Read-Aloud Revival ®
Sarah Mackenzie helps your family fall in love with books, and helps you fall in love with homeschooling.
Episodes
RAR #282: Sparking Creativity with Research
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. When you think about the various work that goes into making a children’s book, research probably isn’t at the top of your list. It might not make it on your list at all!But research is often an essential part of the process. And I can tell you from personal experience that research can be a time-intensive, sometimes overwhelming, but often the most del
Best of RAR: The Joy of Shakespeare
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. When I mention Shakespeare, a lot of people immediately conjure up visions of high school English class, struggling through Julius Caesar line by line.Which is an absolute shame, because Shakespeare’s plays are meant to be experienced–performed, seen, heard, felt. And experiencing Shakespeare with your kids is truly one of the most joyful things you can
RAR #281: Homeschooling High School with Rachel Kovac
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. How do we homeschool high school? It’s *the* question, isn’t it?A lot of us go into homeschooling ready and excited for the younger years. Then as high school approaches, things start to feel… a little more complicated. To say the least. Navigating difficult subjects, transcripts, college applications, and alternatives to college if that isn’t a good fi
RAR #280: Books Take Us Places
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. One of the very best ways to travel with your children is through books.Physically travelling as a family isn’t always possible for a variety of reasons, but by reading with our kids, we give them the gift of windows into unfamiliar worlds. Stories develop empathy and invite us to engage with another’s experiences in ways that can even go deeper than vi
Best of RAR: Becoming Your Child’s Mentor
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. What would happen if you decided to be your child's mentor rather than their teacher? What if you awakened their wonder and curiosity so that they became the kind of people who thirst for knowledge and understanding?Today, I’m revisiting a conversation about those very questions that I had a few years ago with Sally Clarkson. I’m lucky to count Sally a
RAR #279: Baptizing the Imagination with Malcolm Guite
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. What is your calling in life? For poet, songwriter, and academic, Malcolm Guite, it’s unequivocally clear–to be a storyteller. Today on the podcast Audrey and I chat with Malcolm about the first volume in his new retelling of the classic King Arthur stories, Galahad and the Grail, illustrated by the incredible Stephen Crotts and published by our friends
Best of RAR: When Your Developing Reader Resists Reading
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Learning to read can be hard. And when our kids are still learning to read fluently and well, helping them fall in love with books can feel impossible.But it doesn’t have to be that way.Today on the show, I’m sharing some strategies to help hook your developing reader. And of course, I have some suggestions for books that they won’t be able to resist.In
RAR #278: How to Actually Connect with Our Kids, Dr. Matthew Breuninger
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. We all want to build those meaningful and lasting connections with our kids. Around here, we’re usually talking about doing that through books and reading aloud. But how do we extend these connections into our everyday, ordinary parenting moments? Today, I’m talking to one of my favorite people to listen to when it comes to relationships. Dr Matthew Br
Best of RAR: How a “Best Moments” List Can Help You Love Your Homeschool featuring Jon Acuff
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Today, we’re revisiting a listener-favorite episode that has some advice and an activity that I think are perfect for this time of year in our homeschools.Jon Acuff, author of All It Takes Is a Goal, joined me a while back for a perspective-shifting conversation about setting and achieving goals for our homeschools, and how looking back at our best mome
RAR #277: Inspiring Heroic Virtue in Our Kids
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. We talk a lot around here about the incredible impact stories have on our kids. They build empathy and connection, letting us walk a mile in another’s shoes. And some stories also help us see what it looks like to be brave and courageous, even in the face of fear or daunting challenges.Today, Audrey is back to talk with me about how stories inspire cour
Best of RAR: Why Read Aloud to Kids Who Can Read Themselves
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Why do we read aloud to our kids? Especially those who can read to themselves? This is a topic that comes up all the time at Read-Aloud Revival and it’s one I’m super passionate about. It’s foundational to what we do around here and I firmly believe it’s vital to our kids becoming lifelong readers. In this episode, we’re talking about the impact reading
RAR #276: Learning to Ask Good Questions (Audrey’s Back!)
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Today’s episode is a special treat featuring the return of a listener-favorite guest who happens to be one of my favorite people, too. 😉Back on episode 209, my eldest daughter, Audrey joined me to share her perspective on what it was like growing up in our bustling homeschool family. Ever since that episode aired, listeners have asked for updates on wha
RAR #275: Could We Have Tranquility by Tuesday? Laura Vanderkam
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. If I were to ask you if your life ever felt tranquil, you would probably do one of two things: bust out laughing or look at me like I was from another planet.I get it, I really do. Which is why I’m so excited to have the author of one of my absolute tippy-top recommended books with me today. Laura Vanderkam is a time management expert, mother of five, a
Best of RAR: Jolabokaflod
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. What if I told you there’s an Icelandic Christmas tradition where the whole point is to spend an evening sitting around, sipping hot cocoa, and reading books?Sign me up, right?Today, we’re talking about Jolabokaflod, which loosely translates to “Yule Book Flood,” how it started, and how you can bring the magic of this bookish tradition into your home th
RAR #274: Behind the Scenes of One of My Favorite Christmas Picture Books
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. We all know there is no shortage of Christmas picture books out there. But for a book to make it onto my kids’ Christmas stack or onto a Read Aloud Revival Christmas Book List, it has to be excellent. And the books we choose for Christmas School? Those are the ones that go above and beyond excellent and are some of our most treasured, tippy-top favorite
[Bonus] God Is Not Disappointed In You
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Hey hey, it's Sarah Mackenzie!I am here with a bonus episode. I host another podcast — it's called Circle with Sarah— and it's a short, weekly podcast that helps all of us become the peace-filled, joyful mamas we're called to be. It goes up at RAR Premium every Monday during the school year. Recently, I recorded an episode for that podcast called "God i
Best of RAR: Education is for Love
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Have you ever worried that you’re not meeting all of your child’s needs—academically, emotionally, spiritually, or even socially? Pretty much every day, right? You’re not alone. Most of us have asked ourselves if we are giving our kids everything they need at one time or another.In this episode, I’m sharing a replay from one of our Circle with Sarah liv
RAR #273: Imagining the Childhood of C.S. Lewis, with Judith McQuoid
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Many of you will already know that I am a huge fan of The Chronicles of Narnia. Today, I want to introduce my fellow Narnia lovers to a new book that jumped right off the shelf as soon as I saw it. Giant is a middle-grade novel by debut author Judith McQuoid where we meet Davy, a fictional working class boy from East Belfast, Ireland who is sent to work
RAR #272: Giving Flora Her Voice with Astrid Sheckels
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Astrid Sheckels continues the wit and whimsy of childhood through her marvelous and magnificent illustrations and storytelling. You might recognize her from the Hector Fox and Friends series or Sea Dog and Sea Dog Rescue, and she created the gorgeous cover and interior illustrations for Beyond Mulberry Glen by Millie Florence. Today we’re chatting about
Best of RAR: What Do We Mean by Peace?
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Peace. It sounds lovely, right? It’s what so many of us want more than anything else in our homeschools. We long for peace, even if it often feels unattainable.But what does peace actually look like in the midst of a real, chaotic homeschool day?Last month in Circle with Sarah–my mentoring program for homeschool moms inside RAR Premium–we had a retreat.
Best of RAR: 5 Habits of Happy Homeschoolers
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. What does having a happy homeschool mean to you? How would you describe it? What would you be doing?Our homeschools are all unique. We have different kids, different spouses, different resources, different homes, different demands on our time and energy. And yet I have a hunch that when we think about what having a happy homeschool means, our answers wo
RAR #271: An Inside Look at Writing & Illustrating a Picture Book with Katie Wray Schon
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Today, I have a very special treat for you! This spring, our publishing imprint here at RAR, Waxwing Books, celebrated the release of Painting Wonder: How Pauline Baynes Illustrated the Worlds of C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien at one of my favorite bookstores, Fabled Bookshop in Waco, Texas.I had so much fun talking to Painting Wonder’s incredibly talen
RAR #270: The Whys and Hows of Quiet Reading Time
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. One of the all-time most useful things I’ve implemented in my homeschool is Quiet Reading Time.I did Quiet Reading Time with my three eldest kids, who are now in college and beyond, during the most hectic years when I had all six at home (three of whom were babies at the time!), and I still do it with those younger three today. It has made a bigger diff
RAR #269 – A Vacation for Your Homeschooling Heart
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Summer break . . . It’s often not much of a break, right?Even if you find yourself with a little less on your plate, anxiety and second-guessing have a way of filling the gaps where we want rest and relaxation to fill.To find peace that lasts throughout the school year, we can’t just “take a break.” We need to break free from the stories and fears that
RAR #268 Advice to Young (And Young at Heart) Creatives
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Have you ever read a book and thought, “Wow, how did the author do that?!” Or maybe you’d love to sit down with your favorite author and pick their brain about their writing process or tips and tricks for when you get stuck.Today, the Read-Aloud Revival team has compiled some of our favorite advice about getting creative from the archives of RAR Premium
RAR #267: A Conversation About Belovedness with Emily Wilson Hussem
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. If you’ve been around the Read-Aloud Revival for a minute, you might know that C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters is one of my all-time favorite books. It’s the book I have read and re-read the most, and it’s also the source of some of my favorite read-aloud memories with my young adult son.Today’s guest has written a book in a similar style with the m
RAR #266 How to Do Shakespeare (and Actually Enjoy It)
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. On the last episode of the Read-Aloud Revival, we talked about why Shakespeare is not a school subject. I hope we were able to convince you!But if we know that Shakespeare isn’t a school subject or an item on a checklist, how do we actually do it? And how do we make Shakespeare not just doable in our homeschools, but delightful?Today, we’ll talk through
RAR #264: How to Read Classics (and Actually Enjoy Them)
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Why should we read the classics? So many of us want to read and enjoy them, but we don’t want to spend our precious free time feeling like we’re incompetent because we just don’t get it or that the internet has completely ruined our brains (is this just me?).This winter in RAR Premium, we did a whole retreat about falling in love with your reading life
RAR #263: Growing in Confidence as a Homeschool Mama with the RAR Team
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. In this episode, RAR Community Manager Kelsey Murphy and I sat down to tackle some of your listener questions. We put our heads together to answer questions about loved ones who don’t support your choice to homeschool, curriculum overwhelm, reading aloud with older kids or a wide age range of ages, how to encourage your kids to read high quality literat
RAR #262: Every Question Is a Doorway, with Jonathan Auxier
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Today, one of my very favorite authors returns to Read-Aloud Revival. You know him as the author of Sweep, The Night Gardener, the Peter Nimble series, and The Fabled Stables. That’s right–Jonathan Auxier is back!This time, we’re talking about the much-awaited conclusion to the Peter Nimble series, The War of the Maps. In our conversation, we delve into
RAR #261: Why the Modern Myths of Tolkien & Lewis Feel So True
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. One of my favorite reads of 2024 was The Myth Makers by John Hendrix.This gorgeous graphic novel tells the story of the remarkable friendship of C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. I thought I already knew quite a bit about these Inklings, but there was even more to uncover.Today, I’m delighted to share my conversation with the author and illustrator of The
RAR #260: The Woman Behind Narnia’s Iconic Illustrations
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. What comes to mind when you think of C. S. Lewis’s Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings?There’s a good chance a lot of us are seeing very similar pictures. We’re seeing images that swept us into the whimsical world of wonder beyond the wardrobe (and into the Shire). The beloved images of these childhood stories remain with us. But it’s like
Best of RAR: How Read-Alouds Inspired the Wingfeather Saga with Andrew Peterson
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Today, I’m thrilled to share a peek at the riches inside RAR Premium, our online community that helps you make meaningful and lasting connections with your books and helps homeschool mamas become the peace-filled, joyful mamas they’re called to be.Last summer, our Family Book Club selection was On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, the first book in
RAR #259: Books Take You Places
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Have you ever read a book and felt like you’d actually been to that place?Me too. Once, while standing in line at an amusement park, I met a couple who told me they were visiting from Maine. And I almost said, “Oh, I was just in Maine!” Except I’ve never actually been to Maine. I had just read a book that was set in Maine, and it was so immersive, it fe
Best of RAR: Reading for Fun is More Important than You Think
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Lately here at RAR we’ve been talking about reading for refreshment—reading for the pure joy of it—and how our own reading lives can be a source of energy and joy even in the throes of the busiest seasons of motherhood.This week on the podcast, we're revisiting an episode that dives into why reading isn’t just good for us and our kids, but why reading f
RAR #258: How Picture Book Illustrations Tell Half the Story with Charles Santoso
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Dear Duck, Please Come! is the most fun I’ve ever had writing a book. But writing the words is only half the story for a picture book. Which is why today, I’m delighted to share my conversation with the illustrator of Dear Duck, Please Come!, Charles Santoso.Charles was born in Indonesia, raised in Australia, and now lives in Singapore. He’s illustrated
RAR #257: You Can Be Refreshed by Your Reading Life
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. At the start of a new year, we are overwhelmed with the phrase “New Year, new you!” And of course, we want to be better wives, better mothers, and better people. This desire to improve ourselves filters into our reading lives, too. It’s easy to justify a lot of our reading if it helps us be better for our families and communities. But what about reading
RAR #256: My New Favorite Book for the Whole Family
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Gather your aspiring writers and littlest book lovers for this episode. I am so excited to welcome back author Millie Florence to talk about the beautiful book we created together, Beyond Mulberry Glen.Millie and I are chatting about the making of the book from inspiration to final draft with a series of fun questions from what scene was the hardest to
Best of RAR: Jolabokaflod
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. What if I told you there’s an Icelandic Christmas tradition where the whole point is to spend an evening sitting around, sipping hot cocoa, and reading books?Sign me up, right?Today, we’re talking about Jolabokaflod, which loosely translates to “Yule Book Flood,” how it started, and how you can bring the magic of this bookish tradition into your home th
RAR #254: What’s So Great About A Christmas Carol?
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. "Marley was dead, to begin with."That is one of the most famous first lines in English literature. It comes from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, which is perhaps the greatest Christmas ghost story ever told.What is it that speaks to so many of us about this story of Scrooge and his ghosts?Today I want to talk about what makes this story so beloved
BONUS: The Power of What You’re Already Doing (Sneak Peek Inside RAR Premium)
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. As homeschooling moms, we often focus more on what we’re not doing than what we are doing. We fret about the lessons we should be teaching or the projects we should be creating.But here’s what we want you to remember (and what we try to remind ourselves): what you’re already doing is powerful. It’s purposeful. And best of all, what you’re already doing
RAR #253: How We Choose Books to Recommend at RAR
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. How do you know a good book when you see it?I remember walking into the big, beautiful children’s section at the library with my oldest, who was a baby. I wanted to find books to read aloud to her, but it was hard to know which ones we would love. That longing to find good books for my children was the spark that eventually became the Read-Aloud Revival
RAR #252: The Making of Because Barbara
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. A library should be a kind of paradise, don’t you agree? Author and illustrator Barbara Cooney certainly thought so. Barbara Cooney was an extraordinary author and illustrator of over 100 children’s books with stories that span the world, from the shores of Greece to the mountains of Appalachia. The more I learned about Barbara, the more I wanted to tel
RAR #251: Fostering Wonder and Creativity, with S.D. Smith and Carolyn Leiloglou
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Raising creative kids is a beautiful, worthwhile endeavor, but not one that is always neat and tidy! In today's episode, I’ve invited two of my good friends and fellow creatives—authors S. D. Smith and Carolyn Leiloglou—for a conversation on how our creative work as adults impacts our kids. We discuss everything from the challenges of nurturing creativi
RAR #250: Relaxed, Bookish, and Ordinary
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. What if I told you that your homeschool could be relaxed, bookish, and ordinary? If you’re anything like me, that’s music to your ears. Our kids thrive–and we do too–when our day-to-day homeschool is relaxed, bookish, and ordinary. In fact, that's what over 726 experienced homeschool moms told me were the three most important qualities. Today, I’m shari
RAR #249: How a “Best Moments” List can Help You Love Your Homeschool featuring Jon Acuff
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Which of these two activities would be easier for you? Describe the best life you could achieve over the next twenty years.Describe the best things that have happened to you over the past twenty years.I know that as a busy wife and mama, dreaming for the future can feel daunting. As I was reading Jon Acuff’s book, All It Takes Is a Goal this summer, I w
RAR #248: Nurturing Creative Dreams (Your Child’s and Your Own)
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Do you have a child who dreams of being a writer? Or maybe it’s your dream? How do you support those dreams and foster creativity while also raising kids and running a household?Today, I’m delighted to welcome back author Laura Martin, who’s giving us her very best advice for how to nurture your child’s creative dreams and your own.Laura Martin is the a
RAR #247: Why We Love Historical Fiction, Anna Rose Johnson
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. We recently took a poll in RAR Premium about favorite reading genres, and it turns out that historical fiction isn’t just my favorite genre, but it’s the favorite of many of you as well.Today, I’ve invited historical fiction lover and award-winning author Anna Rose Johnson to join me to discuss just what it is about historical fiction that draws us in.
RAR #246: Sally Clarkson’s Advice to Her Younger Self
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. If you’re a homeschooling mom, chances are good that you’re familiar with Sally Clarkson. She is one of the most beloved names in homeschooling worldwide, and it’s no wonder why. She homeschooled her own four kids to adulthood and has been writing and encouraging homeschool moms for decades. She also happens to be one of our most frequently requested gu
RAR #245 How to Read a Fairy Tale
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. In the last couple of episodes, we’ve discussed the importance of fairy tales, especially in the development of the hearts and minds of our children.And you might be wondering . . . now that you know about the Gospel connections and symbolism of fairy tales, do you need to dissect every story and present all of the details to your kids?Experts say no. B
RAR #244: How to Give Your Kids What Technology Can’t, Erin Loechner
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. How can our families cultivate healthy relationships with technology? We’re all trying to impose limits on how, when, and why our kids interact with technology. But in our increasingly tech-driven world, it can be hard to navigate.Writer Erin Loechner is joining me on the podcast to discuss her new book, The Opt-Out Family, and to offer her life-giving
RAR #243: Why Read Fairy Tales?
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Fairy tales are the stories that shape so many of our childhoods, but they are more than just whimsical tales for children.They can hold deep, gospel truth and offer profound insight into the Christian life. They have the power to inspire hope, ignite courage, and spark delight in not only our children, but in us, too. Fairy tales aren’t merely stories,
RAR #242: An Art Gallery for the Lap, with Scott Gustafson
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. A picture book is an art gallery for the lap. 📚That’s something we say all the time here at Read-Aloud Revival, and today we’re going to introduce you to one of our absolute favorite examples of this. We're diving into the enchanting world of illustrated picture books with Scott Gustafson, the master illustrator behind the breathtaking illustrations in
Bonus: 3 Steps to a Fairy Tale Summer
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Summer is fast approaching, and here's what we propose: a relaxed and simple summer that offers just enough structure to keep those long sticky days from melting into chaos... and just enough fun to keep your kids asking for more.Also: Fairy Tales. Last week, I did a couple of live workshops on three simple steps to have a Fairy Tale Summer with your ki
RAR #241: How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare, with Ken Ludwig
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Are you intimidated by the thought of teaching Shakespeare? You’re not alone. A lot of people struggle to connect to Shakespeare’s work, even if they really want their kids to be familiar with his plays. What if I told you there's a way to make teaching Shakespeare to your kids enjoyable for them……AND delightful for you? In today’s episode, Ken Ludwig,
Top 10 in the First 10 Years!
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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
RAR #240: Max Lucado: Nourishing a Child’s Heart with Books
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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 t
Best of RAR: How to Make Time for Your Own Reading
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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
RAR #239: Practicing the Habits of a Lifelong Reader
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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 th
Best of RAR: The Point is the Doing (Not Getting it Done)
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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 wit
RAR #238: How Books Make Us Better, Happier Moms
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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, bette
Best of RAR: What to Do When Reading Becomes a Slog
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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 th
RAR #237: How Fairy Tales Re-Enchant Us
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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 f
Best of RAR: No More Bookish Overwhelm
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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,
Best of RAR: Your New Favorite Tradition - Jolabokaflod
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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
RAR #235: How to Give Feedback on Your Child’s Creative Writing (Even If You Aren’t a Writer!)
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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 hav
RAR #234: Encouraging Creativity: Insights and Inspiration from Author Millie Florence
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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.
Best of RAR: Is My Child Dyslexic?
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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 th
RAR #233: Audrey is Back, and She’s Answering Your Questions!
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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 Convention
RAR #232: How to Know If You’re Doing Enough
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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 t
RAR #231: Homeschooling with Babies and Toddlers
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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 abo
RAR #230: Helping Your Differently Wired Kids Fall in Love with Reading
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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
RAR #229: How a 25¢ Spiral Notebook Can Change Your Homeschool
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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
RAR #228: Reading for Fun is More Important Than You Think
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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 w
Best of RAR: Penderwicks Fans Rejoice!
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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
Hey Sarah! When (and how) do I…teach writing, take my kids to the library, require a teen to read?
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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
Anxious About Rest: How to Let Go of Summer Break Pressure
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. Full show notes can be found here: You Don't Need to Make the Most of Your SummerGet RAR Premium HERE>>
RAR #226: Hey Sarah! Late-Night Readers, Not Assigning Books and is it OK to Read SO MANY Books?
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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: My favorite place
Best of RAR: 5 MORE Homeschool Mistakes I’ve Made (they just keep comin’)
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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 m
Best of RAR: 5 Homeschooling Mistakes I've Made (so you can avoid them)
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. 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 aga
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