5 Ways to Use Audible in Your Homeschool (and a Tutorial)

Audiobooks are extremely useful tools for homeschoolers, and today I will show you the best ways to make an Audible membership one of the most valuable pieces of your homeschool curriculum.

1. Introduce great books to beginning or struggling readers. Long before young children are able to pick up a classic story or tale, they can still listen. The very young can listen to abridged and dramatized versions of classics, while those who are a little older have the option to listen to unabridged titles.  Example: THIS 1-hour version of Huckleberry Finn is abridged and dramatized, while THIS version is the complete unabridged version, narrated by Elijah Wood.
2. Double (or more!) the amount of reading your kids do. Listening to an audio book is easy to do while building Legos, crocheting, drawing, or fall asleep at night. When a good book is playing in the background, kids are learning more and exploring new worlds. Everyone in our house falls asleep with an audiobook playing, and they listen while they mow the yard, walk on the treadmill, or spend time alone in their rooms.
3. Expand previous learning and let them revisit what you previously studied. Did you know most Five in a Row titles are available on Audible? We’ve had these in our library for years, since we enjoy using Five in a Row with the younger students. Many of these are typically dramatized and include music in the background. Enjoy Corduroy,  Make Way for Ducklings, or The Story of Ping. The kids enjoy listening to a story they studied in-depth, and will remember all the fun rabbit trails you took! During our study of the Middle Ages, they listened to the entire King Arthur Series. When they fall in love with a new series or topic, it’s fun to explore further with audio books! This step right here does 2 of my favorite things: cementing learning and making it fun.
4. Listen to a field-trip-related story in the car. On your way to a museum? Listen to a book on that topic on the way! Homeschoolers know all about learning in the car, and audiobooks make it incredibly easy. Whether its a Burgess book on animals, or the story of Squanto, the experience is richer with a story involved.
5. Educate (or RE-educate) yourself. Let’s face it: there are just going to be times when you wish you knew more about a subject than you do, especially when you’re about to cover it with your kids for the first time. Audiobooks are a perfect way to do some studying on your own, in a convenient way. Download books on history, science, and good literature to give you the background you need to teach. I’m really enjoying The History of the English Speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill. It’s divided into 4 books. What a great resource for a big chunk of World History! (See my blog post about combining Churchill and G. A. Henty.) If you like Story of the World for you kids, you might enjoy a similar series by the same author, but written for high school and adults; the first title is The History of the Ancient World. (Sadly, Story of the World is NOT on Amazon. *big, big tears*)

How to get started with Audible

If you’ve never used Audible before, you may be wondering just HOW to do this? Audible is a website AND a smartphone App. We generally only use the APP from our smartphones (iPhones), iPods, or tablets.

From your computer, search for the title you wish to purchase. Click “Add to Cart” and then “View Cart.”

If you’re an Audible Member, you’ll see the book in your cart, the retail price of the audiobook, and the number of credits you have available. BUT your subtotal will be $0.00 since you’ve paid for credits. Click “Next Step” to confirm purchase.

You’ll see a fun new feature on that last page: the opportunity to share the title with up to 10 friends! FREE. They do not need an Audible membership to listen to it.

The title will now be in Your Library. You can access Your Library from your computer or smartphone APP.

You can share one account with everyone in your home, so everyone has access to the same library. Everyone can even listen to the same title at the same time on different devices, and their individual spots will be saved. They will just use the same login information.

From your smartphone or other device, go to Audible.com in your browser. (TIP: Save this page to your phone screen as an “app” by tapping the “download” icon on your toolbar and click “add to home screen.” This will give you a permanent “app” in which to purchase new titles. Follow the instructions above to choose and purchase a title.

In the APP, swipe down to refresh your library. Then simply tap to download and listen.

FEATURES IN THE APP

• Sleep Timer (perfect at bedtime!)
• Save Bookmarks (I like this when I hear something great and want to go back and find it again)
• Skip through Chapters (If I get distracted or fall asleep, I go back to the beginning of the chapter. When I assign an audiobook for school, it’s easy for the student to go right to the chapter I want them to hear.)

IN THE CAR

It’s easy to listen in the car! If your car has a Bluetooth connection, just open the APP to play your audiobook. No Bluetooth? If your car has a USB port, you can connect with your phone’s charger. Is your car older than that? That’s okay, too. Just get a cassette adapter or FM transmitter to connect your phone to your car’s stereo. (I’ve used both and actually prefer the cassette adapter. Call me old-fashioned. Of course, you need to own a car that HAS a cassette player in it. LOL.)

Membership Benefits

1. Titles are guaranteed. If you download a book and absolutely hate it, you can return it for 1 credit. I’ve only used this perk a time or two, but it is REAL. The Grapes of Wrath, guys. I absolutely couldn’t go there. And recently David Copperfield. I even got the one narrated by Richard Armitage, and even he couldn’t keep me interested. So, I traded those books in for a fresh credit to get something I really wanted. Like the latest Louis L’amour audio production.
2. Keep your audiobooks, even if you close your account. You’ve bought the titles, so they’re all yours. Forever.
3. Pause your account when money is tight. If you just can’t make this work into your budget during a difficult financial crunch, Audible will pause your account for 3 months. You don’t pay anything, and you don’t get new credits, but you get to keep your account status. After 3 months, automatic drafts resume, along with your credits.
4. Share a book! Like I showed you above, you can share a book with up to 10 friends. If you just need everyone to hear the newest book you got, send them a special link straight from the APP, even if they don’t have an Audible account.
5. Credits equal books, but you can also purchase a title outright at a great discount. And there are special deals all the time on certain titles.

We typically keep the Platinum Membership, which is 2 credits for $22.95 per month. You may prefer the Gold Membership, which is $14.95 per month for 1 credit (or 1 book).  We currently have 240 titles in our library.

Ready to Try Audible in your homeschool?

Audible has a special for all new memberships: first month (1 credit) free. But if you click on MY link below, you get to start with TWO free credits! Just click on the image below to get started. You can cancel anytime.

 

I hope you’ve had all of your Audible questions answered.

{In the spirit of full disclosure, there are affiliate links in this post, which means that I may get a commissions if you decide to purchase anything from these links. I only recommend products & systems that I use and love myself, so I know you’ll be in good hands. I appreciate it if you shop through me and support my website!}

While you’re here, visit my Knowledge Keepers Bookstore! In it you’ll find the books and the stories that have shaped this great country, the books that influenced our founders and our ancestors, the books that Americans have mostly ignored or never heard of, but the good books that we should all read and protect. Join me in saving Western Civilization, one book at a time!

Nicki Truesdell is a 2^nd-generation homeschooler and mother to 5. She is a homemaker at heart, and loves books, freedom, history and quilts, and blogs about all of these at nickitruesdell.com. She believes that homeschooling can be relaxed and that history is fun, and both can be done with minimal cost or stress, no matter your family’s circumstances. Nicki is a member of the Texas Home Educators Board of Directors. You can follow her on  Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.