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You are here: Home > 2019 > December

Archives for December 2019

πŸ–‹ πŸŽ‰ WONDERFUL WORDS (and Music!): Auld Lang Syne

30 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

“We two once ran along the hills,Β and picked the daisies fine; / But we’ve wandered many a weary foot since those days of long ago.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Robert Burns, for auld land syne.)

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

πŸ—“ QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 29 December 2019

29 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead: calendrical changes, artistic birthdays, β  β ‡β •β ₯⠊⠎ β  β ƒβ —β β Šβ ‡β ‡β ‘, frosty verses, pelagic birds, African rivers, a toast to days gone by, and more!

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

🌎 πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ SUNDAY STATES: Louisiana, Guatemala, Guyana, and More

29 December 2019 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: Louisiana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Guyana.

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

πŸ—‘β™— HOMESCHOOL HISTORY: Murder in the Cathedral

29 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

Take five minutes today to teach your students the story of Archbishop Thomas Becket, whose murder on this day in the year 1170 has loomed large in the Western imagination for nearly a thousand years.

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & History

🎡 πŸŽ„ HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: The Sussex Mummers’ Carol

28 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

“God bless your house, your children too, / Your cattle and your store; / The Lord increase you day by day / And send you more and more.” (The Sussex Mummers’ Carol, from Percy Grainger and others, for Homeschool Holiday Music Month.)

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

πŸ¦… FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Tropicbirds, Loons, and Albatrosses

27 December 2019 by Horace the Otter 🦦

Join our year-long homeschool tour of North American bird families and pick up some great science and natural history teaching ideas along the way. This week: the Tropicbirds, the Loons, and the Albatrosses.

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

🎡 🌹 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

26 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

“It came, a flow’ret bright, / Amid the cold of winter, / When half spent was the night.” (An ancient German carol that has been translated into many languages, for Homeschool Holiday Music Month.)

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

🎡 πŸ‘ HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: The Shepherd’s Carol

25 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

“We stood on the hills, Lady, / Our day’s work done, / Watching the frosted meadows / That winter had won.” (A Christmas night carol, by Bob Chilcott and Clive Sansom, for Homeschool Holiday Music Month.)

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

🌊 β€œIT WAS a short, cold Christmas”

25 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

Herman Melville reminds us that even on Christmas Day, somewhere in the world there are sailors setting out to sea.

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Language & Literature

🌍 πŸ‡©πŸ‡ͺ WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Old Town of Regensburg in Germany

25 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

Pay a homeschool visit to a World Heritage Site from one of our countries-of-the-week. This week: the Old Town of Regensburg in Germany.

Filed Under: Homeschool States & Countries, Weekly World Heritage

πŸ“‘ πŸŽ… 🦌 NORAD’s Santa Tracker is Up!

24 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

Want to know when your Christmas presents will arrive? Don’t ask Amazon, ask NORAD!

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Maps & Geography

πŸ–‹ πŸŽ… ’TWAS the Night Before Christmas

24 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

“So up to the housetop the coursers they flew / With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Clement Clarke Moore, for Christmas Eve of course!)

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

🎡 πŸŽ„ HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: Hallelujah!

23 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

Introduce your homescholars (in just five minutes) to one of the world’s most famous pieces of classical music, from Handel, for Homeschool Holiday Music Month.

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

🎡 πŸŽ„ A CHRISTMAS EVE INVITATION: Carols from King’s College

22 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

The annual Festival of Lessons and Carols from King’s College at Cambridge University is broadcast every year on Christmas Eve to millions of people around the world. Won’t you and your homescholars tune in and listen with us?

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

πŸ—“ QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 22 December 2019

22 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead: Christmas merriment, Hanukkah happiness, anticipatory poems, Delaware crossings, scientific birthdays, German rivers, a toast to Christmas, and more!

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

🌎 πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ SUNDAY STATES: Ohio, Germany, Grenada, and More

22 December 2019 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: Ohio, Germany, Ghana, Greece, and Grenada.

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

🎡 ❄️ HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: In the Bleak Midwinter

21 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

“Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; / Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, / In the bleak midwinter, long ago.” (A frosty carol from Christina Rossetti and Gustav Holst, for Homeschool Holiday Music Month.)

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

πŸ—“ ⛄️ WINTER IS HERE! (Astronomically Speaking)

21 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

Winter is here! (If you’re in the northern hemisphere, that is.) If you’re in the southern hemisphere, summer is here! Happy December 2019 solstice to homeschoolers everywhere!

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

πŸ¦… FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers (II)

20 December 2019 by Horace the Otter 🦦

Join our year-long homeschool tour of North American bird families and pick up some great science and natural history teaching ideas along the way. This week: the Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers (Part II).

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

🎡 πŸŽ„ HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: IΒ Wonder as IΒ Wander

19 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

Introduce your homeschool students to an American folk tune that has now become an internationally famous Christmas carol.

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

πŸ–‹ πŸ‚ WONDERFUL WORDS: The End of a Season

18 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

“The leaves are all dead on the ground, / Save those that the oak is keeping / To ravel them one by one / And let them go scraping and creeping / Out over the crusted snow, / When others are sleeping.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Robert Frost, for the end of fall.)

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

🌍 πŸ‡«πŸ‡· WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Chartres Cathedral in France

18 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

Pay a homeschool visit to a World Heritage Site from one of our countries-of-the-week. This week: Chartres Cathedral in France.

Filed Under: Homeschool States & Countries, Weekly World Heritage

πŸ—“ A PRINTABLE PLANNER for Your Homeschool Week (and Month, and Year)

17 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

Try our brand-new printable homeschool planner! It will help you and your students stay organized and track your accomplishments week by week all through the year.

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

πŸ”Ž HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS – December 2019

17 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

A December 2019 roundup of some recent academic research and news about homeschooling worldwide, with links to sources. We have three items this month: Kuthimba (2019), Landerfelt-Ozbolt (2019), and Williams (2016).

Filed Under: Homeschool Research & News

🎡 MARVELOUS MUSIC: It’s Beethoven Day!

16 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

Take a few minutes out of your homeschool schedule today to celebrate Beethoven’s Birthday!

Filed Under: Homeschool Arts & Music, Homeschool Holidays & History

🎡 πŸŽ„ HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: Christmas with William Billings

16 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

“Methinks I see an heavenly host / Of angels on the wing; / Methinks I hear their cheerful notes, / So merrily they sing.” (Discover what Christmas sounded like at the time of the American Revolution.)

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

πŸ—“ QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 15 December 2019

15 December 2019 by Bob O'Hara

Great homeschool teaching ideas for the week ahead. This week: solstitial verses, Beethovian birthdays, Bostonian tea parties, first flights, Gabonese rivers, holiday music, a toast to warm hearts, and more!

Filed Under: ARCHIVES

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