The following post will be a blog archive copy of Build Your Library’s June 2022 Monthly Newsletter. If you missed the email, you can subscribe to our mailing list here. [Scheduled to be sent 6/1/22 8:45 AM EST]
[June 1, 2022 ] – Welcome to our June Video Newsletter! 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 the BYL June 2022 Video Newsletter on Facebook.
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.
“Green was the silence, wet was the light, the month of June trembled like a butterfly.” ~ Pablo Neruda
Monthly Newsletter
June has snuck up on me this year. One minute it was May and I was preparing for incoming family visits and Sarah’s college graduation…then I blinked and suddenly it was June!
We are wrapping up our school year (we follow a traditional schedule) and planning out some fun summer projects. And of course, we are beginning to look towards the next year of homeschooling. It is the season of planning and I love it!
As far as the newsletter goes, we have some new information to share, as well as some reoccurring monthly reminders!
Last month we announced our newest product: Lit Bites!
Lit Bites are small literature unit studies, based on just one book. These bites contain everything you need to study a piece of literature with your child. They include vocabulary, discussion questions, and activities based on the story. We released three Lit Bites already, with more coming soon!
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.
I’m currently working on the Level 8 update, which is getting a spruce up, but overall doesn’t have any significant changes. I’m making good progress and it should be ready to go by early July!
I’m hoping to also get to the Darwin and Evolution unit soon. It should also be a pretty quick update as the majority of the books will be staying as is. I mostly need to update links in that unit study. There are also a few new Lit Bites in various stages of completion from concept to rough drafts. So hopefully we will get some more of those out in the not too distant future.
June is Audiobook Appreciation Month! We have recently been enjoying a few audiobooks while I recovered from oral surgery and I can easily see them becoming a mainstay in our homeschool. Audiobooks are great for getting some extra “reading” in (or more specifically having something “read to you”) while driving, cleaning, cooking, or when you just need to take a break from doing all the reading aloud.
As far as birthdays go, Joe Hill (June 4, 1973), Maurice Sendak (June 10, 1928), and Octavia Butler (June 22, 1947) all celebrate this month.
While most of you do not need any extra encouragement to pick up some additional reading material – we have plenty of excuses for you here! Or an excuse for cake. June 10th probably warrants a cake! Let the wild rumpus start!
If you follow a traditional school calendar, then you are at the conclusion of another homeschool year! The following list of conversation starters is a great way to wrap up this year and plant the initial seeds of the next. Not quite done yet? Bookmark this article and tuck it away until you are ready!
We have recently started to create some blog post articles on HBBB! You can check out our first couple on our HBBB Blog.
History Book By Book is our database collection of engaging, entertaining, and educational books about various historical topics. Whenever possible, we have cross-referenced topics, internally linked additional suggestions based on like subjects, and created useful categorized lists for you to search and browse. Hopefully, you will be able to glean a vast amount of information and find as many history-related books as you would ever want to find. We discussed it in depth during a recent Tea With Emily Livestream on Facebook, you can view the recording here.
As a long time homeschooling parent, and the author of literature-based homeschool curriculum, we designed HBBB to help:
(1) homeschooling parents looking for additional resources to read to their children,
(2) homeschooling parents looking for more historical based books to give their children to read themselves,
(3) any teen or adult looking for categorized historical reading material for their own enjoyment and knowledge.
Reading your way through history… one book at a time.
History Book By Book Main page
We have an ongoing series on both our blog and YouTube channel called Homeschool Tidbits!
In this weekly video series, I will briefly discuss a homeschooling-related topic and will share some of my knowledge and expertise as a long-time homeschooling mother of 4 children, Three of whom have graduated high school, and one is also a brand-new college graduate!
This series will consist of an approximately 10-minute “quick-bit” YouTube video and a corresponding blog post article.
Our next Homeschool Tidbit will be up this Friday, June 3rd!
Most Recent Episodes:
We hope you all enjoyed our last “Tea with Emily” Facebook Live Stream. If you missed our “Homeschooling When Life Gets Busy” in April, you can find a recording by scrolling through our Facebook or direct links on our past events page.
Our next Livestream will be next week on Friday, June 10th at 1 pm EST, where we will be discussing “How to Use Build Your Library Lesson Plans!” During this live stream, I’m going to walk you through our lesson plans and help you to get the most out of Build Your Library!
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!
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 about Build Your Library, Charlotte Mason, and general homeschooling, all categorized in a logical order for you to peruse.
We always have our Social Media “chicklets” at the bottom of our newsletters and web page, but we wanted to ensure you follow 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 are reading Pachinko by Min Jin Lee in June! For a sneak peek at the next couple of months, I just posted the video: Arrrgh Booked Book Club Selections for the rest of 2022 (July – October)!
Or if you just want ideas for books to read (either for you or 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.
I hope you have a wonderful June! I can’t wait to see what this new month brings!
“In early June the world of leaf and blade and flowers explodes, and every sunset is different.”
~ John Steinbeck
If you are looking for some more 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 wherever you are surfing!
Thanks and Happy Reading! Emily
See Also: