Read-aloud Revival

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/.

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.

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 MonsterThis 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 won

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!

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 AloudIn 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: Grow in empathy and compassion Bear witness to people overcoming obstacles, facing struggles, and pressing onward Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes Connect ideas and think more clearly about the world around them and their role in it 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/.

Here at Read-Aloud Revival, we’re in the thick of getting a huge project together for you. We are launching our own publishing imprint, Waxwing Books. Our first release is a picture book, written by me, and illustrated by none other than the gorgeously talented artist, Breezy Brookshire. It’s called A Little More Beautiful: The Story of a Garden. August 10th is the big day. That’s the day you’ll be able to pre-order the book on Kickstarter and get some pre-order exclusives, like a brand new book bag and some other goodies. While we get those pre-orders ready for you, we’re revisiting some Special Edition podcasts. These are my all-time favorites. This one is fabulous to listen to as a family, so if you happen to be road tripping together, play it in the car. Enjoy!Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/barbara-revisited/.

Early on, pretty much everyone in my world told me we were making a huge mistake in homeschooling.It was weird, it was unknown to them, and of course, we are afraid of things that are weird and unknown. I actually didn’t know anyone in my personal life who was homeschooling.I read some blogs and books (of course!), but I just had a very strong hunch that we should do this home education thing. So we did, and I’m so glad. I loved it – not every minute of it (ha!) – but now that my oldest kids are adults, I’m so grateful for the time I got with them during all of those growing up years. Today, I have a treat for you. My oldest daughter, Audrey – 20 years old at the time we’re recording this, just finished her sophomore year at Franciscan University of Steubenville as an English major, and she is joining me on the show. Audrey was homeschooled her entire education.And there were some rocky years! When Audrey was 12 – so you know, 6th grade-ish, I also had a 10-year-old, an 8-year-old, a 1 year-old, and twin newb

Summer is almost here.And probably, you have things you’d like to do this season. Maybe lots of things! (Perhaps … too many things?

When I was a kid, I read voraciously. I could lose myself for hours in stacks and stacks of books. The reading wasn’t that high quality, mind you. I could usually be found reading The Babysitter’s Club or a Christian historical romance, though I also loved Roald Dahl and Lois Lowry (anyone else remember the Anastasia Krupnik series?) and nonfiction, too. Then I became a mom, and reading felt decadent. I read books to nurture my marriage, how-to books on parenting (some far better than others, ahem). But overall, reading just got… harder. It was something I did to improve myself. Not something I got swept away in.Reading for pleasure felt like a splurge, and often it was a splurge I couldn’t figure out how to justify. But here’s the thing — reading for fun is part of the job.My life is richer when I’m reading for pleasure, and so is my kids’! In fact, I’ve found that their reading lives feed off the energy in mine. So how am I going to nurture my own reading life this summer? And what might get in the way?It’s

Do you want to teach your kids Shakespeare? Do you want to them to carry a love for The Bard in their hearts, and remember passages from the most famous plays ever written?Maybe your answer is YES! BUT … Shakespeare seems overwhelming. And adding it feels stressful.So today, RAR Community Director Kortney Garrison and I are breaking down how to teach Shakespeare in a simple, low-pressure way that your kids will actually enjoy and look back on fondly.In this episode, you’ll hear: a million ways to teach Shakespeare (and maybe only one you want to avoid) how to start with your goals when creating a Shakespeare teaching plan what Kortney and I actually do  Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/206/.

When Mandy called in to ask about her daughter, who likes to be read to, but doesn’t really enjoy reading herself, I was all ears.If you can relate, consider: when your child was 2, 3, 4 … did he/she like being read to? Most small children LOVE being read to. They climb right into your lap and relish every minute.It’s about the story, yes, but it’s also about the connection. We really, really want our kids to love reading. So naturally, we worry when they don’t. I wonder if that same connection is what our non-reading kids are actually seeking. We’re often tempted to think our kids are lazy, or aren’t true readers, but laziness is rarely at play here (especially in the case of a dyslexic child). So why don’t some of our kids love reading? And what on earth can we do about it? That’s what I’m addressing today on the podcast from a mama who suspects her child may be dyslexic, and worries that she doesn’t enjoy reading.In this episode, you’ll hear: Why kids may prefer being read to (hint: it’s not because they’r

We get many questions about how I organize books in my home library, and today we’re talking all about it.I’m going to break down my system and hopefully help spark ideas for how to best organize books at your house. Here’s the thing: Your home library should serve your family’s reading life. And that might mean organizing it in a different way than you think.It also means the organization isn’t the goal. (Keep reading to see what I mean.)I’ll give you a peek at a few of my own bookshelves throughout this post, which are definitely not gorgeous or Instagram-worthy.

Do your kids read for fun in high school? According to Dr. Daniel Willingham in Raising Kids Who Read, the average high schooler reads 6 minutes per day for pleasure. What that really means, he explains, is that a few kids read for pleasure quite a lot… and most don’t read for pleasure at all.Karen recently called in to ask me what my own kids read for fun in high school… and I’ve got lots of suggestions in this post!In this episode, you’ll hear: deciding what goal you have for your high schooler’s reading life whether high school reading should be “hard” tons of recommendations from my teens and adult children (weird, I now have 2 of those!) Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/203/.

If you have a child who struggles with sad stories…a child who gets really uncomfortable when bad things happen and wants you to stop reading (or wants to stop reading themselves)… then this episode is for you.And actually, it’s for them, too! In fact, it’s an episode you might like to listen to with your kids.In this episode, you’ll hear: What to do if your kids get upset while reading sad stories Why you can predict what terrible thing might be coming (and when in the story it’ll happen) What the author is doing and why How to help your kids hang on to the story, and get all the way through to the hope Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/202/.

Are you or your kids feeling overwhelmed by a long book list? Today I’m sharing how reading fewer books (yup!) can help our kids love books more.Yep. We’re going to talk about reading fewer books. What could it mean for your kids’ reading lives (and yours too!), to focus on reading fewer books and making the time spent reading them more enjoyable and richer?Maybe even to have a reading life that is rich, relaxed, and leisurely? If you or your kids are overwhelmed by a long book list, this sounds pretty great, right?Tune in or read on to hear: The difference between reading a book and completing a book Why my own kids don’t track the number of books read How to make time for (quite possibly) the best kind of reading Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/201/.