Join us for Shakespeare Summer!

Why should we read the classics?

So many of us want to read and enjoy them, but we don’t want to spend our precious free time feeling like we’re incompetent because we just don’t get it or that the internet has completely ruined our brains (is this just me?).

This winter in RAR Premium, we did a whole retreat about falling in love with your reading life again, and today I'm sharing one of those sessions, called How to Read Classics (and Actually Enjoy Them). RAR Community Manager Kelsey Murphy and I talk all about how to find your way into the classics and *really* begin to relish them.

Most of this translates to reading classics with your kids, but this session really is for you. We want you to discover the fun and enjoyment in classic literature because it makes your life richer and better. It also makes you a more peaceful and joy-filled mama to those sweet kids of yours.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Helpful entry points to reading the classics
• How to approach classics as an invitation to learning and enjoyment (not like homework)
• Why watching the movie first will not get your Homeschool Mama card revoked (we promise!)

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

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

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/read-the-classics

Join us for Shakespeare Summer!

In this episode, RAR Community Manager Kelsey Murphy and I sat down to tackle some of your listener questions.

We put our heads together to answer questions about loved ones who don’t support your choice to homeschool, curriculum overwhelm, reading aloud with older kids or a wide age range of ages, how to encourage your kids to read high quality literature, and more!

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How to make peace with your choice to homeschool even when loved ones misunderstand
• Ways to keep connecting with older kids through reading aloud even with busy schedules
• The importance of “fun” books in developing your child’s reading life

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

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

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/growing-in-confidence

Today, one of my very favorite authors returns to Read-Aloud Revival.

You know him as the author of Sweep, The Night Gardener, the Peter Nimble series, and The Fabled Stables. That’s right–Jonathan Auxier is back!

This time, we’re talking about the much-awaited conclusion to the Peter Nimble series, The War of the Maps. In our conversation, we delve into the guiding questions he explores during the writing process, and how each of these questions becomes a doorway for discovering who we are, whose we are, and what our work is here in the world.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why Jonathan often explores the tension of the end of childhood in his books
• How trying to solve a guiding question shapes the narrative of Jonathan’s works
• The best way to write a story

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

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

Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/jonathan-auxier-is-back