The River Houses Homeschool Network

🏡 WELCOME! (Pinned Post)

1 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

First time visitor? We post a wide range of easy-to-use educational ideas and “little lessons” that will enrich your homeschooling schedule all through the year. Please add your name to our free mailing list! (Just one message a week and no spam.)

There’s a wealth of wonderful material here on our website — everything from homeschool astronomy to books and libraries to language and literature to geography, natural history, homeschool calendars, and more. The materials we’re developing are going to become the foundation for a new type of homeschool network made up of friendly local groups called “Houses” (just like in Harry Potter). Make yourself at home! 😊

HOMESCHOOL HOLIDAYS 🍝 Celebrating the Spaghetti Harvest in Switzerland

1 April 2023 by Bob O'Hara

The annual spaghetti harvest in Ticino, Switzerland, is one of Europe’s — nay, the world’s — great cultural traditions. Every homeschooler should know about it!

🖋 ☔️ WONDERFUL WORDS: “Whan that Aprill…”

1 April 2023 by Bob O'Hara

“And smale foweles maken melodye, / That slepen al the nyght with open ye / (So priketh hem Nature in hir corages).” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Geoffrey Chaucer, for April showers.)

🔭 WATCHERS OF THE SKIES: Homeschool Astronomy for April

1 April 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Our homeschool review of the educational wonders that you and your students can watch for in the northern hemisphere night sky during the month of April.

🗓 ☔️ 🌸 HAPPY HOMESCHOOL APRIL from the River Houses!

1 April 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Happy homeschool April! Here are some little lessons, teaching traditions, and wonderful educational opportunities you and your students can watch for this month.

🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Larks and Swallows

31 March 2023 by Horace the Otter 🦦

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 terrestrial Larks and the aerial Swallows.

🌍 🇲🇦 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Archaeological Site of Volubilis in Morocco

29 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

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 Archaeological Site of Volubilis in Morocco.

HOMESCHOOL HOLIDAYS 🌸 Visit the Cherry Blossoms in Washington, D.C.

27 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

On this day in 1912, the city of Tokyo presented a gift of 3000 cherry trees to the United States to line the banks of the Potomac River and other sites in Washington, D.C., where they and their successors may still be seen today.

🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 26 March 2023

26 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Great homeschool teaching tips and little lessons for the week ahead, including: Cherry blossoms, April prologues, spaghetti harvests, land deals, circulatory systems, Mongolian rivers, a toast to good eating, and more!

🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Wisconsin, Mongolia, Mozambique, and More

26 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Wisconsin, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, and Mozambique.

🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Crows and Jays (Part II)

24 March 2023 by Horace the Otter 🦦

Come along on our homeschool tour of North American birds and pick up some great science and natural history teaching ideas along the way. This week: the garrulous and gregarious Crows and Jays (Part II).

🖋 🌱 WONDERFUL WORDS: Nothing Gold Can Stay

22 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

“Nature’s first green is gold, / Her hardest hue to hold.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Robert Frost, for his birthday and for early spring.)

🌍 🇲🇩 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Struve Geodetic Arc in Moldova

22 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

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 Struve Geodetic Arc in Moldova.

🎵 HOMESCHOOL MUSIC: Happy Birthday Bach!

21 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Take a few homeschool minutes to introduce your students to a tiny musical masterpiece by one of the world’s great composers, Johann Sebastian Bach, born on this day in 1685.

🔎 HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS – March 2023

21 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Our March 2023 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: Hoffman (2023), Lima et al. (2023), Mohiuddin (2023), and Tavares (2022).

🗓 🌷 SPRING IS HERE! (Astronomically Speaking)

20 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Spring is here! If you’re in the northern hemisphere, that is. If you’re in the southern hemisphere, fall is here! Happy March equinox to homeschoolers everywhere!

🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 19 March 2023

19 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Great homeschool teaching tips and little lessons for the week ahead, including: Vernal equinoxes, geodetic arcs, stirring speeches, fabulous farmers, literary birthdays, Moldovan rivers, a toast to happy days, and more!

🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Iowa, Mexico, Monaco, and More

19 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Iowa, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, and Monaco.

🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Crows and Jays (Part I)

17 March 2023 by Horace the Otter 🦦

Come along on our homeschool tour of North American bird families and pick up some great science and natural history teaching ideas along the way. This week: the Crows and Jays (Part I), garrulous residents of town and country.

🎭 HOMESCHOOL HISTORY & LITERATURE: “Lend Me Your Ears!”

16 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Why not wrap up this special Julius Caesar Week in your homeschool by viewing and discussing several versions of a famous Shakespearean speech with your students.

🖋 🗡 WONDERFUL WORDS: The Ides of March

15 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

“And if you can’t curb your ambitions, / at least pursue them hesitantly, cautiously. / And the higher you go, / the more searching and careful you need to be.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Constantine Cavafy, for the Ides of March.)

🗓 🗡 HOMESCHOOL HISTORY: “The Ides of March are come”

15 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Remembering the Ides of March, the famous date on which the Roman politician, general, and dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C.

🌍 🇲🇷 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Banc d’Arguin National Park in Mauritania

15 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

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: Banc d’Arguin National Park in Mauritania.

📡 JOIN A “CITIZEN SCIENCE” PROJECT for Einstein’s Birthday

14 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

You and your young science students can join the search for undiscovered pulsars in deep space, right from the comfort of your own homeschool living room. (Really!) How cool is that?

🗡 HOMESCHOOL HISTORY & LITERATURE: ”Beware the Ides of March“

14 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Let Shakespeare help you and your students remember one of the most famous dates in ancient history: the Ides of March in 44 B.C.

🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 12 March 2023

12 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Great homeschool teaching tips and little lessons for the week ahead, including: Unheeded warnings, Einsteinian birthdays, liberated cities, Irish celebrations, rocket revolutions, space walks, Mauritanian rivers, a toast to cleverness, and more!

🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Texas, Malta, Mauritius, and More

12 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Texas, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Mauritania, and Mauritius.

🌟 STAR BRIGHT: Sirius for March

11 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Make the acquaintance of the brilliant nearby star Sirius, “the dog star,” in the constellation Canis Major this month — the brightest star in earth’s night sky — and make it your homeschool friend for life.