Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: heroic terms, aerial anniversaries, library literature, historical geologists, decisive days, lunar societies, Slovenian rivers, a toast to travelers, and more!
Archives for May 2020
π πΊπΈ SUNDAY STATES: South Dakota, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: South Dakota, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the Solomon Islands.
π WATCHERS OF THE SKIES: Hymn to the North Star
“A beauteous type of that unchanging good, / That bright eternal beacon, by whose ray / The voyager of time should shape his heedful way.” (An extra homeschool poem-of-the-week, from William Cullen Bryant, for Polaris, our Great Star for the month of May.)
π¦ FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Indigobirds, Whydahs, Weavers, Estrildids, and Old World Sparrows
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 Indigobirds and Whydahs, the Weavers, the Estrildid Finches, and the Old World Sparrows.
π π·πΈ π½π° WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Medieval Monuments of Kosovo
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 Medieval Monuments of Kosovo.
π π GRADUATION SEASON: βSet me free to find my callingβ
“Bind me not to the pasture, chain me not to the plow, / Set me free to find my calling and Iβll return to you somehow.” (Our poem-of-the-week, from Marta Keen, for homeschool graduation season and the beginning of summer.)
π WRITING TIPS from Jason Reynolds and the Library of Congress
Get some fun and easy writing ideas for aspiring homeschool writers from young-adult author Jason Reynolds, National Ambassador for Young Peopleβs Literature at the Library of Congress.
π βAFTER A HUNDRED YEARS / Nobody knows the Placeβ
“Weeds triumphant ranged / Strangers strolled and spelled / At the lone Orthography / Of the Elder Dead.” (An extra homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Emily Dickinson, for Memorial Day.)
πΊπΈ MEMORIAL DAY 2020
“Rest, comrades, rest and sleep! / The thoughts of men shall be / As sentinels to keep / Your rest from danger free.” (Little homeschool lessons in literature, history, geography, and music, for the Memorial Day weekend.)
π QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families β Week of 24 May 2020
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: Memorial Days, historic eclipses, amazing ascents, marvelous mimics, paper airplanes, Serbian rivers, lost empires, a toast to freedom, and more!
π πΊπΈ SUNDAY STATES: North Dakota, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: North Dakota, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, and Sierra Leone.
π¦ WHAT BIRDS Are Migrating Through Your Neighborhood?
May is Bird Migration Month in the River Houses. Here’s how you can find out what birds are migrating though your homeschool neighborhood this month (or any month of the year).
π¦ WATCH A PEREGRINE FALCON NEST LIVE!
For a great homeschool biology and natural history lesson, have your students watch this livestream of a Peregrine Falcon nest in Madison, Wisconsin β four fuzzy white chicks just hatched this week!
π¦ FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Bulbuls, Starlings, Waxwings, Silky-Flycatchers, Olive Warblers, and Accentors
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 Bulbuls, Starlings, Waxwings, Silky-Flycatchers, Olive Warblers, and Accentors
π π©ββοΈ HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the American Red Cross!
Happy birthday to the American Red Cross, one of the largest public service organizations in the United States, founded by Clara Barton on this day in 1881.
π π HAPPY WORLD METROLOGY DAY!
On this day in 1875, the meter was adopted as the international standard of measurement. That makes today World Metrology Day! Why not invite your students to take a few scientific measurements this week in your homeschool. π
π πΈπ² WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Mount Titano and the Historic Center of San Marino
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: Mount Titano and the Historic Center of San Marino.
π HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS β May 2020
A May 2020 roundup of some recent academic research and news about homeschooling worldwide, with links to sources. We have five items this month: Bartholet (2020), Garlington (2020), Gubnitskaia & Smallwood (2020), Shackelford (2020), and Sikkink (2020).
π QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families β Week of 17 May 2020
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: marvelous measurements, ancient computers, famous photographers, life-saving nurses, lost expeditions, tiny rivers, a toast to freedom, and more!
π πΊπΈ SUNDAY STATES: Colorado, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Colorado, Samoa, San Marino, SΓ£o TomΓ© and PrΓncipe, and Saudi Arabia.
π π¦ WONDERFUL WORDS: Robert Frostβs βBirchesβ
“One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Robert Frost, for childhood play and growing up.)
π¦ FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Mockingbirds, Catbirds, and Thrashers
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 loquacious Mockingbirds and Thrashers.
π π±π¨ WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Pitons Management Area in Saint Lucia
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 Pitons Management Area in Saint Lucia.
π LIBRARY LESSONS: Historic Children’s Books and Primary Sources
Free (and live) online education sessions on historic children’s books and primary historical sources from the Library of Congress β the latest in a series of “online office hours” while the Library’s buildings are closed.
π π©βπ§βπ¦ WONDERFUL WORDS: Anne Bradstreet for Motherβs Day
“When each of you shall in your nest / Among your young ones take your rest, / In chirping languages oft them tell / You had a Dame that lovβd you well.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Anne Bradstreet, for Mother’s Day.)
π QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families β Week of 10 May 2020
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: Mother’s Day, American musicians, famous nurses, golden spikes, space stations, great comets, playful poems, Rwandan rivers, a toast to truth and liberty, and more!
π πΊπΈ SUNDAY STATES: Nebraska, Rwanda, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Nebraska, Rwanda, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines.