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Great Balls of Fire

21 November 2017 by Bob O'Hara

On any given night it’s possible to see a few meteors if you watch the sky from a dark location, and at certain times of year meteor showers occur, when tens and even hundreds of meteors can be seen each hour. But only rarely will you see a fireball โ€” an exceptionally bright meteor that leaves a glowing trail behind it or visibly explodes or fragments during its descent. Fireballs of this kind โ€” also called bolides โ€” are unpredictable, and can indicate an object that was large enough to have made it to the ground as a meteorite.

Just after sunset this evening, as I was waiting for the train at Concord Station, I saw a fireball in the northwest, descending almost vertically until its trail disappeared behind a building. It’s impossible for a single observer to correctly estimate the true distance and altitude of an object of this kind, but if enough observers see the same event from different locations, then triangulation is indeed possible. And that’s where the fireball reporting system of the American Meteor Society comes in.

[Fireball over Denmark, 2017]
Fireball over Denmark, 2017. (Image: M. Hansen via amsmeteors.org.)

If you ever see a fireball, note down the time, the compass direction, the fireball’s height above the horizon and its direction of travel, its color and whether it visibly broke up or exploded โ€” and then head over to the AMS’s fireball reporting page. If you fill in all the details of your observation it will be added to the list of pending reports, and then if other observers in other locations saw the same thing it will be designated an event โ€” a verified fireball โ€” and the fun work will begin to identify the object’s true location and course through the atmosphere.

As of this writing, the fireball I saw has been entered and classified as pending report #128372, and it looks like one other person in Northfield, Massachusetts, about 70 miles west from where I was, saw the same fireball. I’ll be checking over the next couple of days to see if any other people also file reports, and if so, what we can determine about the true nature of that unexpected evening flash in the sky.

โก Lots of simple educational opportunities are possible with an event like this. To begin, in your River Houses dictionary and almanac have your students look up the definitions of meteor, meteorite, fireball, and bolide, and look up the major meteor showers that occur every year.

UPDATE: Two other people reported this fireball, and that was enough to determine its location and course: it passed over southwest New Hampshire on a fairly steep trajectory. The AMS has logged and mapped it as Event 4563-2017 โ€” take a look at the map of the object’s path and the observer locations.

Filed Under: Homeschool Astronomy

Seven Score and Fourteen Years Ago

19 November 2017 by Bob O'Hara

On November 19th, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered what we now call the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Once upon a time all American students could recite it โ€” if your students can’t yet, perhaps that would be a worthy goal:

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate โ€” we can not consecrate โ€” we can not hallow โ€” this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us โ€” that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion โ€” that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain โ€” that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom โ€” and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

And if you want to expand into an educational reflection on the passage of time, from four score and seven to seven score and fourteen, perhaps you can add in the picture below of the Gettysburg fields and Carl Sandburg’s famous poem “Grass”:

Grass

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work โ€”
  I am the grass; I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
  What place is this?
  Where are we now?

  I am the grass.
  Let me work.

[The fields of Gettysburg.]
The fields of Gettysburg. (Image: Rob Shenk via civilwar.org, a national organization devoted to the preservation of Civil War battlefields.)

โก Read more about the history of the Gettysburg Address at the special online exhibition prepared by the Library of Congress. The text of the Address is available in your River Houses almanac on page 515, and a beautifully illustrated outline of Abraham Lincoln’s life and work is available in your history encyclopedia on pages 316โ€“317. Your atlas will point you to the location of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & Anniversaries, Homeschool Language & Literature, Homeschool Museums & Monuments

Sunday States: North Carolina, Cyprus, Djibouti, and More

19 November 2017 by Bob O'Hara

Quick Freshes: November 19th, today, is the 154th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November, falls on the 23rd this year, coinciding with the anniversary of the death of the great English composer Thomas Tallis (ca. 1505โ€“1583).

Your weekly toast: “A little health, a little wealth, a little house, and freedom.”

โก Toasts can be a fun tradition for your family table. We offer one each week โ€” you can take it up, or make up one of your own (“To North American dinosaurs!”), or invite a different person to come up with one for each meal (“To variety in toasting!”). Our weekly examples are currently selected and adapted for amusement from two 19th-century collections: W.T. Marchant’s “Toasts and sentiments” (1888), and the anonymous Social and Convivial Toast-Master (1841). What did you toast this week?

States and Countries: Many homeschoolers review the U.S. states and the nations of the world each year, and the recommended River Houses reference library includes a current world almanac, a world atlas, and a history encyclopedia that make these reviews fun and easy. We are going through the states in the traditional order of admission to the Union (almanac page 453), so this week’s state is:

  • [Seal of North Carolina]
    Seal of North Carolina
    North Carolina (21 November 1789, the 12th state) โ€” The Tar Heel State, the Old North State. North Carolina appears on page 582 in your almanac, and on plate 42 in your atlas. Name origin: “In 1619, Charles I gave patent to Sir Robert Heath for Province of Carolana, from Carolus, Latin name for Charles. Charles II granted a new patent to Earl of Clarendon and others. Divided into North and South Carolina in 1710″ (almanac page 455, in telegraphic style).

โก What can you do with the state of the week? A thousand things, with your reference library as a starting point. Find the state bird with your almanac and look it up in your bird guide. Trace the state’s outline with your atlas. Read the almanac’s one-paragraph history aloud each week. Using each state’s official website (above), find and copy the preamble to that state’s constitution into a commonplace book over the course of the year. Practice math skills by graphing each state’s population and area. Look up the famous state residents listed in your almanac either online or at the library โ€” the possibilities are endless and they can be easily adjusted according to a student’s age and interests.

This week’s countries, with links to their official websites, are:

  • Cyprus (English and Greek), in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
  • Czechia (Czech Republic) (English and Czech), in East-Central Europe.
  • Denmark (English and several other languages), in Northern Europe.
  • Djibouti (French only), on the east coast of Africa.

These all appear in your current almanac, atlas, and history encyclopedia as well. For example, you’ll find the main entries for Cyprus on almanac pages 768โ€“769, atlas plates 72 and 96, and history encyclopedia page 550, with illustrations, flags, and other mentions available through the indexes in each volume.

What geographical discoveries have you made in your homeschool this week? ๐Ÿ˜Š

โก Read and think critically: The country links above go to official websites, which are not always in English and which may well be propagandistic in one way or another, thus offering older students a good opportunity to practice their critical reading and thinking skills.

Filed Under: Homeschool States & Countries, Quick Freshes

Sunday States: New York, Costa Rica, Cuba, and More

12 November 2017 by Bob O'Hara

Tour the United States and travel the countries of the world each week with the River Houses.

Many homeschoolers review the U.S. states and the nations of the world each year, and the recommended River Houses reference library includes a current world almanac, a world atlas, and a history encyclopedia that make these reviews fun and easy. We are going through the states in the traditional order of admission to the Union (almanac page 453), so this week’s state is:

  • [Seal of New York]
    Seal of New York
    New York (26 July 1788, the 11th state) โ€” The Empire State. Capital: Albany. New York appears on pages 581โ€“582 in your almanac, and on plates 43 and 44 (among others) in your atlas. Name origin: “For James, Duke of York and Albany, who received patent for New Netherland from his brother Charles II and sent an expedition to capture it, 1664” (almanac page 455, in telegraphic style).

โก What can you do with the state of the week? A thousand things, with your reference library as a starting point. Find the state bird with your almanac and look it up in your bird guide. Trace the state’s outline with your atlas. Read the almanac’s one-paragraph history aloud each week. Using each state’s official website (above), find and copy the preamble to that state’s constitution into a commonplace book over the course of the year. Practice math skills by graphing each state’s population and area. Look up the famous state residents listed in your almanac either online or at the library โ€” the possibilities are endless and they can be easily adjusted according to each student’s age and interests.

This week’s countries, with links to their official websites, are:

  • Costa Rica (Spanish only), in Central America. Capital: San Josรฉ.
  • Cote d’Ivoire (French only), in West Africa. Capital(s): Yamoussoukro and Abidjan.
  • Croatia (English and Croatian), in Southeastern Europe. Capital: Zagreb.
  • Cuba (Spanish only), in the West Indies. Capital: Havana.

These all appear in your current almanac, atlas, and history encyclopedia as well. For example, you’ll find the main entries for Cote d’Ivoire (formerly the Ivory Coast, in English) on almanac pages 766โ€“767, atlas plates 97 and 131, and history encyclopedia page 561, with illustrations, flags, and other mentions available through the indexes in each volume.

What geographical discoveries have you made in your homeschool this week? ๐Ÿ˜Š

โก Read and think critically: The country links above go to official websites, which are not always in English and which may well be propagandistic in one form or another, thus offering older students a good opportunity to practice their critical reading and analysis skills.

Filed Under: Homeschool States & Countries

Sunday States: Virginia, Colombia, the Congo Republic, and More

5 November 2017 by Bob O'Hara

Tour the United States and travel the countries of the world with the River Houses.

Many homeschoolers review the U.S. states and the nations of the world each year, and the recommended River Houses reference library includes a current world almanac, a world atlas, and a history encyclopedia that make these reviews fun and easy. We are going through the states in the traditional order of admission to the Union (almanac page 453), so this week’s state is:

  • [Seal of Virginia]
    Seal of Virginia
    Virginia (25 June 1788, the 10th state) โ€” The Old Dominion. Capital: Richmond. Virginia appears on page 589 in your almanac, and on plate 43 in your atlas. Name origin: “Named by Sir Walter Raleigh, who outfitted an expedition in 1584, in honor of England’s Queen Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen” (almanac page 455).

โก What can you do with the state of the week? A thousand things, with your reference library as a starting point. Find the state bird with your almanac and look it up in your bird guide. Trace the state’s outline with your atlas. Read the almanac’s one-paragraph history aloud each week. Using each state’s official website (above), find and copy the preamble to that state’s constitution into a commonplace book over the course of the year. Practice math skills by graphing each state’s population and area. Look up the famous state residents listed in your almanac either online or at the library โ€” the possibilities are endless and they can be easily adjusted according to a student’s age and interests.

This week’s countries, with links to their official websites, are:

  • Colombia (Spanish only), in north-west South America. Capital: Bogotรก.
  • The Comoros (French only), in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and the coast of West Africa. Capital: Moroni.
  • Congo (BBC News country profile, in English), in central Africa. Capital: Kinshasa.
  • Congo Republic (French only), in west-central Africa. Capital: Brazzaville.

These all appear in your current almanac, atlas, and history encyclopedia as well. For example, you’ll find the main entries for the tiny island nation of the Comoros on almanac pages 734โ€“735, atlas plates 131 and 95 (where you can practice reading insets on a map), and history encyclopedia page 567, with illustrations, flags, and other mentions available through the indexes in each volume.

What geographical discoveries have you made in your homeschool this week? ๐Ÿ˜Š

โก Read and think critically: The country links above go to official websites, which are not always in English and which may well be propagandistic in one form or another, thus offering older students a good opportunity to practice their skills in critical reading and analysis.

Filed Under: Homeschool States & Countries

Sunday States: New Hampshire, the Central African Republic, China, and More

29 October 2017 by Bob O'Hara

Tour the United States and travel the countries of the world with the River Houses.

Many homeschoolers review the U.S. states and the nations of the world each year, and the recommended River Houses reference library includes a current world almanac, a world atlas, and a history encyclopedia that make these reviews fun and easy. We are going through the states in the traditional order of admission to the Union (almanac page 453), so this week’s state is:

  • [Seal of New Hampshire]
    Seal of New Hampshire
    New Hampshire (21 June 1788, the 9th state) โ€” The Granite State. Capital: Concord. New Hampshire appears on pages 579โ€“580 in your almanac, and on plate 44 in your atlas. Name origin: “Named by Capt. John Mason of Plymouth Council, in 1629, for his home county in England” (almanac page 455).

โก What can you do with the state of the week? A thousand things, with your reference library as a starting point. Find the state bird with your almanac and look it up in your bird guide. Trace the state’s outline with your atlas. Read the almanac’s one-paragraph history aloud each week. Using each state’s official website (above), find and copy the preamble to that state’s constitution into a commonplace book over the course of the year. Practice math skills by graphing each state’s population and area. Look up the famous state residents listed in your almanac either online or at the library โ€” the possibilities are endless and they can be easily adjusted according to a student’s age and interests.

This week’s countries, with links to their official websites, are:

  • Central African Republic (English), in Central Africa. Capital: Bangui.
  • Chad (English, French, and Arabic), in Central Africa. Capital: N’Djamena.
  • Chile (Spanish and English), on the west coast of South America. Capital: Santiago.
  • China (Chinese and English), in East Asia. Capital: Beijing.

These all appear in your current almanac, atlas, and history encyclopedia as well. For example, you’ll find the main entries for the Central African Republic on almanac pages 760โ€“761, atlas plates 97 and 130, and history encyclopedia page 563, with illustrations, flags, and other mentions available through the indexes in each volume.

What geographical discoveries have you made in your homeschool this week? ๐Ÿ˜Š

โก Read and think critically: The country links above go to official websites, which are not always in English and which may well be propagandistic in one way or another, thus offering older students a good opportunity to practice their critical reading and thinking skills.

Filed Under: Homeschool States & Countries

โ€œFrom this day to the ending of the worldโ€

25 October 2017 by Bob O'Hara

October 25th is the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. The defeat of the French army by the soldiers of King Henry V of England would probably be little remembered today, had not Shakespeare immortalized it in one of the most famous speeches in all of English literature. October 25th happens to be, on the church calendar, the feast day of two saints, the brothers Crispin and Crispinian, and in 1415, King Henry rallied his men against great odds by declaring that the feast day of Crispin and Crispinian would never again pass, “from this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be remembered.”

Here at Headwaters House we fulfill the king’s prophecy every year โ€” and you and your students can too, joining a tradition six centuries long. Here’s a fine young man demonstrating one way to do it:

And for reference, here’s another famous version:

So on this St. Crispin’s Day 2017, break out your homeschool copy of Henry V, turn to Act IV, Scene iii, and read along aloud:

WESTMORLAND. O that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those men in England
That do no work to-day!

KING. What’s he that wishes so?
My cousin, Westmorland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark’d to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God’s will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God’s peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmorland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man’s company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call’d the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam’d,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say “To-morrow is Saint Crispian.”
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say “These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.”
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words โ€”
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester โ€”
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb’red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be rememberรจd โ€”
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.

What literary discoveries have you made in your homeschool this week? ๐Ÿ˜Š

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & Anniversaries, Homeschool Language & Literature

โ€œThis story shall the good man teach his sonโ€

24 October 2017 by Bob O'Hara

Raise a glass around your homeschool dinner table this evening and offer this toast: “Tomorrow is Saint Crispin’s.”

“Then shall our names, familiar in their mouths as household words โ€” Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter, Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester โ€” be in their flowing cups freshly rememb’red.”

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & Anniversaries, Homeschool Language & Literature

Sunday States: South Carolina, Cabo Verde, Canada, and More

22 October 2017 by Bob O'Hara

Tour the United States and travel the countries of the world with the River Houses.

Many homeschoolers review the U.S. states and the nations of the world each year, and the recommended River Houses reference library includes a current world almanac, a world atlas, and a history encyclopedia that make these reviews fun and easy. We are going through the states in the traditional order of admission to the Union (almanac page 453), so this week’s state is:

  • [Seal of South Carolina]
    Seal of South Carolina
    South Carolina (23 May 1788, the 8th state) โ€” The Palmetto State. Capital: Columbia. South Carolina appears on page 586 in your almanac, and on plate 42 in your atlas. Name origin: “In 1619, Charles I gave patent to Sir Robert Heath for Province of Carolana, from Carolus, Latin name for Charles. Charles II granted a new patent to Earl of Clarendon and others. Divided into North and South Carolina in 1710″ (almanac page 455, in telegraphic style).

โก What can you do with the state of the week? A thousand things, with your reference library as a starting point. Find the state bird with your almanac and look it up in your bird guide. Trace the state’s outline with your atlas. Read the almanac’s one-paragraph history aloud each week. Using each state’s official website (above), find and copy the preamble to that state’s constitution into a commonplace book over the course of the year. Practice math skills by graphing each state’s population and area. Look up the famous state residents listed in your almanac either online or at the library โ€” the possibilities are endless and they can be easily adjusted according to a student’s age and interests.

This week’s countries, with links to their official websites, are:

  • Cabo Verde (Portuguese only), in the eastern Atlantic off the coast of West Africa.
  • Cambodia (English and several other languages), in Southeast Asia.
  • Cameroon (English and French), in west-central Africa.
  • Canada (English and French), in North America.

These all appear in your current almanac, atlas, and history encyclopedia as well. For example, you’ll find the main entries for Cambodia on almanac pages 758โ€“759, atlas plate 87, and history encyclopedia pages 592โ€“593, with illustrations, flags, and other mentions available through the indexes in each volume.

What geographical discoveries have you made in your homeschool this week? ๐Ÿ˜Š

โก Read and think critically: The country links above go to official websites, which are not always in English and which may well be propagandistic in one form or another, thus offering older students a good opportunity to practice their skills in critical reading and analysis.

Filed Under: Homeschool States & Countries

Sunday States: Maryland, Brunei, Burundi, and More

15 October 2017 by Bob O'Hara

Tour the United States and travel the countries of the world with the River Houses.

Many homeschoolers review the U.S. states and the nations of the world each year, and the recommended River Houses reference library includes a current world almanac, a world atlas, and a history encyclopedia that make these reviews fun and easy. We are going through the states in the traditional order of admission to the Union (almanac page 453), so this week’s state is:

  • [Seal of Maryland]
    Seal of Maryland
    Maryland (28 April 1788, the 7th state) โ€” The Old Line State, the Free State. Maryland appears on pages 574โ€“575 in your almanac, and on plate 43 in your atlas. Name origin: “For Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I of England” (almanac page 455).

โก What can you do with the state of the week? A thousand things, with your reference library as a starting point. Find the state bird with your almanac and look it up in your bird guide. Trace the state’s outline with your atlas. Read the almanac’s one-paragraph history aloud each week. Using each state’s official website (above), find and copy the preamble to that state’s constitution into a commonplace book over the course of the year. Practice math skills by graphing each state’s population and area. Look up the famous state residents listed in your almanac either online or at the library โ€” the possibilities are endless and they can be easily adjusted according to a student’s age and interests.

This week’s countries, with links to their official websites, are:

  • Brunei (English and Bahasa Melayu), on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia.
  • Bulgaria (English and Bulgarian), in Eastern Europe.
  • Burkina Faso (French only), in West Africa.
  • Burundi (French only), in Central Africa.

These all appear in your current almanac, atlas, and history encyclopedia as well. For example, you’ll find the main entries for Bulgaria on almanac page 757, atlas plate 71, and history encyclopedia page 545, with illustrations, flags, and other mentions available through the indexes in each volume.

What geographical discoveries have you made in your homeschool this week? ๐Ÿ˜Š

โก Read and think critically: The country links above go to official websites, which are not always in English and which may well be propagandistic in one form or another, thus offering older students a good opportunity to practice their critical reading and thinking skills.

Filed Under: Homeschool States & Countries

Sunday States: Massachusetts, Bolivia, Brazil, and More

8 October 2017 by Bob O'Hara

Tour the United States and travel the countries of the world with the River Houses.

Many homeschoolers review the U.S. states and the nations of the world each year, and the recommended River Houses reference library includes a current world almanac, a world atlas, and a history encyclopedia that make these reviews fun and easy. We are going through the states in the traditional order of admission to the Union (almanac page 453), so this week’s state is:

  • [Seal of Massachusetts]
    Seal of Massachusetts
    Massachusetts (6 February 1788, the 6th state) โ€” The Bay State. Massachusetts appears on page 575 in your almanac, and on plate 44 in your atlas. Name origin: “From Indian tribe whose name meant ‘at or about the Great Hill’ in Blue Hills region south of Boston” (almanac page 455, in telegraphic style).

โก What can you do with the state of the week? A thousand things, with your reference library as a starting point. Find the state bird with your almanac and look it up in your bird guide. Trace the state’s outline with your atlas. Read the almanac’s one-paragraph history aloud each week. Using each state’s official website (above), find and copy the preamble to that state’s constitution into a commonplace book over the course of the year. Practice math skills by graphing each state’s population and area. Look up the famous state residents listed in your almanac either online or at the library โ€” the possibilities are endless and they can be easily adjusted according to a student’s age and interests.

This week’s countries, with links to their official websites, are:

  • Bolivia (Spanish only), in west-central South America.
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina (English and several other languages), in southeastern Europe.
  • Botswana (English and Setswana), in southern Africa.
  • Brazil (Portuguese only), in eastern South America.

These all appear in your current almanac, atlas, and history encyclopedia as well. For example, you’ll find the main entries for Botswana on almanac pages 755โ€“756, atlas plates 100 and 101, and history encyclopedia page 568, with illustrations, flags, and other mentions available through the indexes in each volume.

What geographical discoveries have you made in your homeschool this week? ๐Ÿ˜Š

โก Read and think critically: Note that the country links above go to official websites, which are not always in English and which may well be propagandistic in one form or another, thus offering older students a good opportunity to practice their critical reading and thinking skills.

Filed Under: Homeschool States & Countries

Sunday States: Connecticut, Belgium, Bhutan, and More

1 October 2017 by Bob O'Hara

Tour the United States and travel the countries of the world each week with the River Houses.

Many homeschoolers like to review the U.S. states and the nations of the world each year, and the recommended River Houses reference library includes a world almanac, a world atlas, and a history encyclopedia that make these reviews fun and easy. We review the states in the traditional order of admission to the Union (almanac page 453), so this week’s state is:

  • [Seal of Connecticut]
    Seal of Connecticut
    Connecticut (9 January 1788) โ€” The Constitution State, the Nutmeg State. Connecticut appears on pages 567โ€“568 in your almanac, and on plate 44 in your atlas. The name comes from “Mohican and other Algonquin words meaning ‘long river placeโ€™” (almanac page 455).

โก What can you do with the state of the week? A thousand things, with your reference library as a starting point. Find the state bird with your almanac and look it up in your bird guide. Trace the state’s outline with your atlas. Read the almanac’s one-paragraph history aloud each week. Using each state’s official website (above), find and copy the preamble to that state’s constitution into a commonplace book over the course of the year. Practice math skills by graphing each state’s population and area. Look up famous state residents online or at the library โ€” the possibilities are endless and they can be easily adjusted according to a student’s age and interests.

This week’s countries, with links to their official websites, are:

  • Belgium (English, French, Dutch, and German) in Europe.
  • Belize (English) in Central America.
  • Benin (French only) in West Africa.
  • Bhutan (English), in South Asia.

These all appear in your almanac, atlas, and history encyclopedia as well. For example, you’ll find the main entries for Benin on almanac page 754, atlas plate 97, and history encyclopedia page 562, with illustrations, flags, and other mentions available through the indexes in each volume.

What geographical discoveries have you made in your homeschool lately? ๐Ÿ˜Š

โก Read and think critically: Note that the country links above go to official websites, which are not always in English and which may well be propagandistic in one form or another, thus offering older students a good opportunity to practice their critical reading and thinking skills.

Filed Under: Homeschool States & Countries

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