Archive for the ‘Podcasts’ Category

[Podcast #248] How to Find Homeschooling Community

Brave Writer Podcast Homeschooling Community

Homeschooling can be isolating, but it shouldn’t be and it doesn’t have to be. In fact, as a homeschooling family, you have unique opportunities to meaningfully connect with all kinds of folks. In this podcast episode, we discuss how to find community as homeschoolers and why it is so important.

We discuss:

  • connecting to your local homeschooler advocacy organization,
  • using the internet to find like-minded homeschoolers (and even non-like minded homeschoolers),
  • and coming up with ways to integrate non-homeschoolers into your fun learning experiences.

We also dive into why community is important. Yes, social media can show you some reels of cool project ideas, but ongoing conversations and relationships drive deeper growth. That’s why we created Brave Learner Home. We discuss the Braver Learner Home features and invite you to join!

Show Notes

What Connections to Explore

As a homeschooler, you need to be proactive about making connections with others. 

First, we suggest getting in touch with your state homeschool advocacy organization—they can help you figure out your state’s legal requirements around homeschooling and let you know what resources are available.

Second, use the internet and social media to find local homeschool meet-ups. If there aren’t any, start your own! Don’t worry, you can start small, like a one-day meet-up at the park. 

Third, connect with local business owners who will likely be happy to offer you and your kids fun activities during the day when business is typically slow. Group discounts can be a great incentive for homeschool families to get together!

Fourth, don’t forget about the non-homeschoolers. There are plenty of parents and kids who would love to come to a Dart party or poetry teatime. 

Brave Learner Home

What originally started as a resource library for homeschool parents has now evolved into an online community. Brave Learner Home has:

  • thriving discussion boards,
  • a map where you can find homeschoolers close to you,
  • and lots of webinars and live events.

You can learn from others, developing your teaching and parenting philosophy.

Social media is great, but it doesn’t fulfill all the important aspects of community. We hope you will join us at Brave Learner Home and prioritize finding your community.

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA Media

Brave Writer Podcast

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[Podcast #247] 2024 Summer Games Fever with Julie Bogart

Brave Writer Podcast

If you aren’t already excited about the Summer Olympics, this podcast episode is going to get you there. Julie’s passion for The Games is contagious. She shares some of her favorite Olympic memories as well as how she integrated the events into her kids’ learning.

Geography, physics, pageantry, dedication, loss—the Olympics and Paralympics have it all. Throw in some globes, homemade medals, and poetry, and for almost three weeks your home will be a hub of multi-disciplinary fandom.

Go to the Brave Writer website and download the free Summer Games Guide today!

Show Notes

Life Lessons 

Beyond the academic lessons that the Olympics can provide, it can also be a fruitful time for non-academic lessons. For example, the Paralympics teach overcoming obstacles and the importance of anti-ableism. Fans and athletes across the Paralympics and Olympics learn how to metabolize loss and appreciate their competitors. When kids get to watch all different types of bodies succeed, they can be more confident in their own unique bodies.

Creating Memories

The Olympics are also just a fun time to create family memories. All-day coverage leads to endless big, juicy conversations. Backyard Olympic games and medal ceremonies are a hoot. And no member of the family is too young or too old to cheer hard for whichever athlete or sport they just discovered.

From our Brave Writer family to yours—Happy Olympics!

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA Media

Brave Writer Podcast

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[Podcast #246] Living Through Books with Lindsay Smith

Brave Writer Podcast Living Through Books

Lindsay Smith caught our eye on Instagram (@LittleSchoolofSmiths) with all the cool book projects she does with her homeschool kids. We are thrilled she accepted our invitation to be our guest on today’s show to tell us more about them.

We discuss the importance of fun, visual timelines of accomplishments:

  • books read,
  • skills gained,
  • and milestones achieved.
Lindsay Smith
Lindsay Smith

Timelines also act as lessons themselves, building summary skills and even historical inquiry chops.

Plus, Lindsay gives us her perspective as a homeschooling mom currently using the Brave Writer Dart program, and explains what it is like to be in our Refer-a-Friend program.

Show Notes

The Accordion, Clothespin Line, or Tree

Lindsay has a cool Instagram reel of an accordion-fold project she made with her ten-year-old daughter. After she finishes a novel, her daughter decorates a letter-sized envelope with a design that represents the book. Then she fills the envelope with parts of the story:

  • setting,
  • characters,
  • problem,
  • resolution, etc.

Or sometimes she puts in free writing that she has done that is inspired by the book. That envelope then gets added to the accordion of all the other envelopes of books she has read. The result is a beautiful visual timeline of everything her daughter has read and learned.

If the accordion idea is too complicated, you can simply use a clothesline with envelopes pinned on it.

You can also go with the tree model instead. At the beginning of the year, draw an outline of a tree on a big piece of paper and then as your kids finish a book, they summarize it on a leaf-sized piece of paper and tape the leaf to the tree. 

History Timelines Down the Hallway

In their homeschooling days, Julie and Melissa both created long history timelines that stretched down the length of their home hallways. As their kids went about their learning–reading historical fiction, etc.—they would post their work to the corresponding era. They even put themselves on the timeline to underscore that we are all part of history. 

Visual timelines are powerful tools for kids. If the timeline is of their own progress, kids can feel proud and motivated to learn more. If the timeline is of history, kids can better understand linear cause-and-effect, including what brought us to the present moment.

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA Media

Brave Writer Podcast

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[Podcast #245] High School Writers: Natural Stages of Growth in Writing #4

Brave Writer Podcast

Welcome to our fourth episode in our Natural Stages of Growth in Writing series! Today we cover the High School Writers stage, broken up into two parts:

  1. The Great Conversation (Freshmen and Sophomores)
  2. The Rhetorical Imagination (College Prep)

It can feel overwhelming for homeschooling parents to teach writing at the high school level, but it doesn’t have to. We talk about keeping it simple: the basic architecture of an essay, deeply engaging with perspectives, and of course, big juicy conversations.

Be sure to check the show notes’ resources section below for links to all the writing programs we discuss in this episode, plus links to our free Olympics guide, Fall Class Registration (beginning July 22), and Brave Writer Training (sign-up ends July 31), 

Show Notes

The Great Conversation (Freshmen and Sophomores)

At this stage, kids become aware that they are studying the great thoughts and research of other people, and that they can interact with that through their own writing. 

Architecturally, this comes in the form of an essay:

  • making an assertion,
  • developing points that support that assertion,
  • and finding source material to back it up.

You will find that kids are already quite good at this– they have a lot of experience arguing with you about why they should be able to play video games, etc. Now they just need to practice effectively putting their argument to the page. 

Once your student gets the basic architecture of the essay down, they can then learn to translate it into different essays “flavors” like compare-and-contrast and exploratory essays.

The Rhetorical Imagination (College Prep)

While we refer to this as the “College Prep” stage, it is really for any high schooler headed out to face the world as independent adults. In this stage, your student learns how to inhabit someone else’s perspective in order to deeply engage with context and communication. 

This stage can be practiced through a historical analysis of Jane Austen, picking a side in a contemporary political debate, or even writing funny group texts to their peers. The key is developing their ability to hold multiple viewpoints at once so they can evaluate their values, roles, and interactions.

We hope you have enjoyed this Natural Stages of Growth series! Don’t forget to check out the Resource section for links to our High School Writer programs.

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA Media

Brave Writer Podcast

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[Podcast #244] Middle School Writers: Natural Stages of Growth in Writing #3

Brave Writer Podcast

Welcome to our third episode in our Natural Stages of Growth in Writing series! Today we cover the Middle School Writers stage, which typically occurs around ages 9-12.

This stage is all about building confidence, instilling in your student that they can consistently express themselves well in writing. 

On today’s Brave Writer podcast, we:

  • dive into freewriting practices—generating ideas and writing in short spurts,
  • walk through how to do low-stakes revisions to help kids get comfortable with messing with their writing after it is on the page,
  • and talk about non-writing activities students can do that contribute to their writing skills.

Be sure to check the show notes’ resources section below for links to our online Summer Camp (it’s free), Fall Class Registration (beginning July 22), Brave Writer Training (sign up ends July 31), our Tools for the Art of Writing, and all our Bundles.

Show Notes

Freewriting

Freewriting is a powerful practice for building confidence. Start by setting a timer for seven minutes (three, if necessary). The only rule is that your middle-schooler has to write the whole time. They can generate a list of their topics ahead of time or decide in the moment. They can even write about how much they hate writing. This practice will show them that they are capable of writing even without a lot of preparation.

Low Stakes Revisions

Revisions can feel like a personal failure and cause your student to shut down. To help them feel comfortable with their writing being shaken about, engage in low stakes revisions. Rather than focusing on grammar or syntax revisions, make up a silly revision task like “retell this story from the perspective of a dog.” This gets them used to changing their precious writing, not getting stuck in debilitating self-doubt.

Non-Writing Activities

Writing is a form of self expression. If your middle-schooler is hitting a roadblock with writing, change things up. For example, watch a movie together and discuss it. You are showing them that they naturally have thoughts and opinions that are worth sharing. They can then take that confidence with them as they approach more formal writing tasks.

The middle-school years can be an especially fun and fruitful time for your writers. We hope you can enjoy them!

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA Media

Brave Writer Podcast

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