Author Archive

Podcast: Finding a Homeschool Philosophy that Works for You

Brave Writer Podcast

I am recording some of my Tea with Julie emails for the podcast for those of you who prefer to listen. These are brief messages of support for parents and educators. If you’d like to receive the weekly emails, they are free. Sign up at bravewriter.com/tea

In our attempts to find a philosophy of education that works for our families, we can feel batted around by the strong gusts of:

  • the latest curricula,
  • the current trends in home education,
  • the program that solved whatever schooling issue over which we’d agonized.

And whenever we seek out advice, it always comes with a mixture of inspiration and guilt.

On today’s Brave Writer podcast, I’m going to share some strategies on how to integrate all of your aspirations without feeling overwhelmed.

Listen on Spotify. Also available on Apple Podcasts.

Show Notes

Complete Tea with Julie notes can be found HERE.

Resources

Connect with Julie

Brave Writer Podcast

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Brave Learner Home: Re-Upping Your Homeschool

Brave Writer

A lot depends on you. 

This is both good news and bad news.

The good news is that you can set the tone, make the choices, create the energy, and foster an environment of peace and learning. 

The bad news is that it is up to you to set the tone, make the choices, create the energy, and foster an environment of peace and learning. 

But this is where I can help.

Whether it’s a new semester, a new school year, or you simply need to inject some coziness into your day, Brave Learner Home will give you practical ideas you can implement right away.

One thing I know for sure about raising kids is that they grow and change. Homeschool parents have to shift energy and make appropriate changes as their child grows from grade to grade and stage to stage.

Those are your re-upping moments. 

Join us in Brave Learner Home and learn how to shift energy and make appropriate changes when it’s time to up your homeschool game.

Brave Learner Home

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Mechanics & Literature: January 2023

Brave Writer

While exploring writing, mechanics, and literary devices, January’s Dart, Arrow, and Boomerang selections demonstrate the power of stories and their ability to entertain, inform, and commemorate.

This month’s Quill explores the power of poetry! Play with pitch, voice, volume, and whimsical words while nurturing your child’s early reading, handwriting, and math skills.

[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!]

Brave Writer Quill
Quill (ages 5-7)

Get ready to add rhythm and rhyme to your days. The January Quill (Poetry) is here!

In this Quill we’ll lift our pinkies and sip tea while reading poetry; commit our favorite verses to memory; discover the difference between a stanza and a paragraph; play with rhyme, two words at a time (see what we did there?); clap and count our way through a poem to find the rhythm; and combine rhyme and rhythm to write a limerick.

Note: You can use any transportation picture books you have in your stacks or find at your library.

Some suggestions:

Get the Quill.

Brave Writer Dart
Dart (ages 8-10)

Wondrous Rex by Patricia MacLachlan

Meet Rex: a Labrador retriever who has a special way with words!

Our story’s protagonist has a special gift he generously shares with others! What a perfect way to demonstrate the role of anthropomorphism, this month’s literary device!

We’ll also: 

  • start a wondrous word hoard;
  • capitalize some proper nouns;
  • create breathing room with commas;
  • plop pronouns into place;
  • ponder some potent punctuation;
  • capture qualities with adjectives, and so much more!

Purchase the book.

Get the Dart.

Brave Writer Arrow
Arrow (ages 11-12)

The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

You’ll meet Petra, who wants to become a storyteller like her abuelita. But first, she’ll have to summon all her courage to fight incredible odds to save herself and others. This page turner will keep your kids on the edge of their seats—enjoy!

January’s literary device is flashbacks. Find out how a trip back in time makes the here and now more interesting!

We’ll also: 

  • engage with ellipses; 
  • save time with contractions;
  • talk about quotes;
  • find the fun in figurative language;
  • connect with coordinating conjunctions;
  • tune into tone; and so much more! 

Purchase the book.

Get the Arrow.

Brave Writer Boomerang
Boomerang (ages 13-14)

The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds

Hinds has adapted Homer’s famous work into a gorgeous graphic-novel!*

In this Boomerang, we’ll:

  • get lost in translation;
  • wander through wordless sequences;
  • contemplate commas;
  • activate ALL CAPS;
  • follow comic book transitions;
  • explain encapsulation and closure, and so much more!

*Note About Content
The illustrations in this book depict the sensuality of the original text in much the same way ancient Greek sculpture you see in art museums might, including the human form in minimal clothing. The book also visually represents the violence of the epic with scenes of bloodshed and battle. Please review the book to decide if this story is right for your family.

Purchase the book.

Get the Boomerang.

For ages 15-18, check out the Slingshot.

Brave Writer

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Podcast: Making the Ordinary Sacred with Bonnie Smith Whitehouse

Brave Writer Podcast

Content Advisory: The speaker is a Christian and this show features her book that teaches families how to celebrate the liturgical calendar.

Bonnie Smith Whitehouse is a Nashville-based professor at Belmont University and writer. She calls herself a pilgrim not only because she loves to walk, wander, and contemplate, but because when she read Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek her life was forever changed. She’s a mother of spirited boys, a lover of bird song, a baker of bread, and an amateur painter and hand-letterer.

On today’s Brave Writer podcast, we discuss her latest book, Seasons of Wonder: Making the Ordinary Sacred Through Projects, Prayers, Reflections, and Rituals: A 52-Week Devotional.

Show Notes

Why “Seasons of Wonder”?

Wonder is not discussed enough. We lean heavily on certainty, which is like oil to wonder’s water. When we look at nature, we see wonder everywhere. We are a part of the earth, and with each season we invite a new energy to our life. Seasons of Wonder gives a methodical and creative approach to delving into our curiosity and sense of wonder.

What is a devotional calendar?

A devotional calendar is a guided structure for deepening your study and understanding of a religious faith. Typically in daily or weekly increments, they present a passage to read and invite you to explore what it means.

Seasons of Wonder is not your typical devotional. In fact, Bonnie didn’t approach writing it as a devotional until her editor pointed it out to her. But this is her own personal twist on the genre: A book full of devotion, and how love, wonder, and courage all come from being devoted.

In Seasons of Wonder, each section is named for a month, and contains a practice for each week that makes up that month. For example, January starts off with the theme of “Transcending Dualities,” and the four weeks are titled:

  • “Gather and Resolve,”
  • “Stargaze,”
  • “Wrestle,”
  • and “Set the Table.”

Along with each devotional guide is paired a “wonder moment” and something to try.

To wonder is to tell some stories together, to explore ideas, and to listen and discuss. After you’ve had some time to wonder, listen, and discuss, you move into trying and taking those ideas into something concrete. When you can physically manifest that idea of wonder, something magical happens.

Resources

Connect with Julie

Brave Writer Podcast

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Capturing Self-Expression

Brave Writer

When you read your child’s writing: If you’re bored reading it, your kid was bored writing it.

Often, the first line of defense is to work harder on all the externals. We can put up with less than brilliant prose if the grammar, spelling, and punctuation are accurate, right? BEWARE. Poor writing can’t be bandaged with good mechanics.

Why should any child work tirelessly on a report that no one will enjoy reading? If your young writer actually thought that what they produced were good to read, their whole attitude about the next project would likely be different. They would want to see if they could get that positive reaction again.

Think of it this way.

Writing is like a theatrical performance. Just because someone memorizes the lines, poses as directed, and wears a convincing costume doesn’t mean that the actor has succeeded in good acting. We recognize good acting by how moved we were after watching a great performance.

Likewise, the report about Vermont that your daughter wrote shouldn’t only be a fulfillment of some list of state report topics, accurately spelled and punctuated. It must sing in the end. It ought to have that fresh interpretation that is unique to your child.

Our task is to do all we can to capture the child’s act of self-expression in writing so that what’s on the page matches what your children share with you naturally when they speak. Their:

  • robust vocabulary,
  • imaginative self-expression,
  • and quirky insights.

If that means you jot down each word for them, so be it! This is where the writing life begins.

Help your children experience themselves as WRITERS, not by how well they spell but by how enthusiastically they are read!

Trust me: if you start there, your child will want to write. They love being read, just like they love being listened to. Same thing!

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

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