Explore American history and geography with this ongoing series of quarters from the U.S. Mint. (With free lesson plans!) New this month: a quarter for the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park in Texas (which also happens to be a World Heritage Site).
Archives for August 2019
π QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families β Week of 25 August 2019
Great homeschool teaching ideas for the week ahead. This week: French chemists, Indonesian volcanoes, famous speeches, independent philosophers, monstrous novels, Italian educators, heavenly rivers, and a toast to the new school year.
π π SUNDAY STATES: The Earth, the Solar System, and Beyond
Thank you for taking a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with us over the past school year! We conclude today with the Earth itself and the wonderful Universe beyond.
π¦ NATURE NOTES: The Beginning of Fall Migration
It’s homeschool natural history day! This week: looking for the first signs of the fall bird migration.
π π‘ ENVOY: A Living River by the Door
“Go, little book, and wish to all / Flowers in the garden, meat in the hall, / AΒ living river by the door, / AΒ nightingale in the sycamore.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Robert Louis Stevenson, for the end of the River Houses year.)
π πΊπ³ πΊ WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: AΒ (Nearly) Free World Heritage Wall Map
Get your own full-color wall map of UNESCO World Heritage Sites for only the cost of shipping, and follow along with us as we tour the world during the 2019β2020 River Houses homeschool year.
π WORK ON A NASA PROJECT at the National Archives
Help the National Archives tag and document historic NASA film footage of astronauts and the space program β what a great research opportunity for homeschool high schoolers!
π QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families β Week of 18 August 2019
Great homeschool teaching ideas for the week ahead. This week: Vesuvius, Pogo, Leonard Bernstein, Mars explorers, the U.S.S. Constitution, the War of 1812, the Great Bird of the Galaxy, the World River, a toast to virtue, and more.
π πΊπΈ SUNDAY STATES: U.S. Territories, World Oceans, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, and the oceans of the world.
π π ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE DAY: Vega and the Milky Way
NASA’s Astronomy-Picture-of-the-Day website is a great educational resource for science-minded homeschoolers to follow.
π π WONDERFUL WORDS: βPoor, middle-agΓ¨d summer!β
“Poor, middle-agΓ¨d summer! Vain this show! / Whole fields of golden-rod cannot offset / One meadow with a single violet.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Helen Hunt Jackson, for late summer.)
π RESEARCH PROJECTS for Homeschool Students β August 2019
Our August 2019 full-moon report on the real scientific and scholarly projects, investigations, transcriptions, analyses, and computations that your students can work on in your little home academy.
π HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS β August 2019
An August 2019 roundup of some recent academic research and news about homeschooling worldwide, with links to sources. (A new monthly feature we’re trying out.)
π πΊπΈ WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in the United States
Pay a homeschool visit to a World Heritage Site from one of our countries-of-the-week. This week: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in the United States.
π QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families β Week of 11 August 2019
Great homeschool teaching ideas for the week ahead. This week: Perseid meteors, quantum physicists, French emperors, August poems, student projects, great stars, Antarctic glaciers, a toast to friends, and more.
π πΊπΈ SUNDAY STATES: Hawaii, Antarctica, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Hawaii and Antarctica.
π STAR BRIGHT: Vega for August
Make one last homeschool friend for the summer: our neighbor-star Vega in the constellation Lyra the Lyre, one of the brightest stars in the northern hemisphere night sky.
π PERSEID METEORS for August 2019
Point your homeschool students to the constellation Perseus this week for the annual Perseid meteor shower.
π π WONDERFUL WORDS: A Star in a Stoneboat
“From following walls I never lift my eye, / Except at night to places in the sky / Where showers of charted meteors fly.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Robert Frost, for this month’s Perseid meteors.)
π πΎπͺ WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Historic Town of Zabid in Yemen
Pay a homeschool visit to a World Heritage Site from one of our countries-of-the-week. This week: the Historic Town of Zabid in Yemen.
π LEARNING THE LIBRARY: From Dewey to the Library of Congress
It’s Homeschool Library Day! This week: our year-long survey of the Dewey Decimal Classification is done! We’ll take a quick look at the alternative Library of Congress Classification, commonly used in colleges and universities, as the year ends.
π QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families β Week of 4 August 2019
Great homeschool teaching ideas for the week ahead. This week: Perseid meteors, leaning towers, military medals, chemical numbers, global voyages, Victorian poets, Vietnamese rivers, a toast to love, liberty, and learning, and more.
π πΊπΈ SUNDAY STATES: Alaska, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Alaska, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
π WATCHERS OF THE SKIES β August 2019
A homeschool review of wonders to watch for in the northern hemisphere night sky during the month of August 2019.
π° HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE LINCOLN CENT, βBornβ This Day in 1909
The familiar Lincoln penny β you may have one in your pocket right now β first went into circulation on this day in 1909. It was struck to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.
πΈ PHOTO CHALLENGE β August 2019: βDoors and Doorwaysβ and βLone Treesβ
Calling all homeschool photographers! The Wikimedia Commons Photo Challenge is a great way for serious homeschool photography students to develop their talents and gain some recognition. This month’s themes are “Doors and Doorways” and “Lone Trees.”
π π» MELVILLE @ 200: 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 the 200th anniversary of his birth.)