CC Meet the Tutor 8/12/25

It was a sweet time meeting the parents and kids today! I’m in awe that God would allow me to serve and be a part of tutoring this year to assist parents in teaching their own kids at home. I set out on the journey of homeschooling in 2021 when my oldest was just 4 years old. He is now 8 and we are in our 5th year of homeschooling classically at home and participating in Classical Conversations. Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart and truly is a calling that is sanctifying and humbling.

At meet the tutor we shared a presentation about ourselves today in order for the parents/kids to get to know us and to demonstrate the procedures for giving a presentation. In my bag I brought: 1. Wings/life vest because I’m a flight attendant with Southwest Airlines 2. A small journal from when I was just 4 years old given to me by my grandmother. I have loved journaling since before I could actually write 3. A cross and bookmark because I love learning about Jesus and reading 4. A postcard with a pic of New Mexico, where I grew up, a tassel and flag representing where I got my BA and MA degrees 5. A pic of my family in Hawaii because my family is so special to me and we enjoy traveling and seeing the world together.

Family Hawaii Trip Nov 2024

When each kid arrived they were given a National Geographic Activity Book of Knights and Castles! We will begin our history journey learning about the medieval period. This will be a fun activity to use at home when practicing memory work if you so choose.

Activity Book to use for practicing memory work!

Kids were given a bookmark to use with Ephesians 6:13-17 on it to encourage them to put on their full armor of God. As they read amazing literature alone or with you, may they be encouraged to take up God’s Armor.

The boys were “Knighted” and learned the Knights Code of Conduct for our CC community class times.

We discussed our Community Day Schedule:

A little extra information on New Grammar: New Grammar is where we introduce our 7 subjects of memory work each week. CC Cycle 2 has 24 weeks that we will cover in community. During this time please participate and learn alongside your kids. My role as the tutor is to actually teach and lead the parents to give ideas on what they can do at home with their kids. This section goes quick. We will cover 7 subjects in about 26-28 min. Each week I will start Geography at the tables promptly at 9:30am. Kids should be seated at the table with no personal items with them. Kids should leave their backpacks/snack/presentation/water at the entrance on the bookshelf. They are welcome to drop off those items BEFORE assembly starts at 9:00am.

I introduced Our Class Rotation List: Each week we will have a class leader indicated by the clothes pin. The leader will lead us off first in presentation, be the line leader, and class assistant. Each week the clothes pin will move down the list. If a student is absent on their turn they will be the leader the next time they come to community day.

Discussed Presentations:

I gave each student their own Medieval Presentation Bingo. This sheet is for you to use as a game at home if you would like ideas for presentation. Each topic your kid uses you can cross off that topic and when a line straight or diagonal is filled then the child gets bingo and the reward of celebration of your choice. This is just one idea to help kids come up with topics for their presentation.

Presentation Bingo

We discussed presentation expectations:

We played “Would You Rather” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees, Cup” to get to know each other better.

We got action hero stickers to celebrate our fun and be on our way.

Throughout the year I will refer to the 5 Common Topics: Naming, Attending, Memorizing, Expression, Story Telling. Practicing memory work at home will be part of Naming and Memorizing. At times you may wish to Attend by taking memory work a step further with worksheets, games, researching topics, visiting museums, etc One way kids between 5-7 can practice Expression is through art work, play, and creating. Story Telling will mostly occur in presentation although can occur in Geography, Latin, and other subject memory work. While keeping NAMES (naming, attending, memorizing, expression, and story telling) in mind, it gives freedom to trust the process.

As a tutor it is my goal to partner with you as the leader learner in your home! You do not need to prep anything before coming to community day. That will be the day I introduce the new grammar, art and science. That will be day 1 of your week. I will then send you a recap of what we did in class. The rest of the week you can then reuse what I did or come up with your own ideas. You are the lead teacher in your home and I am like an assistant to give you ideas for you to use if you would like them. The way you implement new glammar in your home is completely up to you. You may be “stick in the sand,” meaning you need nothing special or fancy to teach your kids. You can sing and chant memory work on the beach, at the park, write it in the dirt or make fancy teaching aids and play games at home. You can use worksheets, coloring sheets, or really nothing at all. Leigh Bortins calls the plethora of resources “A feast at the table” for you to choose from. You can take a lot or a little and make it work for the appetite of your learners at home.

I will share resources that I enjoy throughout the year, but again none of the things I share are necessary or required for learning new grammar. They are just things I like and enjoy in my home with my kids. I would like to stress also that foundations is NOT about mastery. As parents sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in making mastery the goal. In the grammar years, our goal is to Name things, Memorize them, Attend to them in different ways, Express them in relevant ways, and practice Story Telling. One of my favorite items to use in community as a parent was the “flip book” made by Keppler on CCConnected. If you do not have one and would like one, I’d be so happy to make one for you and bring it next week. Although this resource is optional and all that’s in it is in the Foundations Guide, I find the flip book helpful for following along while you participate and move around with your child in class.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve your families by tutoring your class. I look forward to walking this homeschool journey with you and learning alongside you!

See you next week!

In Him,

Ashley