Read-Aloud Revival ®: Recent Episodes
Sarah Mackenzie
Sarah Mackenzie will help your kids fall in love with books, and will help you fall in love with 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:
- Why your babies and toddlers are not a distraction
- Three strategies for handling fussy, grabby toddlers in your homeschool
- Practical tips for doing less in your homeschool
Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/homeschooling-with-babies
Check out the 2023-2024 RAR Premium Calendar here.
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:
- Three practical strategies for helping struggling readers: read-alouds, phonics, and time
- Signs your child might be dyslexic and recommended resources for working with a dyslexic brain
- How to help your advanced reader develop discernment in their book choices
Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/differently-wired-kids/
- Watch the RAR Premium Preview on video (so you can see everything we show you on screen)
- Get RAR Premium
- Learn more about the Circle with Sarah Retreat
Learn more about the Circle with Sarah Retreat happening this August
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:
- How the spiral notebook system combats overwhelm when you’re being pulled in too many directions
- How I used the spiral notebooks in our homeschool
- The modified system that we use in our homeschool now
Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/spiral-notebooks-for-homeschool
Learn more about the Circle with Sarah Retreat happening this August
Learn more about the Circle with Sarah Retreat happening this August
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:
- Why modeling your own enjoyment of reading is such an important piece of raising kids who love to read
- How reading reduces stress, makes us happier, improves focus and more!
- How to overcome the hurdles and read more (in fact we have a printable for that!)
Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:
- Read Aloud Revival
- Waxwing Books
- Subscribe to the Newsletter
Mentioned in This Episode:
- RAR #56: What’s at Stake and Why Stories Matter, Jonathan Auxier
- Reading 'can help reduce stress'
- Global survey shows readers are happier
- "Why You Should Read Children's Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise,” Katherine Rundell
- RAR #43: Raising Kids Who Read, Daniel Willingham
- Get the map and booklist: Text RETREAT to 33777
Learn more about the Circle with Sarah Retreat happening this August
Learn more about the Circle with Sarah Retreat happening this August
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:
- How Jeanne got her start writing in her 40s and why it’s never too late to follow a dream
- About Jeanne’s character-driven writing process and why she always envisioned the Penderwicks as a series
- Where Jeanne gets her inspiration
Learn more about Jeanne Birdsall:
- Website
Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:
- Read Aloud Revival
- Waxwing Books
- Subscribe to the Newsletter
Mentioned in This Episode:
- RAR Premium Text SARAH to 33777
- Broadside Bookshop
- RAR #42: Inspiring Parents in Children’s Literature, Greta Eskridge
Learn more about the Circle with Sarah Retreat happening this August
Check out our updated booklists at readaloudrevival.com/recommends, or text BOOKS to 33777 and we'll send them straight to your phone.
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:
- Why you don’t need to rush your kids into composition, and what I do instead
- Strategies for handling books you’d rather your kids didn’t check out of the library
- How to encourage older, dyslexic kids in reading
Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:
- Read Aloud Revival
- Waxwing Books
- Subscribe to the Newsletter
Mentioned in This Episode:
- RAR #217: It’s Time to Put Some Pinecones Back
- IEW
- Writer's Workshop - Layers of Learning
- Redeemed Reader
- Common Sense Media
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
Minn of the Mississippi
Ramona the Pest
The Hobbit
The Boxcar Children
Zita the Spacegirl
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Raising Kids Who Read
Order While Everyone is Sleeping at waxwingbooks.com
Check out our updated booklists at readaloudrevival.com/recommends, or text BOOKS to 33777 and we'll send them straight to your phone.
Full show notes can be found here: You Don't Need to Make the Most of Your Summer
Get RAR Premium HERE>>
Order While Everyone is Sleeping at waxwingbooks.com
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: * Where the tradition came from * 3 super-simple steps to your own Jolabokaflod * How other mamas just like you have made the tradition their own
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.
📄 Click here to view the transcript
How to do a JolabokaflodSTEP 1: Choose the dateThe Icelandic tradition has Jolabokaflod landing on Christmas Eve, but you can do it any time that works for you. Winter solstice? New Year’s Eve? A random Tuesday evening? The choice is up to you!
STEP 2: Gather books & cocoaYou don’t need a stack of books for Jolabokaflod—just one book per person will do. You can purchase special books for the occasion or simply reserve books at your library and tuck them away for your special day.
STEP 3: Jolabokaflod!Jammies on, hot chocolate simmering. That’s it! We recommend making an easy dinner on Jolabokaflod, so you can relax and enjoy the evening too.
Give your kids the gift of Christmas SchoolRead-Aloud Revival’s Christmas School is your family’s complete guide to celebrating the season with joy and wonder.
This guide is your complete December curriculum for all of your students (just add math). Learn more >>
Get Christmas School in RAR PremiumRead-Aloud Revival® Christmas booklists can be found here:Visit Read-Aloud Revival ® with Sarah Mackenzie
History comes alive when you read aloud a picture book biography. This list organizes our favorites into time periods and categories.
Visit Read-Aloud Revival ® with Sarah Mackenzie
Need a boost of sunshine? Stop whatever you're doing and listen to this podcast. Mem Fox talks about the unique gift reading aloud offers our kids.
Visit Read-Aloud Revival ® with Sarah Mackenzie
Greta Eskridge and I discuss how books can be the conduit for adventuring with your kids, no matter your circumstances or your resources.
Visit Read-Aloud Revival ® with Sarah Mackenzie
In this episode of the podcast, Alan Jacob invites us to read at whim, develop our own reading taste, and raise kids who do the same. Don't miss this one!
Visit Read-Aloud Revival ® with Sarah Mackenzie
You want your kids to read because they love to, not just because they have to. Here's how to make that happen...
Visit Read-Aloud Revival ® with Sarah Mackenzie