Invite your students to listen to a number of different performances of this popular American carol in a variety of different styles this week, and help them think through their preferences. It’s a great way to encourage their intellectual and artistic development.
🌠 HOMESCHOOL ASTRONOMY: Geminid Meteors for December
Point your homeschool students to the constellation Gemini this month for the annual Geminid meteor shower, the debris-trail left behind by asteroid 3200 Phaethon.
🌍 🇪🇹 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Ancient Aksum in Ethiopia
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 Ancient City of Aksum in Ethiopia.
🎵 🚋 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: Walla Walla, Wash., an’ Kalamazoo!
“Antelope cantaloupe, ’lope with you!” (A happy family sing-a-long from Walt Kelly, for Homeschool Holiday Music Month.)
🎵 📚 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: Olden Times and Ancient Rhymes
What did Christmas in America sound like a hundred years ago? The National Jukebox at the Library of Congress has the answer for you and your homeschool students.
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 10 December 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Geminid meteors, holiday music, kaleidoscopic inventions, Nobel laureates, wireless transmissions, halcyon days, Eswatinian rivers, a toast to peace, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Kentucky, Eswatini, Finland, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Kentucky, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, and Finland. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🎵 🎄 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: Introducing Vince Guaraldi
The American jazz musician Vince Guaraldi (1928–1976) wrote some of the best-loved Christmas music of our time. Why not introduce your homeschool students to his wonderful work this month.
🌟 STAR BRIGHT: Aldebaran and Taurus for December
Make the acquaintance of the ancient red giant Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus the Bull this month — one of the brightest stars in the northern hemisphere sky — and make it your homeschool friend for life.
🖋 📖 WONDERFUL WORDS: Happy Birthday to Emily Dickinson!
“He ate and drank the precious Words — / His Spirit grew robust.” (Our literary homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Emily Dickinson, for her birthday.)
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers (Part I)
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 strong-flying Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers (Part I).
🎵 🎄 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: What Sweeter Music
“Dark and dull night, fly hence away, / And give the honor to this day, / That sees December turned to May.” (A modern Christmas masterpiece, with ancient words by Robert Herrick and new music by John Rutter, for Homeschool Holiday Music Month.)
🌍 🇪🇷 WEEKLY WORLD HERITAGE: Modernist Asmara in Eritrea
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 Modernist African City of Asmara in Eritrea.
🎵 🎄 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: Introducing John Rutter and His Carols
“How do you capture the wind on the water? / How do you count all the stars in the sky? / How can you measure the love of a mother? / Or how can you write down a baby’s first cry?” (Introducing the work of the great modern carol-composer John Rutter, for Homeschool Holiday Music Month.)
📚 LEARNING THE LIBRARY: The Religious 200s
Explore your local library and the whole universe of knowledge with our annual homeschool tour of the Dewey Decimal System. This month: the Religious 200s.
📸 PHOTO CHALLENGE for December: “Fossil Fuel” and “In a Box”
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 “Fossil Fuel” and “In a Box.” Take a look!
🎵 🎄 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: All Those Christmas Clichés
“I want the tree full of toys and tinsel, / I want the wreath on the red front door, / I want the elves in the yard and each sentimental card / Dripping glitter on the floor.” (The great Nancy LaMott wishes you a Merry Christmas.)
🗓 QUICK FRESHES for Homeschool Families – Week of 3 December 2023
Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons for the week ahead, including: Holiday music, new almanacs, Dewey decimals, great swamps, bright stars, American poets, Salvadoran rivers, a toast to harmony, and more!
🌎 🇺🇸 SUNDAY STATES: Vermont, El Salvador, Estonia, and More
Take a homeschool tour of the U.S. states and the countries of the world with the River Houses. This week: Vermont, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, and Estonia. Open up your atlas and almanac and follow along with us!
🎵 📻 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: The Holiday Channel from WQXR
If you’d like to fill your homeschool with some beautiful background sounds this season, why not tune in to the 24-hour Holiday Channel from WQXR, the famous classical music radio station in New York City. It’s one of the easiest exercises in musical education you can do all year.
🔭 WATCHERS OF THE SKIES: Homeschool Astronomy for December
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 December.
🎵 🎄 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH 2023 is Here! Good Morrow, Masters All!
“Past three o’clock, / And a cold frosty morning, / Past three o’clock; / Good morrow, masters all!” (Welcome to Homeschool Holiday Music Month! Enjoy a sprightly late-night carol, and learn the traditional call of the winter watchmen.)
🖋 🗡 WONDERFUL WORDS: The Hunter Home From the Hill
“’Tis evening on the moorland free, / The starlit wave is still: / Home is the sailor from the sea, / The hunter from the hill.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from A.E. Housman, for the beginning of Orion Term.)
🦅 FRIDAY BIRD FAMILIES: Skuas, Jaegers, Auks, Murres, and Puffins
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 Skuas and Jaegers, and the Auks, Murres, and Puffins, two widespread groups of oceanic birds.
🗓 🎄 🎅 HAPPY HOMESCHOOL DECEMBER from the River Houses!
Happy homeschool December! Here are some little lessons, teaching traditions, and wonderful educational opportunities you and your students can watch for this month.
🗓 🗡 ORION TERM and the River Houses Homeschool Year
We divide the homeschool year into four three-month terms in the River Houses. Today is the first day of Orion Term, our winter term, named for the Great Hunter of the Heavens. Orion Term runs from December through February.
📖 🦦 LOUISA MAY ALCOTT Gets a Visit From Horace the Otter
Our River Houses homeschool mascot, Horace the Otter, remembers the author of the popular American novel Little Women (1868) on the anniversary of her birth.