Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: American emperors, colorable collections, wintery poems, baseball giants, lunar landings, golden nuggets, Asian rivers, a toast to warmth, and more!
Archives for January 2021
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 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Barn Owls and Typical Owls
Come along on our homeschool tour of North American bird families and pick up some great science and natural history teaching ideas along the way. This week: the Barn Owls and the Typical Owls.
๐ RESEARCH PROJECTS for Homeschool Students โ January 2021
Our January 2021 full-moon report on the real scientific and scholarly projects around the world that you and your students can contribute to from the comfort of your little home academy.
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 ๐ฎ๐ฑ WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Necropolis of Bet Sheโarim in Israel
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 Necropolis of Bet Sheโarim in Israel.
๐ ATTENTION HOMESCHOOL ARTISTS: Color Our Collections Week is Coming!
Download a whole year’s worth of free educational coloring booklets from major libraries and museums all around the world. It’s one of the easiest educational art opportunities you can find for your homeschool.
๐ ๐น WONDERFUL WORDS: Happy Birthday to Robbie Burns!
“Till all the seas gang dry, my dear, / And the rocks melt wiโ the sun; / I will love thee still, my dear, / While the sands of life shall run.” (Happy birthday to Robert Burns, the national poet of Scotland, born on this day in 1759.)
๐ QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Familiesย โ Week of 24 January 2021
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: Rocky Mountains, auriferous deposits, wise birds, student projects, musical birthdays, Jamaican rivers, a toast to lucky labor, 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.
๐ ๐ HOMESCHOOL HISTORY: Remembering Challenger
“I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,ย / And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from John Masefield, for the Challenger Seven.)
๐ฆ FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Vultures, Ospreys, Hawks, Kites, and Eagles
Come along on our homeschool tour of North American bird families and pick up some great science and natural history teaching ideas along the way. This week: New World Vultures, Ospreys, Hawks, Kites, and Eagles.
๐ฐ โ๏ธ AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL: Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site Quarter
Explore American history and geography in your homeschool with this ongoing series of quarters from the U.S. Mint. (With free lesson plans!) New this month: a quarter for the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Alabama.
๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Sangiran Early Man Site in Indonesia
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 Sangiran Early Man Site in Indonesia.
๐ HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS โ January 2021
A January 2021 roundup of some recent academic research and news about home education in the United States and around the world, with links to sources. We have four items this month: Damayanti et al. (2020), Machovcovรก et al. (2020), Maranto (2020), and Pozas et al. (2021).
๐ QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Familiesย โ Week of 17 January 2021
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: Indonesian ancestors, poetical remembrances, spooky birthdays, electrical anniversaries, historic arrivals, Iranian rivers, a toast to perseverance, 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.
๐ญ ๐ SATURDAY STARS: Telescope Tips from the U.S. Naval Observatory
If you got a new homeschool telescope for the holidays (or if you already have an old one), why not set it up this week and have a nice long look the moon, our nearest celestial neighbor.
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.)
๐ฆ WINTER BIRD-FEEDING SEASON is Here!
Setting up a bird feeder is one of the simplest and most educational homeschool activities you can do during the winter season. And by tracking the birds you see at your backyard feeder you can make a real contribution to science through Cornell University’s Project FeederWatch.
๐ฆ FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Herons, Bitterns, Ibises, and Spoonbills
Come along on our homeschool tour of North American bird families and pick up some great science and natural history teaching ideas along the way. This week: the Herons, Bitterns, Ibises, and Spoonbills, all long-legged wading birds.
๐ ๐ก HAPPY CROSS-QUARTER DAY of Orion Term 2020โ2021
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 14th, is the cross-quarter day of Orion Term, our winter term. How are things going in your homeschool?
๐ ๐ญ๐ณ WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Rรญo Plรกtano Biosphere Reserve in Honduras
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 Rรญo Plรกtano Biosphere Reserve in Honduras.
๐ QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Familiesย โ Week of 10 January 2021
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: American anthems, story tellers, tropical refuges, peace treaties, royal birthdays, Haitian rivers, a toast to heroes, and more!
๐ ๐บ๐ธ SUNDAY STATES: Indiana, Haiti, Iceland, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Indiana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, and Iceland.
๐ STAR BRIGHT: Capella for January
Make the acquaintance of Capella in the constellation Auriga the Charioteer this monthย โ a nearby four-star system and one of the brightest lights in the northern hemisphere night skyย โ and make it your homeschool friend for life.
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.)