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You are here: Home > Homeschool Holidays & History

๐Ÿ—“ Homeschool Holidays & History: Little Lessons for the Whole Year

Great homeschool teaching tips and wonderful little lessons on history, holidays, anniversaries, and notable events from the River Houses Homeschool Network. Print your own homeschool calendar for the whole year on our main River Houses calendar page and follow along with us, and add your name to our free River Houses mailing list to get posts like these delivered right to your mailbox every week! ๐Ÿ˜Š

๐Ÿ—“ โœ’๏ธ WONDERFUL WORDS: Happy Birthday to Walt Whitman

31 May 2023 by Bob O'Hara

“Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich,ย / Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love,ย / Aย grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,ย / Chairโ€™d in the adamant of Time.” (Happy birthday to the great American poet Walt Whitman, born on this day in 1819.)

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Language & Literature

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ ๐Ÿ–‹ โ€œAFTER A HUNDRED YEARS / Nobody knows the Placeโ€

27 May 2023 by Bob O'Hara

“Weeds triumphant ranged / Strangers strolled and spelled / At the lone Orthography / Of the Elder Dead.” (An extra homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Emily Dickinson, for Memorial Day.)

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Language & Literature, Poems-of-the-Week

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ ๐Ÿ•Š HOMESCHOOL HISTORY: Memorial Day

26 May 2023 by Bob O'Hara

“Rest, comrades, rest and sleep!ย / The thoughts of men shall beย / As sentinels to keepย / Your rest from danger free.” (Little homeschool lessons in literature, history, geography, and music, for the Memorial Day weekend.)

Filed Under: Homeschool Arts & Music, Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Language & Literature

๐ŸŽ“ ๐ŸŽ‰ HOMESCHOOL MUSIC: Let Us Rejoice!

25 May 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Invite your homeschoolers to learn a few lines this week from the most famous of all medieval student songsย โ€“ it’s an inheritance they can carry with them around the world.

Filed Under: Homeschool Arts & Music, Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Language & Literature

๐ŸŽ‚ HOMESCHOOL HOLIDAYS: Happy Birthday, Ralph! (Emerson, that is)

25 May 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Invite your homeschool students to discover the work of the great American essayist, poet, and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, born this day in 1803.

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Language & Literature

๐Ÿ–‹ ๐ŸŽ“ GRADUATION SEASON: โ€œSet me free to find my callingโ€

22 May 2023 by Bob O'Hara

“Bind me not to the pasture, chain me not to the plow,ย / Set me free to find my calling and Iโ€™ll return to you somehow.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Marta Keen, for graduation season and the coming summer.)

Filed Under: Homeschool Arts & Music, Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Language & Literature, Poems-of-the-Week, The Homeschool Year

๐Ÿ“โ€‰โฑโ€‰๐ŸŒก HAPPY WORLD METROLOGY DAY!

20 May 2023 by Bob O'Hara

On this day in 1875, the meter was adopted as an international standard of measurement. That makes today World Metrology Day! Why not invite your students to take a few scientific measurements this week in your homeschool.

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & History

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ HOMESCHOOL MUSIC & HISTORY: โ€œTo find the hand of Franklinโ€

19 May 2023 by Bob O'Hara

To understand a complex and beautiful piece of art or music, your students must first learn a great deal about the worldย โ€” names, places, people, and events that may seem at first to be unrelated.

Filed Under: Homeschool Arts & Music, Homeschool Geography, Homeschool Holidays & History

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท HOMESCHOOL HISTORY: The Antikythera Mechanism

17 May 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Spend a few homeschool history minutes this week learning about one of the most amazing objects the ancient world ever produced: an astronomical computer called the Antikythera mechanism.

Filed Under: Homeschool Astronomy, Homeschool Holidays & History

๐Ÿš€ HOMESCHOOL ASTRONOMY: Skylab’s 50th Anniversary

14 May 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Do you have a future astronaut in your homeschool? Then why not take a few minutes this week to learn about Skylab, America’s first space station, launched on this day in 1973.

Filed Under: Homeschool Astronomy, Homeschool Holidays & History

๐Ÿš‚ AMERICAN ICON: The Golden Spike of 1869

10 May 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Teach a little homeschool history lesson today on the anniversary of the completion of the North American transcontinental railroad in 1869.

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & History

๐Ÿ–‹ ๐Ÿชบ WONDERFUL WORDS: Anne Bradstreet for Motherโ€™s Day

8 May 2023 by Bob O'Hara

“Great was my pain whenย I you bred,ย / Great was my care whenย I you fed.ย / Long didย I keep you soft and warmย / And with my wings kept off all harm.” (Our “ornithological” homeschool poem-of-the-week, from the early American poet Anne Bradstreet, for Mother’s Day, the second Sunday in May.)

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Language & Literature, Poems-of-the-Week

๐ŸŒณ HOMESCHOOL HOLIDAYS: Happy Arbor Day Weekend!

28 April 2023 by Bob O'Hara

It’s National Arbor Day! Why not celebrate the delightful dendrological occasion by planting a tree in honor of your homeschool this week.

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Natural History

๐ŸŽ‚ ๐ŸŽญ HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILL! (Shakespeare, That Is)

23 April 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Happy birthday to the Bard! Celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday this week with some free teaching materials from Shakespeare’s birthplace itself.

Filed Under: Homeschool Books & Libraries, Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Language & Literature

๐ŸŽต HOMESCHOOL MUSIC: Relax With Randall Thompsonโ€™s โ€œAlleluiaโ€

21 April 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Feeling cooped up and stressed out? Calm your homeschool down with the peaceful “Alleluia” of American composer Randall Thompson, born on this day in 1899.

Filed Under: Homeschool Arts & Music, Homeschool Holidays & History

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ AMERICAN ICON: The Concord Minute Man

19 April 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Teach your homeschool students to recognize one of the most famous artistic symbols of the American Revolution this week: Daniel Chester French’s “Minute Man” (1874).

Filed Under: Homeschool Arts & Music, Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Museums & Monuments

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ HOMESCHOOL HISTORY: Teaching the American Revolution

17 April 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Explore an excellent collection of original documents and ready-made discussion questions on the American Revolution, all set to go for you and your homeschool students.

Filed Under: Homeschool Books & Libraries, Homeschool Holidays & History

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ ๐Ÿ‡ WONDERFUL WORDS: โ€œThe fate of a nation was riding that nightโ€

16 April 2023 by Bob O'Hara

“A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark, / And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark / Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet: / That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light, / The fate of a nation was riding that night.” (A bonus homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Longfellow, for the beginning of the American Revolution in 1775.)

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Language & Literature, Poems-of-the-Week

๐Ÿ–‹ ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ WONDERFUL WORDS: โ€œHere once the embattled farmers stoodโ€

15 April 2023 by Bob O'Hara

“By the rude bridge that arched the flood, / Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, / Here once the embattled farmers stood / And fired the shot heard round the world.” (Our homeschool poem-of-the-week, from Ralph Waldo Emerson, for the beginning of the American Revolution in 1775.)

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Language & Literature, Poems-of-the-Week

๐Ÿ“š LIBRARY LESSONS: Thomas Jefferson’s Book Collection

11 April 2023 by Bob O'Hara

April 13th is Thomas Jefferson’s birthday, so why not spend some quality homeschool time this week learning about Jefferson’s famous library. Aย ready-made lesson plan from the Library of Congress will help you.

Filed Under: Homeschool Books & Libraries, Homeschool Holidays & History

๐Ÿ–‹ ๐Ÿ•Š WONDERFUL WORDS: George Herbert’s โ€œEaster Wingsโ€

9 April 2023 by Bob O'Hara

“O let me riseย / As larks, harmoniously,ย / And sing this day thy victories:ย / Then shall the fall further the flight in me.” (A bonus homeschool poem-of-the-week, from George Herbert, for Easter.)

Filed Under: Homeschool Books & Libraries, Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Language & Literature, Poems-of-the-Week

๐Ÿ–– HOMESCHOOL HOLIDAYS: Happy First Contact Day!

5 April 2023 by Bob O'Hara

“Sure on this shining nightย / Iย weep for wonder wand’ring far aloneย / Of shadows on the stars.” (On this day in the year 2063, in a remote area near Bozeman, Montana, a Vulcan survey ship will make first contact with the human race. Perhaps some of todayโ€™s homeschoolers will be there to see it.)

Filed Under: Homeschool Arts & Music, Homeschool Astronomy, Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Language & Literature

๐Ÿ HOMESCHOOL HOLIDAYS: The Annual Spaghetti Harvest in Switzerland

1 April 2023 by Bob O'Hara

The annual spaghetti harvest in Ticino, Switzerland, is one of Europe’s great cultural traditions. Every homeschooler should know about it!

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & History

๐ŸŒธ HOMESCHOOL HOLIDAYS: Visit the Cherry Blossoms in Washington, D.C.

27 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

On this day in 1912, the city of Tokyo presented a gift of 3000 cherry trees to the United States to line the banks of the Potomac River and other sites in Washington, D.C., where they and their successors may still be seen today.

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Natural History

๐ŸŽต HOMESCHOOL MUSIC: Happy Birthday Bach!

21 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Take a few homeschool minutes to introduce your students to a tiny musical masterpiece by one of the world’s great composers, Johann Sebastian Bach, born on this day in 1685.

Filed Under: Homeschool Arts & Music, Homeschool Holidays & History

๐ŸŽญ HOMESCHOOL HISTORY & LITERATURE: “Lend Me Your Ears!”

16 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Why not wrap up this special Julius Caesar Week in your homeschool by viewing and discussing several versions of a famous Shakespearean speech with your students.

Filed Under: Homeschool Arts & Music, Homeschool Holidays & History, Homeschool Language & Literature

๐Ÿ—“ ๐Ÿ—ก HOMESCHOOL HISTORY: โ€œThe Ides of March are comeโ€

15 March 2023 by Bob O'Hara

Remembering the Ides of March, the famous date on which the Roman politician, general, and dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44ย B.C.

Filed Under: Homeschool Holidays & History

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