April 2013 - Page 4 of 5 - 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 April, 2013

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Happy Birthday, Richard Peck!

IMG_0798

“Novels are never about people living easy lives through tranquil times; novels are the biographies of survivors.” ~ Richard Peck

Author Richard Peck was born April 10, 1934. By happy chance, the Arrow selection for April is Peck’s novel, A Long Way from Chicago, a delightful tale of eccentricity, family, and life in 1930’s Chicago.

In celebration of Richard Peck’s 79th birthday we’re making a special offer. The Arrow for A Long Way from Chicago is:

Half price for one day only: $4.95! OFFER HAS EXPIRED

The Arrow is a monthly digital product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel. 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.

But, wait. That’s not all! It’s also National Poetry Month. And what better way to honor the beauty of language than by sharing the poem by Richard Peck:

Twenty Minutes a Day
by Richard Peck

Read to your children
Twenty minutes a day;
You have the time,
And so do they.
Read while the laundry is in the machine;
Read while the dinner cooks;
Tuck a child in the crook of your arm
And reach for the library books.
Hide the remote,
Let the computer games cool,
For one day your children will be off to school;
Remedial? Gifted? You have the choice;
Let them hear their first tales
In the sound of your voice.
Read in the morning;
Read over noon;
Read by the light of
Goodnight Moon.
Turn the pages together,
Sitting close as you’ll fit,
Till a small voice beside you says,
“Hey, don’t quit.”

(from the Penguin website)

So, wish Professor Peck a happy birthday, do something special for National Poetry month, read to your kids each day, and take advantage of our special Arrow offer!

Posted in Arrow, BW products | Comments Off on Happy Birthday, Richard Peck!

Poetry Teatime: Oceanside

Poetry Teatime

Our version of Tuesday tea time, Oceanside!

~Stacie

Visit our Poetry Teatime website!

Posted in Poetry Teatime | Comments Off on Poetry Teatime: Oceanside

Do it! Taking learning outdoors

Run Run Run
Image by Umair Mohsin

Remember how your 5th grade teacher would take you outside in April or May when the sun was shining to “do school” and you would be so excited to get out of the classroom, you’d become silly, and tug on Charlie’s shirttail and then Missie would steal your pencil, and some class clown would make a wisecrack and Mr. Bernard would shout that if everyone didn’t calm down, he would take you back inside to the Dark Room, where the sun doesn’t shine?

No schooling got done, but it felt so good to be outside. But your teacher vowed to never take that chance again.

Fast forward to your life now.

You live in a house. You are in charge. You can move the math book to any bench, picnic table, blanket, or trampoline outdoors.

Do it! Tickling, shirt-tail pulling, and wisecracks welcome.

Cross posted on facebook.

Posted in Homeschool Advice | Comments Off on Do it! Taking learning outdoors

Tips for Young Writers

Tips for young writers

Tips for your young writers (ages 5-8):

1. The best curriculum for this age is still face paints and dress up clothes. Play, exploration, acting out—these teach. Trust the process.

2. Riddles, jokes, rhymes, poems, puns, secrets, mysteries, the alphabet (write it big, write it small, write it backwards, write it with chalk on the driveway, write it one letter per page, fit all the letters on a post-it note, write every other letter – not easy!), names (family, pets, streets, cities, imaginary friends, real friends, favorite characters). Play, explore, write, say, pretend with all of these, often, as much as you can.

3. For original writing: they talk, you write it down. End of discussion. Unless they are choosing to write their own thoughts on their own, you have no obligation to get them to write their own thoughts in their own hand by themselves. If they are writing their own thoughts, hug them—be a fan. Not a word of criticism about spelling, handwriting, story completion, or logic. Just kudos for the surprise of their self-starting joy!

4. For transcription: a handwriting book, simple copywork (one word a day can be more than enough for some kids), French dictation (explained in BW products), copying their own stories (only have them copy a paragraph, a sentence at a time, or more if THEY choose, but don’t require more in one sitting).

5. Read TO your kids OUT LOUD, everything you see—billboards, refrigerator magnets, ads in magazines you are paging through, funny comments on Facebook as you scroll through your feed, the text your husband just sent, the preface to a book, the instructions for the XBox, newspaper briefs, the side of the spice jar, the back of the muffin mix, the clever tag line on the shoe box… And yes, read quality literature aloud too. But read everything aloud… freely, often, commenting, laughing about it, noticing it.

6. Pair odious tasks with brownies and hugs.

7. Get outside, have big experiences, explore the world. For heaven’s sake, don’t worry yet. You’ll get to worry so much in the teen years and pine for these early years. So I’m here to tell you—play, explore, enjoy. Pick a fruit no one has ever eaten and eat it. Go to the zoo 3 times a week or the beach or the woods, if you dare. Make recipes for sludge and slime and baking soda volcanoes. No worrying.

That’s it. Really. Math isn’t my thing, but you can figure that out I’m sure. As my wise homeschool mom friend said to me: “Any math book teaches 1+1. Heck, we can do it ourselves.”

Also, our Jot It Down product is perfect for these ages!

Jot It Down

Header image by Brave Writer mom Tiffany

Posted in Young Writers | Comments Off on Tips for Young Writers

Friday Freewrite: Spring Celebrations

Volunteers put together Easter Egg Hunt for USACE children in Europe

 

Do you have any celebrations you enjoy in spring? Describe them.

 

New to freewriting? Check out our online guide.

Image above by USACE Europe District

Posted in Friday Freewrite | Comments Off on Friday Freewrite: Spring Celebrations

« Older Entries
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