Read-aloud Revival

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/.

We’re just a little excited here at RAR this week.First, it’s our 200th episode!

Every year, our Read-Aloud Revival Team watches the American Library Association Youth Media Awards together.These are the official awards of ALA. Some you’ll recognize, like the Caldecott, the Newbery and the Coretta Scott King Awards. But others are not quite as well known …The ALA Youth Media Awards honor books that have been published in the previous year, so this year’s awards ceremony in January 2022 was honoring books that had been published in the year 2021 only.For this episode the RAR team gathered together to talk about the announcements that made us cheer, the familiar faces that we loved seeing win, and … …just a few books that we think should have gotten some ALA love.

“Which curriculum should I use?” It’s the question I get asked most often. I suspect there’s another layer just underneath the surface of that question. A layer that sounds a bit like, “I’m tired. I’m overwhelmed. I don’t want to screw this up. Can you just tell me which curriculum is the best, so I don’t mess this really important thing up?”At least, that’s the kind of thing that went through my mind back in my early homeschooling days, when I asked that question myself.I’m answering this very question on today’s podcast episode. Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/198/.

If you’re reading this, I’m guessing you want to read more, but are struggling to do it as much as you’d like. It can be a real challenge to find time to read for pleasure in your already busy day. I get it!On today’s episode of the Read-Aloud Revival, I’m sharing all my best tips to help you read more, ditch the guilt (this is part of your job, right?), and fall back in love with your own reading life.In this episode you’ll hear… what to do when you’re in a season of it feeling impossible to cultivate your own reading life how to find time to read (really!) how to get some recommendations from me  Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/197/.

Shouldn’t helping our kids love reading be the point of literature education? So why is it that most kids enjoy reading less and less, the further they get into their school years? And why do we insist on using literature curriculum when we know it doesn’t help our kids fall more in love with books? Today I want to share an easier, simpler, more delightful (and less expensive!) path to giving our kids a fantastic and enjoyable literary education.On today’s podcast, I dive into why it’s OK to ditch formal literature curriculum, and a better model for moving forwardIn this episode:  our true goal for a solid literary education what I do instead of using a literature curriculum why reading for academic ‘success’ is kind of defeating the purpose Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/196/.

Stressed about getting to all the books you want to read? Wondering how you can possibly read as many books as you’d like to with your kids? On today’s episode of the Read-Aloud Revival, I’m talking about that all-too-familiar feeling of “So many books, so little time!” If you’ve ever felt that way, this one is for you!In this episode you’ll hear… how many books should we be aiming for, anyway? what’s the best way to prioritize what to read next? is re-reading worth the time, when there are still so many books we haven’t ever read? Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/195/.

If your inbox is anything like mine, you might be experiencing a little “you-need-to-buy-this-for-Christmas” fatigue.I always like to remind myself that Christmas will come and the Baby King will be born, no matter what I buy or don’t. No matter what I get checked off on my merry-making list . . .. . . or don’t.No. Matter. What.Goodness, what good news that is.

Sometimes, it can seem like the holiday season is over before we even had a chance to truly celebrate. And so this year, we’re wishing you a relaxing read-aloud Christmas, full of plenty of cocoa, warm blankets, and snuggles with your favorite people.If all of that sounds like a dream – we’ve got what you need to make it happen. So listen in to this special episode, and Happy Thansgiving and a Merry, Merry Christmas!In this episode, you’ll hear: how to be more present this holiday season (it’s what our kids want most of all) ideas for the best Christmas picture books, novels and audiobooks everything happening at RAR to help you celebrate Advent, Christmas and beyond Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/193/.

When my kids were young, I tried narration in my homeschool.But instead of working how it was supposed to, it made my oldest daughter freeze with panic. She actually started hating books she had previously loved. Read-aloud time became fraught. And the quality of her education suffered for it.In today’s episode, I’m diving deep into the Charlotte Mason (CM) idea of narration, and offering an idea for what to do if narration simply isn’t a good fit for your family. In this episode, you’ll hear:  What’s the goal of narration anyway? What my family does instead of narration (and we like it so! much! better!) A reminder of what we’re going for (spoiler alert: narration isn’t the only way to get it) Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/192/.

If you have a child with ADHD or dyslexia and want him/her to love reading, this episode is for you. I’m sharing tips and tricks to help kids with ADHD enjoy reading and read-alouds in this episode of The Read-Aloud Revival.You’ll hear… audiobooks: help or hindrance? what worked for one of Sarah’s dyslexic kids Sarah’s go-to resource for all things related to homeschooling a child with ADHD Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/191/

Looking for my favorite stories about Christian saints and heroes? You’re in the right place!That’s what I’m talking about in today’s short episode of the Read-Aloud Revival. (Heads up, I’m Catholic, so a lot of these titles will be of special interest to Catholic listeners.

Many of us worry about how screen time impacts our kids’ reading life. So how do we manage screens in a way that still makes it likely our kids will love to read?That’s the question I’m answering in today’s short episode of the Read-Aloud Revival. You’ll hear… the case for helping kids engage with screens in a healthy way two times a day we go screen-free at our house how to set goals to help kids want to read more https://readaloudrevival.com/189/.

If you take your kids to the library and they consistently choose books you aren’t excited about them reading… what can you do? That’s the question I’m answering in today’s short episode of the Read-Aloud Revival. You’ll hear… Sarah’s favorite places to check book reviews an alternate way to get library books dealing with silly books

How can we find books that engage both an 8- and a 4-year-old? That’s the question I’m answering in today’s short episode of the Read-Aloud Revival. You’ll hear… why we shouldn’t leave picture books behind a tip for keeping kids engaged with longer books a few book suggestions! (naturally

Should my kids’ reading correlate with their history studies?Many of make it a point to make sure our reading lines up with the time period we’re learning about in history. Is that a good idea? That’s the question I’m answering in today’s short episode of the Read-Aloud Revival. You’ll hear… what I wish I worried about less when it comes to teaching history a tip for helping kids track reading by time period the value of re-reading the same books over again Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/186/.

Should I use Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons?That’s the question I’m answering in today’s short episode of the Read-Aloud Revival. You’ll hear… Yes, if it works for you. No, if it doesn’t. My own experience and my favorite alternatives  A reminder: look for the easiest way to teach that also nurtures your relationship with your kids