Are you searching for ways to ignite curiosity, character, and a love of learning in your homeschool? In this episode of the Schoolhouse Rocked Podcast, host Cindy West sits down with Jennifer Pepito, veteran homeschooler and author of "Mothering by the Book." Together, they explore the profound impact of living books on homeschool families—even if you don’t embrace a Charlotte Mason approach.

Jennifer shares her personal journey of overcoming fear through reading with her children, the importance of virtue in education, and practical tips for integrating rich literature—whether you're new to living books or a seasoned enthusiast. Learn how living books can transform reluctant readers, spark deep family conversations, and even make daunting subjects like history come alive.

✨ Topics covered:

• What are living books and why do they matter?
• Overcoming homeschool fears with great stories
• Making read-alouds a joyful daily habit (even with audiobooks)
• Building family culture and virtue through shared reading
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Don’t miss actionable advice and book list recommendations for building aliterature-rich homeschool—plus tips and free resources for parents who feelnervous about reading aloud!

Recommended Resources:

⁠Habits for a Sacred Home: 9 Practices from History to Anchor and Restore Modern Families, by Jennifer Pepito⁠

⁠Mothering by the Book: The Power of Reading Aloud to Overcome Fear and Recapture Joy, by Jennifer Pepito

⁠10 Day Connection Challenge⁠

⁠List of 52 Virtues⁠

⁠ThePeacefulPress.com ⁠

⁠Guides to delight-led learning⁠

⁠Listen to Jennifer's podcast here⁠

Sponsors:

⁠⁠Apologia⁠⁠ is a Christ-centered, award-winning homeschool curriculum provider. Our mission is to help homeschooling students and families learn, live, and defend the Christian faith through our print and digital curriculum and online classes.

⁠⁠BJU Press Homeschool⁠⁠ is dedicated to providing homeschool families with academically strong curriculum rooted in a biblical worldview. They offer a complete curriculum from preschool through 12th grade, available in both traditional textbooks and video courses. By teaching through the lens of Christ’s power, they help students view the world through the transformative story of God’s creation

⁠⁠CTCMath⁠⁠ specializes in providing online video tutorials that take a multi-sensory approach to learning. Creative graphics and animation, synchronized with the friendly voice of internationally acclaimed teacher, Pat Murray, make learning math easy and effective. Start your free trial today.

The Schoolhouse Rocked Podcast is a member of the Biblical Family Network. Our mission is to support and encourage the family by providing the very best podcasts on family, discipleship, marriage, parenting, worldview, culture, and education, all from a Biblical perspective. ⁠⁠Visit the website for more great shows⁠⁠, like the ⁠⁠Thinking Dad⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Culture Proof⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Homeschool Insights⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Made2Homeschool⁠⁠.