Podcasts · Kids & Family · Education
Read-Aloud Revival ®
Sarah Mackenzie
300 episodes
Sarah Mackenzie helps your family fall in love with books, and helps *you* fall in love with homeschooling.
Episodes page 1 of 6
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RAR #289: Kate DiCamillo on the Mystery (and Miracle) of Stories
Today, I am over the moon to welcome one of my very favorite guests back to the show. She’s been on the show and visited us in RAR Premium several times over the years and I always love our conversations. You know her…
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RAR #288: Why Board Books Are Important Tools (and Toys!) with Tabitha Paige
There is a type of children’s book that we haven’t talked much about here in twelve years of Read-Aloud Revival. But it’s one that almost anyone who has spent time with babies knows well: board books. Board books are…
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Best of RAR: Simple Habits for Nurturing Lifelong Readers
We all want our kids to be readers. Not just kids who can read, but kids who actually do read. Who then grow up and keep choosing to read because they want to, not because they have to. But there’s a curious thing…
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RAR #287: Bringing the Outside Into Your School Year with Ginny Yurich
The heart of homeschooling is relationships. Building meaningful, lasting connections is the real secret sauce of reading aloud with your kids. Those connections are also built when you spend time in nature together.…
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RAR #286: Why We Write
Over the past few months on the podcast, we’ve talked a lot about how reading aloud benefits kids academically, how it develops their resilience, empathy, and virtue, and even reduces physiological stress. Today on the…
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RAR #285: Becoming a Book Woman with Caroline Starr Rose
Books are so much more than just a collection of words. They are lanterns that illuminate our lives in so many incredible ways. Today, I want to share a story with you about a group of women who also believed in the…
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RAR #284: Finding Rest in the Mess (Circle With Sarah Sneak Peek)
How long is your to-do list? What if you added in all the extra shoulds and supposed-tos that you are in your head but you don’t even write down because that would be too overwhelming? How long is it then? It might…
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RAR #283: Our Favorite Reads for Forming Virtue in Our Kids
Here at the Read-Aloud Revival, we’ve been asked more times than I can count to create virtue-based book lists. And I always say no. Today, our Creative Director (and my eldest daughter) Audrey is back with me to talk…
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RAR #282: Sparking Creativity with Research
When you think about the various work that goes into making a children’s book, research probably isn’t at the top of your list. It might not make it on your list at all! But research is often an essential part of the…
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Best of RAR: The Joy of Shakespeare
When I mention Shakespeare, a lot of people immediately conjure up visions of high school English class, struggling through Julius Caesar line by line. Which is an absolute shame, because Shakespeare’s plays are meant…
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RAR #281: Homeschooling High School with Rachel Kovac
How do we homeschool high school? It’s *the* question, isn’t it? A lot of us go into homeschooling ready and excited for the younger years. Then as high school approaches, things start to feel… a little more…
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RAR #280: Books Take Us Places
One of the very best ways to travel with your children is through books. Physically travelling as a family isn’t always possible for a variety of reasons, but by reading with our kids, we give them the gift of windows…
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Best of RAR: Becoming Your Child’s Mentor
What would happen if you decided to be your child's mentor rather than their teacher? What if you awakened their wonder and curiosity so that they became the kind of people who thirst for knowledge and understanding?…
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RAR #279: Baptizing the Imagination with Malcolm Guite
What is your calling in life? For poet, songwriter, and academic, Malcolm Guite, it’s unequivocally clear–to be a storyteller. Today on the podcast Audrey and I chat with Malcolm about the first volume in his new…
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Best of RAR: When Your Developing Reader Resists Reading
Learning to read can be hard. And when our kids are still learning to read fluently and well, helping them fall in love with books can feel impossible. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Today on the show, I’m…
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RAR #278: How to Actually Connect with Our Kids, Dr. Matthew Breuninger
We all want to build those meaningful and lasting connections with our kids. Around here, we’re usually talking about doing that through books and reading aloud. But how do we extend these connections into our…
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Best of RAR: How a “Best Moments” List Can Help You Love Your Homeschool featuring Jon Acuff
Today, we’re revisiting a listener-favorite episode that has some advice and an activity that I think are perfect for this time of year in our homeschools. Jon Acuff, author of All It Takes Is a Goal, joined me a…
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RAR #277: Inspiring Heroic Virtue in Our Kids
We talk a lot around here about the incredible impact stories have on our kids. They build empathy and connection, letting us walk a mile in another’s shoes. And some stories also help us see what it looks like to be…
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Best of RAR: Why Read Aloud to Kids Who Can Read Themselves
Why do we read aloud to our kids? Especially those who can read to themselves? This is a topic that comes up all the time at Read-Aloud Revival and it’s one I’m super passionate about. It’s foundational to what we do…
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RAR #276: Learning to Ask Good Questions (Audrey’s Back!)
Today’s episode is a special treat featuring the return of a listener-favorite guest who happens to be one of my favorite people, too. 😉 Back on episode 209, my eldest daughter, Audrey joined me to share her…
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RAR #275: Could We Have Tranquility by Tuesday? Laura Vanderkam
If I were to ask you if your life ever felt tranquil, you would probably do one of two things: bust out laughing or look at me like I was from another planet. I get it, I really do. Which is why I’m so excited to…
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Best of RAR: Jolabokaflod
What if I told you there’s an Icelandic Christmas tradition where the whole point is to spend an evening sitting around, sipping hot cocoa, and reading books? Sign me up, right? Today, we’re talking about…
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RAR #274: Behind the Scenes of One of My Favorite Christmas Picture Books
We all know there is no shortage of Christmas picture books out there. But for a book to make it onto my kids’ Christmas stack or onto a Read Aloud Revival Christmas Book List, it has to be excellent. And the books…
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[Bonus] God Is Not Disappointed In You
Hey hey, it's Sarah Mackenzie! I am here with a bonus episode. I host another podcast — it's called Circle with Sarah— and it's a short, weekly podcast that helps all of us become the peace-filled, joyful mamas we're…
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Best of RAR: Education is for Love
Have you ever worried that you’re not meeting all of your child’s needs—academically, emotionally, spiritually, or even socially? Pretty much every day, right? You’re not alone. Most of us have asked ourselves if we…
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RAR #273: Imagining the Childhood of C.S. Lewis, with Judith McQuoid
Many of you will already know that I am a huge fan of The Chronicles of Narnia. Today, I want to introduce my fellow Narnia lovers to a new book that jumped right off the shelf as soon as I saw it. Giant is a…
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RAR #272: Giving Flora Her Voice with Astrid Sheckels
Astrid Sheckels continues the wit and whimsy of childhood through her marvelous and magnificent illustrations and storytelling. You might recognize her from the Hector Fox and Friends series or Sea Dog and Sea Dog…
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Best of RAR: What Do We Mean by Peace?
Peace. It sounds lovely, right? It’s what so many of us want more than anything else in our homeschools. We long for peace, even if it often feels unattainable. But what does peace actually look like in the midst of a…
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Best of RAR: 5 Habits of Happy Homeschoolers
What does having a happy homeschool mean to you? How would you describe it? What would you be doing? Our homeschools are all unique. We have different kids, different spouses, different resources, different homes,…
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RAR #271: An Inside Look at Writing & Illustrating a Picture Book with Katie Wray Schon
Today, I have a very special treat for you! This spring, our publishing imprint here at RAR, Waxwing Books, celebrated the release of Painting Wonder: How Pauline Baynes Illustrated the Worlds of C. S. Lewis and J.R.R.…
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RAR #270: The Whys and Hows of Quiet Reading Time
One of the all-time most useful things I’ve implemented in my homeschool is Quiet Reading Time. I did Quiet Reading Time with my three eldest kids, who are now in college and beyond, during the most hectic years when…
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RAR #269 – A Vacation for Your Homeschooling Heart
Summer break . . . It’s often not much of a break, right? Even if you find yourself with a little less on your plate, anxiety and second-guessing have a way of filling the gaps where we want rest and relaxation to…
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RAR #268 Advice to Young (And Young at Heart) Creatives
Have you ever read a book and thought, “Wow, how did the author do that?!” Or maybe you’d love to sit down with your favorite author and pick their brain about their writing process or tips and tricks for when you get…
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RAR #267: A Conversation About Belovedness with Emily Wilson Hussem
If you’ve been around the Read-Aloud Revival for a minute, you might know that C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters is one of my all-time favorite books. It’s the book I have read and re-read the most, and it’s also…
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RAR #266 How to Do Shakespeare (and Actually Enjoy It)
On the last episode of the Read-Aloud Revival, we talked about why Shakespeare is not a school subject. I hope we were able to convince you! But if we know that Shakespeare isn’t a school subject or an item on a…
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RAR #264: How to Read Classics (and Actually Enjoy Them)
Why should we read the classics? So many of us want to read and enjoy them, but we don’t want to spend our precious free time feeling like we’re incompetent because we just don’t get it or that the internet has…
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RAR #263: Growing in Confidence as a Homeschool Mama with the RAR Team
In this episode, RAR Community Manager Kelsey Murphy and I sat down to tackle some of your listener questions. We put our heads together to answer questions about loved ones who don’t support your choice to…
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RAR #262: Every Question Is a Doorway, with Jonathan Auxier
Today, one of my very favorite authors returns to Read-Aloud Revival. You know him as the author of Sweep, The Night Gardener, the Peter Nimble series, and The Fabled Stables. That’s right–Jonathan Auxier is back!…
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RAR #261: Why the Modern Myths of Tolkien & Lewis Feel So True
One of my favorite reads of 2024 was The Myth Makers by John Hendrix. This gorgeous graphic novel tells the story of the remarkable friendship of C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. I thought I already knew quite a bit…
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RAR #260: The Woman Behind Narnia’s Iconic Illustrations
What comes to mind when you think of C. S. Lewis’s Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings? There’s a good chance a lot of us are seeing very similar pictures. We’re seeing images that swept us into the…
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Best of RAR: How Read-Alouds Inspired the Wingfeather Saga with Andrew Peterson
Today, I’m thrilled to share a peek at the riches inside RAR Premium, our online community that helps you make meaningful and lasting connections with your books and helps homeschool mamas become the peace-filled,…
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RAR #259: Books Take You Places
Have you ever read a book and felt like you’d actually been to that place? Me too. Once, while standing in line at an amusement park, I met a couple who told me they were visiting from Maine. And I almost said, “Oh, I…
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Best of RAR: Reading for Fun is More Important than You Think
Lately here at RAR we’ve been talking about reading for refreshment—reading for the pure joy of it—and how our own reading lives can be a source of energy and joy even in the throes of the busiest seasons of…
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RAR #258: How Picture Book Illustrations Tell Half the Story with Charles Santoso
Dear Duck, Please Come! is the most fun I’ve ever had writing a book. But writing the words is only half the story for a picture book. Which is why today, I’m delighted to share my conversation with the illustrator of…
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RAR #257: You Can Be Refreshed by Your Reading Life
At the start of a new year, we are overwhelmed with the phrase “New Year, new you!” And of course, we want to be better wives, better mothers, and better people. This desire to improve ourselves filters into our…
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RAR #256: My New Favorite Book for the Whole Family
Gather your aspiring writers and littlest book lovers for this episode. I am so excited to welcome back author Millie Florence to talk about the beautiful book we created together, Beyond Mulberry Glen. Millie and I…
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Best of RAR: Jolabokaflod
What if I told you there’s an Icelandic Christmas tradition where the whole point is to spend an evening sitting around, sipping hot cocoa, and reading books? Sign me up, right? Today, we’re talking about…
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RAR #254: What’s So Great About A Christmas Carol?
"Marley was dead, to begin with." That is one of the most famous first lines in English literature. It comes from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, which is perhaps the greatest Christmas ghost story ever told.…
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BONUS: The Power of What You’re Already Doing (Sneak Peek Inside RAR Premium)
As homeschooling moms, we often focus more on what we’re not doing than what we are doing. We fret about the lessons we should be teaching or the projects we should be creating. But here’s what we want you to remember…
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RAR #253: How We Choose Books to Recommend at RAR
How do you know a good book when you see it? I remember walking into the big, beautiful children’s section at the library with my oldest, who was a baby. I wanted to find books to read aloud to her, but it was hard to…
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