It’s baaaaaack! My podcast that lurched along at my whim, not on any schedule, has returned—with a schedule and a podcast engineer!
I’m excited about Season 2 especially, because I’ve turned to real experts in the homeschool adventure—not celebrities, not curriculum providers. These podcasts are interviews with Brave Writer Moms who are living the Brave Writer Lifestyle with their kids, each in their unique way.
I can’t wait for you to meet these moms—they are in the trenches amid piles of laundry just like you. They offer a slew of tested tricks and practices to increase the magic in your homeschool.
If you’re new to Brave Writer (Welcome by the way!! I’m so glad you’re here!), you can learn about the Brave Writer Lifestyleon our website now!
Then tune in to the podcast. Subscribe to Brave Writer podcasts on iTunes or check them out here on the Brave Writer blog.
The first Brave Writer Lifestyle podcast is with Rebecca Spooner of Homeschool On!
Rebecca writes about homeschooling on her blog Homeschool On, and she helps others with planning their lives and launching their own blogs at RebeccaSpooner.com. She has five kids between the ages of three and nine, all of whom are homeschooled.
Listen to the podcast!
Also, you can download the show notes from the Brave Writer’s Life in Brief podcast. The notes include:
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Would you please post a review on Apple Podcasts for us? You’ll help a homeschooler like you find more joy in the journey when you do. Thanks in advance!
Here’s the complete first season of our “A Brave Writer’s Life in Brief” podcast!
We’re pleased as punch to have so many special guests join us, including acclaimed author, Jane Yolen (ep. 19).
In the episodes we discuss writing, home education, parenting, and poetry. Plus the season hosts the popular Natural Stages of Growth in Writing talks: Jot It Down, Partnership Writing, Faltering Ownership, Transition to Ownership (parts one and two), and Eavesdropping on the Great Conversation.
Today we welcome one of the most prolific writers of children’s fantasy and poetry, Jane Yolen!
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When I began my freelance writing career, I chose the picture book genre. After all, my kids were small and I read dozens of them aloud per week. It didn’t take long to discover the writing of Jane Yolen. Jane’s books embody the best of the picture book genre. She uses language artfully, poetically. She gives the reader an immersive experience any time you come into contact with her words. She’s also in tune with a child’s sense of humor and wonder.
I also found a bird-watching companion in Jane! Her husband brought to their family a naturalist’s passion for the natural world. Jane took that passion and translated it into wonderful prose and poetry.
When Jane agreed to be interviewed for our humble podcast, I felt like a fan girl at a rock concert. It has been 20 years of admiration on my part that led to this wonderful conversation. Heidi Semple, Jane’s adult daughter, joins us as well. She and Jane have co-authored several books that feature birds, in fact!
[Updated] We had a FUN GIVEAWAY featuring Jane Yolen’s brand book, Grumbles from the Forest, and two others! We also discovered one last Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz tea cozy and are including that too.
These two spunky, creative homeschooling moms have teamed up to provide companionship on the journey of home education. I would have obsessed over their podcast had it been around when I was homeschooling.
This week, I’m on their show! We had a great time talking about the following topics:
What it means to raise awesome adults
How to be one yourself
Reframing how we understand video gaming
The one best piece of advice I would give young homeschoolers
And each of us shared one current joy in our lives
Today we’d like to welcome two amazing women who are on the cutting edge of children’s poetry.
Janet Wong is a prolific writer of poetry and short stories for young people. Her work has received wide recognition from shows like Oprah Winfrey to awards such as the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature. She is the first generation daughter of Korean and Chinese immigrant parents, and many of her works deal with multicultural experiences.
Dr. Sylvia Vardell is professor of children’s literature at Texas Woman’s University and is the author or contributor of over 24 books. She received the 2014 Scholastic Library Publishing Award for her work in the field of children’s literature. She blogs regularly at Poetry for Children.
Together, these two authors have collaborated on the Poetry Friday Anthology series, a collection of poems by some of the best children’s poets from around the world. Even better, each poem comes with lesson plans and classroom resources for teaching these poems. Whether in a traditional classroom or at home, these books offer a wonderful means of widening your family’s consumption of poetry.
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting these two powerful women! We all agreed that too often poetry is perceived as boring or difficult. Yet those who love poetry say otherwise. Janet and Sylvia make poetry so accessible and delightful through their work, I found myself wanting to run right to my poetry anthologies after our conversation to spend time again with my poet friends.
Enjoy our conversation and do yourself a favor: take the plunge into exploring and experiencing poetry for yourself and with your children.
Here is the link to Sylvia Vardell’s blog Poetry for Children and Janet Wong’s website. Be sure to check out their books below or at your local library!
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