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Read-Aloud Revival

For homeschooling mamas who want their whole family to fall in love with books. Join 135,000 email subscribers, and get Sarah Mackenzie's best tips and book recommendations in your inbox each week.

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Culture>Curriculum

Hi Reader, At Read-Aloud Revival Premium, we believe the culture you create matters more than the curriculum you use. When you focus on relationships, you form warm, memorable connections. The icing on top? You raise kids who love to read. We’re not at all interested in adding more to your plate. Instead, we’ll help you make room on your plate for what matters most. We’re extra excited about the guest authors we’re welcoming to Premium over the next few months. Join us for Read-Aloud...

Dear Reader, 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 keep us mired in anxiety. When homeschooling moms ask me for advice, they rarely need advice. What they’re really asking for is...

Hi Reader, Waxwing's newest book will be here soon! Flora and the Jazzers is a stunning, Jazz Age Cinderella story about a heart–and a voice–that won’t be silenced. Written and illustrated by Astrid Sheckels, this delightful new picture book is certain to be a timeless family favorite. Flora and the Jazzers hits shelves everywhere October 7, but you don't have to wait to order. Just head here to pre-order the book and ensure Flora and the Jazzers will be in your hands as soon as possible! But...

Hi Reader, 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. In this episode of the podcast, the Read-Aloud Revival team has compiled some of our favorite advice about getting creative from the archives of RAR Premium’s Family Book Clubs. Whether you write, draw, paint, or engage in any other creative pursuit, and...

HiReader, Do you know what used to drive me absolutely bananas? How, after a full summer off, I’d sit down to teach and discover that not a single one of my kids could remember how to write a complete sentence or do a basic math problem. 🫠 After pouring so much into our homeschool year, it felt like summer undid it all. There's even a word for this in the wider education world: the "summer slide." And they don't mean waterslide, or anything remotely fun like that. 🛝They mean slide back, as...

Hiya Reader, 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've 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, Emily Wilson Hussem, is the author of Sincerely Stoneheart: Unmask the Enemy’s Lies, Find the Truth That Sets You Free, a book in a similar style but with the modern woman in...

Hi Reader, We’re THRILLED to announce a new picture book coming this fall from Waxwing Books! Flora the ferret longs to attend a concert someday, but she is only a lowly scullery maid. She must save every penny. When she discovers that the Jazzers, her favorite band, are performing at the hotel where she works, Flora is determined to hear them. But her manager forbids her from going. “Music is not for someone like you,” he says. It turns out, however, that the Jazzers have a problem, and...

Hello Reader, On the last episode of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast, 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 a simple framework your family can use to experience one of the richest and most rewarding literary treasures in the...

"I love it so much" "I think it's awesome" "I just love learning the lines!"

Hi Reader, If I had a farthing for every woman who told me she wished she loved Shakespeare as much as I did . . . Or wished she had a Shakespeare class for her kids . . . Or wished she had the time to explore Shakespeare without skipping any other homeschool subjects . . . You get the idea. 😉 This is where Shakespeare Summer comes in. Because I am 100% convinced that Shakespeare can be: Delightful Simple Oh-so-easy We decided to take what I do in my local homeschool co-op, and make a way for...

Hello Reader, When most of us hear the name “Shakespeare,” we probably think back to a high school classroom, fluorescent lights buzzing overhead, while we struggled through Romeo and Juliet line by line—“wherefore art thou” and all that. But here’s the truth: Shakespeare was never meant to be dissected like a frog under a microscope. His work, in fact, was never meant to be read AT ALL. He meant for his plays to be experienced. To be performed, seen, heard, and felt. While Shakespeare’s...