activities take the science memory work and put it to pictures, helping the kids identify what each word means. I also really love these but these only have weeks 1-12 so so it doesn’t cover the whole year.

Interactive Science Notebook – This science notebook is a fun way to reinforce the science memory work with some art/coloring projects!

Geography

Geography flash cards – We have used these the last three years and they were so helpful!! This really helped my kids learn each item from the geography memory work.

Geography memory work supplement – These give some facts about each location from each week’s geography memory work, shows where it is on the map, and shows a picture from that area. Perfect for those who want a quick overview of what we’re learning in geography each week but not a full blown geography curriculum. (Again, from the person who did the history and science ones I linked above.)

Where in the World? – If you are wanting to dig deep into the cycle 2 geography, this geography bundle is a great option! It has a variety of maps to practice tracing/identifying as well as historical and cultural information relating to that week’s geography. We used just the book last year as a read aloud but there are also worksheets if you get the whole bundle. Options: physical book + digital worksheets / just physical book / just digital book / digital book + digital worksheets.

Our Great Big World – Notgrass recently came out with a brand new elementary geography curriculum called Our Great Big World. We have used and loved their other two elementary options (Our 50 States and Our Star Spangled Story) during cycle 3 so I’m excited about this new version. This is a great option for younger elementary. It does not directly line up with CC like the other two options I mentioned above but it’s a world geography curriculum so there will be overlap and similarities.

English

Cycle 2 hands on activities (pronouns) – The hands on activities I made the last two years were so popular that I made some for cycle 2 as well – a small version that you can add velcro to for your kids to practice with and a large version that you can use on your whiteboard. Get them discounted in a bundle here.

Latin

Latin chart – I also made hands on activities for the Latin conjugation endings for this cycle. There is a large version (I put magnets on these to put on our white board) and a small version (perfect for review!) You can also get them in a discounted bundle here.

If you didn’t want to buy mine you could also make your own of the smaller velcro version using this chart on CCC

Math

Math matching activities – I also made a set of my whiteboard cards for math – skip counting (weeks 1-11) and laws/geometry/equivalents (weeks 12-24), or get them all in a discounted bundle here. $classical conversations math hands on$

Pop It – We got this 15×15 pop it last year and the kids really enjoy using it while we’re skip counting. If you want a more sturdy, beautiful version I’ve been drooling over this one. I have several Treasures From Jennifer pieces, including her 100 frame, but I haven’t gotten the 15×15 one yet – all of her items are such fantastic quality!

Timeline

The timeline cards themselves are very hands on – putting them in order, reading them, etc. But I have also printed off these mini timeline cards and eventually will get around to cutting them out and using them for something lol.

Yoto player

If you have a Yoto player or TonieBox you can use those for your CC memory work! I did a super in depth tutorial about that to show you how.

I can’t say enough good stuff about using our Yoto for CC! We got one for my daughter for her 5th birthday and she uses it all.the.time. She has learned way more of the memory work than my older boys had at that age just because she’s able to listen on her own any time she wants instead of only when I play it from my phone.

Not telling you to run out and buy a Yoto player because it’s certainly not a necessity but if you have one, use it. If you don’t have one, it might be worth putting on a birthday or Christmas list this year. Highly recommend!

Coupon: Get $20 off the purchase of a Yoto player here

CC memory work Yoto card labels here.

My parent reference sheets

I keep several references sheets for myself. Through the years I’ve put them in a separate binder, spiral bound them, or added them to my homeschool planner depending on what was most convenient that year.

Memory work overview – I do not haul my guide around with me and I don’t typically write in it either (lots of people do but that’s just not my preference) so I have some papers with the memory work condensed on them so I can jot down notes about the song we use, etc. Here is what I used for several years and here is the one I used last year and this year (the one pictured in this post). Here is one other option that’s a little more minimal. (FYI these are called tutor sheets as they’re intended for tutors to plan out their content for their classes…but even before I was a tutor I used these because I find it works nicely for notes about what we do at home)

I also like these if you don’t need a lot of space to write but just want a snapshot overview (those are the best ones I can find for Cycle 2 – I don’t love them because they’re set up for tutors who change what they review each week, I prefer ones that are just all 24 weeks, like I’ve shared for cycles 1 and 3. If I find a better option for Cycle 2 I’ll update. I did find something closer to what I was looking for on Etsy here so if you want to pay for one, that’s an option as well.)

Booklists and match ups – I like to print these off or save them to a folder on my computer so it’s easy for me to go through and request books from the library each week. (booklist from CC / Usborne children’s encyclopedia match up / Usborne World History match up / Story of the World match up / combined reading list ). I have even more saved to my computer that are really long or awkward to print but these are the ones I printed. Here are these ones that I don’t print but I save and reference each week – one / two / three

Here is a video match up for Cycle 2 and here is an idea list of fun movie night selections for each week of Cycle 2.

My planner: For my main homeschool planner I use an Erin Condren Homeschool Planner. You can see how I set it up here.

Coupon: Get $10 off your first Erin Condren purchase here

Memory Master Practice

If you have a kiddo who is going for Memory Master this year, here are a few resources specific for them.

A looping memory work schedule – this is great if you have a child going for memory master as it gives you a schedule for reviewing past memory work. Don’t be confused by the name – it’s called a Reading Correlation because it’s bundled in with some book lists, I’ve not used the booklists but found the bundle worth it just to get the memory work review schedule. I typically keep this in my planner or parent binder (see above)
Here’s a very simplistic overview of Cycle 2 that could be used for memory master review
Here’s a more detailed review packet
Here’s a memory work review schedule that includes how to review all 3 cycles, review over winter break and summer break, etc. so that looks like another good option to check out.
Here’s a proofing sheet you can use to check your child

Other digital resources

Here are a few other random resources for you.

CC Happy Mom is my favorite for songs/hand motions that go with the geography facts. Here’s a playlist for all her cycle 2 songs. You can also purchase her songs in mp3 format, which is what I did in order to use them on our Yoto player.

Facebook group – If you’re on Facebook, make sure you join the Classical Conversations Facebook group. Lots of great resources are shared there too!

YouTube playlists for each week – Each week has a playlist of multiple videos that go along with the topics of the week. A great resource!

Doodling through Education – YouTube videos expanding on each week’s history and science sentences

Old School Art Gallery – I looooveeee what this CC mom did to turn her tv into an art gallery! She created YouTube “videos” with art from our CC famous artists that she can play on her tv but it just looks like the paintings. What a cool way to expose your kids to art!

Pinterest board – Here is an amazing Pinterest board full of ideas for cycle 2! Such a great resource! (she also has cycle 1 and cycle 3)

Blogs – So many of the blogs I found useful my first year are no longer available so I don’t have many to share but here are a few

Half a Hundred Acre Woods has a ton of CC Cycle 2 things
This one is actually sharing tutor prep info but I like it for at home use too for younger kiddos
Devoted to Littles shares some book lists, memory work activities, etc.

Supplies for Prep

Here are a few of the office supply type items that I use a ton when prepping for CC each year.

Printer – you can print at places like Staples (I think CC has a discount with them?) but I prefer to print at home. I’ve been very happy with this printer.

Paper cutter – I have had this for over 15 years and it has been a total workhorse! I use it for everything!

Laminator – I joke that I started homeschooling just so I had an excuse to buy a laminator ;) I love laminating stuff.

Velcro dots – Handy for all those velcro activities

Proclick binder – I love using this to make my own spiral bound books. It’s totally not necessary and was a fun splurge last year but I loooove it. I use these coils.

Corner rounder – I use this to round the corners of things I laminate and cut which makes them less pokey

Happy CC planning, friends! Here’s to a great year!

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