![[The River Houses]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/arms-icon-100x100.png "The River Houses"){kind=icon}
![[Michigan State Bird & Flower]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/michigan-stamp-1982b-99x150.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Michigan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, and Madagascar. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🔭 WONDERFUL WORDS: Watchers of the Skies
“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.)
🦅 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.
🚀 “THE RIVER HOUSES” is Still Exploring Mars!
NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars four years ago, and “The River Houses” went along for the ride — and so did ten million other earthly travelers.
☀️ 🌍 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).
🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Arkansas Post National Memorial
![[Homeschool American Heritage]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/america-250-150x120.jpg)
For America’s 250th anniversary, discover the history and landscape of the United States. This week: Arkansas Post National Memorial in Arkansas.
🔎 HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS – February 2025
![[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 homeschoolers’ self-perceptions; student variability in homeschooling; and homeschooling children with autism.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 16 February 2025
![[Weekly Homeschool Almanac]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/calendar-generic-150x88.png)
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Bird counts, dead parrots, celestial scientists, stellar sonnets, classical composers, Lesotho rivers, a toast to General Washington, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Arkansas, Lebanon, Libya, and More
![[Arkansas State Bird & Flower]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/arkansas-stamp-1982a-100x150.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!
🔭 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.)
🦅 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 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).
🌕 HOMESCHOOL CITIZEN-SCIENCE PROJECTS for February
Our February 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!
🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Gateway Arch National Park
For America’s 250th anniversary, discover the history and landscape of the United States. This week: Gateway Arch National Park in Missouri.
📚 LEARNING THE LIBRARY: Dewey Detectives at Home
![[Magnifying Glass]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/magnifying-glass-emoji-right-150x150.png)
Did you know there are secret Dewey Decimal numbers hidden in the books on your very own bookshelves? It’s true! Here’s how you can send your homeschool students on a treasure hunt to find them.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 9 February 2025
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Bird counts, Valentine’s Days, amazing meteors, great artists, great scientists, great poems, national parks, Latvian rivers, a toast to love, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Missouri, Kuwait, Latvia, and More
![[Missouri State Bird & Flower]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/missouri-stamp-1982a-100x150.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!
🖋 ❤️ WONDERFUL WORDS: “Unwind the solemn twine, and tie my Valentine!”
![[Emily Dickinson]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/dickinson-stamp-1971-96x150.jpg)
“Awake ye muses nine, sing me a strain divine!” (Our romantic homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Emily Dickinson, for Valentine Week.)
🗓 ⚗️ 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.
🌟 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: Trogons and Kingfishers
![[Homeschool Science & Nature Study]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/birds-trogons-150x107.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 tropical Trogons and the piscivorous Kingfishers.
📸 PHOTO CHALLENGE for February: “Absence” and “Healthy Living”
![[Homeschool Photography Icon]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/camera-flash-emoji-150x150.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 “Absence” and “Healthy Living.” Take a look!
🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Saint Croix Island International Historic Site
For America’s 250th anniversary, discover the history and landscape of the United States. This week: Saint Croix Island International Historic Site in Maine.
📚 LEARNING THE LIBRARY: The Linguistic 400s
![[Dewey Decimal System]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/dewey-decimal-classes-150x79.jpg)
Explore your local library and the whole universe of knowledge with our homeschool tour of the Dewey Decimal System. This month: the Linguistic 400s.
⏚ 🐖 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!
