Happy homeschool October! Here are some little lessons, teaching traditions, and wonderful educational opportunities you and your students can watch for this month.
🌕 HOMESCHOOL “CITIZEN SCIENCE” PROJECTS for September
Our September 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 — it’s a great way to begin the new homeschool year!
🦩 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Grebes and Flamingos
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 short-legged Grebes and the long-legged Flamingos.
📚 HOMESCHOOL BOOKS: Dover Thrift Editions for Your Students
The Dover Thrift Editions are a great way to build up an inexpensive library of classic literature for your homeschool students.
🗓 HOMESCHOOL CALENDARS: “Thirty days hath September . . .”
“. . . April, June, and November.” (There’s no better week than this to teach your students the ancient calendrical verse that every young homeschooler should know.)
🌍 🇧🇭 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Ancient Capital of Dilmun in Bahrain
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: Qal’at al-Bahrain, the Ancient Harbor and Capital of Dilmun in Bahrain.
📚 LIBRARY LESSONS: Getting to Know the Library of Congress
As the new homeschool year gets going, why not get (re)acquainted with the Library of Congress, the world’s largest library. It’s a rich source of free educational materials for homeschoolers and a place every American should know.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 24 September 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Coming eclipses, great geneticists, learnèd linguists, liberty ships, marvelous musicians, Nobel laureates, Barbadian rivers, a toast to life, love, and liberty, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Georgia, Bahrain, Belarus, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Georgia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, and Belarus. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🖋 🍃 WONDERFUL WORDS: “Our Summer made her light escape”
“And thus, without a Wing / Or service of a Keel / Our Summer made her light escape / Into the Beautiful.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Emily Dickinson, for the end of summer.)
🦃 🐓 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: “Gallinaceous” Birds
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 chicken-like “Gallinaceous” birds, including New World Quail, Curassows, Guans, Partridges, Grouse, Turkeys, and Old World Quail.
🗓 🍂 FALL IS HERE! (Astronomically Speaking)
Fall is here! If you’re in the northern hemisphere, that is. If you’re in the southern hemisphere, spring is here! Happy September equinox to homeschoolers everywhere!
🌏 🇦🇺 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Sydney Opera House in Australia
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 Sydney Opera House in Australia.
🔎 HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS – September 2023
Our September 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 homeschool rights; homeschooling in the Czech Republic and in Uzbekistan; and race and homeschooling.
📚 HOMESCHOOL LIBRARY LESSONS: Discovering Dictionaries
On your next library visit, show your homeschool students the many wonderful kinds of dictionaries that are available to them — a lot more than they may realize!
🇺🇸 📜 THE U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES and Constitution Day
The National Archives in Washington has a wealth of free teaching materials available that are ideal for homeschoolers. Why not pay them a visit this week to celebrate the signing of the U.S. Constitution on 17 September 1787.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 17 September 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Constitution days, autumnal equinoxes, tasty birds, flying fish, ancient emperors, American spies, Austrian rivers, a toast to rhoticity, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: New Jersey, Australia, the Bahamas, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: New Jersey, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, and the Bahamas. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🖋 🦋 WONDERFUL WORDS: The Tuft of Flowers
“‘Men work together,’ I told him from the heart, / ‘Whether they work together or apart.’” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Robert Frost, for late-summer mowing, the Monarch butterfly migration, and all of us working together, whether we work together or apart.)
🦆 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Ducks, Geese, and Swans (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 familiar Ducks, Geese, and Swans (Part II).
🌍 🇦🇴 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Mbanza Kongo in Angola
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: Mbanza Kongo, the Capital of the Former Kingdom of Kongo in Angola.
⚔️ HOMESCHOOL HISTORY: Marathon, 490 B.C.
The Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. was one of the most consequential battles in the history of the Western world. It’s an event every homeschool student should know.
📚 LIBRARY LESSONS: Discovering Local Libraries With WorldCat
Have you found all the libraries in your local area? There may be more than you realize, and the WorldCat Library Finder will help you and your students locate them.
🇺🇸 HOMESCHOOL HISTORY: Remembering 9/11
On this anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, why not invite your homeschool students to contemplate the Star-Spangled Banner, in Baltimore, New York, and London.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 10 September 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Constitution days, migrating monarchs, ancient armies, star-spangled banners, children’s authors, Angolan rivers, a toast to bravery and freedom, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Pennsylvania, Angola, Armenia, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Pennsylvania, Angola, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, and Armenia. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🌟 STAR BRIGHT: Deneb for September and the New Homeschool Year
Get the new homeschool year off to a stellar start by making a new friend this month: the giant star Deneb in the constellation Cygnus the Swan, one of the brightest stars in the northern hemisphere night sky.