June 2024 Monthly Newsletter
June 3, 2024
The following post will be a blog archive copy of Build Your Library’s June 2024 Monthly Newsletter. If you missed the email, subscribe to our mailing list here. [Scheduled to be sent by 6/3/24 8:30 AM EST]
[June 3, 2024 ] – Welcome to our June Video Newsletter!
If you subscribed, you should have gotten our regular monthly e-mail newsletter in your inbox. But you can now watch the video highlights and read the full details below or watch the BYL June 2024 Video Newsletter on Facebook.
Hey everybody, it’s Emily from Build Your Library! If you are going to skim the beginning, here are the main topics in this month’s newsletter:
- Build Your Library Updates
- 2024 Practical Homeschooling Reader Awards
- Build Your Library Reviews and Testimonials
- June Contest
- June Bookish Holidays
- BYL Online Used Book Super Store
- 2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
- History Book By Book!
- Homeschool Tidbits Blog and Video Series
- “Tea with Emily” Instagram Live Stream
- Build Your Library Support
Now that I have your attention, I have the details on those items and more for you.
Monthly Newsletter
“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.”
Hello June, I’m so happy to see you! Summer has finally come, and with it comes a slower pace, warmer weather, sunshine, and iced tea! Our school years is winding down and I’m ready to make the most of summer!
Build Your Library Updates
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 can see the light at the end of the Level 11 update – I’m coming very close to completing it. I’m currently about 31 weeks through and I can’t wait to get it done and out to all of you! I’ll be sharing the updated booklist in the next week or so!
I also have a new Lit Bite available for Wildoak by C.C. Harrington!
Set in Cornwall, England, in the 1960s, Maggie is sent to spend a few weeks with a grandfather she barely knows as a last resort before her parents take stronger measures to “fix” her. That’s when she finds herself in an ancient forest called Wildoak, where she meets a lost and injured snow leopard cub. Maggie and the leopard seem to understand each other. Can she help him and save the forest? Told through dual perspectives of Maggie and the cub Rumpus, this story is full of topics to discuss – from learning to use your voice to conservation, forest animals, and how we are all interconnected!
This Bite will take 3 weeks to complete as written, and it is best for elementary level, or ages 8 – 12
And of course, I’m still working on a secret project. I promise I’ll share more soon! But I can tell you now, you are going to love it!
2024 Practical Homeschooling Reader Awards
We’re excited to announce that Build Your Library has again been nominated for the Practical Homeschooling Reader Awards! Please click here to cast your votes for the best homeschooling products—hopefully, including ours.
We are nominated for the Elementary Curriculum category, although we have Levels K-12. Please feel free to place your vote before June 15th if you are so inclined. Be sure also to scroll through and vote for the other great secular curriculum nominated!
Build Your Library Reviews and Testimonials
We have always needed to improve at keeping up with trying to compile reviews and testimonials. Over the past 11-plus years, we have gotten a few here and there, but we really should get on top of them. We would love to hear about your experience with Build Your Library! Your review could be as short as a few sentences or as long as you’d like.
Google reviews make up a significant component of the SEO algorithms. We are told it is as significant as ~1/3 of the equation. With that said… We would really appreciate it if you clicked the link below and showed your support by leaving us a Google review, Facebook Review, or testimonial for our website. Our growth has been focused on customer interactions and building long-standing relationships. Thank you all for everything and for making it so easy to love what we do.
June Giveaway
Congratulations to our winner of last month’s Giveaway!
This month, we’re giving away a free signed copy of my book A Literary Education! If you are just starting out, or a few years into homeschooling but you need some encouragement, this is the book for you! I hope that it gives you the advice and inspiration you need to feel confident as a homeschooling parent!
Each action gives you entries into this month’s drawing, with some allowing for daily clicks. The odds of winning depend on the number of entries received.
Check out the contest page for more details, and come back each month for new opportunities!
Vote for Build Your Library in the Practical Homeschooling Reader Awards!
We’re excited! For the seventh year in a row, Build Your Library has been nominated for the Practical Homeschooling Reader Awards! There are a handful of secular curricula nominated. If you’d like to cast your votes for the best homeschooling products—hopefully including ours—go here: https://www.home-school.com/2024-reader-awards/
Collab with Soul Sparklettes Glitterbombers!
I’m excited to announce that we are collaborating with Soul Sparklettes Art! They have many fantastic art projects that blend incredibly well with Build Your Library. You can sign up for Glitterbombers membership through our affiliate link. Check the downloads on the Purchase Pages for Levels 0 – 5 to see what projects align!
The membership includes hundreds of art projects, videos, and resources designed for homeschoolers and art teachers BY a homeschooler and art teacher team. There are three completely DONE-FOR-YOU curriculums: Global Art Hop, Elements & Principles (PEP), and a USA Curriculum. Everything is included when you join – there are no surprises and no waiting.
There’s a reason kids love these projects – Glitterbombers is the only curriculum out there that is 100% kid-tested, kid-approved, and developed with kid input. All projects are cross-curricular, match with other homeschool curriculums, and offer standards and differentiation. It’s a full art experience for kids – so they can learn THEIR way.
Sign Up for Glitterbombers Here!
You can also sign up for their Fantasy Forest Summer Art Camp through this link!
June Bookish Holidays
June is Audiobook Appreciation Month! Audiobooks are great for getting some extra “reading” in (or, more specifically, having something “read to you”) while driving, cleaning, cooking, or when you 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!
BYL Online Used Book Super Store
We are pleased to announce our newest, most requested feature: an Author or Title SEARCH! We have also incorporated the bookstore into our regular website and consolidated shopping carts so you can purchase both used books and homeschool curriculum in the same place!
https://buildyourlibrary.com/usedbookshop
I have wanted to open an independent bookstore my whole life. A cute, cozy Hobbit hole of a bookstore with new books, used books, maybe tea… After many delays and setbacks, a brick-and-mortar store is currently out of the cards.
However, since I have a storage unit (and house) full of books I’ve been collecting for a store, we have decided to try to set up the BYL Online Used Book Super Store! We are so excited to announce that we are open for business! So yay! Happy book shopping!
We are adding new books almost daily, so keep checking back. We have something for every reader!
2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
Are you looking for a fun reading challenge for the whole family? Well, look no further! We had so much fun with challenges the past four years, so we’re continuing the tradition! For 2024, we created a new list of 40 reading prompts to help you and your children stretch your reading muscles. This year’s theme is Reading Through History! It’s no secret that I love reading about history and historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. So this year I’ve created 40 prompts to help you dig into history! Need ideas for the prompts – I’ve got you! Just head over to History Book by Book!
It’s going to be an amazing reading year filled with fun challenges and lots of historical reading! Head over to our blog and download your checklist today!
As of now, I have completed 28 out of 40 prompts! I’m more than halfway through! How is your reading challenge going?
History Book by Book (HBBB)!
History Book By Book is our database 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 helpful, 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 historically 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 recently started to create some blog post articles on HBBB! You can check out our first couple on our HBBB Blog.
Homeschool Tidbits Blog and Video Series
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. I will share some of my knowledge and expertise as a long-time homeschooling mother of four children, three of whom have graduated high school and one who is a college graduate!
This series will include an approximately 10-minute “quick-bit” YouTube video and a corresponding blog post article.
I typically take the summers off from making Homeschool Tidbits, but since I got behind in May, I might try to put out one or two more this month! But after that, I’ll share advice and inspiration again in September!
Most Recent Episodes:
- Episode 66: Homeschool Tidbits: On the Subjectivity of Living Books (2/2/24)
- Episode 67: Homeschool Tidbits: Tips to Overcome the February Blahs (2/23/24)
- Episode 68: Homeschool Tidbits: Is Homeschooling Expensive? (3/8/24)
- Episode 69: Homeschool Tidbits: Homeschooling High School Q & A (3/29/24)
- Episode 70: Homeschool Tidbits: Homeschooling High School Q & A Part 2 (4/19/24)
“Tea with Emily” Instagram Live Stream
We hope you all enjoyed our last “Tea with Emily” Instagram Live Stream. If you missed our “The Benefits of Family Style Learning” in April, you can find a recording by scrolling through our Instagram feed.
Our next livestream will be Friday, June 7th, at 1 p.m. EST. We will discuss “Should I Homeschool Through the Summer? Or an Ode to Summer Break.” Have you been debating year-round homeschooling? Let me pitch the idea that summer vacation is a better idea!
I host a 30-60-minute Build Your Library homeschooling chat every other month. You can ask questions about homeschooling using the Build Your Library curriculum, book recommendations, etc. We will announce the date beforehand, and you can submit questions you want to cover. Additionally, you can also ask questions during the interactive Livestream. 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 about Build Your Library, Charlotte Mason, and general homeschooling, all categorized logically for you to peruse.
BYL Social Media Shout Out
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 excellent 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. This year is especially exciting because I have a new co-host – Tanya from Project Happy Home! This month we’re reading The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore!
You can also stay subscribed to our email list and browse our monthly newsletters.
Wrap Up
I hope you have a wonderful May! I can’t wait to see what this new month brings!
“Green was the silence, wet was the light, the month of June trembled like a butterfly.”
― Pablo Neruda, “XL” from 100 Love Sonnets
“It is dry, hazy June weather. We are more of the earth, farther from heaven these days.”
If you are looking for some more inspiration, here are some articles you might find helpful:
- Tips for Homeschooling with Chronic Illness
- On Mother Culture, or How to Homeschool Yourself
- Project: Googly Eyes on Book Covers
We have well over 100 blog posts on various homeschooling and book-related topics if you want to browse for more.
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
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