April 2021 Monthly Newsletter
April 1, 2021
The following post will be a blog archive copy of the Build Your Library’s April 2021 Monthly Newsletter. If you missed the email, you can subscribe to our mailing list here. [Scheduled to be sent 4/1/21 9:00 AM EST]
[ April 1, 2021 ] – “BYL April 2021 Video Newsletter“ – Welcome to our first Video Newsletter! I thought it would be fun to try something new. You should have gotten our regular monthly e-mail newsletter in your inbox, if you are subscribed. But you can now watch the video highlights and read the full details below or watch BYL April 2021 Video Newsletter on Facebook here.
Hey everybody, it’s Emily from Build Your Library! If you are just going to skim the beginning, here are the main topics in this month’s newsletter:
Now that I have your attention, here are the details on those items and more.
Monthly Newsletter
Spring is finally here! I think I say every month is my favorite, but there is just something about April – the subtle shifting of the weather towards warmth and sunshine just does something to lift my soul. I hope you are all doing well as we enter the spring season!
We have some new information to share as well as some reoccurring monthly reminders.
2021 Spring Sale
We started the Spring Sale early this year, but you have not missed out if this is your first notification.
All of our digital products are currently 20% off with the discount code “Spring2021”. This code is good on all full-year programs, unit studies, and other PDF items from now through April 16th.
Build Your Library Update Schedule
In an attempt to answer when the next level update will be ready, we have compiled our projected schedule into a post for easy reference. We will periodically update the chart when we make progress or have any changes to our tentative schedule.
We are now working on swapping Story of the World for History Quest: Middle Times, replacing art books, and other exciting updates in Level 2.
April Bookish Holidays
April might be the busiest bookish month of them all! The entire month is designated both National Poetry Month and D.E.A.R. Drop Everything And Read Month. The second week of April is National Library Week, which includes National Library Workers Day on Tues and National Bookmobile Day on Wednesday of that week.
Then we have Children’s Book Day (Apr. 2), National School Librarian Day (Apr. 4), National Read A Roadmap Day (Apr. 5), Encourage a Young Writer Day (Apr. 10), D.E.A.R. Drop Everything And Read Day (Apr. 12), National Scrabble Day (Apr. 13), National Librarian Day (Apr. 16), National Haiku Poetry Day (Apr. 17), National Columnists’ Day (Apr. 18), National Talk Like Shakespeare Day (Apr. 23), Last Saturday in April is Independent Bookstore Day (Apr. 24), National Tell A Story Day (Apr. 27), and National Great Poetry Reading Day (Apr. 28).
As far as birthdays go, William Shakespeare (Apr 23, 1564 – hence National Talk Like Shakespeare Day), Beverly Cleary (Apr. 12, 1916), Terry Pratchett (Apr. 28, 1948), and Harper Lee (Apr. 28, 1926) all celebrate this month.
We also have a couple of Harry Potter character birthdays with Fred and George Weasley (Apr. 1 – quite fitting), and Horace Slughorn (Apr. 28).
Please check ahead on the bookish holidays that may be modified or limited due to social distancing… The in-person events like Independent Bookstore Day and going to the public library may have additional safeguards in place that you will have to consider.
Looking Forward to Your Second Year of Permanent Homeschooling
Back in May 2020, soon after the shutdowns began, we wrote the article Turning Temporary “School at Home” into Permanent “Homeschooling”. It’s been almost a year since then, and I thought we should come back and revisit that discussion with Looking Forward to Your Second Year of Permanent Homeschooling.
2021 Build Your Library Reading Challenge Check-in
This is the 3-month check-in. How are your reading challenge checklists looking so far this year? The 2021 BYL Reading Challenge included a new list of 41 reading prompts to help you and your children stretch your reading muscles. This year we are falling in love with reading again with a Hygge challenge! Currently, I’ve completed 10 prompts, so I’m making pretty good progress! It’s not too late to jump in! Head over to our blog and download your checklist today!
We also created a YouTube video “Build Your Library 2021 Family Reading Challenge | Prompts and Recommendations” to help you out!
“Read Aloud Book Club” Pack
Our 16th monthly “Read Aloud Book Club” subscription pack is now available! The April 2021 theme is “Family Magic” This month’s selection an great story about a girl who discovers her family has been cooking up a bit of magic in their family bakery. A fun magic system mixed with great family dynamics and baking! This one is not to be missed. It’s the perfect read-aloud for the whole family!
“Tea with Emily” Facebook Live Streams
We hope you all enjoyed our last “Tea with Emily” Facebook Live Stream. If you missed our “Burn Out: 2021 Style“ last month in February, you can find a recording by scrolling our Facebook or direct links on our past events page.
Our next livestream will be on Friday, April 16 at 1pm EST, where we will be doing a collab “Interview with Lindsey Sodano, Author of History Quest!” Since we have been changing our Level 1 and Level 2 curriculum to use the first two History Quest books, I hope you will all tune in and chat with Lindsey and me!
Planning and looking ahead, the following “Tea with Emily” will be Friday, June 4th at 1pm EST, where we will be discussing “History Book By Book!”
Every other month, I host a 30-60 minute Build Your Library homeschooling chat. You can ask questions about homeschooling, using Build Your Library curriculum, book recommendations, etc. We will announce the date ahead of time, and you will be able to submit questions you would like to cover. Additionally, you can also ask questions during the interactive live stream. Grab a mug of tea (or coffee) and cozy up with our virtual hangout!
Build Your Library Support
For a comprehensive, everything you ever wanted to know about homeschooling with Build Your Library, check out our “Build Your Library University (for Parents).” We have collected the definitive list of articles, videos, and books pertaining to Build Your Library, Charlotte Mason, and general homeschooling. All categorized in a logical order for you to peruse.
BYL Social Media Shout Out
We always have our Social Media “chicklets” at the bottom of our newsletters and webpage, but we wanted to make sure you are following us on our other platforms. The Build Your Library Facebook is our go-to social media site, and we post there frequently with cool Amazon products and book recommendations we think you would like, as well as all of our Read Aloud Book Club announcements, blog posts, full-year and unit study product releases and updates, and more.
Our Build Your Library Instagram page regularly posts pictures and insider info about projects I’m currently working on or what I’m doing with my kids.
Wrap Up
I hope your school year is going well! If you are looking for inspiration during the long winter months, here are some articles you might find helpful:
- What Level Should I Choose?
- Why the Student Should Become the Teacher
- Build Your Library University (For Parents)
We have well over 100 blog posts on various homeschooling and book-related topics if you want to browse for more.
I think that is about all for this month. Again, please follow us on whatever social media you frequent, there will be periodic updates posted there as well, but we will try to keep everyone in the know where ever you are surfing!
Thanks and Happy Reading! Emily
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