The familiar Lincoln penny — you may have one in your pocket right now — first went into circulation on this day in 1909. It was struck to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.
🌏 🇺🇿 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Samarkand in Uzbekistan
Pay a homeschool visit to a World Heritage Site from one of our countries-of-the-week and learn some great history and geography along the way. This week: storied Samarkand in Uzbekistan.
🖋 🍻 WONDERFUL WORDS: To the Meteor Rolling Home
“Of thee we think, in a ring we link; / To the shearer of ocean’s fleece we drink, / And the Meteor rolling home.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Herman Melville, for his birthday and for this month’s Perseid meteor shower.)
📚 LEARNING THE LIBRARY: On Beyond Dewey (To Close the Year)
Explore your local library and the whole universe of knowledge as we take a year-long homeschool tour of the Dewey Decimal System. This month, as the homeschool year ends, we’ll take a quick look at the alternative Library of Congress Classification, commonly used in colleges and universities.
🗓 😎 ☀️ HAPPY HOMESCHOOL AUGUST from the River Houses!
Happy homeschool August! Here are some little lessons, teaching traditions, and wonderful educational opportunities you and your students can watch for this month.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 30 July 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Melville memorials, census commemorations, persevering publishers, poetical birthdays, Uzbekistani rivers, and a toast to the Meteor rolling home.
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Arizona, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Arizona, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City, and Venezuela.
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, Orioles, and Allies
Come along on our homeschool tour of North American birds and pick up some great science and natural history lessons along the way. This week: the familiar and widespread Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, Orioles, Grackles, Cowbirds, and their allies.
🌎 🇺🇾 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Church of Atlántida in Uruguay
Pay a homeschool visit to a World Heritage Site from one of our countries-of-the-week and learn some great history and geography along the way. This week: the Church of Atlántida in Uruguay.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 23 July 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Moth weeks, wild hares, Latin liberators, great comets, marvelous microscopists, universal languages, Uruguayan rivers, a toast to homecoming, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: New Mexico, the UAE, Uruguay, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: New Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay.
🖋 🔔 WONDERFUL WORDS: As Kingfishers Catch Fire
“Like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s / Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Gerard Manley Hopkins, for his birthday and for the halcyon days of summer.)
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Cardinals, Grosbeaks, and Allies
Come along on our homeschool tour of North American birds and pick up some great science and natural history lessons along the way. This week: the brilliant Cardinals and their allies, including the American Tanagers, Grosbeaks, and Buntings.
🌝 KNOW YOUR MOONS 🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑
Celebrate anniversary of the first moon landing in 1969 by teaching your homeschool students the phases of the moon. You can even use emojis to do it!
🌏 🇹🇲 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Kunya-Urgench in Turkmenistan
Pay a homeschool visit to a World Heritage Site from one of our countries-of-the-week and learn some great history and geography along the way. This week: Kunya-Urgench in Turkmenistan.
🔎 HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS – July 2023
Our July roundup of some recent academic research and news about home education in the United States and around the world, with links to sources. We have four items this month: Anders (2023), Boonanegpat & Kitcharoen (2023), Dewantara, Setiawati, & Saraswati (2023), and Forlin, Chambers, & Banks (2023).
🗓 💪 HAPPY CROSS-QUARTER DAY of Hercules Term
We divide the homeschool year into four three-month terms, and the midpoint of each term (following old calendrical tradition) is called the “cross-quarter day.” Today, July 16th, is the cross-quarter day of Hercules Term, our summer term in the River Houses. How are things going in your homeschool?
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 16 July 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Lunar landings, roundy wells, notable novelists, memorable monks, record lows, celebrated comets, Ugandan rivers, a toast to tall ships, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Oklahoma, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Oklahoma, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, and Ukraine.
🖋 🐝 WONDERFUL WORDS: “Answer, July”
“Where is the Bee — / Where is the Blush — / Where is the Hay?” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Emily Dickinson, for July.)
🚀 🌕 HOMESCHOOL SCIENCE: Apollo 11 Moon Landing Resources
Share some great educational resources with your homeschool students this month for the July 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Emberizid Sparrows (Part II)
Come along on our homeschool tour of North American birds and pick up some great science and natural history lessons along the way. This week: the diverse and ubiquitous Emberizid Sparrows (Part II).
📖 🖋 THOREAU’S BIRTHDAY and Homeschool Journaling
“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” (Happy birthday to the great American writer Henry David Thoreau, born on this day in 1817. Check him out at your local library this week.)
🌍 🇹🇳 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Amphitheater of El Jem in Tunisia
Pay a homeschool visit to a World Heritage Site from one of our countries-of-the-week and learn some great history and geography along the way. This week: the ancient Roman Amphitheater of El Jem in Tunisia.
🌕 HOMESCHOOL SCIENCE: Lunar Samples for Your Local Library
With help from your local librarians you might be able to bring some real moon rocks to your town, courtesy of NASA. It’s a homeschool project worth exploring!
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 9 July 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Cross-quarter days, July poems, American birthdays, dramatic duels, ancient artifacts, meandering rivers, a toast to true hearts, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Utah, Tonga, Turkey, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Utah, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, and Turkey.