A Brave Writer’s Life in Brief

Every day our in-box is stuffed with questions about what Brave Writer offers, how to use our program and where to find “freebies.”

We’ve got answers!

The key to a great homeschool is enriching your primary relationships:

• To your kids
• To the subjects you want to teach
• To your pedagogy (theory of learning)
• To yourself

We’ve got relationship aids for you across all categories! Enjoy.

And remember: take your time. There’s no rush. You will grow your theory of education and writing one step at a time. Enjoy the journey of discovery and feel free to reach out to us if you have questions.

Brave Writer Shortcuts and Resources

Get to Know Brave Writer

• Getting Started with Brave Writer
• Natural Stages of Growth
• Selecting Books: Diversify
• Brave Writer Podcast

Writing

• 7-Day Writing Blitz
• 52 Writing Prompts
• Friday Freewrite Prompts
• 44 Ways to Grow as a High School Writer
• Log in to a sample class (under “Learn More”)

Brave Writer Lifestyle

• Brave Writer Lifestyle Tips
• Brave Writer Goes to the Movies
• Conversation Starters
• Nature Walks
• Table Top Games and Homeschooling
• Brave Writer Blog

Homeschooling Parent Support

• Brave Learner Home preview
  • Read-made Lesson Plans
    • Soups On
    • Rube Goldberg: Chain Reactions
  • Master Class Webinars and Readings
    • Brave Learner Book Club: The Four Forces of Enchantment
    • Brave Learner Book Club: Applying the Superpowers—Think Like a Writer
    • Brave Learner Book Club: Liberation from School
• YouTube
• Facebook Lives
• Self Care
• Tea with Julie: Weekly Marketing-free Email Support from Julie
• The Scourge of Perfectionism

Social Media

• Instagram
  • @juliebravewriter
  • @poetryteatime
  • @bravelearnerhome
• Facebook
  • @BraveWriter
• Twitter
  • @BraveWriter

Thanks for following along! We love to serve you.

Get to know the people who live with you; become fascinated by them; learn from them; protect them. Everything falls into place when you genuinely like each other and no one is seen as an adversary.

In our world of discord, one of the best ways to respond is to ensure that the bonds of affection at home are strong. We take each other for granted because too frequently we stop seeing them. They become like wallpaper: too familiar.

One of the best ways to experience love for members of your family again is to notice something new about them. Be on a treasure hunt for that specialness that causes you to pause and be delighted.

For instance:

• You might notice a child’s use of her hands when she talks or his incessant need to know.
• You might be reminded that one of your kids is routinely a pleasure to be around and another is the first to offer help when you need it.
• Perhaps you are standing in one room and you look up to see that the shape of this little person has morphed again and into a more grown up version.
• You might watch your partner watch television and remember just how beautiful those eyes really are.

SEE your people. Know them anew. Love them more.

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

As you plan ahead, care less about “getting through” and “getting done.” Instead, deep dive, excavate, explore, get curious, find the mystery. That’s the sweet spot of learning.

The temptation to do “all the things” can be strong. Remember: you will feel more peace and make more progress if you simply incorporate one thing at a time.

• Give yourself permission to use an entire day to play with the math concept.
• Allow yourself to read three chapters aloud rather than one.
• Enjoy Poetry Teatime, rather than rushing through it.
• Immerse yourself in history for a week—no other studies, just websites and documentaries and non-fiction books and games and crafts.

When you allow yourself to immerse in one thing, you will be surprised at how “other” things come into the learning, naturally, without forcing it. When you leave the “one thing” behind, you will find you have fresh energy for the next thing.

You are not in a school classroom. You can bend the structure of learning to your family and your pleasure. That’s one of the joys of home education!

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

Have you noticed how easy it is to wish away your chief personality features? Do you think to yourself, “I’m the wrong personality for my temperament”? You might wish for a clean, orderly home in your heart, but your personality style is relaxed Bohemian. Or you are the sort who keeps a ship-shape house, but wish you could relax when your kids make big, creative messes?

Layered on top of the structured versus unstructured selves we bring to homeschool are our memories of school. We compare what we do at home (even when we don’t want to) to what we experienced as children. We react against it (“I’m not doing that!) or we we suffer because of it (“I’m not teaching my kids anything”).

The temptation to overhaul our essential selves is powerful. Advertising everywhere tells us we are one tweak away from being the fantasy person in our heads. We may be able to resist Botox or Coach purses, but the seductress for home educators is any “method” that results in effortless, joyful learning where parents and kids get along all the time.

We hop from one program to the next like frogs on lily pads forgetting to consider which personality is implementing the philosophy!

Let me let you in on a little secret.

There’s no one personality type that is better suited to homeschooling than another.

Let me drill down further.

There’s no one personality type that is better for parenting, loving, nurturing than another.

Every type has its marvelous strengths, and (darn it all) each type has its blind spots and liabilities.

What you and I need to do is to become self aware people—able to recognize when our personalities are creating the hum of happiness and productivity, and when they are sapping the energy from the room and causing pain.

Here’s to being both ourselves and letting go of what isn’t working.

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

Self-care is intentional.

Self-care is not selfish. Another way to say “self-care” might be: “meeting my own needs.” Your needs will reveal themselves whether you deny them or notice them. Taking your needs seriously enough to meet them is loving and necessary.

It’s also a great model for your children (and your partner).
.
When they see that you choose to go out with friends once in a while, or take up a new course of study, or need ten minutes to regroup, or that you are more interested in your own life than in regulating theirs, they become aware that they can live that way too.

When you let them know when they hurt you, when you speak up for what you need, when you ask for help, you are teaching the whole family how to care for one another.

You are not the sole designated need-meeter, nor are you responsible to fashion a vision for this family that you single-handedly foist upon or require from everyone.

Your true vocation in the home, in your family, is to be a source of care—for others, but also for self. The symbiosis of these two will create the momentum you need to sustain all kinds of wonderful activities and intimacies for a long time to come.

Self-care is not selfish.

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