![[The River Houses]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/arms-icon-100x100.png "The River Houses"){kind=icon}
![[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 (to wrap up the current homeschool year) are “Dust” and “Spices.” Take a look!
🌠 HOMESCHOOL ASTRONOMY: Perseid Meteors for August
Point your homeschool students to the constellation Perseus this month for the annual Perseid meteor shower, the lovely trail of debris left behind by Comet Swift–Tuttle.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 4 August 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: Perseid meteors, meteoric poems, free presses, marvelous museums, Mesoamerican calendars, celebrated generals, Vietnamese rivers, a toast to heroes, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Alaska, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, and More
![[Alaska State Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/flag-alaska-1927-150x106.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Alaska, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
🔭 WATCHERS OF THE SKIES: Homeschool Astronomy for August
![[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 August.
💰 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE LINCOLN CENT, “Born” This Day in 1909
The familiar Lincoln penny — you may have one in your pocket right now — first went into circulation on this day in 1909. It was struck to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Accidental and Extinct Species (To Close the Year)
![[Homeschool Science & Nature Study]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/birds-accidentals-150x89.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 we wrap up the year with a look at a number of accidental and extinct North American birds from your bird guide’s appendix.
🖋 🍻 WONDERFUL WORDS: To the Meteor Rolling Home
“Of thee we think, in a ring we link; / To the shearer of ocean’s fleece we drink, / And the Meteor rolling home.” (Our celebratory homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Herman Melville, for his birthday and for this month’s Perseid meteor shower.)
🗓 😎 ☀️ HAPPY HOMESCHOOL AUGUST from the River Houses!
Happy homeschool August! Here are some little lessons, teaching traditions, and wonderful educational opportunities you and your students can watch for this month.
🌏 🇺🇿 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: The Historic Center of Bukhara in Uzbekistan
![[Flag of Uzbekistan]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/flag-uzbekistan-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 Historic Center of Bukhara in Uzbekistan.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 28 July 2024
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Marvelous microscopists, great writers, hard landings, Lincoln cents, accidental birds, Pacific rivers, a toast to homecoming, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Arizona, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and More
![[Arizona State Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/flag-arizona-1917-150x100.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Arizona, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City, and Venezuela. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, Orioles, and Allies
![[Homeschool Science & Nature Study]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/birds-blackbirds-150x99.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 familiar and widespread Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, Orioles, Grackles, Cowbirds, and their allies.
🌍 🇬🇧 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Ironbridge Gorge in the United Kingdom
![[United Kingdom Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/flag-united-kingdom-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: Ironbridge Gorge in the United Kingdom.
🖋 🔔 WONDERFUL WORDS: As Kingfishers Catch Fire
“Like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s / Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name.” (Our intricate homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Gerard Manley Hopkins, for his birthday and for the halcyon days of summer.)
🌕 HOMESCHOOL “CITIZEN SCIENCE” PROJECTS for July
Our July 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!
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 21 July 2024
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Continental transits, Latin Liberators, roundy wells, celebrated comets, universal languages, Middle Eastern rivers, a toast to fair homecomings, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: New Mexico, the UAE, Uruguay, and More
![[New Mexico State Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/flag-new-mexico-150x100.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: New Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Cardinals, Grosbeaks, and Allies
![[Homeschool Science & Nature Study]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/birds-cardinals-150x99.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 brilliant Cardinals and their allies, including the American Tanagers, Grosbeaks, and Buntings.
🌍 🇺🇬 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda
![[Flag of Uganda]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/flag-uganda-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: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda.
🗓 💪 HAPPY CROSS-QUARTER DAY of Hercules 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, July 16th, is the cross-quarter day of Hercules Term, our summer term in the River Houses. How are things going in your homeschool?
🔎 HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS – July 2024
![[Homeschool Research Icon]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/research-150x80.jpg)
Our July 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 kinship and homeschooling; homeschool agriculture education; homeschooling and libraries; and Christian homeschooling in South Africa.
🖋 🐝 WONDERFUL WORDS: “Answer, July”
“Where is the Bee — / Where is the Blush — / Where is the Hay?” (Our playful homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Emily Dickinson, for July.)
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 14 July 2024
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Moon landings, cross-quarter days, July poems, great fires, ancient artifacts, colorful birds, Ugandan rivers, a toast to tall ships, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Oklahoma, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and More
![[Oklahoma State Flag]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/flag-oklahoma-2006-150x100.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Oklahoma, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, and Ukraine. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🚀 🌕 HOMESCHOOL SCIENCE: Apollo 11 Moon Landing Resources
Share some great educational resources with your homeschool students this month for the July 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.
🌟 STAR BRIGHT: Arcturus and Boötes for July
![[Boötes Star Chart]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/arcturus-122x150.png)
Introduce your homeschool students to the ancient orange giant Arcturus in the constellation Boötes the Herdsman this month, one of the brightest stars in the northern hemisphere’s night sky, and make it their friend for life.
