Switching homeschool paths in the middle of the summer means my planning changes a little too. I’m always up for a challenge though! The new Claritas Cycle 1 memory work has some overlaps with Classical Conversations, but it’s different enough that I wanted to create a new reading list for the school year. I kept the titles I thought would be relevant, as well as the books I really wanted to read with the children this year. But I’ve also added more resources that will make our reading list compliment the new memory work better. I may still add a few if they are good fits, but I’ll be working from this list. Many weeks are pretty aggressive – I’m positive we won’t get to all of the titles. In fact, I don’t think we could read all of them even if all we did was read all day. But I need a place to start, so I’ll pick the titles I think work best given our schedule the week or two before. Some of the weeks are lighter because I was unable to find anything appropriate for children during my research for those history sentences. But overall, almost every history sentence is covered, as well as most of the science sentences. A few of the ancient classics spill over into weeks that may not make sense, but I really wanted to cover these great works this year. Our Cycle 1 history sentences follow the Story of the World’s Volume 1, and the science sentences follow Elemental Science: Biology for the Grammar Stage. We will be listening to SOTW in the car, but you’ll see many supplements in the list below. There are definitely a few classics that I am hoping to read aloud also, like The Odyssey, The Bronze Bow, Carry On Mr. Bowditch, A Cry From Egypt, and Archimedes and the Door of Science. I also think the kids will enjoy My Side of the Mountain, Detectives in Togas and the follow-up, Mystery of the Roman Ransom.

My plan this year is to study the ancient civilizations and cultures from the history sentences a little more in-depth. I want the kids to have a good understanding of what it was like to live in ancient civilizations and know the customs of different cultures and religions. I think this reading list will get the job done. Some of them represent different age ranges in a few cases because I still have little ones. But for the most part, the books are appropriate for elementary-aged children. Many of the books that are pricier have used options on Amazon – some can be purchased for $0.99 and then have $3.99 shipping. We have a lot of old library books in our collection and I’m totally fine with that. It’s ok if books are already loved because we are going to love them too! You can also try the library, but I personally prefer to own our books so we can read them when we like.

Unlike Classical Conversations, Claritas does not include weekly fine arts studies or science experiments. I’ll be putting together our fine arts lessons for the coming school year, and the science experiments will also be planned in the near future. I’m looking forward to the freedom of studying more composers and artists with our group (I always wished CC provided more variety). If you’re interested in those plans, you can find links HERE.

All Weeks
Ancient Civilizations (DK Eyewitness)
The Bronze Bow
Carry On Mr. Bowditch
My Side of the Mountain
The Story of the World Vol. 1 (audio version)
AIG’s Big Books of History
God’s Design for Life: The World of Plants
Creepy Crawlies and the Scientific Method: More Than 100 Hands-On Science Experiments for Children
Nature in a Nutshell for Kids: Over 100 Activities You Can Do in 10 Minutes or Less
Nature Anatomy
Maps & Globes
Geography From A to Z
Barefoot Books World Atlas
Usborne Animal Picture Atlas

Week 1
*God’s Amazing Creation: Genesis, Ch. 1-2
The Answers Book for Kids Vol. 1
*Case For a Creator For Kids
*Lugalbanda
* What’s Alive?

Week 2
*National Geographic Kids Everything Ancient Egypt
*A Cry From Egypt
*Tales of Ancient Egypt
What Is the Animal Kingdom?

Week 3
*Pharaohs and Pyramids
Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #3: Mummies & Pyramids
Ancient Egypt (DK Eyewitness)
*Casting the Gods Adrift
If I Were a Kid in Ancient Egypt
*You Wouldn’t Want to be a Pyramid Builder!
*Cells for Kids

Week 4
Heroes of the Bible: The Story of Abraham
*Sarah & Abraham: The Wonderful Promise
*Barefoot Book of Jewish Tales
*Ancient Mesopotamia: The Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians

Week 5
*Ancient Mesopotamia: The Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians
*Hammurabi: Babylonian Ruler
Powerful Plant Cells

Week 6
*Gilgamesh the King
Mesopotamia (DK Eyewitness)
Cellular Biology: Organelles, Structure, Function

Week 7
*Life in the Ancient Indus River Valley or
Ancient India
Indian Tales

Week 8
*Ancient China (DK Eyewitness)
Chinese Myths and Fantasies
*A Single Pebble
*We’re Riding on a Caravan
Classifying Invertebrates
Incredible Invertebrates

Week 9
*Who Was King Tut?
Tut’s Mummy: Lost … And Found
Tutankhamun
What is a Vertebrate?

Week 10
*Moses the Leader: Used By God
*Celebrate: A Book of Jewish Holidays
*Nature Anatomy Ch. 3
What Is An Insect?

Week 11
*Phoenicians (for the pictures)
The Arabian Nights
What Is An Arthropod?
Animals Without Backbones

Week 12
*Ancient Mesopotamia: The Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians
Nature Anatomy Ch. 6
What Is A Bird?

Week 13
*Travels in Time: Minoan Crete
*Iliad
What Is A Mammal?

Week 14
*Greeks, Romans, Countrymen!
*The Trojan Horse
*Pegasus
*King Midas: The Golden Touch
If I Were a Kid in Ancient Greece

Week 15
*The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus
*A Child’s Introduction to Greek Mythology
The Odyssey or
The Adventures of Odysseus
Hibernation Station
How Do Animals Adapt?
*The Magic School Bus Goes Upstream
Animals In Winter
Going Home

Week 16
Ancient Greece (DK Eyewitness)
Ancient Greece: An Interactive History Adventure
Classical Kids: An Activity Guide to Life in Ancient Greece and Rome
*The Adventures of Achilles

Week 17
*Alexander the Great
Demeter and Persephone
Theseus and the Minotaur
Archimedes and the Door of Science

Week 18
*The Olmecs: America’s First Civilization (for the pictures)
Awesome Ancient Ancestors!
Nature Anatomy Ch. 3
Understanding Photosynthesis
The Magic School Bus Gets Planted

Week 19
*Romulus and Remus
*Rome and Romans
City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction
Detectives in Togas
Ancient Rome (DK Eyewitness)

Week 20
The Kids Book of World Religions or
*Religions of the World for Kids
*Hinduism for Kids
*Buddha
Barefoot Book of Buddhist Tales
If You Were Me and Lived in India
Parts of a Plant

Week 21
*Confucius: The Golden Rule
*The Emperor Who Built The Great Wall
*You Wouldn’t Want to Work on The Great Wall of China!
*The Legend of Lao Tzu
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth

Week 22
*History for Kids: Julius Caesar and Caesar Augustus
*Who Was Julius Caesar?
Mystery of the Roman Ransom
Nature Anatomy Ch. 4
Leaves

Week 23
Ancient Rome (DK Eyewitness)
*History for Kids: Julius Caesar and Caesar Augustus
*Ptolemy vs. Copernicus (from Jim Weiss’ Galileo and the Stargazers)

Week 24
*Case For Christ For Kids
*Jesus in the Spotlight: John Ch 1-10
*Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ (Focus on the Family Radio Theatre Production)
Plant Stems & Roots

Week 25
*Ancient Rome (DK Eyewitness)
Magic Treehouse Fact Tracker #14: Ancient Rome and Pompeii
Nature Anatomy Ch. 3
Flowers

Week 26
*Viking Raiders
Eric the Red: True Lives
Voyage with the Vikings (Imagination Station)
How A Seed Grows
*Magic School Bus Plants Seeds

Week 27
*Ancient Rome (DK Eyewitness)
*D’Aulaire’s Book of Norse Myths
Bogbrush the Barbarian
Nature Anatomy Ch. 3
The Life Cycle of a Butterfly

Week 28
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Jason and the Golden Fleece
In Search of a Homeland: The Story of the Aeneid or
The Aeneid for Boys and Girls
Nature Anatomy Ch. 7
What Is An Amphibian?

*I starred all of the books that we ultimately ended up using. I made reading aloud time a serious priority this year and am so glad I did!

Looking for more Claritas reading lists? 

 

 

 

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