Read-Aloud Revival ®

Sarah Mackenzie
  • 4.9 (3.4K)
  • Parenting
  • Updated Weekly

Sarah Mackenzie helps your family fall in love with books, and helps *you* fall in love with homeschooling.

  1. 1d ago

    RAR #281: Homeschooling High School with Rachel Kovac

    Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure.  How do we homeschool high school? It’s *the* question, isn’t it? A lot of us go into homeschooling ready and excited for the younger years. Then as high school approaches, things start to feel… a little more complicated. To say the least. Navigating difficult subjects, transcripts, college applications, and alternatives to college if that isn’t a good fit for your child can be intimidating. It’s no wonder that homeschooling high school is one of the most-asked topics here at RAR. As many of you know, I have three kids who I homeschooled through high school who are now in college and beyond. My guest today is also an experienced homeschool mom who’s had two of her six children graduate high school and move on to college.  Rachel Kovac is a speaker, educator, and the author of the new book, Their Future is Shining Bright: A Guide to Homeschooling High School. I invited her to talk with me about the nitty gritty details of getting your kids through high school, as well as to share some big-picture encouragement as you face the challenges of the high school years. In this episode, you’ll hear:  Why the high school years feel so intimidating and what you can do to support a growth mindset for your teenHow your role shifts as your kids enter high school (and why it’s something to look forward to!)Balancing doing less in your homeschool with keeping doors and paths open for your kids Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie: Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/rachel-kovac

    53 min

  2. May 14

    RAR #280: Books Take Us Places

    Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure.  One of the very best ways to travel with your children is through books. Physically travelling as a family isn’t always possible for a variety of reasons, but by reading with our kids, we give them the gift of windows into unfamiliar worlds. Stories develop empathy and invite us to engage with another’s experiences in ways that can even go deeper than visiting a place in real life.  Today, RAR’s Creative Director (and my eldest daughter) Audrey is with me to talk about the power of books to take us places, even when we’re not able to go far from home ourselves.  In this episode, you’ll hear:  How stories help us engage with creativity, community, and our CreatorHow books can give us deeper connections to the places we do travelHow reading–and especially reading aloud!–cultivates curiosity and wonder Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie: Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/books-take-us-places

    38 min

  3. Apr 30 ·  Bonus

    Best of RAR: Becoming Your Child’s Mentor

    Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure.   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? Today, I’m revisiting a conversation about those very questions that I had a few years ago with Sally Clarkson. I’m lucky to count Sally as a dear friend and I know that her work has been transformational for me and for so many of you. In this episode, Sally shares how we can inspire our kids to become lifelong readers and learners right in our own homes. In this episode, you’ll hear:  How to make your homeschool a place of resources for your unique childrenWhat is different about being your child’s mentor, rather than their teacherWhy modeling curiosity and excitement about learning in your homeschool matters more than any curriculum Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie: Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/becoming-your-childs-mentor

    33 min

  4. Apr 16

    RAR #279: Baptizing the Imagination with Malcolm Guite

    Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure.  What is your calling in life?  For poet, songwriter, and academic, Malcolm Guite, it’s unequivocally clear–to be a storyteller.  Today on the podcast Audrey and I chat with Malcolm about the first volume in his new retelling of the classic King Arthur stories, Galahad and the Grail, illustrated by the incredible Stephen Crotts and published by our friends over at Rabbit Room Press.  Not only is Malcolm adapting the legends of King Arthur, he’s doing it in poetic ballad form, which means they are basically designed to be read aloud.  In our conversation, he tells us about the epic journey he and his publisher and illustrator undertook to visit sites connected to the Arthurian legends, how a childhood surrounded by books and stories led him to his lifelong love and study of literature and poetry, and the impact his own mother had on his journey to becoming a poet and storyteller.  In this episode, you’ll hear:  Why Malcolm chose to write this story in ballad form How woodland walks inspire Malcolm’s writing and why he knew it was time to “take up the tale”What elements and parallels of Biblical stories Malcolm wanted to restore that have often been left out of modern Arthurian retellingsLearn more about Sarah Mackenzie: Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/malcolm-guite

    49 min

  5. Apr 2 ·  Bonus

    Best of RAR: When Your Developing Reader Resists Reading

    Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure.  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. Today on the show, I’m sharing some strategies to help hook your developing reader. And of course, I have some suggestions for books that they won’t be able to resist. In this episode, you’ll hear:  Why helping your kids fall in love with story is the the key to helping them fall in love with reading The way short, frequent phonics and reading sessions propel budding readers toward fluency and easeHow to become a book-matchmaker for your child  Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie: Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/child-resists-reading

    33 min

  6. Mar 19

    RAR #278: How to Actually Connect with Our Kids, Dr. Matthew Breuninger

    Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure.  We all want to build those meaningful and lasting connections with our kids.  Around here, we’re usually talking about doing that through books and reading aloud. But how do we extend these connections into our everyday, ordinary parenting moments?   Today, I’m talking to one of my favorite people to listen to when it comes to relationships. Dr Matthew Breuninger is a clinical psychologist and author of Finding Freedom in Christ: Healing Life’s Hurts and in this episode he shares how safe, secure attachment forms the foundation of close relationships with our kids and how to repair them when we inevitably mess up.  He also unpacks the very common tendency a lot of us have to view our children’s behavior as a reflection on us, and offers a beautiful reminder of where our deepest identity as parents comes from (spoiler alert: it’s not your performance. ❤️) In this episode, you’ll hear:  What foundational perspective parents can offer to shape our kids relationships with us and othersWhy ruptures are inevitable in all our relationships, and how we can approach repairHow our kids become mirrors for the wounds and self-protection strategies we need to work on in ourselves Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie: Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/connecting-with-your-kids/

    49 min

  7. Mar 5 ·  Bonus

    Best of RAR: How a “Best Moments” List Can Help You Love Your Homeschool featuring Jon Acuff

    Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure.  Today, we’re revisiting a listener-favorite episode that has some advice and an activity that I think are perfect for this time of year in our homeschools. Jon Acuff, author of All It Takes Is a Goal, joined me a while back for a perspective-shifting conversation about setting and achieving goals for our homeschools, and how looking back at our best moments, from major milestones to pockets of joy, helps us envision the kind of future we really want.  Jon also shares some practical tips for reframing the urge to compare ourselves to others, especially on social media, giving ourselves credit for what we’re already doing–because it’s definitely more than you think–and approaching goals with a “some is better than none” mindset. In this episode, you’ll hear:  How taking stock of your past best moments helps you be more grateful and present for the moments happening right nowWhy having dreams and goals bigger than your calendar is actually a gift A simple key to finding goals that work for you and your family  Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie: Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/jon-acuff

    46 min

  8. Feb 19

    RAR #277: Inspiring Heroic Virtue in Our Kids

    Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure.  We talk a lot around here about the incredible impact stories have on our kids. They build empathy and connection, letting us walk a mile in another’s shoes. And some stories also help us see what it looks like to be brave and courageous, even in the face of fear or daunting challenges. Today, Audrey is back to talk with me about how stories inspire courage in our kids and ourselves and can connect us to profound truths, no matter how fantastical the setting. In this episode, you’ll hear:  How stories become companions to us through challenging seasons Which stories have shaped Sarah and Audrey’s own lives The ways myths can echo profound truths to us that feed our hearts and minds and inspire heroic virtue Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie: Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/inspiring-heroic-virtue

    40 min
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4.9
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About

Sarah Mackenzie helps your family fall in love with books, and helps *you* fall in love with homeschooling.

Information

  • Creator
    Sarah Mackenzie
  • Years Active
    2014 - 2026
  • Episodes
    304
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2015-2024 Sarah Mackenzie Media LLC
  • Show Website
    Read-Aloud Revival ®

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