Cycle 3 Musical Memory – All Resource Links

This post has all the links mentioned in the Musical Memory Cycle 3 Morning Time Guide. The guide & this link list are a buffet, not a checklist. Use the resources that make sense for your season of life and follow rabbit trails that are most interesting to you and your children.

Pinterest graphic for Musical Memory Cycle 3 Links with open-and-go homeschool morning time ages 4 to 12 subtitle
Open-and-go homeschool morning time ages 4–12

Cycle 3 Hymns

Our morning time guide includes a hymn of the month. The curriculum book has the hymn lyrics, sheet music, coordinating scripture references, and little tidbits about the composer or song. Of course you can listen to any recording you want, or accompany yourselves if you have musicians at home!

These playlists are set up in order of how we’re using them in our Cycle 3 guide; we have the first one starting in September (as the November & December hymns coordinate with Thanksgiving and Christmas).

Cycle 3 Folk Songs


Cycle 3 History Video Links

These video links are meant to give families an easy supplemental “watch alongside the song” option for the Musical Memory Cycle 3 Songs. You don’t need to watch every single one – they are just an extra resource, not a checklist. Please preview videos or watch them with your kids, especially for the more sensitive historical topics involving slavery, war, famine, genocide, civil rights, apartheid, and modern political conflict.

  1. Haitian RevolutionCrash Course: Haitian Revolutions / Haitian Revolution for kids
  2. Lewis & ClarkHomeschool Pop: Lewis and Clark / National Archives: Meet Lewis and Clark
  3. Mexican IndependenceMexican War of Independence for kids
  4. End of the Transatlantic Slave TradeAbolition of the transatlantic slave trade
  5. Trail of TearsTrail of Tears for kids
  6. The AlamoThe Alamo for kids / PBS
  7. California Gold RushHomeschool Pop: California Gold Rush
  8. Japan Opens to TradeJapan opens to trade / Meiji Restoration
  9. Abraham Lincoln & the Civil WarHomeschool Pop: Civil War and Abraham Lincoln
  10. Canada’s Self-GovernanceCanadian Confederation for kids
  11. The Steam EngineSteam engines and the Industrial Revolution
  12. The Suez CanalSuez Canal explained
  13. Ireland’s Great FamineIrish Potato Famine for kids
  14. Korea Caught Between EmpiresJapan’s annexation of Korea explained
  15. United States Westward ExpansionHomeschool Pop: Westward Expansion / Oregon Trail for kids
  16. The Middle East / The Great GameThe Great Game explained
  17. World War IHomeschool Pop: World War I / Crash Course: World War I
  18. Gandhi & Indian IndependenceGandhi for kids: nonviolent resistance
  19. Chinese Civil WarChinese Civil War explained
  20. Stock Market Crash / Great Depression / New DealHomeschool Pop: Great Depression and New Deal
  21. World War IIHomeschool Pop: World War II
  22. Israel Established1948 Israel established explained
  23. Mao Zedong & the People’s Republic of ChinaMao Zedong explained for students
  24. The Cold War / Space RaceHomeschool Pop: Cold War / NASA: Apollo 11 for kids
  25. Martin Luther King Jr.Martin Luther King Jr. for kids
  26. The Vietnam WarVietnam War explained for students
  27. The Berlin WallTED-Ed: The rise and fall of the Berlin Wall
  28. Nelson Mandela & ApartheidNelson Mandela for kids / apartheid

Note for parents: Some weeks cover difficult history. Use these videos as optional supplements and preview for your children’s ages and sensitivity level.


Cycle 3 Science Video Links

Note for parents: These links are optional enrichment. For younger children, the “for kids” searches usually surface shorter animated explainers from channels like SciShow Kids, Smile and Learn, Dr. Binocs, and Homeschool Pop. For older children, Amoeba Sisters, Crash Course Kids, KidsHealth, TED-Ed, and Khan Academy-style videos may be a better fit.

Month 1: Living Things & Classification

  1. Classification of Living Things
    Younger: Classification of living things for kids
    Older: Amoeba Sisters: classification
  2. 6 Kingdoms of Living Things
    Younger: Six kingdoms of living things for kids
    Older: Amoeba Sisters: kingdoms/classification
  3. Theory of Natural Selection
    Younger: Natural selection for kids
    Older: Crash Course Kids: natural selection / Amoeba Sisters: natural selection
    Preview note: choose based on your family’s preferred depth and framing for evolution.
  4. Invertebrates
    Younger: SciShow Kids: invertebrates
    Older: Vertebrates and invertebrates overview

Month 2: Vertebrate Animal Groups

  1. Vertebrates
    Younger: Vertebrates for kids
    Older: Vertebrate animal groups
  2. Mammals
    Younger: SciShow Kids: mammals
    Older: Mammal characteristics for kids
  3. Characteristics of a Fish
    Younger: Fish characteristics: gills, fins, scales
    Older: Fish adaptations and gills
  4. Characteristics of Reptiles
    Younger: Reptile characteristics for kids
    Older: Reptiles as vertebrates

Month 3: Birds, Amphibians, Consumers & Animal Cells

  1. Characteristics of a Bird
    Younger: Bird characteristics for kids
    Older: How birds fly for kids
  2. Characteristics of an Amphibian
    Younger: Amphibian characteristics for kids
    Older: Frog life cycle / amphibians
  3. Herbivores, Carnivores, Omnivores
    Younger: Herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores for kids
    Older: Food chains and consumers
  4. Parts of an Animal Cell
    Younger: Animal cell parts for kids
    Older: Amoeba Sisters: animal cell organelles

Month 4: Plant Cells, Plant Types & Human Body Systems

  1. Parts of a Plant Cell
    Younger: Plant cell parts for kids
    Older: Amoeba Sisters: plant cell organelles
  2. 4 Types of Plants
    Younger: Types of plants for kids
    Older: Plant groups: vascular/nonvascular, gymnosperms/angiosperms
  3. Major Systems of the Human Body
    Younger: Human body systems for kids
    Older: Crash Course Kids: body systems
  4. Major Systems of the Human Body Review
    Younger: Human body systems review
    Older: Human body systems overview

Month 5: Bones & Nervous System

  1. Major Bones of the Skeletal System
    Younger: Skeletal system and major bones for kids
    Older: KidsHealth / skeleton for kids
  2. Major Bones Review
    Younger: Major bones song/review
    Older: Skeletal system review
  3. Bones of the Axial Skeleton
    Younger: Axial skeleton for kids
    Older: Axial vs. appendicular skeleton
    Preview note: this one may need a diagram in addition to video.
  4. Nervous System
    Younger: Nervous system for kids
    Older: KidsHealth: nervous system

Month 6: Senses, Excretory, Digestive & Circulatory Systems

  1. 5 Main Senses
    Younger: Five senses for kids
    Older: How the senses work
  2. Parts of the Excretory System
    Younger: Excretory system for kids
    Older: Urinary system: kidneys and bladder
  3. Parts of the Digestive System
    Younger: Digestive system for kids
    Older: KidsHealth: digestive system
  4. Parts of the Circulatory System
    Younger: Circulatory system for kids
    Older: KidsHealth: heart/circulatory system

Month 7: Respiratory, Endocrine, Tissues & Muscles

  1. Major Parts of the Respiratory System
    Younger: Respiratory system for kids
    Older: KidsHealth: respiratory system
  2. The Endocrine System
    Younger: Endocrine system for kids
    Older: Hormones and glands for students
    Preview note: this topic is a weaker Usborne match, so a supplemental anatomy video helps.
  3. Four Types of Tissue
    Younger: Four types of tissue for kids
    Older: Amoeba Sisters / tissue types
    Preview note: this one may need a supplemental chart for exact vocabulary.
  4. Three Types of Muscle
    Younger: Three types of muscle for kids
    Older: Skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscle

Fine Arts Links

Month 1: Audubon

Audubon bird drawing tutorialshttps://www.audubon.org/magazine/learn-draw-birds-david-sibley

Free printable Audubon bird coloring pagehttps://artprojectsforkids.org/audubon-coloring-page/. Younger children can color it and older children could trace or copy it to paint.

Month 2:

Month 3:

Month 4:

Month 5:

Month 6:

Month 7