Homeschool Collections

For live links, click to: riverhouses.org/2019-lincoln-cent

The first Lincoln cents went into circulation on this day in 1909 — they were issued in honor of the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth in 1809.

The Lincoln cent was the first regular U.S. coin to feature the image of an actual person, rather than an abstract personification of “Liberty” or something similar. And while past presidents have appeared on many U.S. coins since 1909, it is still federal law that no living person shall ever appear on circulating U.S. currency — monarchies and dictatorships feature their rulers on coins, but the United States, as a republic, never has.

And did you know that there’s an original 1909 Lincoln penny on Mars? It’s true! It was sent there in 2012 with the Curiosity rover to serve as a familiar calibration target for the rover’s cameras. And from the way it looked, I’d say the cameras were working just fine. 📸

What numismatical discoveries have you made in your homeschool (or on other planets) this week? 😊

❡ Explore more: The U.S. Mint has a remarkably comprehensive set of free lesson plans and games available on a wide range of topics for students of all ages — just the thing to get some educational treasure hunting under way! 😊

❡ Make it a tradition: Why not pick up an old roll of circulated coins of any denomination at your local grocery store or bank each week and invite your students to go through it around the kitchen table. A whole world of historical and geographical discovery awaits them! 💰

For live links, click to: riverhouses.org/2019-mint-lessons

If you’re looking for some simple homeschool lessons to do over the summer, why not explore these ready-made lesson plans from the U.S. Mint:

Did you know that the Mint has over 400 free lesson plans for K-12 educators, including many that focus on aviation and space exploration? Check out some of our air and space-themed lesson plans.

• Discovering Native American Contributions to the U.S. Space Program (Grades 3–8): Students will learn about the lives of Native Americans who have made significant impacts to the U.S. space program and other STEM fields.
• Distinguished Discoveries (Grades 4–6): Students will analyze the importance of selected discoveries, research the history and impact of historical discoveries, and compare and contrast two discoveries.
• Discovery, Ship to Shuttle (Grades 2–3): Students will explain the meaning of discovery.
• Pioneers in Space (Grades K–1): Students will learn the meaning of the word “pioneer” and be introduced to some aviation pioneers.

This summer’s 50th anniversary of the first moon landing is one of their special themes at the moment, but the Mint’s educational resources cover a wide range of subjects, from geography and financial literacy, to the U.S. states, to historical anniversaries and more — and they’re available for all grade levels. They even have games!

What numismatical discoveries have you made in your homeschool this week? 😊

❡ Cabinets of wonder: This is one of our occasional posts on the educational value of collections and collecting. Add your name to our free weekly mailing list (riverhouses.org/newsletter) and get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox all through the year. 🗞

(SIGN UP for our free River Houses Newsletter! Get great homeschool ideas in your mailbox each week: riverhouses.org/newsletter.) 😊

Attention homeschool historians, geographers, artists, and treasure hunters! Here’s something new for you to search for this month: the War in the Pacific National Historical Park “America the Beautiful” quarter from Guam, just out from the U.S. Mint:

Click for image: riverhouses.org/2019-guam-quarter

If you’re looking for a fun and easy way to include some interesting geographical and historical facts in your homeschool schedule (as well as a little treasure hunting along the way), you can’t do better than to keep an eye on the “America the Beautiful” quarters series. This commemorative series began in 2010 and each year five new designs are issued featuring national parks and other historic sites in the U.S. states and territories.

The latest quarter commemorates the War in the Pacific National Historical Park in Guam, and it has just gone into circulation:

“The westernmost park of all the National Park Service sites, Guam’s War in the Pacific National Historical Park honors the bravery, courage, and sacrifice of those participating in the campaigns of the Pacific Theater during World War II. The park also conserves and interprets a variety of amazing resources found on the Island of Guam. War in the Pacific National Historical Park has the highest biological diversity of any national park, with both underwater and land areas. This design depicts American forces coming ashore at Asan Bay, strengthening the number of troops on the island in the fight for Guam and its eventual liberation.“ (U.S. Mint)

The Mint has a remarkably comprehensive set of free lesson plans available for the whole America the Beautiful series — you could make quite an American history course out of them. And the Mint also has a very nice simple album for this series (amzn.to/2D2A3dO) — just the thing to get some educational treasure hunting under way.

(And next up, if you want to look ahead: a quarter for the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park in Texas, scheduled for late August.)

What numismatical discoveries have you made in your homeschool this week? 😊

❡ Come, here’s the map: The America the Beautiful quarters are a great tool for teaching about geography. Locate each park and each historic site in your homeschool atlas (riverhouses.org/books) and spread out your whole collection across its pages. 🇬🇺

❡ Explore more: These quarters are great for teaching history, too. For an overview of World War II in the Pacific, with a map featuring the location of Guam, turn to page 402 in your homeschool history encyclopedia (riverhouses.org/books). ⚔️

❡ Make it a tradition: Why not pick up an old roll of circulated quarters at your local grocery store or bank each week and invite your students to go through it around the kitchen table. A whole world of historical and geographical discovery awaits them. 💰

Attention all homeschool historians, geographers, artists, and treasure hunters! Here’s something new for you to search for this month: the American Memorial Park “America the Beautiful” quarter from the U.S. Mint:

(Click for image: riverhouses.org/2019-marianas-quarter)

If you’re looking for a fun and easy way to include some interesting geographical and historical facts in your homeschool schedule (as well as a little treasure hunting along the way), you can’t do better than to keep an eye on the “America the Beautiful” quarters series. This commemorative series began in 2010 and each year five new designs are issued featuring national parks and other historic sites in the U.S. states and territories.

The latest quarter commemorates the American Memorial Park in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the western Pacific Ocean, and it has just gone into circulation:

“American Memorial Park in Northern Mariana Islands honors the thousands of American troops and local residents of Saipan who gave their lives during the Marianas Campaign of World War II. At the Court of Honor, the American flag is displayed at the center of the Flag Circle and surrounded by the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, and Coast Guard flags. The Court of Honor consists of 26 granite panels inscribed with the names of 5,204 service members who died.

“The design depicts a young woman in traditional attire at the front of the Flag Circle and Court of Honor. She is resting her hand on the plaque whose text honors the sacrifice of those who died in the Marianas Campaign of World War II.“ (U.S. Mint)

The Mint has a remarkably comprehensive set of free lesson plans available for the whole America the Beautiful series — you could make quite an American history course out of them. And the Mint also has a very nice simple album for this series (amzn.to/2D2A3dO) — just the thing to get some educational treasure hunting under way.

(And next up, if you want to look ahead: a quarter for the War in the Pacific National Historical Park in Guam, scheduled for a few weeks from now.)

What numismatical discoveries have you made in your homeschool this week? 😊

❡ Come, here’s the map: The America the Beautiful quarters are a great tool for teaching about geography. Locate each park and each historic site in your homeschool atlas (riverhouses.org/books), and spread out your whole collection on atlas plate 35, the map of the entire United States. 🇺🇸

❡ Explore more: These quarters are great for teaching history, too. For an overview of the Pacific theater in World War II, turn to page 402 in your homeschool history encyclopedia (riverhouses.org/books), which also includes a map showing the location of the Northern Mariana Islands. ⚔️

❡ Make it a tradition: Why not pick up a roll of circulated quarters at your local grocery store or bank each week and invite your students to go through it around the kitchen table. A whole world of historical and geographical discovery awaits them. 💰

Attention all homeschool historians, geographers, artists, and treasure hunters! Here’s something new for you to search for this month: the Lowell National Historical Park “America the Beautiful” quarter from the U.S. Mint:

If you’re looking for a fun and easy way to include some interesting geographical and historical facts in your homeschooling schedule (as well as a little treasure hunting along the way), you can’t do better than to keep an eye on the “America the Beautiful” quarters series. This commemorative series began in 2010 and each year five new designs are issued featuring national parks and other historic sites in the U.S. states and territories.

The latest quarter commemorates the Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts, and it goes into circulation this month:

“The Lowell National Historical Park Quarter commemorates the role of Lowell, MA in the Industrial Revolution, infusing the human story in addition to the industry processes and cultural environment at the time.

The era was defined in part by the ‘mill girls,’ young women who were recruited to work in the mills where they earned cash wages and lived in supervised, company-owned boarding houses. They became an important voice for labor by advocating for better working conditions, supporting abolition, and embracing education….

The design depicts a mill girl working at a power loom, known as the Draper loom, with its prominent circular bobbin battery. Both are considered among the greatest innovations in machine technology and changed the experience of textile factory work.“ (U.S. Mint)

The Mint has a remarkably comprehensive set of free lesson plans available for the whole America the Beautiful series — you could make quite an American history course out of them. And the Mint also has a very nice simple album for this series (amzn.to/2D2A3dO) — just the thing to get some educational treasure hunting under way.

(And next up, if you want to look ahead: the American Memorial Park in the Northern Mariana Islands, scheduled for this April.)

What numismatical discoveries have you made in your homeschool this week? 😊

❡ Come, here’s the map: The America the Beautiful quarters are a great tool for teaching about geography. Locate each park and each historic site in your homeschool atlas (riverhouses.org/books), and spread out your whole collection on atlas plate 35, the map of the entire United States. 🇺🇸

❡ Make it a tradition: Why not pick up an old roll of circulated quarters at the grocery store or the bank each week and invite your students to go through it around the kitchen table. A whole world of historical and geographical discovery awaits them. 💰