Author Archive

Poetry + Writing Mechanics

Brave Writer

Super size your Poetry Teatime with a novel in verse!

The engaging stories listed below will hook your children and introduce them to a whole new way to tell a story—through poetry!

As you explore these terrific titles, our Quill (ages 5-7), Dart (ages 8-10), Arrow (ages 11-12), Boomerang (ages 13-14), and Slingshot (ages 15-18) literature singles help you teach:

  • grammar,
  • punctuation,
  • writer’s craft,
  • and more!

Click on a title to purchase the book then click on the linked related product to buy Brave Writer’s accompanying literature guide.

TITLEGUIDE
PoetryQuill
Odder by Katherine ApplegateDart
Becoming Muhammad Ali by Kwame Alexander and James PattersonArrow
Before the Ever After by Jacqueline WoodsonArrow
Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-RansomeArrow
Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRoccaArrow
The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis PinkneyArrow
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline WoodsonBoomerang
The Crossover by Kwame AlexanderBoomerang
Jazz Owls: A Novel of the Zoot Suit Riots by Margarita EngleBoomerang
Other Words for Home by Jasmine WargaBoomerang
Unbound by Ann E. BurgBoomerang
Swing by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand HessSlingshot
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The Cure Is Action!

Brave Writer

I don’t know about you, but I almost always think I can “plan my stress away.” I’ll make a better schedule, I’ll create a list, I’ll prepare my room or desk.

But what I’ve found over the years is that DIVING in and DOING something is what cures it.

Sure, planning has value. But don’t imagine that the planning relieves the worry or anxiety. It’s when you simply do the thing—whatever that thing is.

Here’s the Kicker:

It COUNTS whether you planned it or not!

If you are stuck, stuck, stuck and worried out the wazoo, DO something. Engage your body. Even little stuff like counting the stairs on your staircase with a 7 year old counts! Pointing out capital letters in the read aloud COUNTS! Rhyming silly words over lunch counts.

Randomly observing that your child skillfully used an adjective (“Hey, “stupendous” is an adjective and you used it in a sentence perfectly!“) counts!

More Ideas:

  • Read a poem
  • Write on a mirror with lipstick
  • Count spoons
  • Notice all the rectangles in the room
  • Build a LEGO set
  • Look up a historical fact
  • Act out a scene from a fairytale
  • Bake muffins
  • Find the Latin names for birds
  • Spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

So repeat after me…

The cure is action!

Then you can “plan from behind”—jot down what you DID in a planner and you’ll start to build momentum in your homeschool.

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[Podcast #232] A Deep Dive into AI with Dr. Kelly Cohen

Brave Writer Podcast

When a lot of people hear “Artificial Intelligence,” they think RoboCop or the Terminator, but Dr. Kelly Cohen, Director of the AI biolab at University of Cincinnati, thinks about life-saving medical processes.

Dr. Kelly Cohen’s startup, Genexia, uses AI to identify coronary artery disease using mammograms. Today he joins us on the Brave Writer podcast to talk about his AI optimism and vision for the future.

Join us as we talk about AI

  • risks,
  • ethics,
  • and regulations. 

Show Notes

AI Risks

Using the European Union AI Act as a model, Dr. Cohen walks us through the levels of AI risk:

  • High,
  • medium,
  • and low.

High risk involves possible loss of life: Self-driving cars to medical decision-making. Low risk is something like ChatGPT writing you a sonnet to give to your wife that ends up insulting her.

AI Ethics

Since Generative AI stormed onto the scene last year, ethics around ownership and authorship have taken center stage. Generative AI (think: OpenAI and its ChatGPT) is based on taking writers’ and visual artists’ work without their express permission, and using it to generate written and visual content for others. We discuss questions of attribution and originality.

AI Regulations

Dr. Cohen suggests we regulate AI just like we do air travel or pharmaceuticals. We establish a government body that specializes in an area, like the FAA or FDA, and they work with companies to regulate risk, truth-in-advertising, etc.

Of course, since this is Brave Writer, we also get into

  • student essays,
  • personalized education,
  • and how to teach the wider world about AI.

There’s lots packed into this episode—enjoy!

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA Media

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Try It: Spot Some Sequences

Brave Writer Try It

Spot some sequences!

Today’s Try It activity is from the Ways to Grow Love Dart.

Where do you encounter a sequence of actions that must be followed in a specific order?

Your pantry might be full of examples. Take a look at the instructions on a box of macaroni and cheese or pancake mix—whatever you have handy.

  • Notice the sequence of steps.
  • Why are they in that order?
  • What would happen if you mixed them up? 

You’ll find sequenced instructions in:

  • LEGO sets
  • IKEA furniture boxes
  • board games
  • shampoo bottles
  • and lots of other household objects!

With your kids, go on a quest and see what kinds of sequencing shows up around your home. 

Level Up!

To level up this activity, ask your child to tell you the steps of brushing their teeth. Write each step down on an index card. Then mix the cards up and have them try to brush their teeth in the new, jumbled order.

Prepare for a minty-fresh giggle-fest!

P.S. Try it activities like this are found in each Dart (8-10), Arrow (11-12), Boomerang (13-14), and Slingshot (15-18)! Grab one of our Literature Singles and invite wordplay into your day! 

The Complete List of Try It Activities

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You Go First

Brave Writer

Give your kids something to brag about!

Let’s break a rule. You get to go first.

Put what YOU want to do first tomorrow. Just for a day. Just do your One Thing that makes you a little bit excited.

What Is That Thing?

Can you do it right in front of your kids, smack dab in the middle of the day?

Can you say something like:

“I’m making a candle from scratch today. I was reading about it online and I got so interested, I decided to do it. You can play or do whatever you want, but I’ll be over here candle-making.”

Could you say:

“Hey, excuse me while I grab a cup of tea and read this chapter in my book. I have to know what happens next.”

Or maybe say nothing.

What if you turned on the TV, hooked up YouTube, and did yoga right in the middle of the children’s play space, with toys on every side?

Perhaps you make sure you get your run in as you train for that half marathon.

Maybe you start the day with your own copywork—recording your favorite passages from a book or copying French into a notebook as you study it.

Showing Up

For our kids, we talk so much about:

  • catalyzing curiosity,
  • creating a hunger to learn,
  • and encouraging dedication to follow through.

But how are WE living those very values? Not just as a model but as the very life force of our days? How are we showing up and living the beliefs and values we say we have?

Dream, act on a tiny portion of that dream, do it in front of your children (not off stage after they’re in bed).

See what happens!

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