The following post will be a blog archive copy of the Build Your Library’s August 2020 Monthly Newsletter. If you missed the email, you can subscribe to our mailing list here. [Scheduled to be sent 08/03/20 8:00 AM EST]
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.
Can you even believe that it is already August! This year has just been flying by! August means it is time to ramp up planning for our new school year. We usually start the first week of September, so I take the month of August to flesh out our plans for the coming year. It might be my favorite month – I love planning, buying new supplies, fresh notebooks… the smell of new books is my favorite scent.
We have some new information to share, as well as some reoccurring monthly reminders!
It’s about time to kick off our End of Summer / Back-to-School SALE! (Already?!?)
From August 1 – 16, take 20% off your entire purchase using the code SUMMER2020 at checkout. This code is only good for digital products listed on our BuildYourLibrary.com website.
Every year we update and re-feature our Back to “Home” School series towards the end of August, right before we all get back to business. But we have had a HUGE number of new homeschooling families join Build Your Library in recent weeks. So I wanted to share the article links a bit early. We will still repost and share the articles individually on Facebook later this month, but here is the sneak peek for those that may want a bit more time to go over the information.
We featured this blog post last month but wanted to highlight it again in our newsletter for all of the new homeschoolers joining Build Your Library.
Are you just starting out on your homeschooling journey and feeling overwhelmed and not quite sure where to start? Have you ever received a snarky comment from an acquaintance along the lines of “Oh, you homeschool your children? I didn’t know you have a teaching degree”? Or are you a veteran, but looking to brush up or expand your knowledge?
Have we got a program for you!
August has a few fun book-related holidays, like National Coloring Book Day (August 2) and National Book Lovers Day (August 9).
For author birthdays, we have Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20) and Mary Shelley (August 30). There are also a bunch of Harry Potter characters with birthdays such as one of our favorites – Ginny Weasley (August 11), as well as a few lesser-known characters, like Tina Goldstein (August 19), Percy Weasley (August 22) and one of our least favorites… Dolores Umbridge (August 26). No cake for you, Umbridge!
Shark Week starts soon on the Discovery Channel this year (August 9-August 16, 2020)! This is the perfect time to camp out in front of your TV to catch all or part of the over 20 hours of documentaries on all things shark-related. It is also a great time to do the BYL Shark Unit Study! You can currently get the Shark Week unit study for 20% off during the Summer Sale, as well as all other digital products for the next couple of weeks.
The BYL Shark Unit Study includes a complete schedule, book list, documentary list, helpful internet links, copywork/dictation assignments, vocabulary, writing assignments, and a variety of projects, including 11 activity pages. It is scheduled over 3 weeks, but can easily be stretched to last longer if you only do 2 – 3 lessons per week.
If you hurry, you might be able to catch some of Nat Geo’s SharkFest too! Not to be outdone by the Discovery Channel, Nat Geo has been running some shark related documentaries for the past couple weeks starting on July 19. If you check their schedule or on demand offerings, you can catch some of their shows as well.
Our eighth monthly “Read Aloud Book Club” subscription pack is now available! The August 2020 theme is “Libraries and Mystery.” This month’s selection is a book after my own heart in that it is focused around stories and libraries! It’s also historical fiction that takes place in NYC in the 1920s. It’s a perfect read-aloud for the whole family!
We hope you all enjoyed our last “Tea with Emily” Facebook Live Stream. If you missed our “Summer Schooling is Fun-Schooling,” you still have a little bit of summer left, so you can find a recording by scrolling our Facebook or direct links on our past events page.
Our next Facebook Live will be later this week on Friday, August 7, 2020 at 1:00 PM EST, where we will discuss “Welcome to Homeschooling!” We will talk about some topics for new homeschooling families, refresher topics for the veterans, and how experienced homeschoolers can help new homeschooling parents when asked.
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!
Are you looking for help or advice on your homeschooling journey? We have compiled all of our helpful resources into one blog post for you. From the many BYL related Facebook groups to my book A Literary Education, there is a treasure trove of information and helpful parents out there to help guide you along your homeschooling adventure. If you have any questions, just ask!
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.
Although not 100% exclusively Build Your Library related, our Arrrgh Schooling YouTube channel has videos about books and homeschooling, but let’s be honest, it’s mostly books. If you want to see what I’m reading, join my Arrrgh Booked Book Club (we’re on hiatus for August, but will be reading together again in September!), or just want ideas for books to read (either for you for your children) you are sure to find something useful! We also have a BYL Twitter feed where I share links and information about BYL and homeschooling. Or you can stay subscribed to our email list and browse our monthly newsletters.
One last stretch of summer before homeschooling kicks off again for most of us! For the first time in what seems like forever, I will be homeschooling one, single, solitary child again. Three graduated, one to go!
If you are looking for inspiration, here are some articles you might find helpful:
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
See Also:
Have you been looking for a literature based homeschool curriculum that is secular? How about a way to incorporate narration, copywork, dictation and memory work into your child’s education? Or art study that ties into history?
