A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

If you’re new to homeschool, this is my reminder to you. Learning oozes out of the defined “school hours” and occurs:

• in the bathtub,
• on dog walks,
• while peeling potatoes,
• between two ears invisible and silent to you,
• while watching TV,
• when sleeping (true story! the time of consolidation happens without conscious awareness),
• and during family dinners.

Your whole life is the stage for learning. If working on spelling at 9:00 am fails, save it for the afternoon when you head outside and practice spelling words while jumping on the trampoline or throwing a football. If math feels abstract and dull, play a board game. If your kids find reading-to-self a hurdle, set aside 30 minutes to ALL read silently together—with the fireplace lit.

Use your whole house, your whole personality, your whole day. This is what it means to learn at home.

So let learning showing up naturally in your family this week.

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

I read an interesting bit of research.

It’s possible to fool yourself and be perfectly rational at the same time.

It turns out, the more strongly your community holds an opinion, and the more in touch you are with the way they construct their arguments (with data, research and logic), the less likely it is you will be fair to whatever else you learn about your topic. In other words, the more you align with a perspective, the more you will find research and data to reinforce your point of view.

In fact, when our identity is wrapped up in our viewpoint, we will find sophisticated ways to discredit the contradictory evidence, and we’ll be able to give detailed analysis of why our point of view is rational and preferred, even in the face of evidence to the contrary. We take pride in these sophisticated take downs, in fact.

The “lower” information members of society are more likely to give a fair assessment of new data since it doesn’t threaten their strongly held belief, community loyalty, or identity.

Which means this: when we are educating kids, it matters to do research when we doubt and when we have confidence—both.

We must challenge ourselves and them to sit with the discomfort of data and information that does not fit comfortably in our carefully chosen beliefs. We need to teach them to resist the temptation to immediately sort information into “good for my side” and “bad for my side.” Otherwise, we are merely teaching rationalization and not critical thinking. We train them to be apologists rather than thinkers.

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

Nothing reassures you the way your children’s own growth does. Recognize the spark of learning, the personality of your kids popping through their writing, the happy confidence of accomplishment in any task. Then you’ll know you’re on the right track.

A wise friend once said that when she doubted her child’s progress or felt worried about an interest, she would get some time alone with that child—lunch or a shake. She’d ask her child about that interest, she’d open space for a conversation that interested the child. She said she’s never had a one-hour time alone with a child that didn’t remind her that her child was learning and growing just as she had hoped.

Do it.

• Take time to listen,
• to be with,
• to observe

Be amazed all over again (the same way you were amazed when your bigger kid was a baby).

Let your child reassure you.

Your kids are learning!

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

Your interests. They not only fuel your homeschool, they fuel you!

When you follow an interest, you discover that you’re a smart person—that you have curiosity and skill and capacity to grow.

Tapping into your interests:

• improves your outlook on life,
• allows your children to see you happy and learning,
• makes adulthood look awesome,
• and gives your kids a role model for what it means to pursue an interest.

You may find that what you love enhances a school subject or acts as a key to unlock a previously opaque subject. Your curiosity is aroused which allows you to be creative!

For instance, if you are suddenly into sewing, you may whip up a batch of capes for dress up clothes for history or tea cozies for poetry teatime. If you get curious about native plants to use in landscaping, where might that lead in your family? Might you discover the history of where you live, how the original inhabitants lived with those trees and shrubs?

Let your interests lead you, so that you can lead your children into a world of skill and happiness. An education is fueled by connections and joy in learning. Bring yours to the table!

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