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On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

—Emerson

Great homeschool teaching ideas and little lessons on museums, collections, and historical monuments from the River Houses Homeschool Network. Add your name to our River Houses homeschool mailing list and get posts like these delivered right to your mailbox every week! 😊

🇺🇸 AMERICAN ICON: The Concord Minuteman

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The American Revolution began on this day, the 19th of April, in 1775. One of the great symbols of the Revolution and of that day is the Minuteman monument that stands beside the North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. With one hand holding his musket and the other the handle of his plow, the Concord Minuteman represents the thousands of men, most of them farmers, who left their homes and fields on this April morning to engage the British troops that had been sent to confiscate colonial stores of arms and ammunition just a few miles west of Boston. The elite companies of local militia were trained to respond “at a minute’s warning” and so were called Minutemen.

[Concord Minuteman]
Daniel Chester French’s Minuteman as he stands today at the North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)

The Concord Minuteman was sculpted the great American artist (and Concord resident) Daniel Chester French (1850–1931), who later designed the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln memorial, among many other famous landmarks. It was dedicated on the 19th of April in 1875 on the 100th anniversary of the Lexington and Concord battles, with President Ulysses Grant in attendance, and it carries on its base the first stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous “Concord Hymn”:

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.

Learning to recognize and interpret significant cultural symbols is something every homeschool student should be able to do, so here’s a gallery of images to share with your students this week. You can start by checking your pocket for a Massachusetts state quarter to make this into a hands-on history lesson.

[Massachusetts Quarter]
Massachusetts state quarter (2000) featuring the Concord Minuteman monument. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)

That quarter wasn’t the first time the Concord Minuteman had appeared on an American coin or stamp. In 1925, for the 150th anniversary of the Revolution, he was featured on both a commemorative half-dollar and a general issue five-cent stamp.

Lexington–Concord postage stamp (1925), marking the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)
Lexington–Concord commemorative half dollar (1925), featuring the Concord Minuteman. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)

The Minuteman is the symbol of the National Guard, who are his genuine successors, and you’ll see him on their insignia around the country.

Seal of the Army National Guard featuring the Concord Minuteman. The individual state National Guard insignia commonly feature the Minuteman as well.

The Concord Minuteman is such an American icon that your students may run into him just about anywhere — even in a pizza parlor in Oklahoma.

The Minuteman Pizza Parlor in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.

Every society in the world, at every point in history, has iconic images and symbols, and the Concord Minuteman has been one of ours for almost 150 years. What other historical icons and artistic images have you studied with your homeschool students lately? 😊

❡ Explore more: For a quick homeschool review of American Revolution, turn to page 298 in your River Houses history encyclopedia (riverhouses.org/books).

❡ Explore more: Your recommended world almanac (riverhouses.org/books) has a long list of famous artists on pages 185–188, and that list includes famous sculptors — you’ll find Daniel Chester French right there with the Concord Minuteman and the Lincoln Memorial listed as his most famous works, just as we noted above. 😊 If you have an art-minded student, why not pick out a name or two from that list to research each month, either online or on your next visit to your local library. 🎨

🎨 ATTENTION HOMESCHOOL ARTISTS: It’s Color Our Collections Week!

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Calling all homeschool artists, scribblers, painters, colorists, daubers, and illuminators: this week is Color Our Collections Week! Dozens of leading museums and libraries around the world are posting beautiful black-and-white engravings, woodcuts, and illustrations from their rare book collections that you can color to your heart’s content.


Color Our Collections Week is a fun, creative, educational, international project that was started by the library of the New York Academy of Medicine, and it now involves more than a hundred major libraries and museums around the world. These institutions have scanned historic black-and-white images from their collections of rare books and have assembled these images into coloring booklets that you and your students can illuminate as you see fit.

You can find a complete listing of all the available coloring books on the New York Academy of Medicine’s website:

These wonderful free booklets include everything from science to Shakespeare, architecture to medieval art, natural history to engineering, and much more. There are enough pages available for you to download a year’s worth of coloring opportunities for your young artists. And they are not only fun, they are full of educational value as well. Don’t miss this great opportunity for creativity and learning.

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

❡ When in doubt, go to the library: This is one of our regular Homeschool Books & Libraries posts. Add your name to our weekly mailing list (riverhouses.org/newsletter) and get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox all through the year. 📚

✝️ RIGHTEOUSNESS Like a Mighty Stream: Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

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Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States, and in honor of the occasion, why not pay a (virtual) homeschool visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta, Georgia, operated by the U.S. National Park Service.

[Ebenezer Baptist Church]
The Ebenezer Baptist Church, now part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta, Georgia. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)

The King National Historical Park includes a modern visitor center and a collection of adjacent sites that were important in the life of the great American civil rights leader, including King’s birth home, the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where King and his father both preached, and the gravesite of King and his wife Coretta Scott King:

Browse the National Park Service’s website to learn more, and maybe make plans for a future visit in person!

What other notable museums and historical sites have you visited in your homeschool lately? 😊

❡ A mighty stream: The riverine title of today’s post comes from King’s famous “I have a dream” speech, delivered 28 August 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington: “We cannot be satisfied so long as the Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and the Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied and will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” King was quoting the Old Testament book of Amos (5:23–24): “Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.”

❡ Explore more: Your River Houses history encyclopedia (riverhouses.org/books) has an excellent illustrated summary of the life and work of Martin Luther King on pages 432–433 — just what you need to teach a excellent homeschool history lesson this week. 😊

Monday Museum: The Red Cross Museum

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The American Red Cross was established on this day in 1881 by Civil War nurse Clara Barton (1821–1912). If you ever make a homeschool trip to Washington you can visit the Red Cross Museum for a free guided tour (by reservation). Or if you prefer, you and your students can explore some of their online exhibits right from the comfort of your home:

Clara Barton is a name every American student should know:

Clarissa Harlowe Barton, known as Clara, is one of the most honored women in American history. Barton risked her life to bring supplies and support to soldiers in the field during the Civil War. She founded the American Red Cross in 1881, at age 60, and led it for the next 23 years. Her understanding of the ways she could provide help to people in distress guided her throughout her life. By the force of her personal example, she opened paths to the new field of volunteer service. Her intense devotion to serving others resulted in enough achievements to fill several ordinary lifetimes. (redcross.org)

[Clara Barton]
Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, ca. 1870. (Image: redcross.org.)

What museums or historical sites have you visited with your homeschool students lately? 😊

Monday Museum: Federal Hall National Memorial

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Monday is Museums & Monuments Day at the River Houses: spend a few homeschool minutes exploring a notable cultural or historical site, learn a new name or a new date, find a new location on a map, and your little lesson is done.

On this day in 1789, George Washington took the oath of office as the first President of the United States. That important event took place on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, now the Federal Hall National Memorial and a place you and your homeschoolers can visit online or in person:

Their website provides many details on this important building:

Here on Wall Street, George Washington took the oath of office as our first President, and this site was home to the first Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices. The current structure, a Customs House, later served as part of the US Sub-Treasury. Now, the building serves as a museum and memorial to our first President and the beginnings of the United States of America. (nps.gov/feha)

[George Washington statue]
George Washington statue at Federal Hall, New York. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)

What museum or historical monument have you visited with your homeschool students lately? 😊

❡ Little lessons: If your homeschoolers are studying American history this month, here’s a tricky question you can ask them: “If the United States became a country in 1776 (with the Declaration of Independence), how come the first president (Washington) wasn’t inaugurated until 1789?” Answer: Because the country was first governed under the Articles of Confederation, not the Constitution, and the Articles of Confederation included no provision for a national president! For a read-aloudable five-paragraph account of how we got from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution, turn to pages 473–474 on your River Houses almanac (riverhouses.org/books).

Monday Monuments: Happy Birthday to the Bard!

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Today is Shakespeare’s birthday! It’s also our regular Museums and Monuments Day, so we’re going to pay a quick homeschool visit to some suitably Shakespearean monuments.

There are monuments to the Bard of Avon all around the world. Here’s a listing of a few you can explore with your students this week, from Westminster Abbey in London to Central Park in New York:

The Central Park Shakespeare by American sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward was unveiled in 1872:

[Central Park Shakespeare]
Shakespeare in Central Park, designed by John Quincy Adams Ward (1872). (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)

A 1904 Shakespeare statue in Weimar, Germany, also strikes a pensive pose:

[Weimar Shakespeare]
The 1904 Otto Lessing stature of Shakespeare in Weimar, Germany. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)

Perhaps a Shakespeare monument of your own is just what your homeschool needs! If so, Amazon.com (https://amzn.to/2Jl1gJj) will come to your rescue with a wide array of busts, bronzes, and even miniature action figures!

[Shakespeare action figure]
Shakespeare action figure — just what every homeschool needs! 😊

What museum or historical monument have you visited with your homeschool students lately? 😊

❡ Explore more: Your River Houses history encyclopedia (riverhouses.org/books) has a beautifully illustrated overview of the Elizabethan period, within which Shakespeare lived and worked, on pages 260–261. It’s just the background you need to do a wonderful homeschool history lesson.

Monday Monument: The Concord Minuteman

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Every Monday we pay a homeschool visit a notable museum or historical monument, and since this week is the week the American Revolution began in 1775, we’re going to visit a monument every American student should know: the Concord Minuteman.

The Minuteman monument stands today at the North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts, and it represents the thousands of men, most of them farmers, who left their homes and fields on the morning of 19 April 1775 to engage a regiment of British troops sent to confiscate colonial stores of arms and ammunition in the towns of Lexington and Concord, just a few miles west of Boston. (The elite companies of local militia were trained to respond “at a minute’s warning” and so were called Minutemen.) Many of the battle sites of that day are now included within the Minute Man National Historical Park, which should be on your list of places to visit someday in your homeschool travels:

The Concord Minuteman was sculpted the great American artist (and Concord native) Daniel Chester French, who later designed the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln memorial. It was dedicated in 1875 on the 100th anniversary of the Lexington and Concord battles, and it carries on its base the first stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous “Concord Hymn”:

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.

In one hand, the Minuteman holds his musket, and in the other, the handle of his plow. Here’s a gallery of images to share with your students this week — and be sure check your pocket for a Massachusetts quarter so you can give a little hands-on history lesson, too.

[Concord Minuteman]
Daniel Chester French’s Minuteman as he stands today at the North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)
[Massachusetts Quarter]
Massachusetts state quarter (2000) featuring the Minuteman monument. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)
[Minuteman stamp]
Lexington–Concord postage stamp (1925), marking the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)
[Minuteman half dollar]
Lexington–Concord commemorative half dollar (1925), featuring the Concord Minuteman. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)

❡ Explore more: For a quick homeschool review of the beginning of the American Revolution, turn to pages 298–299 in your River Houses history encyclopedia (riverhouses.org/books).

What museum or historical monument have you visited with your homeschool students lately? 😊

Museum Monday: Venus de Milo at the Louvre

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Monday is Museums & Monuments Day at the River Houses: spend a few homeschool minutes exploring a notable cultural or historical site, learn a new name or a new date, find a new location on a map, and your little lesson is done.

On this day in 1820, a Greek farmer scavenging in the ruins of the ancient city of Milos, on the tiny Aegean island of the same name, came across a fine marble statue, broken in half and missing its arms, but otherwise in excellent condition. That statue is today one of the world’s most famous works of art, the Venus de Milo (Venus of Milos). It is now housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris, where you and your homeschool students can pay it a visit and read about it online:

The Louvre Museum (www.louvre.fr/en) is the world’s largest art museum, and it’s a name your students should know. It’s so old and famous that the building it occupies, the Louvre Palace, is even mentioned in Shakespeare.

There is an excellent 3-D image of the Venus de Milo available online (made from a plaster cast, not the original) that can be turned and viewed from all sides, giving a complete picture of what the statue looks like:

The Venus de Milo (or the Aphrodite of Milos, to use the Greek rather than Roman name of the goddess) is now usually dated to about 100 B.C. and is attributed to a sculptor named Alexandros of Antioch. In its day, like most ancient sculptures, it would have probably been painted in life-like colors or polychromed, not left as white marble.

[Venus de Milo]
The Venus de Milo (Aphrodite of Milos), on display in the Louvre Museum, Paris. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)

What museum or historical monument have you visited with your homeschool students lately? 😊

❡ Explore more: Your River Houses history encyclopedia (riverhouses.org/books) has a beautifully illustrated introduction to Classical (Greek and Roman) art on pages 116–117 that will give you just the background you need for a wonderful homeschool history lesson. And you can find the little island of Milos on plate 72 in your atlas.

❡ Make it a tradition: Why not make a weekly visit to a museum or historical monument a regular homeschool tradition in your family. You can visit the one we select each week (above), or make a selection of your own, perhaps from your almanac (riverhouses.org/books) or from the riverhouses.org sidebar — art museums one year, science museums the next, historical monuments the next again. Don’t worry about making a comprehensive study: just look up its location your atlas, learn the name of a new artist or scientist or historical period or event, and your little lesson is done. Over the course of a year, without even realizing it, your students will absorb a wealth of new cultural, historical, and geographical information — and so will you!

Monday Museums: Hans Christian Andersen’s Odense

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Today is the birthday of beloved fairy-tale author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875), so why not pay a homeschool visit this week to the H.C. Andersen museums in his home town of Odense, Denmark.

Monday is Museums & Monuments Day at the River Houses: spend a few minutes with your students exploring a notable cultural or historical site, learn a new name or a new date, find a new location on a map, and your little lesson is done. For Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday, why not pay a visit to the complex of five museums devoted to his life and work in Odense, Denmark, where he grew up:

Andersen’s fairy tales, including “The Princess and the Pea,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “The Ugly Duckling,” have been translated into dozens of languages and read and enjoyed by millions of children and adults around the world. He is one of Denmark’s most celebrated literary figures, and his stories have formed the basis for countless other works of art, from films and sculptures to paintings and cartoons.

[H.C. Andersen statue]
Hans Christian Andersen and the Ugly Duckling, Central Park, New York. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)

What museum or historical monument have you visited with your homeschool students lately?

❡ Make it a tradition: Why not make a weekly visit to a museum or historical monument a regular homeschool tradition in your family. You can visit the one we select each week (above), or make a selection of your own, perhaps from your almanac (riverhouses.org/books) or from the riverhouses.org sidebar — art museums one year, science museums the next, historical monuments the next again. Don’t worry about making a comprehensive study: just look up its location your atlas, learn the name of a new artist or scientist or historical period or event, and your little lesson is done. Over the course of a year, without even realizing it, your students will absorb a wealth of new cultural, historical, and geographical information — and so will you!

The Norman Borlaug Heritage Foundation

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Yesterday (25 March) was the birthday of the most important person in history that you may never have heard of: Dr. Norman Borlaug, born 25 March 1914 in the little town of Cresco, Iowa. Borlaug was an American agronomist who developed important new strains of wheat and helped distribute them to impoverished regions of the world in what has been called the “Green Revolution” of the mid-twentieth century. By some estimates, Borlaug’s work saved a billion people from starvation. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in 1970.

This is our weekly museums post for the River Houses, and we invite you to pay a virtual homeschool visit this week to the Norman Borlaug Heritage Foundation (and museum) in Cresco, Iowa:

The Borlaug Foundation has restored some of the original farm buildings in which Borlaug first worked, and has also developed an excellent set of free educational resources for children, including a short curriculum and an activity book — just the thing to download for your homeschool:

Take a few homeschool minutes this week to introduce your students to Norman Borlaug, one of history’s greatest humanitarians.

[Borlaug Medal]
Congressional Gold Medal awarded to Norman Borlaug in 2006. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)

What museum or historical monument have you visited with your homeschool students lately?

Saturday Arts: Introducing William Morris (1834–1896)

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William Morris (1834–1896) was one of the most gifted and prolific artists of the Victorian period in British history, and on this anniversary of his birth, why not spend a few homeschool minutes introducing your students to his beautiful designs.

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has an extensive collection of Morris productions — it’s a perfect place to visit with your artistically or historically inclined students:

Morris was a polymath who wrote novels and poetry, designed textiles and stained glass windows, and established a press that produced some of the most beautiful books of the nineteenth century. His designs for fabrics, carpets, and wallpaper continue to be popular more than a century after his death.

One of the 19th century’s most famous names, William Morris is still renowned today as the designer of patterns such as ‘Willow Bough’ and ‘Strawberry Thief’. But his wallpapers and textiles are only part of the story. Through developing many other products and working on interiors schemes (including one for the V&A’s own café), Morris also mastered many other areas of design – as well as finding time to be a social activist and celebrated author. (vam.ac.uk)

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful,” Morris wrote. That’s a worthy aspiration for us all. And if you want something in your house that is both educationally useful and beautiful, what could be better than a William Morris coloring book!

[Morris wallpaper]
The beautiful Acanthus wallpaper designs of William Morris. (Image: Wikimedia Commons.)

What artistic discoveries have you made in your homeschool lately?

❡ Explore more: For a brief homeschool overview of the Victorian period in British history, to which William Morris belongs, turn to pages 348–349 in your recommended River Houses history encyclopedia (riverhouses.org/books).

Monday Museum: The John Deere Tractor Museum

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Monday is Museums & Monuments Day at the River Houses: spend a few homeschool minutes exploring a notable cultural or historical site and broaden your homeschool horizons. Learn a new name or a new date, find a new location on a map, chat with your students about a fact or an idea of interest, and your little lesson is done.

This week’s state-of-the-week is Iowa, so we’re going to pay a virtual visit to the John Deere Tractor and Engine Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. (Because every little kid loves tractors!) Here’s the museum’s website, with visitor information and beautiful images:

And here’s a video introduction to the museum that provides some historical background on John Deere’s famous tractors and on the company’s manufacturing heritage in Iowa:

The Deere Tractor and Engine Museum is in fact quite new. The story of its opening in 2014 is told in this fine report from the Cedar Rapids Gazette:

John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum opens in Waterloo

WATERLOO – Iowans who bleed gold and green will want to plan a trip to Waterloo’s newest museum dedicated to the history of the John Deere tractor. It opened Tuesday next to the company’s Waterloo Works facility….

The museum is split into several galleries. The first gallery, ‘Working the Land,’ features exhibits that detail what agriculture was like before the Industrial Revolution. One interactive exhibit simulates how difficult it is to hold a walking plow steady. Another allows visitors to compare their own strength to that of a horse.

‘We wanted to show how we have used technology to make work easier,’ said Josh Waddle, museum curator.

The other galleries deal specifically with the history of John Deere’s tractor lines, how a tractor is made, the dealers who have sold John Deere tractors over the years and the employees who have worked at the Waterloo Works plant. Several of the museum’s docents, who wear black shirts, are retired employees who can share their expertise and experiences with visitors….

John Deere has been in Waterloo since 1918, when it purchased the Waterloo Gas Engine Co. for $2.25 million (or $35 million in today’s dollars.) The original check involved in that purchase is on display at the museum. Other exhibits detail how the company survived the Depression and World War II, as well as how its Waterloo employees reinvented the tractor in the late 1950s. (thegazette.com)

What museum or historical monument have you visited with your homeschool students lately? 😊