“Lexicรณgrapher. n.s. [ฮปฮตฮพฮนฮบแฝธฮฝ and ฮณฯฮฌฯฯ; lexicographe, French.] A writer of dictionaries; a harmless drudge, that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words.” (A humorous homeschool holiday, for all lovers of words and dictionaries.)
Archives for February 2021
๐ QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Familiesย โ Week of 28 February 2021
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: Leonine terms, pianistic anniversaries, cartographical celebrations, tyrannical flycatchers, Boston massacres, Luxembourgish rivers, a toast to the Alamo, and more!
๐ ๐บ๐ธ SUNDAY STATES: Michigan, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Michigan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, and Madagascar.
๐ RESEARCH PROJECTS for Homeschool Students โ February 2021
Our February 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.
๐ฆ FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Parrots
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 Old World Parrots, and the African and New World Parrots.
๐ ๐ฑ๐ธ WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Maloti-Drakensberg Park in Lesotho
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: Maloti-Drakensberg Park in Lesotho.
๐ ๐ญ WONDERFUL WORDS: Watchers of the Skies
“Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes / He star’d at the Pacificย โ and all his men / Look’d at each other with a wild surmiseย โ / Silent, upon a peak in Darien.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from John Keats, for all homeschool stargazers.)
๐ QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Familiesย โ Week of 21 February 2021
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: Chapman’s Homer, impressionistic artists, American poets, dead parrots, lexicographical lapses, Lebanese rivers, a toast to homecoming, and more!
๐ ๐บ๐ธ SUNDAY STATES: Arkansas, Lebanon, Libya, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Arkansas, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, and Libya.
๐ฆ FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Caracaras and Falcons
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 fast-flying Falcons and Caracaras.
๐ ๐จ AN UNEXPECTED โSNOW-STORMโ for Our Southern Homeschool Friends
“All friends shut out, the housemates sit / Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed / In a tumultuous privacy of storm.” (A bonus homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Emerson, for unexpected blizzards.)
๐ โTHE RIVER HOUSESโ Will Be Landing on Mars Tomorrow!
NASA’s Perseverance rover is scheduled to land on Mars this week, and we grabbed a seat and are going along for the ride. You and your homeschool scientists can come along too.
๐ ๐ฑ๐ฆ WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Megalithic Jars of Xiengkhuang in Laos
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 Megalithic Jar Sites of Xiengkhuang in Laos.
๐ HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS โ February 2021
A February 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 six items this month: Brewer (2020), Brown (2021), Conejeros-Solarย & Smith (2021), Corbitt (2020), Guterman (2021), and Morse (2019).
๐ญ HOMESCHOOL SCIENCE AND HISTORY: The Starry Messenger
Remembering one of the great minds of history, Galileo Galilei (1564โ1642), on the anniversary of his birth.
๐ ๐ WONDERFUL WORDS: The Truly Great
“Born of the sun, they travelled a short while toward the sun / And left the vivid air signed with their honour.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Stephen Spender, for the great birthdays of February.)
๐ QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Familiesย โ Week of 14 February 2021
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: backyard birds, famous birthdays, poetical encomia, ancient Egyptians, dead parrots, Latvian Rivers, a toast to our first president, and more!
๐ ๐บ๐ธ SUNDAY STATES: Missouri, Kuwait, Latvia, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Missouri, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, and Latvia.
๐ STAR BRIGHT: Betelgeuse for February
Make the acquaintance of the red giant Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion the Hunter this monthย โ and make it your homeschool friend for life.
๐ ๐บ๐ธ ๐ฆ LINCOLN and DARWIN (and Horace)
Our recommended homeschool history encyclopedia is just the thing you need on a notable anniversary like today: the birthday of both Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin (in the same year, 1809).
๐ฆ FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Woodpeckers
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 Woodpeckers!
๐ ๐ฐ๐ต WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Koguryo Tombs in North Korea
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 Koguryo Tombs in North Korea.
๐ LIBRARY LESSONS: Kโ5 Teaching Resources from the National Archives
The U.S. National Archives isn’t just a resource for older students. They have a wide assortment of free teaching materials available for the lower grades too, all of them ideal for homeschool families.
๐ โ๏ธ HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DMITRI! (Mendeleev, that is)
The father of the periodic table, the great Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev, was born on this day in 1834. Here are some clever educational ways to remember him in your homeschool.
๐ โค๏ธ WONDERFUL WORDS: โUnwind the solemn twine, and tie my Valentine!โ
“Awake ye muses nine, sing me a strain divine!” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Emily Dickinson, for Valentine Week.)
๐ QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Familiesย โ Week of 7 February 2021
Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons for the week ahead, including: backyard birds, famous presidents, famous naturalists, poetical musings, revolutionary writers, giant stars, Korean rivers, a toast to love โค๏ธ, and more!
๐ ๐บ๐ธ SUNDAY STATES: Maine, Kiribati, Kosovo, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Maine, Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea, and Kosovo.
