![[The River Houses]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/arms-icon-100x100.png "The River Houses"){kind=icon}
“Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes / He star’d at the Pacific — and all his men / Look’d at each other with a wild surmise — / Silent, upon a peak in Darien.” (Our visionary homeschool poem-of-the-week, from John Keats, for all homeschool stargazers.)
🇺🇸 PRESIDENTIAL ADVICE: “Drink not nor talk with your mouth full”
![[Washington Stamp 1932]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/washington-stamp-1932-133x150.jpeg)
“Associate yourself with Men of good Quality if you Esteem your own Reputation; for ’tis better to be alone than in bad Company.” (The future President Washington has some advice for your homeschool students.)
🌍 🇱🇸 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Maloti-Drakensberg Park in Lesotho
![[Flag of Lesotho]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/flag-lesotho-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: Maloti-Drakensberg Park in Lesotho.
🔎 HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS – February 2024
![[Homeschool Research Icon]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/research-150x80.jpg)
Our February 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 three items this month, on homeschooling vs. unschooling; homeschooling in Indonesia; and homeschool internship programs. In addition, we take note of the new “Homeschool Hub” for research at Johns Hopkins University.
☀️ 🌍 HOMESCHOOL SCIENCE & HISTORY: Copernicus and His Revolutions
On Copernicus’ birthday, introduce your homeschool students to one of the most important books ever published: “On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres” (1543).
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 18 February 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: Bird counts, dead parrots, great composers, landmark decisions, full moons, Lebanese rivers, a toast to General Washington, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Arkansas, Lebanon, Libya, and More
![[Arkansas State Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/flag-arkansas-1924-150x100.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Arkansas, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, and Libya. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🚀 “THE RIVER HOUSES” is Exploring Mars!
NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars three years ago, and “The River Houses” went along for the ride — and so did ten million other earthly travelers.
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Caracaras and Falcons
![[Homeschool Science & Nature Study]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/birds-caracaras-150x100.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 predatory and fast-flying Falcons and Caracaras.
🔭 HOMESCHOOL SCIENCE & HISTORY: The Starry Messenger
Remembering one of the great minds of history, the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), on the anniversary of his birth.
🖋 🌠 WONDERFUL WORDS: The Truly Great
“Born of the sun, they travelled a short while toward the sun / And left the vivid air signed with their honour.” (Our transmigrational homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Stephen Spender, for the great birthdays of February.)
🌏 🇱🇦 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Megalithic Jars of Xiengkhuang in Laos
![[Flag of Laos]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/flag-laos-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 ancient Megalithic Jars of Xiengkhuang in Laos.
📚 LEARNING THE LIBRARY: Dewey Detectives at Home
![[Dewey Decimal Classes]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/dewey-decimal-classes-2-150x90.jpg)
Did you know there are secret Dewey Decimal numbers hidden in the books on your very own bookshelves? It’s true! Send your homeschool students on a treasure hunt to find them.
🇺🇸 🦋 HOMESCHOOL HISTORY: Lincoln and Darwin (and Horace)
Our recommended homeschool history encyclopedia is just the thing you need on a notable anniversary like today: the birthday of both Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin (in the same year, 1809).
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 11 February 2024
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Bird counts, coloring books, great artists, great scientists, great poems, fast flyers, ancient tombs, Laotian rivers, a toast to love, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Missouri, Kuwait, Latvia, and More
![[Missouri State Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/flag-missouri-1913-150x87.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Missouri, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, and Latvia. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🌟 STAR BRIGHT: Betelgeuse and Orion for February
![[Orion Star Chart]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/orion-chart-121x150.png)
Make the acquaintance of the red giant Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion the Hunter this month — a strange, irregular, enormous variable star — and make it your homeschool friend for life.
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Woodpeckers
![[Homeschool Science & Nature Study]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/birds-woodpeckers-150x100.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 Woodpeckers!
🗓 ⚗️ HOMESCHOOL SCIENCE: Happy Birthday, Dmitri! (Mendeleev, that is)
The father of the Periodic Table of the Elements, the great Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev, was born on this day in 1834 near Tobolsk, Siberia. Here are some clever educational ways to remember him in your homeschool.
🖋 ❤️ WONDERFUL WORDS: “Unwind the solemn twine, and tie my Valentine!”
“Awake ye muses nine, sing me a strain divine!” (Our romantic homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Emily Dickinson, for Valentine Week.)
🌏 🇰🇮 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Phoenix Islands in Kiribati
![[Flag of Kiribati]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/flag-kiribati-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 Phoenix Islands Protected Area in Kiribati.
📚 LEARNING THE LIBRARY: The Linguistic 400s
Explore your local library and the whole universe of knowledge with our homeschool tour of the Dewey Decimal System. This month: the Linguistic 400s.
📸 PHOTO CHALLENGE for February: “Knots” and “Lunar New Year”
![[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 “Knots” and “Lunar New Year.” Take a look!
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 4 February 2024
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Coloring books, bird counts, welcome strangers, Valentine poems, Dewey decimals, integrated circuits, Korean rivers, a toast to winter, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Maine, Kiribati, Kosovo, and More
![[Maine State Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/flag-maine-1909-150x118.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Maine, Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea, and Kosovo. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🔭 WATCHERS OF THE SKIES: Homeschool Astronomy for February
![[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 February.
⏚ 🐖 HOMESCHOOL HOLIDAYS: Happy Groundhog Day!
![[Woodchuck Stamp 1987]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/woodchuck-groundhog-stamp-1987-96x150.jpg)
Happy mid-point of astronomical winter to northern-hemisphere homeschoolers everywhere! In other words, Happy Groundhog Day!
