Our May 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: Chinazzi (2023), King (2023), Merrill (2023), and Sadorra (2023).
🖋 🍃 WONDERFUL WORDS: Robert Frost’s “Birches”
“One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Robert Frost, for childhood play and growing up.)
🚀 HOMESCHOOL ASTRONOMY: Skylab’s 50th Anniversary
Do you have a future astronaut in your homeschool? Then why not take a few minutes this week to learn about Skylab, America’s first space station, launched on this day in 1973.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 14 May 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Mother’s Days, space stations, horse races, famous poems, nautical mysteries, ancient instruments, Rwandan rivers, a toast to every mom, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Nebraska, Rwanda, Saint Vincent, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Nebraska, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
🌟 STAR BRIGHT: Polaris and Ursa Minor for May
Make the acquaintance of the pole star Polaris in the bearish constellation Ursa Minor this month, one of the most important stars in the northern hemisphere sky, and make it your homeschool friend and sky-mark for life.
🐦 WHAT BIRDS ARE MIGRATING Through Your Neighborhood?
May is Bird Migration Month in the River Houses. Here’s how you can find out what birds are migrating though your homeschool neighborhood this month (or any month of the year).
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Mockingbirds, Catbirds, and Thrashers
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 loquacious Mockingbirds, Catbirds, and Thrashers.
🚂 AMERICAN ICON: The Golden Spike of 1869
Teach a little homeschool history lesson today on the anniversary of the completion of the North American transcontinental railroad in 1869.
🌍 🇷🇴 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Monastery of Horezu in Romania
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 Monastery of Horezu in Romania.
📚 🦉 LIBRARY LESSONS: The Macaulay Library of Natural History
Invite your homeschool naturalists to explore the sights and sounds of birds all over the world through the online collections of the Macaulay Library at Cornell University.
🖋 🪺 WONDERFUL WORDS: Anne Bradstreet for Mother’s Day
“Great was my pain when I you bred, / Great was my care when I you fed. / Long did I keep you soft and warm / And with my wings kept off all harm.” (Our “ornithological” homeschool poem-of-the-week, from the early American poet Anne Bradstreet, for Mother’s Day, the second Sunday in May.)
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 7 May 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Golden spikes, maternal poems, tall buildings, marvelous musicians, mocking birds, Portuguese rivers, a toast to the early bird, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Nevada, Portugal, Russia, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Nevada, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, and Russia.
🔭 WATCHERS OF THE SKIES: Homeschool Astronomy for May
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 May.
🌕 HOMESCHOOL “CITIZEN SCIENCE” PROJECTS for May
Our May full-moon report on the real “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!
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Thrushes
Come along on our homeschool tour of North American bird families and pick up some great science and natural history teaching tips along the way. This week: the melodious Thrushes.
📸 PHOTO CHALLENGE for May: “Macro Photography” and “Feathers”
Calling all homeschool photographers! The Wikimedia Commons Photo Challenge is a great way for enthusiastic homeschool photography students to develop their talents and gain some recognition for their work. This month’s themes are “Macro Photography” and “Feathers.” Take a look!
🌎 🇵🇪 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Sacred City of Caral-Supe in Peru
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 Sacred City of Caral-Supe in Peru.
📚 LEARNING THE LIBRARY: The Artistic 700s
Explore your local library and the whole universe of knowledge with our annual homeschool tour of the Dewey Decimal System. This month: the Artistic 700s.
📚 🌼 WONDERFUL WORDS: May and the Poets
“Come, ye rains, then if ye will, / May’s at home, and with me still; / But come rather, thou, good weather, / And find us in the fields together.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Leigh Hunt, for the merry month of May.)
🗓 🐦 🎓 HAPPY HOMESCHOOL MAY from the River Houses!
Happy homeschool May! 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 April 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Migrating birds, penny postage, precise predictions, four-minute miles, Russian composers, Peruvian rivers, a toast to the world’s farmers, and more!
🌏 🇵🇰 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Ruins of Takht-i-Bahi in Pakistan
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 Buddhist Ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Sahr-i-Bahlol in Pakistan.
🌍 🇴🇲 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Bat, Al-Khutm, and Al-Ayn in Oman
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 Archaeological Sites of Bat, Al-Khutm, and Al-Ayn in Oman.
🌞 🌏 🌕 WONDERFUL WORDS: “The stellar gauge of earthly show”
“Is such the stellar gauge of earthly show, / Nation at war with nation, brains that teem, / Heroes, and women fairer than the skies?” (An extra astronomical homeschool poem-of-the-week, a sonnet-masterpiece from Thomas Hardy, for this week’s lunar eclipse.)
🌞 🌏 🌕 LUNAR ECLIPSE Monday–Tuesday Night (7–8 November 2022)
Invite your young homeschool astronomers to view the total lunar eclipse coming up on Monday–Tuesday night (7–8 November 2022).