Join our year-long homeschool tour of North American bird families and teach some great little science and natural history lessons along the way. This week: the Barn Owls and the Typical Owls.
Archives for January 2020
๐ ๐ฏ๐ต WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Monuments of Ancient Nara in Japan
Pay a visit to a World Heritage Site from one of our countries-of-the-week and learn some great homeschool history and geography along the way. This week: the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara in Japan.
๐ ๐ REMEMBERING CHALLENGER
“And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, / And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trickโs over.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from John Masefield, for the Challenger Seven.)
๐ต HOMESCHOOL MUSIC: Happy Birthday Mozart!
Happy birthday to one of the greatest musical composers of all time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born on this day in 1756. Here are some little Mozart lessons you can share with your homeschool students this week.
๐ QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families โ Week of 26 January 2020
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: tall ships, classical composers, wise owls, baseball pioneers, Asian rivers, city fathers, a toast to peace and plenty, and more!
๐ ๐บ๐ธ SUNDAY STATES: Alabama, Japan, Kenya, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Alabama, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, and Kenya.
๐ฆ NATURE NOTES: Cornell University Summer Program, June 2020
Cornell University is hosting a summer program for high school students interested in careers in natural history โ it might be just the thing to start a clever homeschool naturalist on a bright future path.
๐ฆ FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: New World Vultures, Ospreys, Hawks, Kites, and Eagles
Join our year-long homeschool tour of North American bird families and teach some great little science and natural history lessons along the way. This week: the New World Vultures, the Ospreys, and the Hawks, Kites, and Eagles.
๐ ๐ฎ๐ช WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Sceilg Mhichรญl in Ireland
Pay a visit to a World Heritage Site from one of our countries-of-the-week and learn some great homeschool history and geography along the way. This week: Sceilg Mhichรญl in Ireland โ and its mysterious inhabitant revealed!
๐ HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS โ January 2020
A January 2020 roundup of some recent academic research and news about homeschooling worldwide, with links to sources. We have six items this month: Baker (2018), Dennison et al. (2020), DeRish et al. (2020), Donovan (2020), Kliewer (2019), and Wang & Lanager (2019).
๐ QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families โ Week of 19 January 2020
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: declaratory signatures, giant diamonds, famous poets, teenage dreams, lunar birthdays, Israeli rivers, a toast to discovery, and more!
๐ ๐บ๐ธ SUNDAY STATES: Illinois, Ireland, Jamaica, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Illinois, Ireland, Israel, Italy, and Jamaica.
๐ฆ FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Herons, Bitterns, Ibises, and Spoonbills
Join our year-long homeschool tour of North American bird families and teach some great little science and natural history lessons along the way. This week: the Herons and Bitterns, and the Ibises and Spoonbills, all long-legged wading birds.
๐ ๐ฆฆ HORACE THE OTTER Has a New 2020 Almanac โ Do You Have Yours?
The annual World Almanac and Book of Facts is one of the six reference books we recommend to every homeschool family. Our mascot Horace the River Otter recently got his 2020 edition โ have you gotten yours?
๐ ๐ต WONDERFUL WORDS (and Music!): Lift Every Voice and Sing
“Let our rejoicing rise / High as the listening skies, / Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from James Weldon Johnson, for Martin Luther King’s birthday.)
๐ ๐ก HAPPY CROSS-QUARTER DAY of Orion Term 2019โ2020
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, January 15th, is the cross-quarter day of Orion Term, our winter term. How are things going in your homeschool?
๐ ๐ฎ๐ณ WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Elephanta Caves in India
Pay a visit to a World Heritage Site from one of our countries-of-the-week and learn some great homeschool history and geography along the way. This week: the ancient Elephanta Caves in India.
๐ฆ NATURE NOTES: The Great Backyard Bird Count is Coming!
Get your homeschool naturalists involved next month in the Great Backyard Bird Count, an annual international survey that will let you and your students make a real contribution to science.
๐ QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families โ Week of 12 January 2020
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: fairy-tale authors, peaceful ratifications, patriotic printers, freedom philosophers, joyous songs, Indonesian rivers, a toast to Dame Fortune, and more!
๐ ๐บ๐ธ SUNDAY STATES: Mississippi, India, Iraq, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Mississippi, India, Indonesia, Iran, and Iraq.
๐ STAR BRIGHT: Capella for January
Make the acquaintance of Capella in the constellation Auriga this month โ a nearby four-star system and one of the brightest lights in the northern hemisphere night sky โ and make it your homeschool friend for life.
๐ RESEARCH PROJECTS for Homeschool Students โ January 2020
Our January 2020 full-moon report on the real scientific and scholarly research projects around the world that you and your students can participate in and contribute to in your little home academy.
๐ฆ FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Storks, Frigatebirds, Boobies, Cormorants, and Pelicans
Join our year-long homeschool tour of North American bird families and teach some great little science and natural history lessons along the way. This week: the Storks, Frigatebirds, Boobies, Gannets, Cormorants, Darters, and Pelicans.
๐ โธ WONDERFUL WORDS: A Winter Poem for Homeschool Dads
“She thinks she’ll never / be so happy, for who else will find her graceful, / find her perfect, skate with her / in circles outside the emptied rink forever?” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Gail Mazur, for all homeschool fathers.)
๐ ๐ญ๐น WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Haitiโs National History Park and Sans-Souci Palace
Pay a homeschool visit to a World Heritage Site from one of our countries-of-the-week. This week: the National History Park in Haiti.
๐ LEARNING THE LIBRARY: The Social 300s
It’s Homeschool Library Day! This week: exploring “The Social 300s” in the Dewey Decimal Classification, part of our year-long survey of the whole of knowledge. (Really!)
๐ฆ NATURE NOTES: Get Started With Bird Study in the New Year
Get the new year off to a great start with a free online bird study course, sponsored by Cornell University โ and get a chance to win a top-notch pair of binoculars, too.