One of my biggest responsibilities as a homeschool mom is to make sure that my family and I are being good stewards of our time. When I sit down to make our schedule and plan what resources we need for our school days I want to make sure that each item holds value. This is why Cross Seven is part of the foundation of our school day.
The Foundation of Mastery
Memory work lays a foundation of mastery. When I ask my kids, “What is a Noun?” and they reply “A noun names a person, place, thing activity or idea” there is no room for lucky guesses or half thought answers. They have mastered that fact. The way to mastery is memorization. Memorization requires repetition, and repetition requires time. Time, as we all know, is a limited resource. That is why I need to know our time is being filled with things that hold value. Our Cross Seven subscription gives us the opportunity to do our memory work in a way that can be flexible with our needs. It has tremendous value in not only making my planning time shorter since it is all in one place but it also allows my children to be independent. This allows for more grace and freedom in our days.
Starting Our School Day in Beauty and Truth
Each morning we sit down together and do our hymns and scripture. Starting our day in beauty and truth is something I prioritize. I gather us at the kitchen table with breakfast and pull up the Cross Seven website on our tablet. We listen to the current hymn and sometimes review previous hymns while still at the table.
I tried for several years to include hymns into our days- but failed! We would remember for a few weeks but then something would come up or I would have decision fatigue and be unable to pick our next one. When I saw that cross seven had it all in one spot for me, I was hopeful. Now three years into using it, I am amazed at not only how consistent we have been, but how well my children know the hymns. Having the website with it altogether and laid out helps keep our momentum going and holds us accountable. We can review it without thought. I don’t have to keep track over which hymn or where to find it. They are all there together for the whole year. It takes one more thing off of my plate!
More Grace and Freedom
After our breakfast and morning routine, we start our school day. Right now, neither of my children are strong independent readers which means they both require a lot of assistance from me. While we do the majority of our schooling together, they need individualized help with math and phonics. As I work with one child on math or phonics the other is able to use the Cross Seven website to review and practice memory work. I can set it up for them to practice the week we are learning or review multiple weeks of a certain subject.
The website plays the songs while providing visuals which plays into both styles of learning in our house. There is even an option to do flashcards or quizzes where they can earn badges. My children love having this opportunity for independence. I honestly believe that Cross Seven has given my children a personal ownership into their schooling which makes for an easier day. The children can begin to be responsible for their own work which provides me with a less overwhelming amount of assignments to keep up with in the day.
A Planning Resource and Learning Tool – All in Cross Seven’s Musical Memory Work!
While cross seven does provide an easy independent resource for my children, it is also one of my favorite planning resources. They have done an amazing job collecting fun links to other helpful resources. What would take me hours to look through on Pinterest or other search engines is already laid out for me week-by-week.
When I sit down to plan, I can click the subject I need a resource for and there is a website with information on the topic, a project to follow, or a game to play. Some weeks we have a day where we have extra time and I can simply go to Cross Seven and click the fun links for that week and have the resources ready to go.
Cross Seven provides a margin in our home that I am truly grateful for.
Cate Nichols
Cate Nichols is a homeschool mom of two and teaches a children’s literature class for k-3 at Arrow Classical Academy. She loves to share creative and fun ways to implement a classical education at home on her Instagram account, @creativelyclassical.