A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

Is your child struggling to read well (or at all)?

I’m listening to a podcast (suggested by a Brave Writer fan) called “Sold a Story” about the failure of a popular method of teaching reading that doesn’t emphasize explicit phonics instruction. Emily Hanford, the show’s host, cites data that indicates that nearly 65% of fourth graders are poor readers.

Most home educators use a phonics-driven program to teach reading. I remember using a little book by Ruth Beechik to begin that instruction with my oldest son. He sat at the table while I used a white board to connect vowel sounds with a variety of consonants on either side: hat, cat, pad, bag; pig, sit, bid, sip.

Lots of tortured sounding out followed, but it was the act of noticing each letter that eventually unlocked his ability to read. I discovered with my daughter that she was doing such a good job of paying attention to the alphabet, she struggled to differentiate the different fonts for the same letters! Once we figured that out, she took off.

The Starting Place: Phonics

Phonics is the place to start because reading is foundationally the capacity to use the alphabet to transcribe and signal the familiar words we speak orally. In fact, it’s a pretty ingenious system that has made it possible to learn other languages. We transcribe the sounds our mouths make in order to remind us of the words or to preserve oral language for others to read later.

Certainly reading must be taught (it’s not caught like speech). The power of reading does more than introduce kids to a world of fascinating ideas and stories. It also allows children to become their own transcriptionists (writers). Those who struggle to read will struggle to spell and handwrite too.

If you wonder where to find a reputable phonics program, I recommend Pinwheels by Rooted in Language. Check it out.

Read Aloud

And remember to read to your kids. A child’s academic imagination grows in direct relation to immersion in story.

So whether you homeschool or not, you can teach your child to read. Be patient, take your time, add treats and snuggles.

Let’s raise readers!

This post is originally from my @juliebogartwriter Instagram account.
Follow along for more conversations like this one!

We love small book shops! That’s why we’ve teamed up with our longtime friend Charnaie Gordon at Here Wee Read to offer the Brave Writer Mechanics and Literature program books through her shop at Bookshop.org.

Charnaie was a guest speaker at our Brave Learner Conference in Cincinnati, has been on the Brave Writer podcast, and offered a helpful session at our Homebound Conference. Our Brave Writer community also sent books to help support the 50 States 50 Books campaign inspired by Charnaie’s children to “help close the literacy gap one state at a time!”

Such a fruitful relationship!

Purchasing the 2021–2022 Brave Writer books through her website is a beautiful way to support her small shop (filled with fantastic titles for a wide range of readers) and provide you with a one-stop shop for your Dart, Arrow, Boomerang, and Slingshot readers. 

Find the titles all in one place under the Brave Writer Dart, Arrow, Boomerang, and Slingshot titles section of the Here Wee Read shop.

And look around for other great book recommendations while you are there! 

Help us Support Summer Camp Reading!

Donate Here

This year, Brave Writer is using some of our proceeds to fund an organization in Cincinnati dedicated to making reading a powerful and enjoyable experience for children 7-10 years of age.

Because Brave Writer prioritizes reading and writing, equity in education, and online access for all, we are thrilled to partner with Summer Camp Reading.

With sites in under-resourced neighborhoods and online, Summer Camp Reading works with upcoming 2nd 3rd and 4th graders who are struggling to read. The key to their success is the combination of:

• one-on-one tutoring with reading professionals,
• Book of the Day with crafts,
• group work,
• writing,
• laptop center,
• service project,
• books to take home and own,
• and a lot of fun in a nurturing environment.

Every child improves.

Their style of education is such a great match to Brave Writer’s! In fact, the organizers told me that these are camps not summer school. Don’t you love it?

We’ll be donating our Dart and Arrow books from past years to the camps as well.

Will you join us?

Your donation will increase online access for families that cannot afford tutoring, will allow them to update online curriculum and website, and to provide books for children to own.

Let’s do this together!