![[The River Houses]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/arms-icon-100x100.png "The River Houses"){kind=icon}
![[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: Rocket scientists, purple poems, perfect games, super novas, naval battles, plump birds, Belizean rivers, a toast to ships and sailors, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Connecticut, Belgium, Bhutan, and More
![[Connecticut State Seal]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Seal_of_Connecticut-117x150.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Connecticut, Belgium, Belize, Benin, and Bhutan. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🔭 WATCHERS OF THE SKIES: Homeschool Astronomy for October
![[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 October.
🦩 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Grebes and Flamingos
![[Homeschool Science & Nature Study]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/birds-grebes-150x113.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 short-legged Grebes and the long-legged Flamingos.
📸 PHOTO CHALLENGE for October: “Freight Cars” and “Dyeing”
![[Homeschool Photography]](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 “Freight Cars” and “Dyeing.” Take a look!
🌰 🌽 🍎 WONDERFUL WORDS: “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”
![[Keats Stamp]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/keats-stamp-1971-150x114.png)
“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.)
🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park
![[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 with your homeschool students. This week: Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park in Georgia.
🗓 🍁 🎃 HAPPY HOMESCHOOL OCTOBER from the River Houses!
![[Roman Calendar Mosaic]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/roman-calendar-october-150x145.png)
Happy homeschool October! Here are some little lessons, teaching traditions, and wonderful educational opportunities you and your students can watch for this month.
🏡 WELCOME! (Pinned Post)
![[The River Houses]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/emoji-house-with-garden-150x150.png)
First time visitor? We post a wide range of easy-to-use educational ideas and “little lessons” that will enrich your homeschooling schedule all through the year. Please subscribe to our free homeschool newsletter! (It’s just one message a week with no spam.)
There’s a wealth of wonderful material here on the River Houses website — everything from homeschool astronomy to books and libraries to language and literature to geography, natural history, homeschool calendars, and more. The materials we’re developing are going to become the foundation for a new type of homeschool network made up of friendly local groups called “Houses” (just like in Harry Potter). Make yourself at home! 😊
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 28 September 2025
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Calendrical changes, chance discoveries, learnèd linguists, leggy birds, Nobel laureates, beautiful bridges, Bangladeshi rivers, a toast to autumn, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Georgia, Bahrain, Belarus, and More
![[Georgia State Seal]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/seal-georgia-150x150.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Georgia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, and Belarus. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🗓 HOMESCHOOL CALENDARS: “Thirty days hath September . . .”
![[Calendar]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/calendar-emoji-150x150.png)
“. . . April, June, and November.” (There’s no better week than this to teach your students the ancient calendrical verse that every young homeschooler should know.)
🦃 🐓 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: “Gallinaceous” Birds
![[Homeschool Science & Nature Study]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/birds-quail-150x96.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 chicken-like “Gallinaceous” birds, including New World Quail, Curassows, Guans, Partridges, Grouse, Turkeys, and Old World Quail.
🌳 🗺️ LOCAL & FAMILY HISTORY PROJECTS for Homeschoolers
![[Tree]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/tree-emoji-150x150.png)
Local history and geography, and family history (genealogy), are ideal educational subjects to explore in every homeschool all throughout the year.
📚 HOMESCHOOL BOOKS: Dover Thrift Editions for Your Students
The Dover Thrift Editions are a great way to build up an inexpensive library of classic literature for your homeschool students.
🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Thomas Edison National Historical Park
For America’s 250th anniversary, discover the history and landscape of the United States with your homeschool students. This week: Thomas Edison National Historical Park in New Jersey.
📚 LIBRARY LESSONS: Getting to Know the Library of Congress
![[Library of Congress]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/library-of-congress-150x150.png)
As the new homeschool year gets going, why not get (re)acquainted with the Library of Congress, the world’s largest library. It’s a rich source of free educational materials for homeschoolers and a place every American should know.
🖋 🍃 WONDERFUL WORDS: “Our Summer made her light escape”
![[Emily Dickinson Homestead]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/dickinson-homestead-150x113.jpg)
“And thus, without a Wing / Or service of a Keel / Our Summer made her light escape / Into the Beautiful.” (Our wistful homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Emily Dickinson, for the end of summer.)
🗓 🍂 FALL IS HERE! (Astronomically Speaking)
![[Equinoxes & Solstices]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/equinox-solstice-150x100.png)
Fall is here! If you’re in the northern hemisphere, that is. If you’re in the southern hemisphere, spring is here! Happy September equinox to homeschoolers everywhere!
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 21 September 2025
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Autumnal equinoxes, equinoctial poems, practical cats, tasty birds, American spies, ancient temples, Azerbaijani rivers, a toast to evening hours, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: New Jersey, Australia, the Bahamas, and More
![[New Jersey State Seal]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Seal_of_New_Jersey-150x150.png)
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: New Jersey, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, and the Bahamas. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🦆 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Ducks, Geese, & Swans (Part II)
![[Homeschool Science & Nature Study]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/birds-ducks-ii-150x92.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 Ducks, Geese, and Swans (Part II).
📚 HOMESCHOOL LIBRARY LESSONS: Discovering Dictionaries
![[Samuel Johnson Stamp 2009]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/samuel-johnson-stamp-2009-150x145.jpg)
On your next library visit, show your homeschool students the many wonderful kinds of dictionaries that are available to them — a lot more than they may realize!
🇺🇸 📜 THE U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES and Constitution Day
![[U.S. National Archives]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/national-archives-logo-150x135.png){kind=logo}
The National Archives in Washington has a wealth of free teaching materials available that are ideal for homeschoolers. Why not pay them a visit this week to celebrate the signing of the U.S. Constitution on 17 September 1787.
🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Valley Forge National Historical Park
For America’s 250th anniversary, discover the history and landscape of the United States with your homeschool students. This week: Valley Forge National Historical Park in Pennsylvania.
🔎 HOMESCHOOL RESEARCH & NEWS for September
![[Homeschool Research Icon]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/research-150x80.jpg)
Our September 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 and disability; deciding to homeschool; and homeschooling and technology.
🖋 🦋 WONDERFUL WORDS: The Tuft of Flowers
![[Robert Frost Stamp]](https://riverhouses.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/frost-stamp-96x150.jpg)
“‘Men work together,’ I told him from the heart, / ‘Whether they work together or apart.’” (Our encouraging homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Robert Frost, for late-summer mowing, the Monarch butterfly migration, and all of us working together, whether we work together or apart.)