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, better homeschoolers, better parents, better women.

Today I’m joined by Jennifer Pepito, creator of The Peaceful Press, which offers fabulous curriculum for homeschoolers, and she is the author of our spring RAR Premium Mama Book Club pick, Mothering by the Book: The Power of Reading Aloud to Overcome Fear and Recapture Joy.

In this episode, you’ll hear: 

• How fiction can teach us as much about parenting our kids as a bevy of parenting manuals
• Why connecting with your kids is the heart of homeschooling
• Finding the balance between giving your all to mothering and letting go of the outcomes

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

• Read Aloud Revival
• Waxwing Books
• Subscribe to the Newsletter

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/how-books-make-us-better-moms

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 this time of year when school is well underway. Parents will notice a significant drop in how much their kids are reading for pleasure…if they’re reading for pleasure at all. 

Obviously this isn’t what we want for our kids. But it’s easy to feel frustrated or panicked that our kids no longer seem to enjoy reading. 

The good news? This is simpler to guard against than you might think.

Today, I’m revisiting an episode from a few years ago about what to do when reading becomes a slog. What do we do when reading starts to feel like school?

In this episode, you’ll hear: 

• The proven, positive impacts of free, voluntary reading
• Why curriculums with long book lists raise red flags for me
• Ideas for making reading an invitation to enjoyment, not another thing to check off the list

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

• Read Aloud Revival
• Waxwing Books
• Subscribe to the Newsletter

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/when-reading-isnt-fun

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 found out she was working on a young adult fantasy, and that it was a sort of love letter to fairy tales? I had to have her on the show.

She joins me to talk about what makes fairy tales so powerful, the benefits of embracing the imaginative and the fantastical in our reading, and lots more.

Sarah Arthur is the author of a dozen books for teens and adults, including the bestselling Walking with Frodo: A Devotional Journey through The Lord of the Rings. After over 25 years working with youth she plays a wicked game of Four Square—but absolutely refuses to eat cold pizza from a box, ever. She has served as preliminary fiction judge for the Christianity Today Book Awards, was a founding board member of the annual C. S. Lewis Festival, and co-directs the Madeleine L’Engle Writing Retreats. She’s a mom of sons, a writer, and today’s highly esteemed guest.

In this episode, you’ll hear: 

• The elements that draw us into fairytales
• How “escapist” fiction actually helps us understand the truth
• How imaginative stories create an invitation rather than a prescription for experiences

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

• Read Aloud Revival
• Waxwing Books
• Subscribe to the Newsletter

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/how-fairy-tales-enchant-us

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, one of the things we hear at Read Aloud Revival all the time is, “There are so many books and so little time!”

There are SO MANY good books we want to read aloud with our families and we’re always trying to figure out how to fit more in. But we don’t want our read-alouds to become merely another item on our lengthy to-do lists. So how do we quell the bookish overwhelm?

That’s what I’m breaking down in this replay of an Ask Sarah episode with that exact question.

In this episode, you’ll hear: 

• What it really means to read aloud “every day”
• Why it’s okay if you don’t get to all of the books (promise!)
• Simple ways to expand the genres you and your kids read

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

• Read Aloud Revival
• Waxwing Books
• Subscribe to the Newsletter

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/how-to-quell-overwhelm

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 reading. If I didn’t get your attention before, I’ve got it now.

There is so much that happens this time of year that adds to our to-do list, that puts more on our plates, but Jolabokaflod is truly a joy. It is a moment of rest and refreshment for you too.

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

I hope you bring this tradition to your family and that you have a wonderful, wonderful Christmas.

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

• Read Aloud Revival
• Waxwing Books
• Subscribe to the Newsletter

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/how-to-jolabokaflod

It’s our favorite time of year over at Read-Aloud Revival! It’s time for Christmas School!

Most of us have too much on our plates before the busy holiday season begins. Then December hits and we feel behind on … well… everything. 

But for homeschoolers, December should be the best month of our entire year.

That’s what Christmas School is for.

Christmas School is a whole-family curriculum from Read-Aloud Revival that helps your family slow down, savor the season, and wait in joyful hope.

Join thousands of families and replace your current curriculum with a month of Christmas School to make December a different kind of month in your homeschool year.

A better one.

Today, I’m sharing what you can expect in this year’s Christmas School, plus we’ll hear from families who have participated in and loved Christmas School in the past.

In this episode, you’ll hear: 

• What’s included in your Christmas School guide
• How Christmas School works for students ages 4-17 (no, really!)
• An extra-special read-aloud to look forward to

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

• Read Aloud Revival
• Waxwing Books
• Subscribe to the Newsletter

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/time-for-christmas-school-2023

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 have much to offer in the way of feedback?

It happens for a lot of homeschoolers. We know that homeschools are fabulous places to grow young writers, but that we can also feel a little ill-equipped as their writing mentors.

Which is where today’s guests come in. Brett Harris and Kara Swanson were both homeschooled and they share a commitment to mentoring young writers and helping parents become better mentors to their own young writers.

They’re here to reassure you that you do know what makes a good story, and share some of their best advice for giving your child useful feedback on their creative writing.

In this episode, you’ll hear: 

• Six key elements of story that you probably already know, but just didn’t have words for
• Questions to ask your young writer that will set them up for future story–and even career–success
• Why expressing your support for your child’s writing is probably the most important thing you can do

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

• Read Aloud Revival
• Waxwing Books
• Subscribe to the Newsletter

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/how-to-give-feedback

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. And she has been on a roll ever since.

Now she's 20 and she's making books I know your families are going to love.

Millie Florence shares her journey from whispering stories to herself under the covers to published author, plus her advice for aspiring young writers and their parents.

In this episode, you’ll hear: 

• How Millie’s homeschool experience informed her writing, and vice versa
• Why it was so important that Millie’s parents took her professional writing aspirations seriously
• Why Millie encourages young writers to choose quantity over quality in their projects

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

• Read Aloud Revival
• Waxwing Books
• Subscribe to the Newsletter

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/advice-for-young-writers

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 the signals to look for in our kids. And we don’t know what to do when they do show signs of having a dyslexic brain.

It’s important to remember that a dyslexic brain is not a disorder. Nothing needs to be fixed. It’s the way God made your child’s brain. And it’s genetic, so it’s the way God made your brain or your husband’s brain too.

Dyslexia means your child processes language differently, which means we need to teach dyslexic brains in a way that makes sense to dyslexic brains.

If you have any academic frustrations with your kids of any age, listen to this episode. Even if dyslexia is nowhere on your radar, I encourage you to listen. You might be surprised.

In this episode, you’ll hear: 

• Dispelling myths about dyslexia as a learning disability or sign of low intelligence
• Signs and signals to look out for beyond difficulties with reading
• How homeschooling can provide better support for dyslexic kids than traditional schools

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

• Read Aloud Revival
• Waxwing Books
• Subscribe to the Newsletter

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/is-my-child-dyslexic/

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 Conventions, you all kept asking me when Audrey would be back on the podcast.

She’s now about to start her senior year at Franciscan University, so it seemed like a great time to check back in with her and get her perspective now that her college experience is almost complete.

Today, she’s answering your questions from inside the RAR Premium forum and the RAR Instagram.

In this episode, you’ll hear: 

• What gave Audrey the solid foundations for writing as an English major
• Audrey’s advice for high school students and college freshmen
• What parents can do to help their children build a strong sense of faith

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

• Read Aloud Revival
• Waxwing Books
• Subscribe to the Newsletter

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/questions-for-homeschooling-graduate