Archive for the ‘Brave Learner Home’ Category

One Thing Unit Study: Medieval Times

Brave Writer

Welcome to Medieval Times!

In this Brave Learner Home One Thing Unit Study you’ll journey back in time to discover the world and history of the Middle Ages. Explore the people, lifestyle, architecture, culture, and moments that shaped this fascinating period in history.

Our easy-peasy, moderate, and advanced challenges help you and your kids learn across the curriculum!

  • History
  • STEM
  • Language Arts
  • Art History
  • Geography
  • Architecture
  • Hands-on projects

Join Brave Learner Home and unlock the riches inside our community: coaches, resources, trainings, and friendships!

As a member, you’ll have immediate access to the most extensive homeschool resource library on the internet (we’ve looked!), including webinars, master classes, unit studies, community discussion board, and more!

Brave Learner Home

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Notice, Name, Experience

Brave Writer

Today’s post features a message that was originally
shared with our Brave Learner Home community.

As homeschoolers, our biggest task is to help our children find their place in the world. We want to teach them situational awareness, the vocabulary of all that surrounds them, the freedoms and responsibilities they have in each environment.

Connect to the World

Homeschooling is less about filling in blanks at a kitchen table and more about noticing—noticing the way stuff works, noticing that there are names for every type of tree and bird, noticing that sounds are ever present and can be named. When we say our world is the classroom, homeschoolers mean this quite literally. We mean: get out into the world and experience it with every sense:

  • touch,
  • taste,
  • fragrance,
  • vision,
  • and sound.

Name it, know it better.

Your kids will learn so much more if you connect them to their world. The learning you want for them is not in programs. Programs can give you ideas for what to do in that big world. But if they focus on getting through and getting done, you may be missing out on the most wonderful aspect of this journey.

Homeschooling is the choice to bring learning to every part of your child’s life—to notice, name, and experience it.

You’ve got this!

Brave Learner Home

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Adding Rather Than Taking Away

Brave Writer

One idea that surfaced recently during our Brave Learner Home “Go Analog” webinar was to focus on adding rather than taking away. Let me explain. 

Sometimes, when something worries us, like too much screen time, we think about reducing it in terms of taking something away. Reduce screen time by removing access to screen-based activities. There is certainly a time for that. But a helpful reframe is to reduce by adding.

Remember when I shared that instead of thinking of life as busy, I like to think of it as full? What if you helped fill your child’s day with engaging activities that naturally pull them off screens?

Ask yourself:

  • What is one thing I loved doing as a child that had nothing to do with a screen? How could I invite my child into a similar experience this summer?
  • If our family had a whole afternoon with nothing planned and no screens, what would we actually want to do? Invite your children into this reflection with you.
  • Where do I see my kids feeling the most restless, bored, or dependent on screens? How could an “analog bag” (filled with items like colorful pens, washi tape, rubber stamps, and ink pads) gently stretch them to embrace the discomfort of getting off of technology for a moment? 

Keep in mind that the goal is achieved by adding, not taking away, which can often feel like a punishment. 

Today’s post features an encouraging message by Dawn Smith (President of Brave Writer) that she recently shared with our Brave Learner Home community.

Brave Learner Home

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