March 2022 Monthly Newsletter
March 1, 2022
The following post will be a blog archive copy of Build Your Library’s March 2022 Monthly Newsletter. If you missed the email, you can subscribe to our mailing list here. [Scheduled to be sent 3/1/22 8:15 AM EST]
[March 1, 2022 ] – Welcome to our March 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 March 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.
“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” ~ Charles Dickens
“March is such a fickle month.
It is the seam between winter and spring—though seam suggests an even hem, and March is more like a rough line of stitches sewn by an unsteady hand, swinging wildly between January gusts and June greens. You don’t know what you’ll find, until you step outside.” ~
Monthly Newsletter
It’s March! My favorite month of the year! It’s the start of spring, it’s my youngest’s birthday month, and of course, my own birthday is at the end of the month.
I hope your year has been going well and your homeschool is rollicking along. Can you see spring on the horizon? Every now and then I can smell it on the air. My backyard is full of robins, which is a sure sign that the seasons are slowly beginning to change.
As far as the newsletter goes, we have some new information to share, as well as some reoccurring monthly reminders!
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.
Currently, the Level 4 update is underway. This will be a fairly minor update – the history is not changing, but I’m replacing a few out-of-print titles and adding in some new literature and readers that I am excited about. My February got a bit off-track, but I’m still making good progress on this level update. We are now shooting for a mid-March completion. Thank you all for your patience!
March Bookish Holidays
March is a pretty busy bookish month! The first full week of March is Read an E-Book Week. March 5th is Read Across America Day, March 21 is World Poetry Day and March 25th is National Tolkien Reading Day.
As far as birthdays go, Dr. Seuss – Theodor Seuss Geisel (Mar. 2, 1902), Douglas Adams (Mar. 11, 1952), and Kate DiCamillo (March 25, 1964) all celebrate this month.
My daughter Sarah and I host the March Through History Readathon every March – it’s a month dedicated to reading history and historical fiction! This year we’re doing a World Travel edition and reading novels from all around the world. You can learn more about it here: March Through History Readathon Announcement
Not so much a holiday, but our Spring Sale will begin on March 14th this year and run through the end of the month! This is a great time to stock up on next year’s homeschooling materials!
Finally, Build Your Library will be “closed” on March 31st while I celebrate my birthday! You can still place orders, but I might be too busy eating cake to answer questions 🙂
2022 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
It’s not too late to jump in!
Are you looking for a fun reading challenge for the whole family? Well, look no further! We had so much fun the past couple of years with the 2019, 2020, and 2021 BYL Reading Challenge, we created a new list of 40 reading prompts to help you and your children stretch your reading muscles in 2022. After being cooped up in our homes for the last two years, I thought it might be time for something exciting – the theme this year is “We’re Going on an Adventure!” Head over to our blog and download your checklist today!
In our last Tea with Emily episode, we discussed our “Build Your Library 2021 Reading Challenge wrap-up and unveiled the 2022 Reading Challenge prompts!” (watch Episode 18 video recording here)
History Book by Book (HBBB)!
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
“Read Aloud Book Club” Pack
Our March 2022 monthly “Read Aloud Book Club” subscription pack is now available! The theme is “Everything’s Mathematical”. This month’s selection is about a young girl dealing with a family crisis and using a math journal to cope. This book is full of math and friendship and family relationships and it is a perfect read-aloud for the whole family!
Don’t forget, we will be hosting a live discussion for the February book – The Bad Bella in the Read Aloud Book Club Facebook group on Tues, March 15 at 2pm (EST). (Link available in your receipt e-mail when purchased.) These interactive live shows are a great way to connect with you and hear your thoughts on the story. My daughter Sarah will be hosting the live discussions and she can’t wait to discuss the story with all of you!
You can also watch the unboxing video of last month’s Bad Bella pack here.
Note: The Read Aloud Book Club packs will be on hiatus after the March packs are sent out. You can order past book club packs, but there won’t be any new ones until further notice.
New Series: Homeschool Tidbits
We’ve started a new 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!
This series will consist of an approximately 10-minute “quick-bit” YouTube video and a corresponding blog post article. In January, I talked about the basics of a Charlotte Mason education, and did a 3-Part series about living books!
You can check out the playlist on my YouTube channel to see all of the videos: Homeschool Tidbits Playlist
Our next Homeschool Tidbit will be up this Friday, March 4. In episode 8, I’ll be discussing dictation and how to incorporate it into your homeschooling!
“Tea with Emily” Facebook Live Streams
We hope you all enjoyed our last “Tea with Emily” Facebook Live Stream. If you missed our “Getting the Most Out of Your Homeschool Curriculum“ discussion in February, you can find a recording by scrolling our Facebook or direct links on our past events page.
Our next one will be towards the middle of April, more details to follow in next month’s newsletter.
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!
Nature Study When It’s STILL Winter
This blog post seems to be a toss-up each year when I try to update and reshare. When I first wrote it in 2014, we had over two feet of snow in our yard the first week of March. So it was a perfect opportunity to discuss “Nature Study When It’s STILL Winter.” But from the last time I updated the picture in 2017, you can see the dramatic contrast to near spring-like conditions with just sparse remains of snow.
So far this year, 2022 is indecisive about the season. One day it’s nearly 70 then a few days later we have a snowstorm. We currently have half a foot or so of snow on the ground with more snow forecast later this week. Depending on your locale, please take a look at the section for how to do nature study with snow on the ground, or the updated section on nature study with more spring-like weather. Or read both and decide what to do if mother nature changes her mind. Again.
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.
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.
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.
Wrap Up
I hope you have a wonderful March! I can’t wait to see what this new month brings!
“March came in that winter like the meekest and mildest of lambs, bringing days that were crisp and golden and tingling, each followed by a frosty pink twilight which gradually lost itself in an elfland of moonshine.” ~
If you are looking for some more inspiration, here are some articles you might find helpful:
- On Mother Culture, Or How to Homeschool Yourself
- Women’s History Month Book Recommendations 2021
- How to Source Books for Build Your Library
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:
