May 2023 Monthly Newsletter
May 1, 2023
The following post will be a blog archive copy of Build Your Library’s May 2023 Monthly Newsletter. If you missed the email, you can subscribe to our mailing list here. [Scheduled to be sent by 5/1/23 8:30 AM EST]
[May 1, 2023 ] – Welcome to our May 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 May 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:
- Build Your Library Updates
- May Contest
- Collab with Soul Sparklettes Glitterbombers!
- May Bookish Holidays
- BYL Online Used Book Super Store
- 2023 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, here are the details on those items and more.
Monthly Newsletter
“At last came the golden month of the wild folk– honey-sweet May, when the birds come back, and the flowers come out, and the air is full of the sunrise scents and songs of the dawning year.”
― Wild Folk
Hello May! Finally, Spring has truly sprung! No more wondering and waiting for the warmer weather to arrive, it is here! Flowers are blooming and the warm winds are blowing through the newly budding trees. I hope spring is treating you well!
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 10 update is well underway now and I’m so excited to see how it all turns out. I am updating the science, of course, but I am also changing up the World Religions and Mythology course and freshening up the literature and history…I can’t wait to share more!
I’m also hoping to update the atlas for Level 0 in the coming weeks. And we have a new Lit Bite coming out early this month, so stay tuned for that.
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!
May Giveaway
Congratulations to our winner of last month’s Giveaway!
This month we will be giving away a Prehistory unit study (or a gift-code for $12.95)
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!
Collab with Soul Sparklettes Glitterbombers!
I’m excited to announce that we are collaborating with Soul Sparklettes Art! They have so many amazing art projects that blend 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!
Sign Up for Glitterbombers Here!
May Bookish Holidays
May is full of book-related holidays too, most notably Free Comic Book Day: First Saturday (May 6, 2022) and the second week of May for Reading Is Fun Week (May 8-14, 2022). The entire month of May is dedicated to National Get Caught Reading Month and National Family Reading 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!
As far as birthdays go, Richard Adams (May 9, 1920), Gary Paulsen (May 17, 1939) , and Mary Pope Osborne (May 20, 1949) celebrate this month.
“A Literary Education” Book Bookiversary!
Can you believe my book is going to be 6 years old? We published “A Literary Education: Adapting Charlotte Mason for Modern Secular Homeschooling” on May 27, 2017. I’m so proud of this little book. It’s essentially the story of our homeschool and gives a great view of what a Charlotte Mason education can look like in the 21st century.
BYL Online Used Book Super Store
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 isn’t currently in 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! We don’t have a ton of books listed yet, but we will be adding in inventory throughout this month. So yay! Happy book shopping!
More titles added daily!
2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge Check In
It’s late, but not too late to jump in to our reading challenge this year. How are your reading challenge checklists looking so far this year? 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 22 out of the 40 prompts, I feel like this will be my year – I’m finally going to complete the whole challenge!
History Book by Book (HBBB)!
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 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 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 May 5!
Most Recent Episodes:
- Episode 46: Tips for Building Independence (3/17/2023)
- Episode 47: Benefits of Short Lessons (3/31/2023)
- Episode 48: Preparing to Homeschool High School (4/14/2023)
- Episode 49: Encouraging Your Reluctant Writer (4/21/2023)
- Episode 50: How to Succeed at Homeschooling Without Really Trying (4/28/2023)
“Tea with Emily” Instagram Live Stream
We hope you all enjoyed our last “Tea with Emily” Instagram Live Stream. If you missed our “Am I Doing Enough?” last month in April, you can find a recording by scrolling our Facebook, Instagram or direct links on our past events page.
Our next Livestream will be on Friday, June 10th at 1 pm EST.
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
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.
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 May! I can’t wait to see what this new month brings!
“May, more than any other month of the year, wants us to feel alive.”
― Fennel Hudson
“The month of May was come, when every lust heart beginneth to blossom, and to bring forth fruit”
― Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur
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.
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:
