![[The River Houses]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/arms-icon-100x100.png "The River Houses"){kind=icon}
![[Hawaii State Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/hawaii-flag-1845-150x75.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week, as the year approaches its end, we visit Hawaii and Antarctica. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🌟 STAR BRIGHT: Vega for August and the End of the Homeschool Year
![[Lyra Star Chart]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/lyra-chart-150x138.png)
Make one last homeschool friend for the summer: our blue-white neighbor-star Vega in the constellation Lyra the Lyre, one of the brightest stars in the northern hemisphere night sky.
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Our Annual Tour is Complete!
![[Birds of North America]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ng-birds-7-101x150.jpg)
Our annual homeschool tour of all the birds of North America is complete! Take a look back this week at all the wonderful feathered friends we made, and be sure to tune in next month for a new round of avian explorations for the new homeschool year that begins in September.
🖋 🌠 WONDERFUL WORDS: A Star in a Stoneboat
“From following walls I never lift my eye, / Except at night to places in the sky / Where showers of charted meteors let fly.” (Our clever homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Robert Frost, for this month’s Perseid meteor shower.)
🇺🇸 HAPPY BIRTHDAY to General Nathanael Greene, “The Fighting Quaker”
![[Washington-Greene Stamp 1936]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/washington-greene-stamp-1936-150x97.jpg)
Offer a homeschool toast this week to “The Fighting Quaker,” General Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island, George Washington’s right-hand man and one of the great military strategists of the American Revolution. He was born on this day in 1742.
🌍 🇾🇪 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Historic Town of Zabid in Yemen
![[Flag of Yemen]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/flag-yemen-150x100.png)
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 Historic Town of Zabid in Yemen.
📚 LEARNING THE LIBRARY: On Beyond Dewey (To Close the Year)
Explore your local library and the whole universe of knowledge as we take a homeschool tour of the Dewey Decimal system. This month, as the homeschool year ends, we’ll take a quick look at the alternative Library of Congress Classification, commonly used in colleges and universities.
📸 PHOTO CHALLENGE for August: “Dust” and “Spices”
![[Homeschool Photography Icon]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/emoji-camera-flash-2-150x143.png)
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 (to wrap up the current homeschool year) are “Dust” and “Spices.” Take a look!
🌠 HOMESCHOOL ASTRONOMY: Perseid Meteors for August
Point your homeschool students to the constellation Perseus this month for the annual Perseid meteor shower, the lovely trail of debris left behind by Comet Swift–Tuttle.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 4 August 2024
![[Weekly Homeschool Almanac]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/calendar-2-150x85.jpg)
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Perseid meteors, meteoric poems, free presses, marvelous museums, Mesoamerican calendars, celebrated generals, Vietnamese rivers, a toast to heroes, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Alaska, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, and More
![[Alaska State Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/flag-alaska-1927-150x106.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Alaska, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
🔭 WATCHERS OF THE SKIES: Homeschool Astronomy for August
![[Homeschool Astronomy]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/emoji-telescope-large-150x150.png)
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 August.
💰 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE LINCOLN CENT, “Born” This Day in 1909
The familiar Lincoln penny — you may have one in your pocket right now — first went into circulation on this day in 1909. It was struck to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Accidental and Extinct Species (To Close the Year)
![[Homeschool Science & Nature Study]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/birds-accidentals-150x89.png)
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 we wrap up the year with a look at a number of accidental and extinct North American birds from your bird guide’s appendix.
🖋 🍻 WONDERFUL WORDS: To the Meteor Rolling Home
“Of thee we think, in a ring we link; / To the shearer of ocean’s fleece we drink, / And the Meteor rolling home.” (Our celebratory homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Herman Melville, for his birthday and for this month’s Perseid meteor shower.)
🗓 😎 ☀️ HAPPY HOMESCHOOL AUGUST from the River Houses!
Happy homeschool August! Here are some little lessons, teaching traditions, and wonderful educational opportunities you and your students can watch for this month.
🌏 🇺🇿 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Historic Center of Bukhara in Uzbekistan
![[Flag of Uzbekistan]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/flag-uzbekistan-150x75.png)
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 Historic Center of Bukhara in Uzbekistan.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 28 July 2024
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Marvelous microscopists, great writers, hard landings, Lincoln cents, accidental birds, Pacific rivers, a toast to homecoming, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Arizona, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and More
![[Arizona State Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/flag-arizona-1917-150x100.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Arizona, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City, and Venezuela. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, Orioles, and Allies
![[Homeschool Science & Nature Study]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/birds-blackbirds-150x99.png)
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 familiar and widespread Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, Orioles, Grackles, Cowbirds, and their allies.
🌍 🇬🇧 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Ironbridge Gorge in the United Kingdom
![[United Kingdom Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/flag-united-kingdom-150x75.png)
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: Ironbridge Gorge in the United Kingdom.
🖋 🔔 WONDERFUL WORDS: As Kingfishers Catch Fire
![[Kingfisher]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/kingfisher-stamp-2014-estonia-150x150.jpg)
“Like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s / Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name.” (Our intricate homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Gerard Manley Hopkins, for his birthday and for the halcyon days of summer.)
🌕 HOMESCHOOL CITIZEN-SCIENCE PROJECTS for July
Our July 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!
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 21 July 2024
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Continental transits, Latin Liberators, roundy wells, celebrated comets, universal languages, Middle Eastern rivers, a toast to fair homecomings, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: New Mexico, the UAE, Uruguay, and More
![[New Mexico State Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/flag-new-mexico-150x100.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: New Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Cardinals, Grosbeaks, and Allies
![[Homeschool Science & Nature Study]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/birds-cardinals-150x99.png)
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 brilliant Cardinals and their allies, including the American Tanagers, Grosbeaks, and Buntings.
🌍 🇺🇬 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda
![[Flag of Uganda]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/flag-uganda-150x100.png)
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: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda.
