“Exactly what I was looking for.”
Here’s the next installment of our ongoing series where we share testimonies of some who’ve been transformed by their online class experience with Brave Writer. Enjoy!
Brave Writer parent, Caitlyn, writes:
What class are you giving feedback on today?
Middle School Writing Projects
Tell us a bit about your student.
Isabelle was 11. Very social, lots of friends, obsessed with reading. Had read entire Harry Potter series, lots of Nancy Drew, boxcar children, Pegasus series, Valkyrie series, keeper of the lost cities series, Dune, The Hunger Games, the maze runner series, the Grimm sisters books, the giver, any and everything dystopian (age appropriate), I don’t even know how many books/what she’s read. She also started running with my last year.
She is a classic oldest child, very capable, responsible, and a high achiever. She’s incredibly organized, and keeps track of everything in her planner! She’s now a pro at google docs as well, and since the class I often find several pages long essays saved in there! She has learned some Russian & mandarin on Rosetta Stone, as well as some coding through scratch & khan academy.
She was born during winter break, our second year of law school. In utero she attended lectures by Justice Scalia, and when she was a few months old she attended 1 Art Law lecture. She’s now 5’4” and will turn 12 in December!
Tell us a bit about you.
Isabelle has been homeschooled since kindergarten (2012). We take lots of fieldtrips and are members of 15 or so local homeschooling groups.
Personally, my husband and I are both licensed California attorneys. We are high school sweethearts. I work in the evenings as a legal writer/copywriter. I am currently training for my first marathon, and the kids “run” with me (scooter) every Monday for PE. I read lots of non fiction and drive my kids all over the Bay Area for ballet, soccer, baseball, Hebrew school, piano, violin, park day, field trips, book club, etc! I order my groceries online through amazon bc that’s unimaginably better than braving the store with these 5 tornadoes!
When your student entered our class, how would you describe your student as a writer? Were there ongoing writing challenges?
I think she had it in her, but it seemed intimidating. I didn’t know how to bridge getting it out of her without it seeming inauthentic. The writer’s jungle didn’t work bc she was too old, and I had too many other kids to do all the things properly.
What prompted you to try a Brave Writer class?
My friend is obsessed with BW, and she gave me very helpful feedback about the Middle School Writing Project class in particular.
What was your experience with the class?
It was exactly what I was looking for. There was a high level of engagement, tons of feedback from the teacher to my daughter, social interaction with other kids through the forum, tons of scaffolding in teaching structure, and open line of communication between the teacher and the parent. (Sorry that’s a run on lol)
Anything else you’d like to share with us?
I highly, highly recommend this class, and I plan to have my younger daughter take the class this summer!
