March 2023 Monthly Newsletter

March 1, 2023

The following post will be a blog archive copy of Build Your Library’s February 2023 Monthly Newsletter. If you missed the email, you can subscribe to our mailing list here. [Scheduled to be sent by 3/1/23 8:00 AM EST]

[March 1, 2023 ] – Welcome to our February Video Newsletter!

You should have gotten our regular monthly e-mail newsletter in your inbox if you subscribed. But you can now watch the video highlights and read the full details below or watch the BYL March 2023 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.

Monthly Newsletter

“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.”
― L.M. Montgomery

It’s finally March – my favorite month for so many reasons, but mainly it’s my birthday month! It’s also my youngest daughter’s birthday month, and it’s the month I’ve dedicated to historical fiction and history with my annual readathon – March Through History!

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.

The Level 9 update is now completed and ready to download! I’m so thrilled to have this finished and available for you. I put a lot of love and work into this update and I hope that you enjoy the changes!

I’m also still on the lookout for a new atlas for Level 0 – a surprisingly challenging undertaking. 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.

I am always brainstorming and collecting books for various unit studies too. I have lots of exciting new things in the works! Hopefully I will be able to share more about those projects soon!

March Giveaway

Congratulations to our winner of last month’s Giveaway!

good-luck

This month we will be giving away a copy of The Hobbit unit study. Something about the beginning of spring just makes me want to re-read Tolkien.

Each action gives you entries into this month’s drawing, with some allowing for daily clicks. 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!

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,  Douglas Adams (March 11, 1952), and Kate DiCamillo  (March 25, 1964) all celebrate this month.

I host the March Through History Readathon every March – it’s a month dedicated to reading history and historical fiction!  This year’s theme is Women in History! You can learn more about it here: March Through History Readathon Announcement

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 🙂

2023 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 2023, we created a new list of 40 reading prompts to help you and your children stretch your reading muscles. This year’s theme is Adventures in Science and Nature! It’s going to be an amazing reading year filled with fun challenges and lots of science and nature-themed reading! Head over to our blog and download your checklist today!

I’ve already checked off 13 out of the 40 prompts, I feel like this will be my year – I’m finally going to complete the whole challenge!

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 withl just sparse remains of snow.

Much like last year, 2023 is indecisive about the season. One day it’s nearly 70 then a few days later we have a snowstorm. We currently have a few inches 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.

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

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 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 on March 3!

Most Recent Episodes:

“Tea with Emily” Facebook Live Streams

We hope you all enjoyed our last “Tea with Emily” Facebook Live Stream. If you missed our How to Get the Most from your Read Alouds in February, you can find a recording by scrolling through our Facebook or direct links on our past events page.

Our next one will be in 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!

Build Your Library Support

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.

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 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. This month we’re reading The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer! Or if just want ideas for books to read (either for you or your children) you are sure to find something useful!

I run a readathon during March that is dedicated to reading history and historical fiction! Watch this video to learn more:  March Through History Announcement 

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!

“By March, the worst of the winter would be over. The snow would thaw, the rivers begin to run and the world would wake into itself again.

Not that year.

Winter hung in there, like an invalid refusing to die. Day after grey day the ice stayed hard; the world remained unfriendly and cold.”
― Neil Gaiman, Odd and the Frost Giants

“That’s the trouble with March—the warmth never lasts. There’s that narrow stretch when it parades as spring, just enough for you to thaw if you’re sitting in the sun, but then it’s gone.”
― V. E. Schwab, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

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:

February 2023 Monthly Newsletter

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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?

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