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 Jesuit Missions of La SantΓsima Trinidad de ParanΓ‘ and JesΓΊs de Tavarangue in Paraguay.
Archives for April 2020
π π¦ LIBRARY LESSONS: The Macaulay Library of Natural History
Invite your homeschool naturalists to explore the sights and sounds of birds all over the world through the collections of the Macaulay Library at Cornell University.
π QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families β Week of 26 April 2020
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: Migrating birds, literary losses, presidential inaugurations, lupine laddies, jazzy anniversaries, Philippine rivers, a toast to farmers, and more!
π πΊπΈ SUNDAY STATES: West Virginia, Paraguay, Poland, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: West Virginia, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, and Poland.
π SATURDAY STARS: The World at Night
Enjoy a beautiful one-minute video of the night sky all around the world, produced for this year’s International Dark Sky Week.
π¦ FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Gnatcatchers, Dippers, and Kinglets
Join our year-long homeschool tour of North American bird families and teach some great science and natural history lessons along the way. This week: the tiny Gnatcatchers, Dippers, and Kinglets.
π πΈ WONDERFUL WORDS: Loveliest of Trees
“And since to look at things in bloom / Fifty springs are little room, / About the woodlands IΒ will go / To see the cherry hung with snow.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Housman, for spring.)
π π HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILL! (Shakespeare, That Is)
Happy birthday to the Bard! Why not celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday by exploring some of the excellent free teaching materials available from the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.
π π΅π° WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Moenjodaro in Pakistan
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 Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro in Pakistan.
π΅ HOMESCHOOL MUSIC: Relax With Randall Thompsonβs βAlleluiaβ
After a busy week, calm your homeschoolers down with the beautifully peaceful “Alleluia” of American composer Randall Thompson, born on this day in 1899.
π π ITβS SHAKESPEAREβS BIRTHDAY WEEK!
Celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday this week with a whole host of online and at-home activities from the Folger Shakespeare Library that are just right for you and your students!
π HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS β April 2020
An April 2020 roundup of some recent academic research and news about homeschooling worldwide, with links to sources. We have three papers this month, by Mandel (2020), Muscatine (2020), and Purwaningsih & Fauziah (2020), along with a profile of anti-homeschool Harvard law professor Elizabeth Bartholet by O’Donnell (2020).
πΊπΈ AMERICAN ICON: The Concord Minute Man
Teach your students to recognize one of the most famous artistic symbols of the American Revolution: Daniel Chester French’s Concord Minute Man.
π QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families β Week of 19 April 2020
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: Revolutionary anniversaries, dramatic birthdays, lovely trees, kingly birds, molecular models, ancient rivers, a toast to merry days, and more!
π πΊπΈ SUNDAY STATES: Kansas, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Kansas, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, and Papua New Guinea.
βοΈ SATURDAY STARS: Comet ATLAS is Breaking Up, Alas
Comet ATLAS C2019/Y4 many not turn out to be a “Great Comet” after all. Its nucleus appears to be breaking up and its brightness is fading.
π¦ FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Nuthatches, Creepers, and Wrens
Join our year-long homeschool tour of North American bird families and teach some great science and natural history lessons along the way. This week: the small and friendly Nuthatches, Creepers, and Wrens.
π π πΊπΈ WONDERFUL WORDS: βThe fate of a nation was riding that nightβ
“A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark, / And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark / Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet: / That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light, / The fate of a nation was riding that night.” (A bonus homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Longfellow, for the beginning of the American Revolution.)
π πΊπΈ βHERE ONCE the embattled farmers stoodβ
“By the rude bridge that arched the flood, / Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, / Here once the embattled farmers stood / And fired the shot heard round the world.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Emerson, for the Nineteenth of April.)
π π³πͺ WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The AΓ―r and TΓ©nΓ©rΓ© Natural Reserves in Niger
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 AΓ―r and TΓ©nΓ©rΓ© Natural Reserves in Niger.
πΊπΈ HOMESCHOOL HISTORY: Teaching the American Revolution
Explore an excellent collection of original documents and ready-made discussion questions on the American Revolution, all set to go for you and your homeschool students.
π QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families β Week of 12 April 2020
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: the American Revolution, Emersonian verses, polymathic birthdays, pioneering cosmonauts, world atlases, the Concord River, a toast to small towns, and more!
π πΊπΈ SUNDAY STATES: Oregon, Niger, Oman, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Oregon, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, and Oman.
π STAR BRIGHT: Regulus for April
Make the acquaintance of Regulus in the constellation Leo the Lion this month β one of the brightest stars in the northern hemisphere sky β and make it your homeschool friend for life.
π¦ FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Chickadees, Titmice, and Allies
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 Chickadees, Titmice, and their allies.
π βοΈ WONDERFUL WORDS: Calmly We Walk through This Aprilβs Day
“Each minute bursts in the burning room, / The great globe reels in the solar fire, / Spinning the trivial and unique away. / (How all things flash! How all things flare!)” (Our homeschool poem of the week, from Delmore Schwartz, for April days.)
π π³π΅ WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Kathmandu Valley in Nepal
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 Kathmandu Valley in Nepal.