![[The River Houses]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/arms-icon-100x100.png "The River Houses"){kind=icon}
We divide the homeschool year into four three-month terms, and the midpoint of each term (following old calendrical tradition) is called the “cross-quarter day.” Today, July 16th, is the cross-quarter day of Hercules Term, our summer term in the River Houses. How are things going in your homeschool?
🔎 HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS – July 2024
![[Homeschool Research Icon]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/research-150x80.jpg)
Our July 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 four items this month, on kinship and homeschooling; homeschool agriculture education; homeschooling and libraries; and Christian homeschooling in South Africa.
🖋 🐝 WONDERFUL WORDS: “Answer, July”
![[Emily Dickinson]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/dickinson-stamp-1971-96x150.jpg)
“Where is the Bee — / Where is the Blush — / Where is the Hay?” (Our playful homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Emily Dickinson, for July.)
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 14 July 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: Moon landings, cross-quarter days, July poems, great fires, ancient artifacts, colorful birds, Ugandan rivers, a toast to tall ships, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Oklahoma, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and More
![[Oklahoma State Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/flag-oklahoma-2006-150x100.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Oklahoma, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, and Ukraine. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🚀 🌕 HOMESCHOOL SCIENCE: Apollo 11 Moon Landing Resources
Share some great educational resources with your homeschool students this month for the July 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.
🌟 STAR BRIGHT: Arcturus and Boötes for July
![[Boötes Star Chart]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/arcturus-122x150.png)
Introduce your homeschool students to the ancient orange giant Arcturus in the constellation Boötes the Herdsman this month, one of the brightest stars in the northern hemisphere’s night sky, and make it their friend for life.
📖 🖋 THOREAU’S BIRTHDAY and Homeschool Journaling
“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” (Happy birthday to the great American writer Henry David Thoreau, born on this day in 1817. Check him out at your local library this week.)
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Emberizid Sparrows (Part II)
![[Homeschool Science & Nature Study]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/birds-emberizids-ii-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 diverse and ubiquitous Emberizid Sparrows (Part II).
🌍 🇹🇷 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Historic Areas of Istanbul in Turkey
![[Flag of Turkey]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/flag-turkey-150x100.jpg)
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 Areas of Istanbul in Turkey.
🌕 HOMESCHOOL SCIENCE: Lunar Samples for Your Local Library
![[Apollo Moon Rover Stamp 1971]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/apollo-moon-rover-stamp-1971-150x95.jpg)
With help from your local librarians you might be able to bring some real moon rocks to your town, courtesy of NASA. It’s a homeschool project worth exploring!
🖋 🕊 WONDERFUL WORDS: Liberty and Peace
“As from the East th’ illustrious King of Day, / With rising Radiance drives the Shades away, / So Freedom comes array’d with Charms divine, / And in her Train Commerce and Plenty shine.” (Our hopeful homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Phillis Wheatley, for independent America.)
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 7 July 2024
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Peaceful poems, bright stars, American philosophers, moon phases, sliced bread, ancient civilizations, hot days, Tunisian rivers, a wish for wisdom, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Utah, Tonga, Turkey, and More
![[Utah State Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/flag-utah-1913-150x94.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Utah, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, and Turkey. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🌝 KNOW YOUR MOONS 🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑
![[Full Moon Stamp]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/us-moon-stamp-2016-150x150.jpg)
Celebrate the anniversary of the first moon landing in 1969 by teaching your homeschool students the phases of the moon. You can even use emojis to do it!
🔭 WATCHERS OF THE SKIES: Homeschool Astronomy for July
![[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 July.
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Emberizid Sparrows (Part I)
![[Homeschool Science & Nature Study]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/birds-emberizids-i-150x111.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 diverse and ubiquitous Emberizid Sparrows (Part I).
📸 PHOTO CHALLENGE for July: “Bread” and “Manhole Covers”
![[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 are “Bread” and “Manhole Covers.” Take a look!
📜 🇺🇸 HOMESCHOOL HISTORY: Independence Day and the Declaration
Be sure to add a visit to the National Archives and the Declaration of Independence itself (in person or online) to your homeschool Fourth of July calendar!
🌍 🇹🇬 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Koutammakou in Togo
![[Flag of Togo]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/flag-togo-150x93.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: Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba in Togo.
🇺🇸 🥂 HOMESCHOOL TOASTING TRADITIONS the Whole Year Round
Why not begin the delightful tradition of offering a toast around your family table each week. This classic Independence Day toast is a perfect way to get started.
📚 LEARNING THE LIBRARY: The Historical & Geographical 900s
![[Dewey Decimal Classes]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/dewey-decimal-classes-2-150x90.jpg)
Explore your local library and the whole universe of knowledge with our homeschool tour of the Dewey Decimal System. This month: the Historical & Geographical 900s.
🖋 🇺🇸 WONDERFUL WORDS: William Emerson on “A Nation’s Strength”
![[Constitution Stamp 1987]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/we-the-people-stamp-1987-150x82.jpg)
“Not gold but only men can make / A people great and strong.” (Our patriotic homeschool poem-of-the-week, from William Ralph Emerson, for Independence Day.)
🗓 🎆 🇺🇸 HAPPY HOMESCHOOL JULY from the River Houses!
Happy homeschool July! Here are some little lessons, teaching traditions, and wonderful educational opportunities you and your students can watch for this month.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 30 June 2024
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Independence Days, moon months, Continental armies, scientific masterpieces, undeciphered disks, Dewey decimals, Thai rivers, a toast to a goose, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Wyoming, Tanzania, Togo, and More
![[Wyoming State Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/flag-wyoming-1917-150x105.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Wyoming, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste (East Timor), and Togo.
🌠 JOIN A HOMESCHOOL SCIENCE PROJECT for International Asteroid Day!
You and your students can help astronomers study the shapes and orbits of real asteroids in space, right from the comfort of your little home academy. How cool is that?
