Archive for the ‘Podcasts’ Category

[Podcast #263] Appreciating Art with Bianca Bosker

Brave Writer Podcast

If you feel like an outsider when it comes to art, you aren’t alone. In fact, as Bianca Bosker explains, there’s a whole gatekeeping system built up around art: who you know, how you dress, what words you use, etc. 

Lucky for us, Bianca spent five years finding a way past the gatekeeping!

Bianca Bosker
Bianca Bosker

In her book, Get the Picture, and in today’s Brave Writer podcast episode, Bianca brings back her findings to the rest of us, teaching us how to better seek out and appreciate art.

If you want to find more beauty and meaning in the visual world around you, this episode will help. Bianca’s frank insightfulness is life-giving.

Show Notes

Gatekeeping System

First of all, Bianca points out, the gatekeeping system is real. It’s not just in your head. During the five years she immersed herself in the art scene, she saw the gatekeeping firsthand: the confusing lexicon, hidden galleries, expectations for clothing and hair, and above all, a disdain for enthusiasm.  

Museums

Paradoxically, there is a ton of great artwork that is free for anyone to see via museums. The only problem is that we might not know how to interact with art in a museum. Bianca says that on average a person only spends 4 to 17 seconds on each work of art at a museum, rushing through to see everything in one visit. She advises we slow down. She suggests spending extensive time with a few pieces, taking the time to notice how we feel in their presence.

Daily Life

Art, of course, doesn’t need to be confined to museums. Bianca speaks extensively about the art mindset that we carry with us. By improving our own visual literacy, learning how to “unsee” our visual assumptions, and creating our own art, we can more deeply engage in beauty and meaning. 

Pursue art boldly. Let it jostle you. Encourage your kids to see art as an adventure. If you need a guide, have Bianca’s book in hand.

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA Media

Brave Writer Podcast

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[Podcast #262] Teaching Through Play

Brave Writer Podcast

Play isn’t a reward for learning, it is learning.

In this Brave Writer podcast episode, we dig into the reflex to be suspicious of anything fun, and we rebuke it with developmental science and lived experience. We give ideas on how to create playful conditions for deep, sustainable learning for your kids and even yourself. Also, we break down how to evaluate homeschool learning you’re already doing.

If you’re feeling stuck and bored with your homeschooling, or if your kids are feeling that way, this is the episode for you.  

Show Notes

The Importance of Pleasure

Many of us live in a culture where we automatically approach pleasure with distrust and suspicion. At best, we see play as a reward. The truly valued part of education is hard, joyless work and the discipline to do it day after day. That’s what we believe will best serve our children in their adult lives.

But, there are other ways of looking at pleasure. For example, when Julie studied abroad in France, she learned the cultural approach to infusing pleasure into daily life. Value was placed on affirming humanity, acting as a bulwark against a life as an unhappy cog in a machine.

Creating Playful Conditions

Once we accept that pleasure is okay and that humans learn through play, we can start examining the learning conditions we create for our homeschooled kids:

  • How does it look like play?
  • How are you capitalizing on tools, clothing, kinesthetic energy, excitement, and engagement?
  • Does the skill being honed lead to something the kids actually want to do? 

Remember to stay true to the spirit of play—don’t manipulate it. Kids can sniff out inauthenticity a mile away. Give them autonomy over how they want to make an activity fun and meaningful.

Lifelong Learning

As homeschooling parents, sometimes we get restless with our children’s play. We want them to learn faster and deeper. The answer might be to look at your own play. Are you playing enough? Do you have your own toys you enjoy? Are you learning new things and forming relationships with subjects in new ways? A parent taking on their own fun learning sets a fantastic example for kids.

Every day isn’t sunshine and rainbows for homeschooling families, but play can be a consistent habit and an ongoing mindset. Remember, kids are pros at playing. Let them do the work.

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA Media

Brave Writer Podcast

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[Podcast #261] How to Care for a Caregiving Friend

Brave Writer Podcast

Chances are someone you know will have a sick child hospitalized at some point. In this Brave Writer podcast episode, Melissa explains how you can best support that parent and caregiver. Melissa herself has had two of her kiddos hospitalized so her suggestions come from lived experiences.

First, Melissa discusses the practical physical items you can bring to a caregiver in the hospital. She also describes some digital gifts that you can send. Then she shares what little acts of service you can do: doing the laundry, lending an ear, and taking care of the siblings of the hospitalized child.

Sometimes caregivers are so overwhelmed or shy that they don’t know what to ask for. If your friend is having trouble expressing what they need, start with the items in this episode and then go from there.

Show Notes

Physical Items

  • Toiletries: hair ties, scrunchies, contact case with saline, Advil, chapstick, and socks
  • Medical journal: notebook, pens, binder, and even a medical summary template
  • Quality food and drinks: protein snacks, fresh fruits and veggies, and a kettle or wand for making warm drinks
  • To keep busy: puzzle books, phone and Kindle chargers and batteries, Apple Arcade gift card, embroidery kit, and coloring pencils

Kind Acts  

  • Do their laundry.
  • Be a good listener.
  • Take them for a walk outside.
  • Babysit the child in the hospital.
  • Babysit the child’s siblings.

Often, caregivers won’t know how long their child may have to stay in the hospital. It could be a day or it could be weeks. Sometimes the child is discharged, but then has to make an emergency return soon after. There are so many unknowns, surprises, and obstacles that your friend will have trouble meeting their own basic needs. Start with the basics on this list and then follow-up frequently. Your support is so important. 

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA Media

Brave Writer Podcast

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[Podcast #260] Nature Study: Notebooks and Beyond

Leaves changing color, evenings getting chillier—autumn is a wonderful time of the year to turn our attention toward the natural world around us. Today’s Brave Writer podcast episode is all about how to facilitate nature study for your kids. We:

  • cover resources that can help you on your journey,
  • give you specific practices you can try out with your family,
  • and, most importantly, dig into why nature study is so beneficial to educational development and well-being.

Remember, if you have nature study projects that you have really enjoyed, please share them with us!

Show Notes

Nature studies are wonderful intersections of art and science. They help us connect with the living, dynamic beings all around us. They have a deep history in education and human development. Helping your child get involved in these practices can provide them with the lifelong skills of observation and inquiry.

Resources for Nature Studies

Charlotte Mason, a 19th-century educator beloved by the Brave Writer community, wrote extensively about nature studies for children. The Handbook of Nature Study is a wonderful resource written by Anna Botsford Comstock in 1911 and is widely available today. 

For more recent books, check out Ginny Yurich’s 1000 Hours Outside, Christina Bjork’s Linnea’s Windowsill Garden, and Richard Louv’s The Last Child in the Woods.

There are also digital tools that can aid in your family’s modern nature studies. The “Plant Snap” and “Merlin Bird ID” apps can help quickly identify plants and wildlife. Many large urban areas have digital tree maps you can use to explore the city. Local soil conservation districts and nurseries usually have a ton of accessible information about your local environment. 

Nature Study Practices

Depending on your kids’ ages and interests, you can choose different natural study practices that fit them best. For very young kids, you can just keep a weather calendar where they use stamps and stickers to note the weather of the day. For teenagers, you can try constructing a “cold frame,” essentially a simple greenhouse.

Whether you observe a single tree over time with your kid, or take them to local class, you can get them interested in the natural world around them.

Nature journaling, specifically, can be a lifelong gift. Kids (and adults) can fill journals with written or illustrated descriptions of what they observe in nature and what questions those observations bring to the surface.

Right now, Melissa’s nature study project is building a “bug snug” so that pollinators can cozy up over winter and survive until spring. Do you have a nature study project that you have really enjoyed? If so, let us know!

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA Media

Brave Writer Podcast

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[Podcast #259] The Power of Practice

Brave Writer Podcast

People tend to have a pretty clear idea of what practice looks like for musicians and athletes. But what does practice look like for writers?

In today’s Brave Writer podcast episode, we discuss what writing practice can look like for writers of all ages and developmental stages. We:

  • describe our own daily writing practices and those of well-known authors.
  • dive into how you can facilitate your child’s practice.
  • anchor the discussion with a NEW Brave Writer product, Practice Pages!

With references to Flannery O’Connor, judgy teenagers, and gleefully vindictive youngsters with the red editing pen in their hands, this conversation is as entertaining as it is informative. Enjoy!

Show Notes

What it Means to Practice Writing

Every professional writer has their own preferred way of practicing: writing to the sound of children playing, reading poetry in the morning, free writing, etc. 

For children, practicing writing can also be varied as long as it fits with what we know works for successful learning:

  • Be frequently immersed in words,
  • make learning playful,
  • value mistakes as points of learning,
  • and practice concepts over and over again.

Practice Pages

Brave Writer has a new product that can help kids practice writing: our soon-to-launch, Practice Pages. Using passages from real works of literature, these sets feature two kinds of exercises: French-style dictation and reverse dictation. Kids get to practice targeted skills like homophones and contractions in a problem-solving context. And, since the product comes as a printable PDF, kids can doodle on it, make messy mistakes, tear it up, and practice over and over again.

Like music and sports, writing is an act of expression. The purpose of practicing the fundamentals is not to pass a one-time test, but to experience ongoing mastery that leads to creativity and flow. We hope Practice Pages helps kids and parents move towards this.

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA Media

Brave Writer Podcast

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