Resource Roundup ~ Week 1

First Frets online guitar and ukulele courses are a convenient (and VERY affordable!) solution for the music-loving homeschool family. We offer both individual and family subscriptions, and we’re currently offering a discount of 30% off. (Use code 3030 at checkout; works for both individual and family subscriptions.)

Ridge Light Ranch is all about making it easy for you to include art in your children’s education.  After being part of CC since 2012 and helping CC families with art since 2016, we know how to help you make use of that crisp 30 minute segment and how to go deeper with art at home with our art lesson plans. Every lesson includes modifications for less and more experienced students, so you’ll be able to use them no matter what age group you are teaching.  We have plans specifically designed to go with the six weeks of cycle 3 drawing and the six weeks of cycle 3 great artists.

Cycle 3 weekly sheets are available in print and cursive for early writers and are designed to be fill in the blank to go along with the 5th Edition Foundations Guide. Families love these sheets to assign with all 24 weeks of memory work to practice handwriting, which also enhances hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, as well as fact memorization and reinforcement. 

All products available in my Etsy store, but if families purchase through my website, they get $5 off. Practical Family Community members will receive a 20% off discount code when they join my email list on the website.

We have written a series of logic books designed to teach children how to solve Logic Grid puzzles.  The goal is to train and develop the logical machinery of the mind, which is so necessary for later success in the mathematical sciences.  The “Grids for Kids” series consists of five Level Books, and three Supplement Books.  The Level Books each contain puzzles, solutions, and training tutorials.  The Supplement Books only contain puzzles and solutions.  The books progress in order of difficulty, with Level One being the easiest level.  One side benefit from this series that we’ve seen in our own children, is a greater attention to detail in the precise use of language.

Colby created a MASHUP of his favorite ‘Who Was” books to correspond with Cycle 3. He originally made the MASHUP list for people to download, but moms and dads told him that the library didn’t stock the right books and the bookstore was too expensive ($5.99 plus tax per book). So, he found a wholesaler, boxed his first matched set, and ColbyBooks.com began. Colby (now age 12) and his sister (age 6; now in charge of paypal) offer the “Who Was” books as a set for under $4.80 per book. We have met many of you because of this project and love seeing you come back. Because of your suggestions, he has added value by creating linked activities, bookmarks, and a post-test (all sync’d to each week of CC).

As a classical teacher, I value thorough and well-organized materials. I have created quality assignments, rubrics, and exams for you to use at home. The classical virtues of truth, goodness, and beauty should be integrated in the thought process, planning, and writing of curriculum. Students receive quality instruction when given quality materials, and they produce quality work when quality is expected of them. Please enjoy the materials I have shared with you.

Cycle 3 Morning Basket Plans are written in a weekly format, with no schedule to allow for the greatest amount of flexibility and *zero pressure* on homeschooling moms! I write these for my own family, and with five kids left at home, they are obviously multi-age. Topics covered include a simple Bible reading plan, art, poetry, music, hymns, and three age-leveled read-aloud options. All of this is hyperlinked, so literally all a mom has to do is decide which strand she wants to do that morning, and click!

These printable products have been recently updated for the 2020-2021 school year. The planners are designed specifically for homeschool parents, Challenge students, and Cycle 3 Foundations & Essentials students. The research notebooks are aligned for use in the research strands of Challenge A and B.