A Brave Writer’s Life in Brief

Blog Roundup: September 2018

Brave Writer Lifestyle September 2018 Roundup

Welcome to the latest blog roundup! See how other homeschooling families practice the Brave Writer Lifestyle!

Playing with Language: 10 Ideas for Families – Not Before 7

As part of our Brave Writer Lifestyle, we have embraced the idea of playing with language. It’s made me aware of the many ways we naturally play with words in our home.

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Charlotte’s Web Book Club: A Party School at the Fair – Hide the Chocolate

As many of you know, we love to use the Brave Writer Arrows for our language arts. This is a great book to jump in and try the Brave Writer program because the Charlotte’s Web Arrow is free. The Arrows provide copywork, dictation, grammar notes, writing activities and a literary element. Since the Arrows are broken down into four weeks, it works perfectly with our monthly book club.

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Jot It Down Review: More than a Writing Program – The Homeschool Resource Room

I’m happy to share the folowing [sic] Jot It Down review with you. We have been working our way through this program at a slower pace. Giving us time to really dig into the projects and the entire Brave Writer lifestyle.

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How to Create an Enchanting Experience with Copywork – Nourishing My Scholar

Copywork. Does it bring up images of the hard schoolmaster making students write lines on a blackboard as a form of punishment? With Brave Writer copywork is so much more.

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How to Use Copywork in Your Homeschool Part 1 – Heart-to-Heart Homeschooling

Using copywork to teach Language Arts respects the natural way children learn. When they copy good writing, they absorb rules of grammar and mechanics, spelling, and more. That doesn’t mean you only use copywork to teach these things, but when used consistently, copywork becomes a significant part of the process.

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Using copywork to develop penmanship, grammar & punctuation…and having fun whilst doing it! – A Muslim Homeschool

I was introduced to the practice of copywork maybe three or four years ago when I stumbled upon the World of Bravewriter [sic], and I’ve been hooked ever since.

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How To Know If You Are Using Copywork And Dictation The Right Way To Teach Language Arts – Hide the Chocolate

If you are a Charlotte Mason homeschooler, then chances are the words copywork and dictation have come up repeatedly in homeschool discussions. The late Charlotte Mason, an educator who inspired an entire homeschool philosophy, advocated copywork and dictation as two of the key components to educating children in language arts. But, what are copywork and dictation and how do you do if you are doing them in the correct way?

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How to Incorporate Narration in Everyday Life – Bethany Ishee

Narration is a much-touted practice in the homeschool community, but I’ve found it can seem stuffy and stifling at times. As a result, I’ve looked for ways to incorporate narration into our daily lives so that it can be a natural extension of our life of learning.

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Brave Writer Lifestyle Monthly Tips and Resources

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Happy Birthday, Andrea Davis Pinkney!

In celebration of Andrea Davis Pinkney’s birthday on September 25, the Arrow based on her book, The Red Pencil, is:

HALF PRICE till Thursday, Sept 27 midnight ET ($4.95)!

[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases,
Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]

Born September 25, 1963 in Washington, DC, Andrea Davis Pinkney is an award-winning and best-selling author of children’s literature, as well as an editor and publisher. Visit her website to learn more.

[The Red Pencil is] the powerful story of one girl’s triumphant journey, inspired by true tales of life in Sudan. Life in Amira’s peaceful Sudanese village is shattered when Janjaweed attackers arrive, unleashing unspeakable horrors. After losing nearly everything, Amira needs to find the strength to make the long journey on foot to safety at a refugee camp. She begins to lose hope, until the gift of a simple red pencil opens her mind — and all kinds of possibilities.—Amazon

Take advantage of this special Arrow offer! Ends September 27, 2018 at midnight ET.

Also, if you’d like to buy a copy of the novel, it’s available through Amazon: The Red Pencil

Learn language arts with the Red Pencil Arrow!

The Arrow is the monthly digital product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel (you purchase or obtain the novels yourself). It’s geared toward children ages 8-11 and is an indispensable tool for parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context.

Tags: Diversity
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Brave Writer Podcast: Homeschooling High School: Real Talk about Teens, Writing, Wonder, and Weirdness

Brave Writer Podcast: Real Talk about Teens

Do you have teens? Will you have teens? Have you heard that they will be challenging or wonderful? Your best friends or strangers in your children’s bodies?

Teens are awesome—in every way, from being competent and so interesting, to mystifying and sometimes downright frustrating. Let’s talk today about all the wonderfulness of parenting and home educating the teen years.

Psst: you get the hang of it more and more so just know you’re growing too!

Your Kids Will Change

Kids change during their teen years. They get curious, they start to notice that you’re not a sage expert, they meet friends and compare notes, and they start to wonder about the world beyond your house.

Especially in homeschooling, when you have curated this environment so carefully, it can be a shock if they start finding fault with it.

But every child has to go through this; every child has to examine the source material of their own childhood.

Didn’t you?

Have a Big, Juicy Conversation

We love this exercise because it allows you to partner with your teen child in exploring their opportunities, interests, and goals – and helps you facilitate those in any way you can.

All you and your child have to do is brainstorm a huge list of all the things they want to do before they turn 18. Joining an acting troupe, going to space camp, learning an instrument, indoor rock climbing, a new language, going on dates, attending a prom: whatever it is, put it on the list!

It can be easy to forget that our own children have awareness of what typical teens do, and they likely want to sample experiences like school dances.

After your child turns 13, they get to have an increasingly large say in their lives. We just have to get comfortable with it, even if we don’t like their say.

So can you re-conceive of life for your teenager in a way that is meaningful for them and honors who they are? Can you get comfortable allowing them to take a risk, something not working out, and then trying again?

You don’t have to push your children out of the nest – you can escort them out of the nest and give them some opportunities to see the world is bigger than the house they’re in.

Please post a review on iTunes for us (here’s a handy guide)?
Help a homeschooler like you find more joy in the journey. Thanks!

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Take a Tour of our Expository Essay Class

Brave Writer Expository Essay Webinar

You’ve asked to see Brave Writer classes in action, and we’ve listened. Sign up for a front row seat to a tour of our Expository Essay classes for high school students!

Would you like to see how our expository essay classes look from the inside?
Do you wonder about pacing?
Are you curious to see what kind of feedback and instruction our teachers give?

Kirsten Merryman and Jen Holman, veteran Brave Writer instructors, will take you on a guided tour of the classroom. They’ll show you a sneak peek of our Brand New cartoon video footage that we use to instruct kids who need a little more audio-visual support. You’ll be able to ask any and all questions.

In other words: find out everything you want to know about the essay program before signing up!

Expository Essay Class: Exploratory & Persuasive

Expository Essay Class: Rhetorical Critique & Analysis

Let’s face it: teaching academic writing feels daunting. Most of us haven’t written an academic paper since high school or college ourselves. Now, as a homeschooling parent, you want your child to be prepared for the rigors of college, but the terrain of academic writing is unfamiliar.

Our method of teaching the expository essay honors the standards expected in academic writing, while resisting the straitjacket of boring formats and rules that put teens off essay writing for good.

How do we do it? We can’t wait to show you!

→ Join us LIVE for a chance to win a FREE SEAT in one of the classes!

In this free webinar, you’ll learn how we help teens

- - Move beyond the “blank page, blank stare” syndrome that plagues young academic writers who don’t know what to write
  - Explore multiple points of view on controversial topics
  - Prove arguments using reasoning, facts and evidence
  - Learn the building blocks of strong academic writing they can use in any subject area

Don’t miss this chance to see an actual Expository Essay class in action and to hear directly from our caring instructors. You’ll also see how our instructor feedback grows writers who feel empowered to improve instead of defeated by crushing criticism. We’ll answer all your questions, too!

Title: High School Writing—Expository Essay Class
Date and Time: Friday, Sept. 28, 2018 @ 3:00 PM Eastern
Register for the online webinar here.

Join us live for a chance to win a free seat in one of the classes!

If you’ve got friends who are new to Brave Writer and have high school students, this is a fantastic way to get to know us. Please share the webinar link with them.