Learn how our family organizes our materials for CC community day.
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Are you ready to start your CC year? Did you go to Week 1 and feel a little lost with how to bring your stuff and not look like a pack mule? It usually takes a couple of weeks to get in a groove as far as packing bags, packing lunches and the logistics of landing things where you need them. Each child in a different room including the nursery and then lunch rolls around and everyone is hungry and wants to get to recess at the same time. Each year can be different because of the ages of your kids so my advice to you is to bring only what you need and no more and to delegate your children to haul things in and out as well as be responsible for their things on community day. Yes, this may mean you forget a water bottle at the facility or even shoes (dont ask me how I know) but they’ll hopefully remember them for next week! In this post I share how I organize materials for Foundations and Essentials. If you haven’t read my prior posts about Why We Chose Classical Conversations and What you need for CC at Home (Part1) go check them out.
Foundations
When we received our new 5th Edition Foundations guide I was so excited. The layout was new and improved, easier for home use and for tutoring. I really didn’t want little boys or a klutzy mom to ruin it so I took it straight to the print shop copies made of each cycle’s new grammar. I had the maps color copied. I put each page in page protectors and one set went into a binder and another set was the binder I take to Community Day each week. The original guide and binder with all of the cycles goes on the shelf and I use the set in my weekly binder for tutoring and home reference. I like having two sets for the boys to do review work or quiz each other and to keep a set protected. Did I mention I am a klutz and my kids tend to trash anything in their paths?
Essentials
That big binder can be more intimidating than diagramming your first sentence. A friend and veteran Essentials mom gave me some suggestions and they have worked well for us the last two years. Remember, we are only taking the material we need for that specific week. I also don’t want to make an attempt at logistics and have it not work for me so I planned to prep for only the next 6 weeks and make a change at that point if needed.
I added these numbered dividers between each week so I had quick reference for each week of Essentials.
After that, I photocopied the sentences to correct. This way my guy could write directly on the page. I folded on the dotted line so the answers were covered and put the copy and the original each in a sheet protector. These pages along with just the specific week go in my binder. I’ll just copy it each year for each boy using the binder.
In my student’s binder he has the following items: loose leaf paper, plastic page protectors for vocab cards, board slam board, charts in page protectors. When he copies charts he often copies them right on the page protector with fine tipped dry erase markers and a wet erase marker. We often use other methods of reviewing charts but this is one way. There is a zippered pencil case that includes the following – pen, pencil, dry erase marker, wet erase marker, highlighters, dice and a deck of cards.
For each week we bring his binder and IEW student book, I bring my binder and IEW teacher guide. We pack anything we need, notes and/or items for presentations, tin whistle if we are in that quarter, and that’s it! I plan to share all about lunches in another post so stay tuned.
How do you set up your CC materials each week? Id love so hear, so share below!
Links to supplies listed above:
