Make the acquaintance of the variable star Algol this month — “the demon star” in the constellation Perseus the Hero and one of the brightest stars in the northern hemisphere sky — and make it your homeschool friend for life.
Archives for 2023
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Lapwings, Plovers, & Jacanas
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 leggy Lapwings, Plovers, and Jacanas.
📚 🇺🇸 HOMESCHOOL HISTORY: The Veterans History Project
You and your homeschool students can contribute to an important historical documentary project by interviewing American veterans in your family or community for the Library of Congress.
🖋 🕊 THE ELEVENTH DAY of the Eleventh Month: We Will Remember Them
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: / Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. / At the going down of the sun and in the morning / We will remember them.” (Our commemorative homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Laurence Binyon, for Veterans Day and Armistice Day.)
🌎 🇨🇴 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Fortresses of Cartagena in Colombia
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 Port, Fortresses, and Monuments of Cartagena in Colombia.
🖋 🇺🇸 WONDERFUL WORDS: America’s Choosing Day
“These stormy gusts and winds waft precious ships.” (An extra electoral homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Walt Whitman, for the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.)
📚 LEARNING THE LIBRARY: The Philosophical 100s
Explore your local library and the whole universe of knowledge with our annual homeschool tour of the Dewey Decimal System. This month: the Philosophical 100s.
⚗️ HOMESCHOOL SCIENCE & HISTORY: Happy Birthday to Marie Curie!
Happy birthday to the great Polish-French physicist, chemist, and two-time Nobel laureate Marie Skłodowska Curie, born on this day in 1867.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 5 November 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Veterans Days, falling stars, Dewey decimals, Mayflower compacts, celebrated chemists, Colombian rivers, a toast to remembrance, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Virginia, Colombia, Congo, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Virginia, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Kinshasa), and Congo Republic (Brazzaville). Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🔭 WATCHERS OF THE SKIES: Homeschool Astronomy for November
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 November.
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Stilts, Avocets, & Oystercatchers
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 long-legged Stilts, Avocets, and Oystercatchers.
📸 PHOTO CHALLENGE for November: “Bicycles” and “Too Many to Count”
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 “Bicycles” and “Too Many to Count.” Take a look!
🖋 🍂 WONDERFUL WORDS: A Leaf-Treader
“I have been treading on leaves all day until I am autumn-tired. / God knows all the color and form of leaves I have trodden on and mired.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Robert Frost, for the falling leaves.)
🌍 🇨🇫 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: St. Floris National Park in the Central African Republic
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: Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park in the Central African Republic.
🗓 🥧 🦃 HAPPY HOMESCHOOL NOVEMBER from the River Houses!
Happy homeschool November! Here are some little lessons, teaching traditions, and wonderful educational opportunities you and your students can watch for this month.
🎃 🦇 👻 🏚 HAPPY HOMESCHOOL HALLOWEEN from Horace the Otter!
Horace the Otter, our River Houses mascot, hopes all his riverside neighbors and friends have a Happy Halloween!
🐦 BIRD-FEEDING SEASON is Here! (And so is Project FeederWatch!)
Setting up a bird feeder is one of the simplest and most educational homeschool activities you can do at any time of year. 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.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 29 October 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Spooky days, gunpowder plots, deciduous poems, religious reformations, drifting continents, African rivers, a toast to Hallowe’en, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: New Hampshire, Chad, China, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: New Hampshire, the Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, and China. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🌕 HOMESCHOOL “CITIZEN SCIENCE” PROJECTS for October
Our October full-moon report on the many “citizen science” projects around the world that you and your students can participate in from the comfort of your little home academy. Pick one and get started today!
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Limpkins, Rails, Gallinules, Coots, & Cranes
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 Limpkins, Rails, Gallinules, Coots, and Cranes.
👻 HOMESCHOOL SPOOKYDAYS: Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore”
Light a candle, turn out the lights, and let Edgar Allan Poe entertain you and your homeschool students this Halloween.
👑 “FROM THIS DAY to the ending of the world”
“This day is call’d the feast of Crispian.” (Celebrate some Shakespearean history in your home academy on this St. Crispin’s Day.)
🌍 🇨🇻 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Cidade Velha in Cabo Verde
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: Cidade Velha, the historic center of Ribeira Grande in Cabo Verde.
⚔️ “THIS STORY shall the good man teach his son“
“He that shall live this day and see old age, will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours, and say ‘To-morrow is Saint Crispin’s.'” (A homeschool toast to offer from this day to the ending of the world.)
⚗️ HOMESCHOOL SCIENCE: Happy National Mole Day!
Homeschool science students from coast to coast will want to be sure to celebrate National Mole Day today (10/23) from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m. All hail the Count of Quaregna and Cerreto!