December 2008 - Page 3 of 3 - A Brave Writer's Life in Brief A Brave Writer's Life in Brief
  • Start Here
    • For Families
      Multiple Ages
    • Ages 5-7
      Beginning Writers
    • Ages 8-10
      Emerging Writers
    • Ages 11-12
      Middle School Writers
    • Ages 13-14
      High School Writers
    • Ages 15-18
      College Prep Writers
  • Digital Products
    • Core Products
    • Bundles
    • Literature Singles
    • Practice Pages
    • Homeschool Help
    • Special Offers
  • Online Classes
    • Class Descriptions
    • Class Schedule
    • Classroom
    • How Our Classes Work
    • Our Writing Coaches
    • Classes FAQ
  • Community
    • Brave Learner Home
    • Blog
    • Podcast
    • Calendar
    • Brave Writer's Day Off
  • Cart
  • My Account
    • My Online Classes
    • My Account
  • My Account
    • My Online Classes
    • My Account
  • Start Here

    If you’re new to Brave Writer, or are looking for the best products for your child or family, choose from below:

    • For Families
      Multiple Ages
    • Ages 5-7
      Beginning Writers
    • Ages 8-10
      Emerging Writers
    • Ages 11-12
      Middle School Writers
    • Ages 13-14
      High School Writers
    • Ages 15-18
      College Prep Writers
  • Digital Products

    If you’re already familiar with Brave Writer products, go directly to what you’re looking for:

    • Core Products
    • Bundles
    • Literature Singles
    • Practice Pages
    • Homeschool Help
    • Special Offers
  • Online Classes
    • Class Descriptions
    • Class Schedule
    • Classroom
    • How Our Classes Work
    • Our Writing Coaches
    • Classes FAQ
  • Community
    • Brave Learner Home
    • Blog
    • Podcast
    • Calendar
    • Brave Writer's Day Off
  • Search
  • Cart

Search Bravewriter.com

  • Home
  • Blog

A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

Thoughts from my home to yours

Archive for December, 2008

Newer Entries »

Today is Registration Day: Winter Classes

Hi everyone!

Registration is now live. Registration opens at 12:00 p.m. eastern. Classes often fill quickly. We have, however, increased the number of classes we offer so that as many of you can be enrolled as possible. We’ll post a note when a class closes.

To read about the classes, click here.

To register, click here. When it’s noon, the registration form will go live. Just refresh the screen until it pops up!

If you have any questions about what classes would be appropriate for your family, email us at [email protected]

Posted in BW products | Comments Off on Today is Registration Day: Winter Classes

Friday Freewrite: Giving

If you could give away one thousand dollars, who would receive your gift and for what purpose?

Posted in Friday Freewrite | Comments Off on Friday Freewrite: Giving

Freewriting: A Rationale

Freewriting: a rationale

Many  of you are comfortable with freewriting. If you’ve been with Brave Writer any length of time, you know that freewriting is a core practice when becoming a fluent writer. At a certain point in time, though, many moms worry that that is “all” their kids are doing. They can handle copywork, dictation, and freewriting (these practices are as concrete as times tables work sheets!), but getting beyond freewriting feels like a real challenge. But I want to underscore again, the value of freewriting and to help you see that you aren’t just killing time until your kids do “real” writing. Freewriting is real and valuable and the foundation of all future writing.

Besides being the easiest way to get locked up words unlocked, freewriting is also the best way to help your kids stay fluent with their handwriting skills. In this age of computer use (where sometimes I go days without holding a pencil in my hand), it becomes important to give your children the chance to keep their handwriting legible while speedy. They will handwrite more than you or I do as they move through their academic careers.

Today in universities, more and more professors use the “in-class timed essay” as a way to gauge student progress in the material. With the rise of Internet fraud and plagiarism, professors have one sure way to guarantee that they are getting student work (not a purchased or stolen product). They can ask their students to write in-class essays. Those essays are invariably in hand-writing. Not only that, they are written to a “time limit” (sounds like writing to a timer, right?) and they are written without the aid of resources to reference as they cough up their ideas onto the page.

Freewriting, early and regularly, puts your children
at a real advantage in the academic world.

Your kids will grow comfortable expressing themselves on paper with pen in hand, they become aware of how quickly they need to write to fill a page in a number of minutes, they aren’t intimidated by the blank page and they know they can gather their thoughts and spew them out on command as they grow adept at writing.

Additionally, even for those papers that occur outside of the classroom, where research, computers and time offer students the possibility of revision, freewriting still serves a powerful purpose. It allows kids to write their thoughts and ideas in short, powerful bursts. They can tackle one aspect of a topic and really hone in on it in freewriting before they start crafting an essay. This is especially important in the writing they will do later in life. Too often kids fall into the trap of lifeless, point-by-point writing where they lull their professors and teachers to sleep with the predictable pattern of points and supports, no freshness, no originality. Freewriting disturbs this trend. It helps kids get back in touch with the quirky, insightful person inside and dislodges the words that would be overlooked in the pedantic plodding methodology of most “papers-for-school” writing that other students write.

Finally, freewriting can be a lively and poignant opportunity to get to know your child’s passions and viewpoints.

Freewriting has often served as a way for me to know my kids:
what they’re thinking, how they are processing something,
why they are worried or exuberant.

Even when it seems that the academic purpose is lost in the freewriting, the person that is your child never is. See freewriting as a multi-faceted chance to enhance your child’s comfort with handwriting, ability to write under pressure, as preparation for a life of insightful writing and the chance to express an interior life on paper.

It does all that, and more! Freewriting is the core of a healthy writing life.

Freewriting Prompts

Posted in Brave Writer Philosophy, Friday Freewrite | 6 Comments »

Tuesday Teatime: Hayes Family

teatime hayes “Mom! It’s tea time!”

“Okay, I’ll put the kettle on.” I mentally decided to make this quickly-thrown-together tea a little nicer than our usual quickly-thrown-together teas. So for this tea…a beautiful autumnal tablecloth and a couple of faux leaves under a plain autumn harvest scented votive candle for a simple centerpiece.

Next thing I know, ten year old son Josh is out the door and back in again in a flash with a, “Close your eyes, Mom!” and then a handful of REAL autumn leaves to make the centerpiece more beautiful. (After all, it is October!) Add a little Bach for background music, Anna’s thin and crispy pepparkakors, red and yellow apple slices and a pot of Country Cranberry Tea and our little-bit-nicer-than-usual autumn tea is on!

Hayes teatime

From the Book of 1000 Poems:
“Swinging,” by Irene Thompson and “The Song of the Bath,” by Margaret Gibbs, chosen and read by Hannah (11).
“October’s Party,” by George Cooper, selected by Josh(10)
“October,” by Christina Rosetti and “Rich Days,” by W.H. Davies were Mom’s picks.
(The last three were all repeats from last week’s tea-time readings.)

teatime hayes 2 Finally, we practiced our elocution (as suggested by Linda Fay on higherupand furtherin.blogspot.com) by reading about whales and whaling from McGuffy’s Reader– and Tea Time is done for another week (if all goes well!) If truth be told, I have the nagging fear (certainty?!) that my children’s love of tea time has more to do with the FOOD than the poetry (sigh…), but I also know that whether THEY know it or not, they HAVE been nourished all the same by what they have read and heard, as well as from what they’ve eaten!

Thank you, Julie, for blessing and inspiring so many of us.
Judi

teatime hayes 3

Posted in Poetry Teatime | Comments Off on Tuesday Teatime: Hayes Family

Newer Entries »
  • Search the Blog

  • Julie Bogart
  • Welcome, I’m Julie Bogart.

    I’m a homeschooling alum -17 years, five kids. Now I run Brave Writer, the online writing and language arts program for families. More >>

    IMPORTANT: Please read our Privacy Policy.

  • New to Brave Writer? START HERE

  • FREE Resources

    • 7-Day Writing Blitz
    • Brave Writer Lifestyle Program
    • Brave Writer Sampler: Free Sample Products
    • Freewriting Prompts
    • Podcasts
  • Popular Posts

    • You have time
    • How writing is like sewing
    • Best curriculum for a 6 year old
    • Today's little unspoken homeschool secret
    • Do you like to homeschool?
    • Don't trust the schedule
    • You want to do a good job parenting?
    • If you've got a passel of kids
    • You are not a teacher
    • Natural Stages of Growth in Writing podcasts
  • Blog Topics

    • Brave Learner Home
    • Brave Writer Lifestyle
    • Classes
    • Contests/Giveaways
    • Friday Freewrite
    • High School
    • Homeschool Advice
    • Julie's Life
    • Language Arts
    • Movie Wednesday
    • Natural Stages of Growth
    • One Thing Principle
    • Our Team
    • Parenting
    • Philosophy of Education
    • Podcasts
    • Poetry Teatime
    • Products
    • Reviews
    • Speaking Schedule
    • Students
    • Writing about Writing
    • Young Writers
  • Archives

  • Brave Writer is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees (at no extra cost to you) by advertising and linking to amazon.com

    Content © Brave Writer unless otherwise stated.

What is Brave Writer?

  • Welcome to Brave Writer
  • Why Brave Writer Works
  • About Julie
  • Brave Writer Values
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Speaking Schedule

Brave Writer Program

  • Getting Started!
  • Stages of Growth in Writing
  • The Brave Writer Program
  • For Families and Students
  • Online Classes
  • Brave Writer Lifestyle

…and More!

  • Blog
  • Classroom
  • Store
  • Books in Brave Writer Programs
  • Contact Us
  • Customer Service
© 2025 Brave Writer
Privacy Policy
Children's Privacy Policy
Help Center