Western Cultural History Notebook – Updated for 2025-2026 { FREE DIGITAL RESOURCE }
Thanks to everyone who has supported this resources for the last four years! Here’s what you need to know about updates for the 2025-2026 school year.
I’m pleased to say paperback copies of the Western Cultural History Notebook are AVAILABLE to licensed Challenge II Directors and enrolled families, at a price that should be less than most retail printers and big box stores. Keep reading for specific details. For those who prefer the download version, the Revised Edition for 2025-2026 with new dates and a few minor edits is still available. Details on all both options are below.
A Note about Copyrights
This resource would be nowhere without the talented directors who posted previous versions I could use as a springboard. I do not hold or claim copyright to the content created by others. I’ve tried to credit the folks who shared older versions, but I don’t have specific sources for individual components. (If you are one of the creators and would like to be acknowledged, please reach out and let me know.) A copyright notice is included in this document to discourage others from trying to profit off a resource that was created and shared for free, or to use it apart from its proper context: within a licensed Classical Conversations® community.
Available Versions for 2025-2026
01
Revised Edition Paperback
Paperback copies of the Revised Edition are NOW AVAILABLE for order by licensed Challenge II Directors and their families at a price that should be cheaper than most big box printers.
Click the button below for details about the Paperback Edition and how to order.
02
Revised Edition Download
The 2025-2026 Revised Edition of the Western Cultural History Notebook. No significant updates have been made since last year except updating the dates and fixing a few errors.
Click the button below to view specific details on updates to this year’s files.
Details About the Paperback Edition
I’m delighted to make these paperback copies of the Western Cultural History Notebook available to licensed Challenge II Directors and their enrolled families — with a few caveats.
Where to Buy Paperbacks
To purchase paperback copies, you will need to get the product link from your licensed Classical Conversations® Challenge II Director. (Challenge II Directors can find the link by searching the Challenge II Director Forum on CC Connected or the Challenge II Director Facebook board.)
Hidden Link but No Password
Last year, I used a password in order to limit availability to licensed Challenge II Directors and their enrolled families, but it was super glitchy and frustrating for everyone. This year, no password is needed, but the link to the Paperback Edition product page is hidden from the shop and not searchable. This link has been posted to the CC Connected Challenge II Director Forum, so licensed Directors can be the gatekeepers for their families. To honor the original intent of this resource, please do NOT post the link for the general public (i.e. on open forums or public websites).
Paperback Pricing for 2025
The paperback is priced as close to AT-COST as possible while still covering printing costs plus website costs and credit card fees. I have reworked the pricing this year with an automatic bulk discount which gives a lower price per-copy for larger orders (see the table below). Order four books or more for the best pricing.
| PRICE PER COPY | 1 copy | 2 copies | 3 copies | 4 copies or more |
| 60# matte paper | $14.00 | $13.75 | $13.50 | $13.25 |
| 80# glossy paper | $15.00 | $14.75 | $14.50 | $14.25 |
Non-Refundable Orders
IMPORTANT NOTE: Since this product is print-on-demand, orders of paperbacks are NON-REFUNDABLE and cannot be canceled once they are in production. If your order has an error, please contact me ASAP — sometimes I can catch the order before it goes into production.
Production Times
Paperbacks are shipped direct to you from the printer. Tracking is included with all shipping methods. Since there is plenty of lead time, I’m not offering expedited shipping options right now. Production timeline is as follows:
- STANDARD Shipping – approximately 12 to 16 business days for production and shipping
Production timelines are not guaranteed, but if your order is overdue, contact me and I will look into the delay. (Our printer has been very good about replacing the few orders that have gone missing in the mail.)
Save on Shipping with Bulk Orders
Shipping starts at $6.19 per order, so BULK ORDERS will save the most money. For example, if you’re ordering 4 copies, Standard Shipping (12-16 business days) should be around $2.50 per copy.
Paperback Specifications
The paperback version is a perfect-bound (i.e. square edge) letter-size notebook with a glossy softcover. Interior pages include full-color illustrations and are UNDATED, so extra copies don’t “expire.” Buyers can choose from two paper stocks: 60# uncoated (matte finish), or 80# coated (gloss finish). The 80# coated is slightly more expensive.
Option 1: 60# uncoated paper
The cheaper option. This paper has a matte finish, with more “tooth.” Great for taking notes, but the quality of color images will be softer, less vivid, and less detailed than the coated paper.
Option 2: 80# coated paper
This option costs $1.00 more per copy. The paper will have a smooth finish. I did not order a sample, but the quality of color images should be clearer and more vivid than the uncoated paper, although notes made in pen will be more likely to smear, depending upon the type of ink.
A few quick pictures of the sample copy — on the 60# uncoated paper — are below.
What’s New in the 2025-2026 Revised Edition?
Other than dates, the only difference between the 2024-2025 version and the 2025-2026 version is the correction of an error: Mozart’s composition is actually “Piano Concerto No. 22,” and not “Piano Concerto No. 2” as several previous versions had it listed. (Thank you to the kind reader who caught that error and notified me!)
Although I haven’t made any big edits this year, the leap from 2023-2024 to 2024-2025 included major changes, so I’m listing those updates below to catch up anyone who used the Legacy version last year. These were the big changes:
Interactive Links
I’ve added a few helpful interactive links to certain pages, in hopes this will make it easier for students and directors to enjoy their tour through Western Culture. Readers can access these links by scanning the QR code with a smartphone.
For example, an interactive link on the Listening Guides will connect readers to audio files page on the Classical Music for Dummies website. On the newly-revised Instrument Families pages, you’ll find audio samples from each family to help students train their ears to identify different musical instruments as they listen to compositions.
Reordered Pages
Printing costs (along with everything else!) have gone through the roof since I started sharing this notebook, and I’ve been working on ways to make it more economical for families and directors. (This became especially urgent once ODP’s online printing system began to charge for color on BOTH sides of a page, whether the other side was color or not.) By reordering some pages, I’ve been able to eliminate a number of “extra” color spreads, and maximize color usage on the other pages. (If you’re looking to save more on printing, paperback copies start at $14.00 each.)
Glossary of Musical Terms
I’ve added a glossary of some of the musical terms students might encounter in the Listening Guides. While the list of terms defined is not exhaustive — Classical Music for Dummies has many others — a brief Glossary should help build a foundation of music and music theory terms, including the translation of many Italian words and phrases common to a musical vocabulary. (Students will get plenty more music theory in Challenge III!)
Integrated How Should We Then Live? Notes
Rather than have all the HSWTL note-taking pages at the end of the notebook, they have been integrated in approximate chronological order with the rest of the content. This helped eliminate some of the excess color pages, and makes them seem less like an afterthought. My hope is that it will now be easier to integrate what is learned from watching the video series into class discussions and at-home preparation as the year progresses.
Expanded Margins
I also tweaked the inside margins with a larger gutter, to accomodate various types of binding without losing the content. This should make spiral binding less hazardous!
Files in the Revised Edition download include:
1
WCH Notebook 2025-2026 (12.8mb)
If you want to use the updated notebook in its entirety, without any fuss, this is the file you’ll need.
2
WCH Notebook 2025-2026 WITHOUT Page Numbers (12.7mb)
If you’d like to edit the content to suit your class, use this file. Since it has no pages numbers, you can re-order pages, delete some, add others, whatever you like.
3
Master Pages for WCH Notebook 2025-2026 (172kb)
Think of this file as the DIY option. A set of master pages gives you unlimited options for customizing the notebook. If you want to delete the pages of artwork so students must sketch the masterpieces for themselves, or add extra artists or composers, or use a different format for How Should We Then Live? notes, you’ll find some basic master pages ready to customize with your own text. A list of the fonts used in the notebook is on page 1, for your reference.
(NOTE: I’m not able to help design or format any of these customizations. If you’d like to make a suggestion for future updates, feel free to leave a comment below.)
4
Personal Use License and Permission to Print
This is your authorization to print copies of the WCH Notebook for use at home or in community. Please note that you are limited to 14 printed copies. I ask that you DO NOT post the file to other websites or pages, since not all of this content is my work.
Western Cultural History Notebook
Printing Recommendations
Before printing, I recommend you check available pricing carefully! Paperback copies start at $14.00 each, and most commerical printers I’ve found are substantially more expensive.
If cost is no object — or you have an insider source for lower-cost printing — I recommend these specifications:
- 28 lb. paper
- Two-sided printing
- Black-and-White ink for all pages EXCEPT…
- OPTIONAL Color printing for the pages of your choice (see table below)
Printing the color pages at ODP has become more expensive and more complicated over the years, as the online system no longer allows printing color on one side of a page with black-and-white on the other. In other words, you have to pay for certain pages “in color” that don’t actually have color on them — just to match up with the reverse side. Based on the standard Revised Edition files, I have noted below which pages are color — and their counterparts.
For the 2024-2025 school year, using ODP with discounted pricing via HSLDA membership, the lowest base price I found (not including tax or shipping) for printing the entire 146-page document was $5.92 per copy (20 lb. paper, two-sided printing, BLACK ONLY, unbound). Adding in all the color pages (plus their reverse sides) came to a total of $19.20 per copy (on 24 lb. paper). Since prices vary by area and other factors, so I encourage you to do your own research before you order printed copies. (See my hints for cutting printing costs below, or purchase a paperback copy.)
I have my own spiral binding machine, so I can bind these at home with a clear PVC cover and a black back, and with 5-10 pages of sketch paper in the Museum Field Trip Section, so students already have a “sketch book” handy. Standard 8.5″ x 11″ sketch paper is sometimes hard to find, so try this one.
| Types of Pages | Color Page Numbers* | REVERSE SIDE Page Numbers* |
|---|---|---|
| Artwork pages only | 1, 9, 21, 29, 41, 67, 79, 87, 97, 105, 115, 125 | 2, 10, 22, 30, 42, 68, 80, 88, 98, 106, 116, 126 |
| Listening Guide pages only | 17, 37, 52, 53, 75, 95, 113, 133, 137, 140 | 18, 38, 51, 54, 76, 96, 114, 134, 138, 139 |
| Composer Portrait pages only | 15, 35, 50, 73 | 16, 36, 49, 74 |
| Musical Period pages only | 18, 49, 76, 134 | 17, 50, 75, 133 |
| Instrument Family pages only | 38, 54, 96, 114 | 37, 53, 95, 113 |
| ALL color pages | 1, 9, 15, 17, 18, 21, 29, 35, 37, 38, 41, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 67, 73, 75, 76, 79, 87, 95, 96, 97, 105, 113, 114, 115, 125, 133, 134, 137, 140 | 2, 10, 16, 22, 30, 36, 42, 51, 68, 74, 80, 88, 98, 106, 116, 126, 138, 139 |
Saving Money on Printing
Paperback copies are now available to help Directors and Challenge II families save some money!
If you’re printing yourself, consider using the file without page numbers and removing any pages you don’t think you’ll need, using color only on the essential pages, or skipping printing the artworks all together (the Master Pages file has substitute pages that can be used for sketching the artwork instead).
If your supply budget won’t accommodate printing or purchasing these for your whole class, feel free to recommend them to parents as a helpful resource they may wish to provide for their own student.
