October 2023 Monthly Newsletter
October 2, 2023
The following post will be a blog archive copy of Build Your Library’s October 2023 Monthly Newsletter. If you missed the email, subscribe to our mailing list here. [Scheduled to be sent by 10/2/23 8:30 AM EST]
[October 2, 2023 ] – Welcome to our October 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 October 2023 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
- Build Your Library Reviews and Testimonials
- September Contest
- Collab with Soul Sparklettes Glitterbombers!
- October Bookish Holidays
- BYL Online Used Book Super Store (UPDATED)
- 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, I have the details on those items and more for you.
Monthly Newsletter
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
― Anne of Green Gables
It’s here! Finally – it’s October. I don’t know if there is a happier month. The fall colors are starting to creep in along with the cooler temperatures. And it’s spooky season! I just love this time of year!
As far as the newsletter goes, we have some new information to share and some reoccurring monthly reminders!
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 just finished updating the Darwin and Evolution unit study! What I thought would be a relatively quick update grew and grew as I had to replace one book, and found more and more things I needed to update as I went. But it’s finished! I hope that you find it works much more smoothly now!
So what am I working on next?
I have plans to do an update of the Thanksgiving unit and write a few Lit Bites. I also have a few unit studies and other projects that I hope to start!
I am always brainstorming and collecting books for various unit studies and projects, too. I have lots of exciting new things in the works! I hope to share more about those projects soon!
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.
October Giveaway
Congratulations to our winner of last month’s Giveaway!
This month we’ll be giving away a Thanksgiving unit study!
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!
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 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!
October Bookish Holidays
October has a whole bunch of fun book-related holidays. The entire month has been designated Children’s Magazine Month, National Book Month, National Cookbook Month, and National Reading Group Month. The first full week of October is Banned Books Week and Mystery Series Week, the second week is National Newspaper Week, the third week is Teen Read Week and Friends of Libraries Week, and the last Friday of the month (Oct 27) is National Frankenstein Day.
Not exactly a holiday, but nominations are open for the Cybils Awards from October 1 – 15! Did you read an amazing children’s or YA book this year that was published between October 16, 2022 – October 15, 2023? Go nominate it!
For author birthdays, we have Anne Rice (Oct. 4, 1941), R. L. Stine (Oct 8, 1943) and Oscar Wilde (Oct 16, 1854).
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!
2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge Check In
We are over halfway through 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 will be a fantastic 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 39 out of the 40 prompts; I am SO close to finishing! Just one more book to go!
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 4 children, Three of whom have graduated high school, and one is also a brand-new college graduate!
This series will include an approximately 10-minute “quick-bit” YouTube video and a corresponding blog post article.
Most Recent Episodes:
- Episode 55: Homeschool Tidbits: How I Plan Our Homeschool Year (8/18/23)
- Episode 56: Homeschool Tidbits: Tour My Homeschool Planner (8/25/23)
- Episode 57: Homeschool Tidbits: You Do NOT Need a Dedicated Homeschool Space (9/8/23)
- Episode 58: Homeschool Tidbits: Tips for Teaching Multiple Ages (9/15/23)
- Episode 59: Homeschool Tidbits: How to Assign Grades in High School (9/22/23)
“Tea with Emily” Instagram Live Stream
We hope you enjoyed our last “Tea with Emily” Instagram Live Stream. If you missed our “Build Your Library/Back to Homes School Q&A“ last month in June, you can find a recording by scrolling through our Instagram, or direct links on our past events page.
Our next Livestream will be on Friday, October 13th at 1pm (EST), on our Instagram page. This month’s topic is going to be “How to Read A Book”. I’m often asked how much dissecting and analyzing needs to happen when reading together, and what to expect from your tweens and teens when it comes to literary analysis. So let’s discuss!
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.
You can also stay subscribed to our email list and browse our monthly newsletters.
Wrap Up
I hope you have a wonderful October! I can’t wait to see what this new month brings!
“The wind outside nested in each tree, prowled the sidewalks in invisible treads like unseen cats.
Tom Skelton shivered. Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows’ Eve. Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet or gold or orange velvet. Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys like the plumes of funeral parades. From kitchen windows drifted two pumpkin smells: gourds being cut, pies being baked.”
― The Halloween Tree
If you are looking for some more inspiration, here are some articles you might find helpful:
- Apocalypse Schooling
- Homeschool Tidbits: 5 Reasons to Consider a Literature-Based Curriculum
- What Is Your Favorite Creepy, Scary, or Halloween-Themed Movie or Book?
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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