Invite your American history students to remember the end of the American Revolution with the British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, on this day in 1781.
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Cuckoos, Roadrunners, Anis, & Goatsuckers
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 Cuckoos, Roadrunners, Anis, and Goatsuckers. (All birds with strange names!)
🌕 HOMESCHOOL CITIZEN-SCIENCE PROJECTS for October
Our October 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!
⛏ HOMESCHOOL BOOKS & NATURAL HISTORY: National Fossil Day!
For National Fossil Day, why not explore a big collection of rare and beautiful books on paleontology made available by the Smithsonian Institution and the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Fort McHenry National Monument
For America’s 250th anniversary, discovery the history and landscape of the United States. This week: Fort McHenry National Monument in Maryland.
🗓 🦢 HAPPY CROSS-QUARTER DAY of Cygnus Term
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, October 16th, is the cross-quarter day of Cygnus Term, our fall term in the River Houses. How are things going in your homeschool?
🖋 🍏 🍎 WONDERFUL WORDS: After Apple-Picking
“I am overtired / Of the great harvest I myself desired.” (Our dreamy homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Robert Frost, for apple season.)
🔎 HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS – October 2024
Our October 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 homeschooling during Covid; homeschooling challenges; Israeli homeschooling families; and the differences between homeschooled and traditionally schooled children.
🏹 🧵 HOMESCHOOL HISTORY: 1066 and All That
Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Hastings in 1066: the beginning of the Norman Conquest of England. Why not use this occasion to introduce your homeschool students to one of the most famous objects that has survived from the Middle Ages: the Bayeux Tapestry.
🌐 HOMESCHOOL GEOGRAPHY: The Prime Meridian
On this day in 1884, the north-south line running through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England, was established as our planet’s Prime Meridian: the line of 0º longitude. Can your homeschoolers locate it on a globe and explain its significance?
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 13 October 2024
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Prime meridians, cross-quarter days, Latin words, pomological poems, extraordinary explorers, splendid surrenders, Bulgarian rivers, a toast to peace, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Maryland, Brunei, Burundi, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Maryland, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, and Burundi. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🎵 🍎 WONDERFUL WORDS (and Music!): My Orchard in Linden Lea
“I be free to go abroad / Or take again my homeward road / To where for me the apple tree / Do lean down low in Linden Lea.” (An extra pomological homeschool poem-of-the-week, from William Barnes and Ralph Vaughan Williams, for apple season and Vaughan Williams’ birthday.)
🌟 STAR BRIGHT: Alpheratz and Andromeda for October
Make the acquaintance of the young double star Alpheratz in the constellation Andromeda this month — one of the brightest stars in the northern hemisphere sky — and make it your homeschool friend for life.
🕊️ FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Pigeons and Doves
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 Pigeons and Doves.
🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Minute Man National Historical Park
For America’s 250th anniversary, discovery the history and landscape of the United States. This week: Minute Man National Historical Park in Massachusetts.
🐚 WONDERFUL WORDS: “The Frosts were her condition”
“The Tyrian would not come / Until the North — invoke it.” (Our imperial homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Emily Dickinson, for all late bloomers.)
📚 HOMESCHOOL LIBRARIES: Classic Illustrated Children’s Books Online
The Library of Congress has put together a great collection of beautifully illustrated classic children’s books, all available free online. They’re ideal for homeschoolers.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 6 October 2024
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Word families, revolutionary beginnings, perfect games, super novas, naval battles, plump birds, Bosnian rivers, a toast to ships and sailors, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Massachusetts, Bolivia, Brazil, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Massachusetts, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, and Brazil. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🚀 HOMESCHOOL SCIENCE: Remembering Space Pioneer Robert Goddard
Robert Hutchings Goddard, the inventor of the liquid-fueled rocket and the father of modern space flight, was born on this day in 1882 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Invite your young homeschool scientists to learn about him this week.
🔭 WATCHERS OF THE SKIES: Homeschool Astronomy for October
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 October.
🦩 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.
📸 PHOTO CHALLENGE for October: “Blue & Yellow” and “Recycling”
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 “Blue & Yellow” and “Recycling.” Take a look!
🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Weir Farm National Historical Park
For America’s 250th anniversary, discovery the history and landscape of the United States. This week: Weir Farm National Historical Park in Connecticut.
🌰 🌽 🍎 WONDERFUL WORDS: “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”
“Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find / Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, / Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind.” (Our bountiful homeschool poem-of-the-week, from John Keats, for fall.)
📚 LEARNING THE LIBRARY: The General 000s
Explore your local library and the whole universe of knowledge with our homeschool tour of the Dewey Decimal system. This month: the General 000s.