By Cycles:

By Enrichment Subject:

The Enrichment subject is comprised of a 4-day rotation as follows:

1. Saint, Icon, & Hymn

2. Artist, Composer, & Folk Song

3. Poetry & Shakespeare

4. Plutarch & Current Events*

*While Plutarch and current events fall into Humanities, we have found that placing them in the morning enrichment rotation helps encourage regularity

The enrichment block begins with or ends with recitation, as students read their assigned memory work out loud (adding stanzas or lines each week), as they build up to being able to beautifully recite their prayers, poems, hymns, or pieces of literature and Shakespeare to an audience, with clarity and cadence (we work on our Scripture and Catechesis memory work after those blocks). An Enrichment Menu for each student and teacher is highly recommended to hold enrichment pages and recitations, so they can be easily pulled out and referenced each day. Recitation rarely takes more than ~5 minutes or so, and the Enrichment rotation is usually around 10-15 minutes.

While it varies by age and cycle, we generally organize our 12-page menus in the following manner:

1. Prayer of a Student; 

2. Scripture/Catechesis Memory Work; 

3. Hymn; 

4. People for that term (Saint, Artist, Composer, Poet); 

5. Folk Song lyrics; 

6. Poet recitation sheet; 

7. Shakespeare lines; 

8-9.  Century Charts for modern & ancient time periods (for students to quickly record dates from readings); 

10-11. Modern & ancient maps; 

12. Prayer after Study

Each student's cover is a different work of art by the artist we are studying that term. Century charts are a great way to quickly record dates as they come up in readings, even if they are entered into Book of Centuries or classroom timelines later. Both modern and ancient maps are helpful either as a reference, or as blank maps that can be filled out as locations are encountered during readings and study. Some pages are switched out each term (we often print double-sided for easy flipping), while others remain all year.

Other ideas for pages are biographies of individuals being covered that term, multiplication charts, foreign language vocabulary or songs, cursive chart, daily schedules, church calendar, etc.

“For a person to become a Christian he must have a poetic soul. He must become a poet. Christ does not wish insensitive souls in His company. A Christian, albeit only when he loves, is a poet and lives amid poetry. Poetic hearts embrace love and sense it deeply.”

~St. Porphyrios, Wounded by Love, pg. 218