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A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

Thoughts from my home to yours

Archive for the ‘Online Classes’ Category

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Brave Writer 101: Guided Writing Process

Brave Writer Online Classes

Let’s get real. The market is flooded with well-intentioned writing programs that don’t meet the complex needs of young writers. Perhaps you’ve tried—even tossed— a few? 

The truth is that writing is too big, too vulnerable, and too personal to thrive with a program that doesn’t address the whole child.

That’s where we come in! 

No one approaches writing like we do, and when you take Brave Writer 101, we’ll let you in on the secret.  

Here’s a quick peek at how class unfolds, with our writing coach, YOU, and your child working together to de-mystify writing. 

Brave Writer 101

Week One: Communication

Share your challenges and get individualized help from your coach. Then, play a game to learn about how writers communicate. 

“[My son] loved this. He said it really helped him see how important details are.” —Parent Laura

Week Two: Observation

Wish your kids would generate deeper insights? More vivid descriptions? We’ve got you! 

“I am seeing happiness around observing and selecting words, which is great!” —Parent Fabienne

Week Three: Freewriting

We introduce a magical process that liberates so many kids. 

“We’d agreed that he’d write for five minutes — but I didn’t see him again for over twenty.” —Parent Sonja

Week Four: Feedback for Revision

Watch our writing coach approach your child’s writing with constructive advice and gentle encouragement.

“By the end of Week Four… it became the first thing she wanted to do every day…” —Parent Jennifer

Week Five: Revision

Learn how to revise by doing it—with our help. 

“Our instructor was a terrific model of how to lavish my writer with feedback and how to ask questions to draw my writer out.” —Parent Allison

Week Six: Editing

Finish by making that priceless jewel shine!  

“I didn’t get resistance on this exercise at all… [He] seemed to enjoy this type of editing.” —Parent Amanda

Experience this unique writing approach with your kids!


Sign up for Brave Writer 101!


Brave Writer Online Classes

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Homeschoolers on the Go

Brave Writer

Here’s something your non-homeschooling friends probably don’t know. The term “homeschooling” is sometimes a misnomer.

My kid has chess on Tuesdays, co-op on Thursdays, and on Wednesdays my daughter meets up with her friends to do art after science class. This week there’s a fantastic exhibit at the gallery so…

That’s right! Many HOMEschoolers are often NOT at home! 

We know that, because we’re a company of homeschool parents. We know the value of flexibility. Who wants to skip an awesome workshop on animal physiology at the zoo because you have to watch a live video for a scheduled online class? 

With Brave Writer online classes, participate when it’s convenient for your family!

In our classes, you’ll find:

  • Time—no need to type quickly in the text box while a teacher is talking
  • Room—no pressure to jump on the microphone as a live teacher puts you on the spot
  • Freedom—log into our classroom when it’s YOUR best time

You have time and room to think before writing. Now that’s homeschool freedom at its finest!


Brave Writer Online Writing Classes


Brave Writer Online Classes

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Get Ready for Essay Writing

Brave Writer Essay Writing

Whether you and your teen are waiting for our Essay Prep: Research and Citation class to start or you’re tackling essays on your own, check out this conversation idea that sets the stage for scholarly discourse.

Warmup Exercise

Help your kids learn the difference between a qualified statement and a sweeping statement.

Sweeping Statement

Here’s an example of a sweeping statement: 

White sugar makes kids hyperactive and unruly.

When you make a statement like the one above, the reader feels motivated to invalidate it. They want to find an exception! So they search their minds for the one kid who eats sugar all day long and is mostly a sweet, sleepy kid. 

That’s not what you want in a persuasive essay.

Qualified Statement

Instead, make a qualified statement—which invites the reader to consider if they’ve seen that correlation:

For some kids, white sugar can create hyperactivity and sometimes leads to unruly behavior.

Immediately, the reader tries to validate the argument by finding examples from their own experience that match the statement.

Qualified statements seem like they’d be less persuasive, but they are actually MORE persuasive and much more effective in academic writing.

With your student, create other examples of sweeping and qualified statements.


Essay Prep: Research and Citation

Once upon a time, students got their information from books at the library, not the internet. Remember that? One thing’s for sure, the academic terrain is different from when we were in school!

You need a refresher. Your kids need the low-down. That’s why we created Essay Prep: Research and Citation. 

This class teaches:

  • How to find reliable, essay-worthy information on the internet 
  • How to take notes and collect your research effectively 
  • The most current expectations surrounding how to format an essay 
  • How to cite sources (to avoid inadvertently plagiarizing!)
  • The trick to skilled paraphrasing 

Print the materials from this online class, and voilà! You have a handbook for all your teen’s academic writing needs until college, and without fretting over skills you’ve forgotten!


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The Definitive High School Class Guide

Brave Writer

What’s your teen’s attention span like? 

We know there are tons of apps, songs, videos, and texts competing for your teen’s attention. And that’s just on their phones! 

We’ve noticed this trend. That’s why we took our essay writing curriculum and broke it up into manageable chunks. 

We made our online class program more flexible for YOU, too!

Whether you’re using Brave Writer® as your plan, or addressing your teen’s writing needs as they come, there’s something that works for everyone!

  1. Want a long-term plan that’s got you covered?
  2. Like to do things your own way?
  3. Finding a gap in your teen’s skillset?

Below are the 3 main ways families use our program. Read on to find YOUR preferred style!


OPTION 1: Ducks in a Row 

Here’s the simple formula:two core classes per school year + one elective.

CORE CLASSES:

Essay Prep Series ← Start here if you have a tween or young teen who is just beginning!

Essay Writing 101: Analytic Essay
Essay Writing 102: Persuasive Essay

Essay Writing 201: Critical Response Essay
Essay Writing 202: Timed Essay

Essay Writing 301: Advanced Composition
Essay Writing 302: MLA Research Essay

High school for Option 1 can look like this:

  • Year 1: Essay Prep + a Movie Discussion Club
  • Year 2: The Essay Writing 100 series + Analyzing Lit
  • Year 3: The Essay Writing 200 series + History Lab
  • Year 4: The Essay Writing 300 series + Songwriting

In between classes, students will practice the skills they’ve learned in class, re-writing essays with new topics.


OPTION 2: Sooooo Chill

You’ve probably noticed: We tackle one essay type per essay writing class. It just makes sense! 

Here are some reasons why you might want to choose your classes à la carte.

  • Back up to review an essay style studied previously
  • Gain a completed, polished essay for the portfolio
  • Stretch out processing time between learning sessions
  • Choose classes that appeal most to your child

High school for Option 2 can look like this:

📚 A deep dive into 4 weeks of intense learning with our instructor

🏠 Time at home to practice new skills and re-do exercises with new topics

🧠 A brain break while they do some different types of writing for a little while

👉 Pick a new class and start again with a fresh mind and energy

🌀 Repeat!


OPTION 3: On a Need-to-Know Basis

Perhaps your charter school or co-op is covering much of the mechanics of essay writing, but do they cover…

  • A playful approach to academic writing? (EW 101)
  • Paraphrasing in detail? (EW 102)
  • Decoding essay questions? (EW 202)
  • Deciphering images in the news? (EW 201)
  • Avoiding accidental plagiarism ← that’s a biggie! (EW 102)
  • Situating an original text in its historical, social milieu? (EW 301)
  • How to navigate a specific style like MLA? (EW 302)

Our short, focused essay writing classes mean that you don’t need to ditch your homeschool co-op entirely or devote an entire year to boosting a single skillset. Easy peasy!


Brave Writer Online Classes


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Support → Trust → Confidence

Brave Writer

We want our kids to write—even if it’s messy, muddled, or misspelled for now.

No words on the page means no words to grow on. 

Brave Writer’s online class Write for Fun: Dream Big offers a frolic through a slew of entertaining, active writing processes that get your children’s creative juices flowing! Our primary objective is to support and empower each student.

This class is totally doable. 

  • Manageable workload, a little structure
  • Only 3-week commitment
  • Practice for middle graders having gentle deadlines
  • Friendly support from our writing coach! 

Support is NOT simply saying “Good job!”

Here are some instructor comments directly from the Write for Fun classroom.

We point out what they’re doing well:

“Hip hip hooray for dogs! You have also structured this paragraph rather expertly. By letting me know how many reasons you are going to list, I know just what to expect!”

We invite more details:

“I am curious to find out what you decide to go for. Will this be a rhyme of gardening advice, where a master gardener is being asked for some top tips? Or perhaps the whimsical answer of a sassy gardener whose aim is to mislead!? I will have to be patient to find out!”

We respond to content:

“Oh, no! You describe a roller coaster of emotion, Scott! You’re super excited about your cubes. You invest in them, anticipating the fun you’ll have, only to have your hopes dashed!”

We model good writing: 

“Surprises, twists, and turns add spice to a story and keep your reader on their toes and engaged!”  

We encourage:

“You’re definitely onto something! Understanding, or at least trying to understand, why someone is behaving in the way that they are is an excellent step toward finding solutions that work for all involved!”


So if your child balks at the mere mention of writing, no amount of spelling or handwriting practice can fix that. Mechanics don’t build confidence the same way support and trust do.

That’s why Brave Writer devotes several of our online classes to lifting children UP while improving their writing skills.


Brave Writer

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