Can you believe it? The Read-Aloud Revival Podcast is ten years old!!

That means it?s time for a party! ??

Ten years is a long time to have a podcast, but we?re not slowing down anytime soon. We?re having WAY too much fun for that.

In honor of this milestone, I?ve got a Casey Kasem-style countdown for you of the top ten episodes from the first ten years of Read Aloud Revival.

And as a way to say thank you to YOU for listening, if you leave us a review before April 30, 2024, you?ll be entered into our raffle to be one of ten winners of an exclusive, all-around fabulous RAR tote bag (these currently aren?t for sale, so don?t miss your chance to win!) 

Ready to party?

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/top-10-in-10

When you hear the name Max Lucado, what comes to mind for you?

Max Lucado is best known as a pastor, speaker, best-selling inspirational author, and, in many Christian families, he?s a household name.

His books are written for everyone?especially those who are hurting, lonely, and discouraged. In his writing, he constantly points his readers back to the truth: that God loves you and you should let Him love you. 

Max is also an author of children?s books, several of which are favorites around here. ?

Sarah invited him to Read-Aloud Revival to discuss his newest picture book, Just in Case You Ever Feel Alone, illustrated by Eve Tharlet. It?s a cozy, gentle book, perfect for snuggling up and sharing with your kiddos.

How are stories uniquely positioned to help readers feel seen and understood? Which books did Max Lucado love as a child? And what does he hope his books will do in the lives of his readers, young and old? We dig into all of it.

Listen in to hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/max-lucado

Do you ever find yourself wishing you had more time to read?  

Oh, every day? (Yeah, we get that.)

We?re pretty confident that every mom wishes she had more time to read. 

Carving out a little time to enjoy your own reading life is worthwhile, even in those seasons when you think it?s impossible. (Sarah has six kids, and when three of them were babies age one and under, it definitely felt like an impossible season!)

But reading makes us better humans, better mamas, and better women. It also makes us happier. And that matters. 

Why? Because the key to a successful homeschool is a peaceful, happy mother. 

When you know you can count on your reading life to be a source of joy and refreshment regardless of how tough the day is, you just might find yourself being a little happier. A little lighter. A little more joyful.

On today?s show, we?re talking about how to make time for your own reading life, even when it feels like you don?t have five minutes to spare. 

Listen in for:

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/make-time-for-reading

We all want our kids to read, right?

If you?re listening to this podcast, it?s probably safe to say that you want your kids to grow up to read more often than the average adult does. We want them to be lifelong learners and avid readers who read for pleasure.

So it?s worth considering how we can cultivate the habits of real adult readers in our kids so that they grow up to be the readers we want them to be. And it turns out some of those skills are actually in direct opposition to how we tend to approach reading with our kids.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/lifelong-reading-habits

Today, I?m sharing two recent episodes from my weekly coaching podcast, Circle with Sarah, that is available exclusively to members of RAR Premium.

I wanted to share them with all of you because I think the message applies to most of us.

A lot of us have this funny habit of focusing on getting DONE with the thing we most want to do. Of getting it over with and checking it off the list. It?s maybe more prevalent in our lives than we even realize. And I want to invite you to think about how that impacts your homeschool and how you might find your homeschooling to be easier and more joyful if you?re aware of it.

If you would like this kind of encouraging boost each week, get RAR Premium and you?ll get instant access to all of the Circle with Sarah podcast episodes and new episodes every Monday.

I think it?ll make a difference in the peace and joy you experience day to day in your homeschool. Head to RARpremium.com to learn more.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/doing-not-getting-done

This year at Read Aloud Revival, we?re focusing on reading for joy.

It?s so easy for reading to become another thing on your to-do list, but when we make reading a source of joy, of respite from our busy lives, it?s like running into a clear creek on a hot, dusty hike. Nurturing your reading life nurtures you, which in turn helps us be better moms, better homeschoolers, better parents, better women.

Today I?m joined by Jennifer Pepito, creator of The Peaceful Press, which offers fabulous curriculum for homeschoolers, and she is the author of our spring RAR Premium Mama Book Club pick, Mothering by the Book: The Power of Reading Aloud to Overcome Fear and Recapture Joy.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/how-books-make-us-better-moms

There is something kind of tragic that happens when our kids become readers of their own right. It doesn?t always happen, of course, and there are ways for us to prevent it. But it?s awfully common. That thing I?m talking about? When reading starts to feel like school.

It happens to all of us at one point or another, and it?s very common especially at this time of year when school is well underway. Parents will notice a significant drop in how much their kids are reading for pleasure?if they?re reading for pleasure at all. 

Obviously this isn?t what we want for our kids. But it?s easy to feel frustrated or panicked that our kids no longer seem to enjoy reading. 

The good news? This is simpler to guard against than you might think.

Today, I?m revisiting an episode from a few years ago about what to do when reading becomes a slog. What do we do when reading starts to feel like school?

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/when-reading-isnt-fun

What are fairy tales? Why do we love them so much? And why do these stories continue to capture the imaginations of countless generations?

To help me answer those questions, I?m welcoming author Sarah Arthur to the podcast.

Personally, I fell in love with Sarah?s writing through A Light So Lovely, on the spiritual legacy of Madeleine L?Engle. And when I found out she was working on a young adult fantasy, and that it was a sort of love letter to fairy tales? I had to have her on the show.

She joins me to talk about what makes fairy tales so powerful, the benefits of embracing the imaginative and the fantastical in our reading, and lots more.

Sarah Arthur is the author of a dozen books for teens and adults, including the bestselling Walking with Frodo: A Devotional Journey through The Lord of the Rings. After over 25 years working with youth she plays a wicked game of Four Square?but absolutely refuses to eat cold pizza from a box, ever. She has served as preliminary fiction judge for the Christianity Today Book Awards, was a founding board member of the annual C. S. Lewis Festival, and co-directs the Madeleine L?Engle Writing Retreats. She?s a mom of sons, a writer, and today?s highly esteemed guest.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/how-fairy-tales-enchant-us

Today, I?ve got another Best Of RAR episode for you.

I wanted to revisit this episode because it feels extra relevant this time of year as we?re thinking about setting goals and resolutions for the year ahead.

Personally, I tend to feel a little overwhelmed by it and I bet some of you can relate.

And when it comes to books and goals for our reading lives, one of the things we hear at Read Aloud Revival all the time is, ?There are so many books and so little time!?

There are SO MANY good books we want to read aloud with our families and we?re always trying to figure out how to fit more in. But we don?t want our read-alouds to become merely another item on our lengthy to-do lists. So how do we quell the bookish overwhelm?

That?s what I?m breaking down in this replay of an Ask Sarah episode with that exact question.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/how-to-quell-overwhelm

Today we?re airing one of my favorite episodes from last year, all about Jolabokaflod, which is a Christmas ?book flood,? in the Icelandic tradition.

What if I told you this tradition makes your life easier, not harder? 

During Jolabokaflod, you gift members of your family with new books, and everyone drinks hot cocoa and spends the whole of Christmas Eve reading. If I didn?t get your attention before, I?ve got it now.

There is so much that happens this time of year that adds to our to-do list, that puts more on our plates, but Jolabokaflod is truly a joy. It is a moment of rest and refreshment for you too.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

I hope you bring this tradition to your family and that you have a wonderful, wonderful Christmas.

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/how-to-jolabokaflod

It?s our favorite time of year over at Read-Aloud Revival! It?s time for Christmas School!

Most of us have too much on our plates before the busy holiday season begins. Then December hits and we feel behind on ? well? everything. 

But for homeschoolers, December should be the best month of our entire year.

That?s what Christmas School is for.

Christmas School is a whole-family curriculum from Read-Aloud Revival that helps your family slow down, savor the season, and wait in joyful hope.

Join thousands of families and replace your current curriculum with a month of Christmas School to make December a different kind of month in your homeschool year.

A better one.

Today, I?m sharing what you can expect in this year?s Christmas School, plus we?ll hear from families who have participated in and loved Christmas School in the past.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/time-for-christmas-school-2023

I know that if you?re an RAR Family, you are raising kids who love to read, because that?s what we do around here!

And with a love of reading often comes the inspiration to write. And those young writers will come to you looking for feedback on their stories. But what if we, as parents, don?t see ourselves as experts or writers and feel like we don?t have much to offer in the way of feedback?

It happens for a lot of homeschoolers. We know that homeschools are fabulous places to grow young writers, but that we can also feel a little ill-equipped as their writing mentors.

Which is where today?s guests come in. Brett Harris and Kara Swanson were both homeschooled and they share a commitment to mentoring young writers and helping parents become better mentors to their own young writers.

They?re here to reassure you that you do know what makes a good story, and share some of their best advice for giving your child useful feedback on their creative writing.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/how-to-give-feedback

I want to introduce you to one of my new favorite authors.

She's younger than most published authors. In fact, she says she decided to publish her first book at nine years old. When she was 10, she attended her first writing conference. When she was 13, she self published her first book. She was homeschooled. You probably could have already guessed that. And she has been on a roll ever since.

Now she's 20 and she's making books I know your families are going to love.

Millie Florence shares her journey from whispering stories to herself under the covers to published author, plus her advice for aspiring young writers and their parents.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/advice-for-young-writers

On today?s Best of Read Aloud Revival episode, I?m replaying one of our most popular episodes.

Without fail, at every homeschool conference, at least one person comes up to me and says, ?Dyslexia was not even on my radar until I listened to the episode with Marianne Sunderland.?

And that?s because most of us don?t understand what dyslexia really is and the signals to look for in our kids. And we don?t know what to do when they do show signs of having a dyslexic brain.

It?s important to remember that a dyslexic brain is not a disorder. Nothing needs to be fixed. It?s the way God made your child?s brain. And it?s genetic, so it?s the way God made your brain or your husband?s brain too.

Dyslexia means your child processes language differently, which means we need to teach dyslexic brains in a way that makes sense to dyslexic brains.

If you have any academic frustrations with your kids of any age, listen to this episode. Even if dyslexia is nowhere on your radar, I encourage you to listen. You might be surprised.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/is-my-child-dyslexic/

By far the most popular episode we?ve ever done here on Read Aloud Revival is the episode with my oldest daughter, Audrey, when we looked back together on homeschooling from her vantage point as a sophomore in college.

We discussed what worked, what didn?t, and about our homeschool experience in general.

And last spring, at the Great Homeschool Conventions, you all kept asking me when Audrey would be back on the podcast.

She?s now about to start her senior year at Franciscan University, so it seemed like a great time to check back in with her and get her perspective now that her college experience is almost complete.

Today, she?s answering your questions from inside the RAR Premium forum and the RAR Instagram.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/questions-for-homeschooling-graduate

There is one question that plagues us, that we all ask, and that we ask all the time: Am I doing enough?

When we constantly ask ourselves if we?re doing enough in our homeschool, it makes it difficult to stay present and engaged and actually enjoy it. Whether you?re relatively new to homeschooling or a seasoned veteran, we all wonder.

Today, I'm sharing the last of my sessions from The GHC Conferences 2023.

This one is all about taking the overwhelm out of that question and practical advice for putting your worry to rest.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/doing-enough-homeschooling

Today, I?m sharing another session from the Great Homeschool Conventions in 2023 all about homeschooling with babies and toddlers.

If you are homeschooling with babies and toddlers underfoot, this one's for you. Or if you have a friend who is homeschool with babies and toddlers, this one's for her, so please share it!

Full disclosure: My favorite part about going to the Great Homeschool Conventions is all the babies I get to snuggle and hold. So I created a session that would ensure I got maximum baby snuggles. This session was so much fun because the room was absolutely packed with babies and toddlers and there is something just next-level about being in a room with so much life. I LOVED it.

In this session, I talked about the lessons I learned from homeschooling with my own babies and toddlers underfoot, and strategies for not just surviving this time, but enjoying it, too.

In this episode, you?ll hear:

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/homeschooling-with-babies

Are you struggling with how to tackle reading in your homeschool?

Maybe you have a child who?s a later reader or is having a tough time connecting with reading. Or maybe you have a kid who?s an advanced reader and they?re outpacing books that fit their emotional and social development.

Either way, it can be hard to know what to do to help your child build a strong relationship with reading that they?ll carry with them throughout their lives.

Today, I?m sharing a session from the Great Homeschool Conventions that I led with my friend and colleague Colleen Kessler of Raising Lifelong Learners.

In this conversation, we?ll talk about the challenges that come up with readers at both ends of the bell curve and how to help your differently wired kids fall in love with reading.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/differently-wired-kids/

During my hardest year of homeschooling, I had a 12, 10, 8, and 1 year old, and twin newborns. Life was? a little chaotic.

One week, a friend of mine who had homeschooled all three of her kids asked, ?So how's homeschooling going??

And naturally, I burst into tears. I?m not sure she saw that coming. But then, maybe she did. 

Anyway, she asked me how I was keeping the kids on track for their schoolwork and how much they could do when I wasn?t able to lead them, and when I looked at her with a blank stare, she said, ?Okay, I?m going to come over tomorrow and I?ll bring some spiral notebooks.?

So, I cleared a path to the door and she came and she showed me how a 25 cent notebook could completely change our homeschool for the better.

Today, we're going to talk about those spiral notebooks-- the one simple tool that has had the biggest impact on my homeschooling life.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/spiral-notebooks-for-homeschool 

Imagine that your child is grown up, and his or her reading life looks a lot like yours does right now.

How do you feel about that? 

Is your reading life something you want your kids to emulate when they?re adults? 

What if we built for ourselves the kind of reading life that we?d be delighted for our own kids to imitate? 

Novelist Katherine Paterson once wrote that ?a fondness for books is catching.?

I think she?s right. It?s much easier to be drawn into a reading life when the people around you also have a rich reading life.

And if you?re someone who wants to raise kids who love to read - that?s probably why you?re here, right? Modeling our own rich reading life is an incredibly important strategy in making that a reality.

Which means that reading ? not just to your kids, not just for your kids, not just about how to be a better mother to your kids ? but reading for the sheer joy of reading, is one of your most important jobs as a mother.

And regardless of what your reading life looks like today, it?s OK. Keep listening. 

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/mom-reading-life/

Today, in this Best Of Read Aloud Revival episode, we?re revisiting a conversation about a series I absolutely adore: The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall.

The Penderwicks follows the escapades of four spirited sisters, Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty. The books are a modern nod to Louisa May Alcott?s Little Women, and they?ve won tons of awards including the National Book Award for Young People?s Literature, several ALA Notable Children?s Book Awards, and the Massachusetts Children?s Book Award.

Since recording this interview for RAR episode 100, Jeanne unknowingly planted the seed for my own book, A Little More Beautiful, the Story of a Garden when I visited her and her Northampton, Massachusetts, home. So now, of course, we like to call A Little More Beautiful ?our book.?

The first book in the Penderwicks series, The Penderwicks, A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy is our RAR Premium Family Book Club pick for this summer.

That means we?ve got a full Family Book Club Guide with all the trimmings available now for members AND if you and your kids sign up for RAR Premium, they will have a chance to meet Jeanne Birdsall live on Zoom on August 25th.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/penderwicks-book-club/

In this episode, I?m answering more of your questions.

You?ve sent in some fabulous messages and I?m going to tackle them rapid-fire for you and answer as many as possible today. 

Today I?m sharing about when to use Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) or teach composition, when and how to start using the library, and what to do when a teenager doesn?t enjoy reading.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/teaching-writing/

Full show notes can be found here: You Don't Need to Make the Most of Your Summer
Get RAR Premium HERE>>

In today?s episode, I?m answering your questions!

Listeners have sent in some fabulous questions for me, and I?m going to attempt to tackle them rapid-fire, including about where I get my favorite art prints, what to do with late-night readers, what to do if you don?t feel like you read aloud well, and more.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/late-night-readers/

Two weeks ago I shared the first 5 of 10 mistakes I?ve made in my homeschool -- believe me, I?ve made many, many more than that! 

But I?m highlighting 10 that stick out most prominently to me.

So in the last ?Best of Read-Aloud Revival? episode, I shared the first 5 and today I?m sharing the next 5. 

Hopefully, hearing these will keep you from making the mistakes I have. Homeschooling is a joy and a gift and it?s hard and wonderful and messy and effective -- it?s all of those things at once. I can promise you won?t get it perfect, and I can also promise that you don?t NEED to get it perfect. 

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/5-more-homeschool-mistakes/

I?ve been homeschooling for a long time, and just like every other homeschooling mom I know, I?ve made a ton of mistakes. 

When I was new to homeschooling, I craved the insight of people who had been doing it for a while: 

What do you wish you did more of? 

What do you wish you worried less about? 

What would you do differently if you were starting over again?

These are the kinds of things I wanted to know.

At the time I?m airing this particular show, I have two college students who were homeschooled the whole way through. Our third child is about to graduate this spring and will also head to University. And then we?ve got three more -- ages 11, 9, and 9. And yeah? we?re doing things a little differently this time around. 

A couple of years ago I shared on this podcast some of my mistakes in homeschooling-- and they all remain true. So, it seemed like a good idea to talk about those mistakes again. 

Over this episode and the next one, I?ll be sharing 10 mistakes I?ve made in my homeschool -- five in this episode, and five in the next. 

If you heard these a few years ago when I first aired them, you might have a new take -- after all, you?re new in a new season of life than you were then. And if you haven't heard, I hope you enjoy. 

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Find the rest of the show notes at:  https://readaloudrevival.com/5-homeschooling-mistakes/

Why do we make things mean more than they actually mean?

We all do it. 

We realize a kid doesn?t know how to tie their shoes at age 12, and we tell ourselves we?re forgetting to teach SO MANY IMPORTANT THINGS. 

We feed our kids frozen pizza for dinner twice in a week and think it means we don?t care about their health. 

We sleep late and tell ourselves we?re lazy. 

We have a late reader and think it means we?re not good at this ?teaching reading? thing. 

We make things mean what they don?t mean ALL THE TIME.

And today? Today we?re gonna talk about it.

I?m sharing something we?ve been talking about in Circle with Sarah, which is our homeschool coaching program in RAR Premium. Recently I did a couple of episodes on why we need to keep data in its place in our homeschool and not make things mean what they don?t mean. 

I wanted you to hear it, so I?m sharing those two episodes in one RAR Podcast for you here. 

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/its-just-data/

Today, I?m sharing a conversation with my friend and colleague, Cindy West.

Cindy teaches at No Sweat Nature Study, a homeschool nature study program that takes the guesswork out of nature study by teaching your kids directly. Cindy is also the host of the No Sweat Nature Study podcast, which features short episodes about nature. (My kids absolutely love it!)

Cindy and I recently had a conversation for her community about how to use picture books to teach nature study and today, I wanted to share it with you.

Because nature study kind of has a name for itself in the homeschooling world. We've sort of built it up as the supreme science activity and it can be wonderful - getting out in nature, observing and learning about the world around us ?

But we also tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves about it. There are just times in life when getting out in nature is harder than others ? maybe you have a new baby, maybe someone has allergies, maybe the weather is just plain terrible. 

There are plenty of reasons why you might need or want to do some of your nature study from the couch or the kitchen table.

And that?s why on today?s episode of the Read-Aloud Revival Podcast, Cindy and I are talking about teaching nature study through books.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/cozy-couch-nature-study/

I have a theory that if I were to ask a hundred of today?s children?s book authors and illustrators to name a book that had a profound impact on them, I bet an unusually large number of those authors and illustrators would mention the work of E.B. White.

I cannot count the number of times I?ve heard authors say that E.B. White?s books have made such a huge difference in their lives and writing.

I?m a big E.B. White fan myself, and while I love Charlotte?s Web and Stuart Little, my absolute favorite is The Trumpet of the Swan.

And that?s what we?re reading this spring in RAR Premium for our Family Book Club. Plus, we?re going to look closely at first-lines (E.B. White was a master of this) for a WOW: Writer?s on Writing Event.

It?s going to be quite the fabulous E.B. White spring here at RAR! 

So today, we?re revisiting an episode from 2017 with children?s book illustrator Melissa Sweet discussing her children?s biography of E.B. White, called Some Writer.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Mentioned in This Episode:

Books Mentioned in This Episode:

Charlotte?s Web

Stuart Little 

The Trumpet of the Swan

Some Writer

A Boy, A Mouse, and a Spider

The Baby Bear Series

The Pinky and Rex Series

The Boy Who Drew Birds

Brave Girl

Balloons Over Broadway

A Splash of Red

You Nest Here with Me

The Right Word

A River of Words

Every year, the Read-Aloud Revival team watches the American Library Association?s Youth Media Awards together. This is the award show where the medals that are considered the most prestigious in children?s publishing are given.

Today I?m joined by Kortney Garrison, our Community Director, Kara Anderson, our Creative Director, and Harmony Harkema, or brand new Managing Editor at both Read-Aloud Revival and Waxwing Books.

We are going to talk about the winners that were announced on January 30, 2023. We?ll talk about the books we were delighted to see honored, as well as some books that we think should have been honored. 

And you know we have opinions about that. ;)

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/books-that-won/

Oh boy, do we have a treat for you today!

Our team here at Read-Aloud Revival has been hard at work on a brand new booklist for you and I?ve invited Kortney Garrison and Kara Anderson from the RAR team back to this side of the podcast to tell you all about it.

Nature study can be an intimidating subject that carries a lot of expectations in the homeschooling world. It?s something we want to do, but it can get pushed to the side because we don?t always have the energy to tramp around the woods with a watercolor set.

So this project started with our team asking, how can we simplify nature study and make it more likely to happen? Could it really be as simple as reading a book and doing an activity?

We think so! And that?s where our brand new booklist and activity guide comes in.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/simple-homeschool-nature-study/

What do you do if you notice that your child isn?t finishing books?

How can you get your kids to widen their reading taste outside of a single genre?

How can you describe what you do for literature on a high school transcript when you take a more relaxed Read-Aloud Revival approach to the subject?

And what can you do to help boost your child?s emotional intelligence and reading comprehension while reading? 

Today, I?m answering listeners? questions about their kids? reading habits, from bouncing from book to book to getting stuck in a genre rut, and more.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/when-your-child-doesnt-finish-books/

Full show notes are here.

I want to help you think about what?s most essential in your homeschool. 

I?ve invited Kortney Garrison and Kara Anderson from the RAR team to chat with me about a favorite book when it comes to essentializing.

We've been talking and thinking about the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown a lot here at Read Aloud Revival, especially as it relates to homeschooling. We're reading the book in our Mama Book Club in RAR Premium in January and I will tell you this book is easily one of the books I can say has changed my life.

That is not an exaggeration. I think Read Aloud Revival itself has been built on the principles in Essentialism. I've probably reread it a dozen times.This book has changed the way I've thought about my own life and maybe this is due to me being a mother to half a dozen kids but this idea of less but better really appeals to me. 

Today, Kortney, Kara, and I are going to dig into just the first chapter and how it relates to our homeschools.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/essentialism-for-homeschoolers/

The Long Winter is the sixth book in the Little House on the Prairie series. It was first published in 1940, and is an autobiographical novel. Laura Ingalls Wilder based the series on her actual life as a child, settling the west. This particular story, The Long Winter, was set in the southwestern Dakota Territory during the severe winter of 1880-1881 when Laura was 14 years old. 

Even if you haven?t read the rest of the Little House books, I think you want to read this one. You can read any of the Little House books as stand-alones, but I?m betting that if you give your kids a taste of any of them, they?ll want to keep reading more stories from Laura.

And truly, it?s no wonder why. Laura Ingalls Wilder is, to my mind, unparalleled as one of the finest novelists in children?s literature, ever alive.

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

But there is an elephant in the room with the Little House on the Prairie books and we need to talk about it.

Today, we?re talking about what makes The Long Winter so gripping and so beloved, as well as how we handle problematic texts with our kids and why I believe that scenes and language we may find troubling aren?t reasons to leave great books on the shelf.

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/219/

In this bonus episode, you'll hear:

For the full show notes, head here.  

What if I told you that there?s an Icelandic Christmas tradition where you spend an entire day (or evening) reading books and sipping hot cocoa? And it?s what you?re SUPPOSED to be doing.

Yes, this is a real thing!

It?s called Jolabokaflod, and in this episode, you?ll hear: 

During Jolabokaflod, you gift members of your family with new books, and everyone drinks hot cocoa and spends the whole of Christmas Eve reading. If I didn?t get your attention before, I?ve got it now.

Today, I?m talking about when and how this tradition started, and how your family can make Jolabokaflod part of your Christmas traditions.

Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/218/.

By now, most of us are knee deep in our homeschool year.

And no matter how far into your year you are, and no matter what?s happened that you either did, or didn?t, expect to happen, I?m willing to bet that something funny has happened: You?re carrying around a lot of pinecones.

What on earth do I mean by that?

In this episode, you?ll hear: 

Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/217/

Is it really possible to teach from rest? Even if you?re teaching a lot of different ages? And even if you feel a bit underwater, pretty much every single day in your homeschool?

Let?s talk about it. 

This fall in Circle with Sarah, we?re diving deep into the principles of Sarah?s first book, Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler?s Guide to Unshakable Peace? and today we?re sharing some of it with you.

So let?s get nitty gritty.

Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/216/.

Every year in RAR Premium we do Christmas School. What is Christmas School? It?s 4 weeks of Christmas-themed Family Book Clubs that offer your whole family (from preschoolers to high schoolers) a relaxed, bookish learning experience.

This year?s Christmas School is brand new and better than ever. 

Our 2022 Christmas School Guide is open-and-go, so aside from collecting a few supplies at the top of each week, there is no prep. And yep, we?ve got plans for everyone in the family, from your youngest to your teens!

Last week, we revealed the books we?re featuring for this year?s Christmas School, and revealed the rest of the Winter Lineup at RAR premium, too. Over 1,100 of you joined us live on Zoom? so fun! ? 

Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/october-preview/.

Chances are good that you?re already familiar with the picture book sensation turned childhood classic, Bear Snores On.

But do you know the woman who wrote it?

Karma Wilson has come up with some of her best ideas while eating ice cream or visiting the zoo. She was saved as a child, in a way, by C.S. Lewis?s Narnia. 

And? she homeschooled her own kids for many years as a way to ensure that they would love reading as much as she felt they deserved to love it.

Find the rest of the show notes here https://readaloudrevival.com/215/.

Have you ever asked yourself, ?Am I doing enough??

I think we?ve all asked that question.

If you?re homeschooling your kids, you might ask it every single day. It might even wake you up at night and feel like an elephant sitting on your chest. ?

Today, we?re going to talk about it.

Find the rest of the show notes https://readaloudrevival.com/214/.

It?s Victorian London in the late 1800?s? and it?s been five years since the Sweep disappeared.

Orphaned and alone, Nan Sparrow has no other choice but to work for a ruthless chimney sweep named Wilkie Crudd. She spends her days doing dangerous work?sweeping out chimneys.

The job is thankless, but with her wits and will, Nan has managed to beat the deadly odds time and time again.

This time, though, she gets stuck in a chimney fire.

She wakes to find herself unharmed in an abandoned attic. And she is not alone. Huddled in the corner is a mysterious creature?a golem?made from soot and ash.

The golem we?ll come to know as Charlie. He?s large and lovable, and Nan, our heroine, will raise him almost like her own child. He is, after all, her protector. 

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster

This book, written by Jonathan Auxier, won the 2019 Sydney Taylor Book Award. And it has won a place in my all-time tippy top favorite books. It?s a Charles-Dickens-like adventure about the everlasting gifts of friendship and wonder.

In this episode, I want to introduce you to the book? and to the man who wrote it.

Find the rest of the shownotes at https://readaloudrevival.com/213/.

Have you ever REALLY worried about one of your kids?

What should you do if you don?t feel like you read aloud well?

What?s the point of poetry memorization?

What would you tell a mom who is confused about all the different homeschooling philosophies and methods?

How do I know that I?m doing enough?

What about homeschooling high school?

These are all questions you might have? 

I?ve had them too.

Andrew Pudewa and I answered questions just like these at all five Great Homeschool Conventions in 2022. Today on the podcast, we?re sharing a recording of that session with you.

Find the rest of the show notes here https://readaloudrevival.com/212/.

Last time on the Read-Aloud Revival, I told you about the inspiration for the creation of Waxwing Books and our first book,  A Little More Beautiful: The Story of a Garden. 

In this episode, I?ll take you on the rest of the adventure, from connecting with illustrator Breezy Brookshire to bringing on editor Michael Green, and finding art director Cara Llewellyn.

Find the rest of the show notes here https://readaloudrevival.com/211/.

It?s time! It?s time! It?s time! ?

We are SO excited to open pre-orders for our first release at Waxwing Books. 

It?s a story about seeing and being seen for readers who love Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney or The Library by Sarah Stewart and David Small.

Find the rest of the show notes here https://readaloudrevival.com/kickstarter/.

Way back in August 2018, I was fortunate to spend a morning with the author of The Penderwicks, Jeanne Birdsall. It was a glorious morning, truly, and something surprising came of it. A little idea popped into my head, and it just sort of? rooted itself.

Actually? the idea that popped into my head didn?t just stay an idea. 

It became something much bigger resulting in our biggest, newest project here at Read-aloud Revival: we?re launching a boutique publishing house.

Today, I?m telling you all about it. 

Find the rest of the show notes here https://readaloudrevival.com/210/.

When I ask experienced homeschool parents what they wish they had done more often or focused more on, they never?not ever?say anything academic. 

Nope. Reminiscing homeschool parents tell me something else entirely. And do you know what they say? Relationships. They always, always talk about something related to the relationships nurtured during their homeschooling years. 

Relationships & Reading Aloud

In fact, their favorite memories very often revolve around the memories they made and the books they shared.

Reading aloud is not only the best tool for helping our kids academically succeed across the curriculum, it also helps them:

Find the rest of the show notes here https://readaloudrevival.com/00/.

In today?s Special Edition of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast, you?ll meet the man behind Make Way for Ducklings. Robert McCloskey was the first to win two Caldecott Awards, and his books are arguably among the most celebrated picture books of all time.

His most popular picture book wouldn?t stay on the page, either. His ducks became permanent sculptures fixed in Boston Public Garden, and even made a way for international diplomacy as part of the START Treaty between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. in 1991. 

A picture book is a powerful piece of art. 

Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/robert-revisited/.