What to Study This WINTER in Your Homeschool (Especially for Teens!)

Winter is here. But your kids are past the ‘let’s draw a snowman’ or the ‘let’s cut a snowflake’ years. Still, there’s value in leaning into the season.

So what’s a homeschool mama to do?

As kids get older, I know how much fuller your days get. These ideas — all of which happen in the winter — aren’t meant to add a lot of time & effort to your week. They are intended to add some curiosity & interest to your days.

Because I also know that the homeschool work of older kids can quickly become drudgery between textbooks, tests, and trigonometry!

And I know how that struggle can suck the joy out of your days.

Pearl Harbor

December 7

By this age, your kiddo probably has a working knowledge of what happened at Pearl Harbor & the impact of the Day That Lives in Infamy.

Resources:

• What was ancient Hawaii like?
• Pearl Harbor Voices (audio stories of the day as told by locals)
• The Crafting of FDR’s Famous Speech
• Go underwater & tour the USS Arizona
• Read about the process of writing FDR’s “Day of Infamy” speech.

Nobel Prize Day

December 10

Outside of the Nobel Peace Prize & the random other prize, how many do you know about? And how did Nobel Prizes even come about? Take a short dive into them.

Resources:

• The First Nobel Prize
• Read the Complete List of Prizes
• Lesson Plans & Online Games from the Nobel Prize Institute

It Happened One Winter: History in Winter

Throughout Winter

Go a little lighter on your normal history & steer your kiddos to learning about historical events — ancient through today — that happened in winter. And I’ve made it easy for you by putting 17 of them in one handy, dandy ebook.

Winter Solstice

December 21 or 22

Did you know that there even was a Wright Brothers Day? I didn’t! When I think of airplanes, I think of vacation…not winter! While my teens learn the mechanics of flight, I’ll be dreaming of flying someplace warm.

Resources:

• Winter Solstice & the National Parks
• The Solstice Night Sky from the Pacific Science Center (Dec. 28)
• The Science Behind the Shortest Day of the Year
• What the Winter Solstice Means to the Cree Tradition
• The Ancient History of the Winter Solstice (9 min)
• Winter Solstice Traditions Around the World (31 min)

First Flight: Wright Brothers & Aviation

Wright Brothers Day is December 17

Did you know that there even was a Wright Brothers Day? I didn’t! When I think of airplanes, I think of vacation…not winter! While my teens learn the mechanics of flight, I’ll be dreaming of flying someplace warm.

Resources:

• Wind & Sand: A Virtual Program from Wright Brothers National Memorial (36 min.)
• Just 12 Seconds: The Legacy of the Wright Brothers (28 min)
• Test Pilots: Faster, Higher, Further (30 min)
• Mr. Lincoln’s Air Force: Civil War Ballooning (30 min)
• How Things Fly: Games, Simulations & More by the Smithsonian
• Newly Discovered Footage from their 1908 Flight (1 min)
• Ben Franklin’s Balloons

Travel the World

Every Monday Night

Speaking of dreaming of vacation, Rick Steves’ Monday Night Travel shows are nearly the next best thing to being there. I love his travel shows because travel is so much more than hitting a location’s highlights to him. He values the history, the culture, the people. And he wants you to value those things, too.

And that makes them a perfect addition to your homeschool. You’ll find the upcoming schedule on his site, as well as ones from the past. And that makes it even easier to add them to your homeschool day.

Resources:
Monday Night Travel with Rick Steves

Ellis Island Opens

January 1

Ellis Island first opened its doors to immigrants on January 1, 1892. Upon its closing in 1954, Ellis Island processed more than 20 million people through its doors in New York Harbor. It closed under President Eisenhower as immigration law shifted.

While mostly geared toward the elementary-age set, the education section on their website has fantastic information.

Resources:

• City of Immigrants game (website & app)
• Ellis Island & Statue of Liberty Museum
• Iconic America: The Statue of Liberty (from PBS)
• Ellis Island (a playlist I created)

Student Podcast Challenge

Early January – Early May

“We wanted to hear about the things that keep students up at night, their obsessions and concerns, and stories they’re dying to get off their chest.” And that was the inspiration behind NPR’s annual Student Podcast Challenge. Thousands of entires later, the challenge is still going strong.

Entries need to be 3-8 minutes long, entirely student-produced, and on any topic they want. This could make an awesome addition to your student’s English course, a tech course, or just an extracurricular activity.

Resources:

• Starter’s Guide
• Curriculum Guide
• Podcasts of lessons, past winners, etc.
• How to Record a Podcast
• Guide to Audio Storytelling (including tech help)

National Inventors Day

February 11

Chosen to coincide with Thomas Edison’s Birthday, Ronald Reagan declared February 11 as National Inventor’s Day. “Today, just as in George Washington’s day, inventors are the keystone of the technological progress that is so vital to the economic, environmental, and social well-being of this country.”

Have your kiddo research inventions around their favorite hobby, favorite area of science, etc.

Resources:

• STEM-Based Invention Activities (plus other activities)
• The Stories of Accidental Inventions
• What inventions happened in Florida? (video)
• Who invented Buffalo wings?
• Gilded Age Inventions That Changed the World
• Ben Franklin’s Balloons (NOVA season 41)
• How to Accidentally Invent a Color (video)

Great Backyard Bird Count

Mid-February

Every year, the Audobon sponsors the Great Backyard Bird Count. For nearly 30 years, this annual bird count happens in mid-February and is now a global event. This date is before one of the annual bird migrations.

This is something that all ages can do and doesn’t require any special tools or experience. All you need is 15 minutes, your eyes, and a place outside to watch.

Check here for the exact dates, how to submit your counts, find community events, etc.

Sit-ins at Woolworth’s

February – July

The Greensboro Four — young black men from the local North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University — decided to stage a sit-in at the local Woolworth lunch counter to challenge their segregation policy. Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr., and David Richmond came up with a plan to visit the store, ask to be served, and then refuse to leave when they were refused service.

Four days in, they were joined by 300 people. At the six-day mark, more than 1000 people came. The movement spread to other Woolworth locations — and then other sites — throughout the south. On July 25, four black employees were served the first lunch & other locations followed suit.

Resources:
F.W. Woolworth’s Building: International Civil Rights Center & Museum
The Civil Rights Trail
Reflections on the Greensboro Lunch Counter
Smithsonian Artifacts: The Greensboro Lunch Counter