Read-Aloud Revival ®

By Sarah Mackenzie

Arts Education Kids & Family

What's Read-Aloud Revival ® about?

Sarah Mackenzie will help your kids fall in love with books, and will help *you* fall in love with homeschooling.

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RAR#206: A Simple, Low-Pres...

05.19.2022

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 … ...

Read-Aloud Revival ® episodes:

05.19.2022 RAR#206: A Simple, Low-Pressure Approach to Teach Shakespeare 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 … ...
05.12.2022 RAR #205: Help! My Child Doesn’t Like Reading 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 ...
05.05.2022 RAR #204: How Do You Organize Books in Your Home Library? 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 ...
04.28.2022 RAR #203: What Do Your Kids Read for Fun in High School? 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 ...
04.21.2022 RAR #202: For Kids Who Don’t Like Sad Stories 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 ...
03.08.2022 RAR #201: The Surprising Value of Reading Fewer Books 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 ...
03.02.2022 Name What Matters in Your Homeschool This Spring We’re just a little excited here at RAR this week. First, it’s our 200th episode!
02.23.2022 RAR # 199: The Books that Won, and Few That Should Have (2022 Youth Media Awards) 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 ...
02.16.2022 RAR #198: Which Curriculum Should I Use? (and other questions with life-changing answers) “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 ...
02.09.2022 RAR #197: Hey Mamas, Reading for Pleasure is Part of the Job! 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. ...
02.02.2022 RAR #196: Teaching Literature Without Curriculum 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 ...
01.26.2022 RAR #195: “So Many Books, So Little Time!” How to Quell Overwhelm in Our Reading Lives 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 ...
01.19.2022 RAR #194: Let’s Talk About Loving Your Homeschool Life It feels very January right now, doesn’t it? And let’s be clear: that is not a compliment to the month of January. Ahem. Don’t worry if January feels hard for you too – it’s actually pretty normal. So today, I’m ...
12.08.2021 Blessings Pressed Down, Shaken Together 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 ...
11.23.2021 RAR #193: A Relaxed, Read-Aloud Christmas 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 ...
11.08.2021 RAR #192: Help! My Kids Hate Narration 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 ...
10.19.2021 RAR #191: Helping your ADHD or Dyslexic Child Love Reading 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 ...
10.19.2021 RAR #190: Sarah’s Favorite Stories About Christian Saints and Heroes 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 ...
10.12.2021 RAR #189: What if my kids always pick screens over books? 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 ...
09.29.2021 RAR #188: My kids aren’t picking good books at the library. What do I do? 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 ...
09.29.2021 RAR #187: How to find books that engage both an 8- and a 4-year-old 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 ...
09.29.2021 RAR #186: Should my kids’ reading correlate with their history studies? 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 ...
09.14.2021 RAR #185: Should I Use Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons? 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 ...
09.14.2021 RAR #184: What to do if your developing reader skips words when reading What should you do if your developing reader skips words when reading? That’s the question I’m answering in today’s short episode of the Read-Aloud Revival. You’ll hear… * Actually, we all do skip words when reading, but…* Sarah shares a ...
09.14.2021 RAR #183: Should We Avoid Abridged or Adapted Versions of the Classics? Should we avoid abridged or adapted versions of classics? That’s the question I’m answering in today’s short episode of the Read-Aloud Revival. You’ll hear… * what abridged or adapted versions of the classics can offer* what happened when Sarah’s daughter ...
08.31.2021 RAR #182: 5 Books I want you to know about, and answers to your questions about reading a book a day Today I’m sharing five books you’ll love, plans for RAR this fall (books clubs and writing and events you don’t want to miss!), and answers to your questions about reading a book a day. Wondering if including re-reading is a ...
08.17.2021 RAR #181: Practical Tips for Reading a Book a Day In this episode, we’re offering some tips and ideas to help you with the nitty gritty of reading more picture books. The whole RAR team is back, and we’re answering your questions about reading a picture book a day. In ...
08.03.2021 RAR #180: Reading A Book a Day with Older Kids and Teens We’re all on board with reading picture books to our younger kids, but that has to stop at some point, right? Ohhhhhh no. No, it does not. What do our kids stand to gain… and how on earth can we ...
07.20.2021 RAR #179: Do You See What I See? How to Look Closely at a Picture Book Last time on the Read-Aloud Revival podcast, we talked about what happens (and what our kids gain) when we read aloud a book a day. In this episode, we’re digging in to how to look closely at a picture book—how ...
07.06.2021 RAR#178: Why read a book a Day? (Yep, You Can!) What would happen if we read a book a day with our kids? That’s the idea we’re exploring today in a brand new episode of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast. And we’re also issuing a challenge: we dare you to read ...
06.15.2021 RAR Special Edition: Robert McCloskey Makes Way 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 ...
04.20.2021 RAR #177: Teach Your Kids to Think Like a Scientist (with Books You Already Have) Science is everywhere. It’s in everything we do, everything we see. And yes, everything we read. Books offer a delightful opportunity to talk about science, both through their illustrations and their text. We just need to know a few things ...
04.07.2021 RAR #176: Homeschooling with Dyslexia Is homeschooling with dyslexia a good idea? Can dyslexic students thrive, even if the parents aren’t specialists (or even certified teachers)? Let’s be clear: absolutely, yes. You can homeschool your dyslexic kids, and you’ll do a darn good job of ...
03.23.2021 RAR #175: Is My Child Dyslexic? Is my child dyslexic? And if so, what should I do about it? It’s one of the things we’re asked about most here at Read-Aloud Revival, and no wonder. When our kids struggle to learn to read, we worry. Dyslexia ...
03.09.2021 RAR #174: The Books that Won (and a few that Should Have!) Every year, the RAR team gathers to watch the American Library Association (ALA) Youth Media Awards. Once, we went in person (!) but the past two years, we’ve watched together from home and texted each other like mad the whole ...
02.23.2021 RAR #173: What Happens in Your Child’s Brain when You Read Aloud Ready to dive into a little brain science? Today, we’re discovering what happens in your child’s brain when you read aloud. This is probably not a surprise, but… A LOT is happening. Dr. John Hutton of the Reading and Literacy ...
02.09.2021 RAR #172: Helping Our Developing Readers Fall in Love with Books 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. In today’s episode, I’m ...
01.26.2021 RAR #171: How to Introduce Your Kids to Shakespeare The Bard. He can be a little intimidating, right? If you’ve ever wondered how to introduce your kids to Shakespeare, you are in a for a treat with this podcast episode. Many of us met Shakespeare in a way that ...
01.09.2021 RAR #170: How to Read a Wordless Book Do you ever feel lost when it comes to how to read a wordless book? I’m convinced that some of the very best picture books being published today are wordless. They invite us to slow down, predict what will come ...
12.28.2020 RAR #169: The Read-Aloud Challenge Here at RAR, we can’t think of a better way to kick off a new year than to do it with books. That’s why we kick off every January with a challenge for your kids– to help them start their ...
12.01.2020 RAR #168: Special Edition, Christmas Stories Welcome to a very special Christmas episode of Read-Aloud Revival, featuring three audio Christmas stories from one of our very favorite storytellers: Jim Weiss. In this episode, 3 audio Christmas stories: * The Nativity Story* The Gift of the Magi* ...
11.16.2020 RAR #167 Christmas with Tomie dePaola and Winter at RAR Do you feel it in the air? The seasons are a-changing…and it’s just about the best time of year for reading with a cup of cocoa, next to a crackling fire. (I suppose in the Southern Hemisphere it’s lemonade and ...
11.04.2020 RAR #166: What’s the deal with open-ended questions? In today’s episode, we’re talking about how to talk with your kids about books. Specifically, we’re talking about open-ended questions, which you’ve probably heard us talk about before here at Read-Aloud Revival. Open-ended questions are key to having conversations with ...
10.18.2020 RAR #165: When reading starts to feel like school It happens to all of us at one point or another: reading shifts in our kids’ lives from being principally about joy and delight into something that needs to be done for school. A lot of us notice a significant ...
10.06.2020 RAR # 164: Our Favorite Way to Read through History (and a new FREE resource) In this very special episode of the podcast, the RAR team is discussing our favorite way to study history: through picture book biographies. We’re also sharing a brand new FREE resource – a huge list of our favorite picture book ...
09.22.2020 RAR #163: A Reader’s Guide to a More Tranquil Mind, Alan Jacobs A tranquil mind. Any chance you want one of those? I know I do. Today on the Read-Aloud Revival podcast, we’re talking about how readers can give themselves the gift of a tranquil mind by reading old books. Wait, did ...
09.07.2020 RAR #162: Why and How Reading Aloud Will Change Your Children’s Lives Forever (Mem Fox) If you need a boost of sunshine in your week, stop whatever you’re doing and listen to this podcast. Why? Because in this episode, Australian icon Mem Fox joins me to talk about the unique gift this specific time can ...
08.20.2020 RAR #161: Becoming Your Child’s Mentor and Awaking Wonder, Sally Clarkson 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? What if you ...
08.10.2020 RAR #160: Not Killing the Love of Reading (and the Fall Reveal!) We need a drumroll today, because on the podcast we’re revealing all of our autumn picks for RAR Premium. I’m also answering podcast listener Corrie’s question about how to preserve her son’s love of reading. It’s easy to slip into ...
07.25.2020 RAR # 159: 10 Homeschooling Mistakes I’ve Made (so you can avoid them) Recently, I posted on social media about my oldest daughter becoming our first homeschool graduate. I’ll admit to being a proud mama. I think for a lot of us homeschooling our kids, we hear that it works, we are told ...

Older episodes

Read-Aloud Revival ®

What's Read-Aloud Revival ® about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Read-Aloud Revival ® episodes:

RAR#206: A Simple, Low-Pressure Approach to Teach Shakespeare

RAR #205: Help! My Child Doesn’t Like Reading

RAR #204: How Do You Organize Books in Your Home Library?

RAR #203: What Do Your Kids Read for Fun in High School?

RAR #202: For Kids Who Don’t Like Sad Stories

RAR #201: The Surprising Value of Reading Fewer Books

Name What Matters in Your Homeschool This Spring

RAR # 199: The Books that Won, and Few That Should Have (2022 Youth Media Awards)

RAR #198: Which Curriculum Should I Use? (and other questions with life-changing answers)

RAR #197: Hey Mamas, Reading for Pleasure is Part of the Job!

RAR #196: Teaching Literature Without Curriculum

RAR #195: “So Many Books, So Little Time!” How to Quell Overwhelm in Our Reading Lives

RAR #194: Let’s Talk About Loving Your Homeschool Life

Blessings Pressed Down, Shaken Together

RAR #193: A Relaxed, Read-Aloud Christmas

RAR #192: Help! My Kids Hate Narration

RAR #191: Helping your ADHD or Dyslexic Child Love Reading

RAR #190: Sarah’s Favorite Stories About Christian Saints and Heroes

RAR #189: What if my kids always pick screens over books?

RAR #188: My kids aren’t picking good books at the library. What do I do?

RAR #187: How to find books that engage both an 8- and a 4-year-old

RAR #186: Should my kids’ reading correlate with their history studies?

RAR #185: Should I Use Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons?

RAR #184: What to do if your developing reader skips words when reading

RAR #183: Should We Avoid Abridged or Adapted Versions of the Classics?

RAR #182: 5 Books I want you to know about, and answers to your questions about reading a book a day

RAR #181: Practical Tips for Reading a Book a Day

RAR #180: Reading A Book a Day with Older Kids and Teens

RAR #179: Do You See What I See? How to Look Closely at a Picture Book

RAR#178: Why read a book a Day? (Yep, You Can!)

RAR Special Edition: Robert McCloskey Makes Way

RAR #177: Teach Your Kids to Think Like a Scientist (with Books You Already Have)

RAR #176: Homeschooling with Dyslexia

RAR #175: Is My Child Dyslexic?

RAR #174: The Books that Won (and a few that Should Have!)

RAR #173: What Happens in Your Child’s Brain when You Read Aloud

RAR #172: Helping Our Developing Readers Fall in Love with Books

RAR #171: How to Introduce Your Kids to Shakespeare

RAR #170: How to Read a Wordless Book

RAR #169: The Read-Aloud Challenge

RAR #168: Special Edition, Christmas Stories

RAR #167 Christmas with Tomie dePaola and Winter at RAR

RAR #166: What’s the deal with open-ended questions?

RAR #165: When reading starts to feel like school

RAR # 164: Our Favorite Way to Read through History (and a new FREE resource)

RAR #163: A Reader’s Guide to a More Tranquil Mind, Alan Jacobs

RAR #162: Why and How Reading Aloud Will Change Your Children’s Lives Forever (Mem Fox)

RAR #161: Becoming Your Child’s Mentor and Awaking Wonder, Sally Clarkson

RAR #160: Not Killing the Love of Reading (and the Fall Reveal!)

RAR # 159: 10 Homeschooling Mistakes I’ve Made (so you can avoid them)

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