Today is the midpoint of Hercules Term, our summer term in the River Houses. Our four terms, Cygnus, Orion, Leo, and Hercules, running from September through August, divide the homeschool year into four quarters that roughly correspond to the seasons. In many old calendar systems the first day of each term would be called a quarter day, and the mid-point of each term would be called a cross-quarter day.
On this cross-quarter day of Hercules Term we’re delighted to make available on our main calendar page a new set of printable homeschool calendars and planners for the upcoming 2020–2021 year that will begin in September:
The main calendar covers an assortment of major events and historical anniversaries throughout the year, and the five specialized calendars cover our annual schedules for astronomy, poetry, states and countries, North American birds, and World Heritage Sites. All six calendars are one-page pdf files, very simple to print and post on your family bulletin board.
These educational calendars are not designed for use with a specific curriculum — they are enrichment tools that can supplement any curriculum, even an open unschooling program, and they provide a light, comfortable, easy structure for your entire homeschool year. Pick one or two or three that strike your fancy, print them out, and follow along with us throughout the coming year.
Accompanying the calendars is a matching set of homeschool planners: simple one-page blank schedules that will let you plan out your homeschool day, week, month, or year. Print multiple copies and use a different one for each subject or each student. And if you have older students, teach them how to use these planners themselves to keep track of their own work.
Please share these calendars and planners widely with your homeschool groups and friends, online and off. When you and I have a calendar in common we have a range of shared experiences in common, and that’s what builds community, week by week, month by month, all through the year.
What calendrical events will you be marking in your homeschool this season? 😊
❡ Thirty days hath September: This is one of our regular Homeschool Terms & Calendars posts (riverhouses.org/topics/calendars). Print your own River Houses Calendars (riverhouses.org/calendars) to follow along with us throughout the year, and add your name to our mailing list (riverhouses.org/newsletter) to get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox every week. 🗞
