September 2019 - A Brave Writer's Life in Brief A Brave Writer's Life in Brief
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A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

Thoughts from my home to yours

Archive for September, 2019

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Read, Experience, Encounter

The Homeschool Alliance: Read, Experience, Encounter

Ever have that feeling of disorientation when you discover that what you thought you “knew” turned out to be inaccurate or incomplete?

I was just in New Zealand for a series of conferences. They drive on the right side of the road. Every time I stepped off the curb, I forced myself to look in the correct direction to be sure no cars were coming, but my brain led me to involuntarily double check the other direction because I couldn’t accept that no one would be coming—decades of habit are hard to overturn in a two week period of time.

When we learn, we learn in such a way that our minds organize the material so that it makes sense to us. We categorize what we see and experience. We make rapid-fire observations and with equal speed, form snap-judgments.

This happens whether we are slurping hot chocolate (and expecting a certain taste—if the milk is sour, we know it right away; if the chocolate is overdone, we scrunch our faces to show the bitterness we weren’t anticipating) or meeting a well-loved celebrity (and grappling with all the ways that person does or doesn’t match our previous mental image).

In October in the Homeschool Alliance we’re looking at “growing a mind”—how to facilitate depth in learning through

  • reading,
  • experiencing, and
  • encountering.

I’ll take us on a journey to look at the difference between scholastic study versus immersion to the extent that you are changed by what you’re learning.

We’ll learn about how we learn and grow by engaging in three different processes (these are processes I’ve designed that we use in many of our online classes). We’ll do one per week following the webinar on October 8.

We’ll do the activities first as adults and then talk about how to use them with your kids.  

It will be an amazing month of growth, fresh insight, and self-awareness. Join us!

Upcoming Webinar

  • Brave Learner Book Club: Read, Experience, Encounter, Oct 8, 2019 7 PM ET

Hope to see you in the Homeschool Alliance!

The Homeschool Alliance

Posted in Homeschool Advice | Comments Off on Read, Experience, Encounter

Friday Freewrite: Spell

You’re put under a spell and turned into an inanimate object (something that shows no signs of life like a piece of furniture). You’re given a choice, though, of what you want to be. What object would you choose? Describe the first day of your new existence.

New to freewriting? Check out our online guide.

Tags: Writing prompts
Posted in Friday Freewrite | Comments Off on Friday Freewrite: Spell

Training Tip: Conversation Starters

Training Tip: Conversation Starters

Are your kids participating in a Brave Writer online book club or are you planning your next group Party School based on a recent read aloud?

When kids become used to sharing their ideas on engaging topics at home, they’ll feel more comfortable doing so with others.

So get warmed up for Big Juicy Conversations with this Brave Writer training tip!

If you still find yourself tongue-tied sometimes, use these additional tools for help and support.

More conversation tools:

  • Check out our Brave Writer Lifestyle page
  • Listen to the Big Juicy Conversations podcast
  • For easy reference, download our 2-page Conversation Starters PDF which includes the “Would You Rather?” game!

We provide meaningful and memorable reading experiences in our Brave Writer Book Clubs!

Brave Writer Arrow and Boomerang Book Clubs

Tags: Training Tip
Posted in Brave Writer Lifestyle, Online Classes | Comments Off on Training Tip: Conversation Starters

Preparing Your Child for Academic Writing: What about Structure?

What about Structure

Brave Writer sometimes gets accused of being a “creative writing” program, which is code for “Brave Writer doesn’t teach writing formats or structure.” Which, to be honest, is absurd. All writing is creative—even a Ph.D. dissertation!

To write means to draw on our insights and ideas to create (craft) a piece of writing that takes the appropriate shape for the intended audience. Sometimes that shape looks like freewriting or journaling or writing a tall tale. Other times that shape is a report or expository essay or a research paper.

Structure in writing is not confined to academic papers either. Graphic novels and comic strips have a kind of structure that is unique to those formats yet no less clear and defining than the structure of a Master’s thesis.

To have a better sense of how a child goes from freely expressing self in writing to the well-defined structure of academic writing later in life, here are some examples.

Early Elementary

Let the binding create the exo-skeleton (structure/format) of the writing.

  • Lapbooks
  • Captions on posters
  • stapled pages
  • three-ring binders
  • sticky notes
  • spiral notebook

Upper Elementary

Introduce simple formats that have an obvious structure.

  • freewrite
  • letter
  • list
  • invitation
  • graphic organizer
  • description
  • how to
  • poem
  • recipe

Junior High

Introduce internal structure, like transitions, subheadings, beginning, middle, and end.

  • mini report
  • research report
  • narratives
  • reviews
  • autobiographical piece
  • advertisement
  • journalism
  • compare and contrast

High School

Introduce academic forms including both exploratory and persuasive formats.

  • expository essays
  • timed essay writing
  • MLA research paper
  • autobiographical narrative
  • textual criticism
  • literary analysis
  • personal statement

Because Brave Writer aims to support writing at every stage of development, we begin with writing that appeals to a “pre-reader.” That means, the writing the youngest of our children do will be expressive of self and appealing to a child’s interests. Yet the process they engage is similar to what they will do when they are old enough and skilled enough to write long form essays for college.

Our writing project programs follow this path that leads to a natural aptitude for academic writing by the time your child is in high school and leaves for college.


Need more help? Check out writing projects my kids did at different stages:

Structure in Writing: Examples


If you’d like a downloadable PDF copy of the “What about Structure” slide deck to refer to again and again, grab yours here.

Posted in Brave Writer Philosophy, Writing about Writing | Comments Off on Preparing Your Child for Academic Writing: What about Structure?

The Right Atmosphere

“What are children learn at home is largely invisible to us — directly connected to their experience of well-being — the atmosphere of family life.” ~The Brave Learner

Get the atmosphere right and learning blooms. Oh I know. I used the word “right” and immediately that plunges you into a pit of despair!

Let me define “right atmosphere.” Ready?

Space to Create

  • Lots of talking
  • Freedom to be yourself
  • Snacks
  • Second, third, and fourth chances
  • Hope
  • Optimism
  • Love expressed as admiration, support, collaboration
  • Time
  • Following your hunches
  • Faith in learning, not just curriculum
  • Willingness for mess, mistakes, and makeovers
  • Growing as an adult learner too
  • Add your own!

[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!]


The atmosphere that promotes learning is free, emotionally nurturing, and filled with learning opportunities of all sorts. It will look different in each family, yet the “feel” of it will be similar—growth and learning valued and sustained.

I’m reading Ainsley Arment’s book and love this quote in particular:

“Trust your natural instincts, even when you don’t know what to do, because if all else fails, you still know how to be a parent.” ~The Call of the Wild and Free

What creates the “right” atmosphere in your home? Pick one from the list above or add your own.


This post is originally from Instagram and @juliebravewriter is my account there so come follow along for more conversations like this one!


The Brave Learner

Posted in The Brave Learner | Comments Off on The Right Atmosphere

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