Take a few minutes out of your homeschool schedule today to celebrate an annual international musical milestone, to wit, Beethoven’s Birthday!
Archives for 2023
🎵 🎄 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: Christmas with William Billings
“Methinks I see an heavenly host / Of angels on the wing; / Methinks I hear their cheerful notes, / So merrily they sing.” (Discover what Christmas sounded like at the time of the American Revolution.)
🖋 🍂 WONDERFUL WORDS: The End of a Season
“The leaves are all dead on the ground, / Save those that the oak is keeping / To ravel them one by one / And let them go scraping and creeping / Out over the crusted snow, / When others are sleeping.” (Our pensive homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Robert Frost, for the end of fall.)
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Gulls, Terns, & Skimmers (Part II)
Come along on our homeschool tour of North American birds and pick up some great science and natural history lessons along the way. This week: the strong-flying Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers (Part II).
🎵 🎄 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: O Little Town of Bethlehem
Invite your students to listen to a number of different performances of this popular American carol in a variety of different styles this week, and help them think through their preferences. It’s a great way to encourage their intellectual and artistic development.
🌠 HOMESCHOOL ASTRONOMY: Geminid Meteors for December
Point your homeschool students to the constellation Gemini this month for the annual Geminid meteor shower, the debris-trail left behind by asteroid 3200 Phaethon.
🌍 🇪🇹 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Ancient Aksum in Ethiopia
Pay a homeschool visit to a World Heritage Site from one of our countries-of-the-week and learn some great history and geography along the way. This week: the Ancient City of Aksum in Ethiopia.
🎵 🚋 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: Walla Walla, Wash., an’ Kalamazoo!
“Antelope cantaloupe, ’lope with you!” (A happy family sing-a-long from Walt Kelly, for Homeschool Holiday Music Month.)
🎵 📚 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: Olden Times and Ancient Rhymes
What did Christmas in America sound like a hundred years ago? The National Jukebox at the Library of Congress has the answer for you and your homeschool students.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 10 December 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Geminid meteors, holiday music, kaleidoscopic inventions, Nobel laureates, wireless transmissions, halcyon days, Eswatinian rivers, a toast to peace, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Kentucky, Eswatini, Finland, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Kentucky, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, and Finland. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🎵 🎄 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: Introducing Vince Guaraldi
The American jazz musician Vince Guaraldi (1928–1976) wrote some of the best-loved Christmas music of our time. Why not introduce your homeschool students to his wonderful work this month.
🌟 STAR BRIGHT: Aldebaran and Taurus for December
Make the acquaintance of the ancient red giant Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus the Bull this month — one of the brightest stars in the northern hemisphere sky — and make it your homeschool friend for life.
🖋 📖 WONDERFUL WORDS: Happy Birthday to Emily Dickinson!
“He ate and drank the precious Words — / His Spirit grew robust.” (Our literary homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Emily Dickinson, for her birthday.)
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Gulls, Terns, & Skimmers (Part I)
Come along on our homeschool tour of North American birds and pick up some great science and natural history lessons along the way. This week: the strong-flying Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers (Part I).
🎵 🎄 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: What Sweeter Music
“Dark and dull night, fly hence away, / And give the honor to this day, / That sees December turned to May.” (A modern Christmas masterpiece, with ancient words by Robert Herrick and new music by John Rutter, for Homeschool Holiday Music Month.)
🌍 🇪🇷 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Modernist Asmara in Eritrea
Pay a homeschool visit to a World Heritage Site from one of our countries-of-the-week and learn some great history and geography along the way. This week: the Modernist African City of Asmara in Eritrea.
🎵 🎄 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: Introducing John Rutter and His Carols
“How do you capture the wind on the water? / How do you count all the stars in the sky? / How can you measure the love of a mother? / Or how can you write down a baby’s first cry?” (Introducing the work of the great modern carol-composer John Rutter, for Homeschool Holiday Music Month.)
📚 LEARNING THE LIBRARY: The Religious 200s
Explore your local library and the whole universe of knowledge with our annual homeschool tour of the Dewey Decimal System. This month: the Religious 200s.
📸 PHOTO CHALLENGE for December: “Fossil Fuel” and “In a Box”
Calling all homeschool photographers! The Wikimedia Commons Photo Challenge is a great way for enthusiastic homeschool photography students to develop their skills and gain some recognition for their work. This month’s themes are “Fossil Fuel” and “In a Box.” Take a look!
🎵 🎄 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: All Those Christmas Clichés
“I want the tree full of toys and tinsel, / I want the wreath on the red front door, / I want the elves in the yard and each sentimental card / Dripping glitter on the floor.” (The great Nancy LaMott wishes you a Merry Christmas.)
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 3 December 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Holiday music, new almanacs, Dewey decimals, great swamps, bright stars, American poets, Salvadoran rivers, a toast to harmony, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Vermont, El Salvador, Estonia, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Vermont, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, and Estonia. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🎵 📻 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: The Holiday Channel from WQXR
If you’d like to fill your homeschool with some beautiful background sounds this season, why not tune in to the 24-hour Holiday Channel from WQXR, the famous classical music radio station in New York City. It’s one of the easiest exercises in musical education you can do all year.
🔭 WATCHERS OF THE SKIES: Homeschool Astronomy for December
Our homeschool review of the educational wonders that you and your students can watch for in the northern hemisphere night sky during the month of December.
🎵 🎄 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH 2023 is Here! Good Morrow, Masters All!
“Past three o’clock, / And a cold frosty morning, / Past three o’clock; / Good morrow, masters all!” (Welcome to Homeschool Holiday Music Month! Enjoy a sprightly late-night carol, and learn the traditional call of the winter watchmen.)
🖋 🗡 WONDERFUL WORDS: The Hunter Home From the Hill
“’Tis evening on the moorland free, / The starlit wave is still: / Home is the sailor from the sea, / The hunter from the hill.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from A.E. Housman, for the beginning of Orion Term.)