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A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

Thoughts from my home to yours

Small Doses of Delight

Brave Writer

You’re child won’t fall in love with every subject. You won’t manage to make all learning magical. If you and your kids discover the beauty in a single subject at any point in time, you’ve shown your child how to find it for themselves.

You don’t have to turn every aspect of childhood into an enchanted experience.

  • Sometimes you swing and you miss.
  • Sometimes your energy fails.
  • Sometimes you can’t find the angle.

Not to worry.

Once in a while, if you set the intention to make learning meaningful and you manage to bathe the subject in a little whimsy or surprise, your kids will learn how to do that for themselves.

Small doses of delight in learning lead to powerful educations that sustain kids for a lifetime!

You’ve got this!


This post is originally from Instagram and @juliebogartwriter is my account there so come follow along for more conversations like this one!


Growing Brave Writers

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Brave Learning: Plan Their Happiness

Brave Learning

Recently on Brave Learning…

Plan Their Happiness

not only their academics…

So you’ve got your homeschool planner in front of you. You’re looking at the stack of materials you bought for the coming school year. You’ve got a calculator on the table so you can figure out what pace you must work through all those pages to wind up at the end of the year with completed programs.

Homeschool planning: calendar and program are merged into a sequence of allotted materials for 180 days for each child.

Is that what you envision?

Before you go to the trouble, let me ask you a question: In all your planning, have you also planned for your child’s happiness? [More]


Subscribe to Brave Learning on Substack where we chat, discuss, problem-solve, and create together. Here’s what you can expect: weekly themed content, freewriting prompts, and a podcast for kiddos called Monday Morning Meeting (first 6 are free)! 


Brave Learning with Julie Bogart on Substack

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[Podcast #297] Chronicle Your Homeschool Adventure

Brave Writer Podcast

Do you ever find yourself wondering what you’ve truly accomplished in your homeschool? Chronicling—through blogs, scatterbooks, journals, quick notes, or even voice memos—offers families a way to:

  • celebrate growth,
  • capture memories,
  • and gain confidence in the learning journey.

In this Brave Writer podcast episode, we discuss the many forms of chronicling, how it transforms our outlook from focusing on what’s missing to noticing the richness of what’s already happened, and why the tools you choose should fit your style and life.

Whether it’s a scatterbook, a five-year diary, or a few lines in your phone, recording your days can turn fleeting moments into lasting meaning.

Show Notes

Turning Memories into Meaningful Records

When we take time to record our days—whether through a blog, journal, calendar, or even voice notes—we create a rich archive of experiences. This archive isn’t just for nostalgia; it’s a living resource our families can return to, sparking memories and insights that would otherwise be lost. What may have seemed like ordinary days become treasured stories, reminding us of moments we’d likely have forgotten: a funny comment on the way to the grocery store, a spontaneous science lesson in the backyard, or the first time a child read aloud on video.

The act of chronicling is more than just keeping records—it helps us see the depth and variety in our homeschool lives. Looking back, we’re often surprised by how much we’ve truly done, even when it didn’t feel like much at the time.

Choosing Your Tools, Honoring Your Style

Chronicling doesn’t require a perfect system or daily commitment. The best approach is the one that feels natural to you and your family. Some parents love to write blogs or keep detailed journals; others prefer quick notes on a phone calendar, voice memos, or even scatterbooks filled with lists, ticket stubs, and little observations. For some, a five-year diary or a private digital archive can provide structure and a sense of continuity. The important thing is to choose tools that invite you to participate, not ones that feel like another chore.

Today’s technology also makes chronicling more accessible than ever. Searchable blogs, note-taking apps, and even AI-powered tools can help us organize, reflect, and rediscover recurring themes in our homeschool journey. It’s easier than ever to trace a thread of learning, see which interests keep resurfacing, and adjust our plans accordingly.

The Transformative Power of Looking Back

One of the most powerful outcomes of chronicling is the shift from focusing on deficits—what hasn’t happened yet—to celebrating what has happened. Especially in homeschooling, it’s tempting to zero in on gaps, unfinished curriculum, or developmental timelines. But when we look back through our records, we see real growth, creativity, and resilience. We’re reminded of challenges overcome, joyful moments shared, and how our children—and we ourselves—have grown in ways that don’t always fit into neat checkboxes.

Regular reflection also primes us to notice more beauty and meaning as it happens. By cultivating a habit of jotting down stories, conversations, or little victories, we become more present and attentive to the richness of ordinary days.

Start Small, Celebrate Often

Chronicling your homeschool adventure doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Start small: a weekly note, a funny quote, a photo, or a single sentence. With time, these fragments build a mosaic that tells the story of your unique family journey. The practice isn’t about perfection or completeness; it’s about creating touchstones that encourage, affirm, and inspire you.

In the end, chronicling is a gift to yourself and your children—a tangible way to honor the life you’re building together, one day at a time.

Resources

  • Read Melissa’s blog, Here in the Bonny Glen
  • Julie’s Amazing Day post
  • Google’s NotebookLM
  • Check out the Wild Simplicity digital planner: https://www.etsy.com/shop/smallmeadow/
  • Brave Learner Home: https://bravewriter.com/brave-learner-home
  • Fall class registration is open! 
  • Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing!
  • Check out Julie’s new author website: juliebogartwriter.com
  • Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters: Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic
  • Try out our Brave Writer Practice Pages
  • Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
  • Read all Brave Writer class descriptions
  • Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
  • Sign up for our Text Message Pod Ring to get podcast updates and more!
  • Send us podcast topic ideas by texting us: +1 (833) 947-3684

Connect with Julie

  • Instagram: @juliebogartwriter
  • Threads: @juliebogartwriter
  • Bluesky: @bravewriter.com
  • Facebook: facebook.com/bravewriter

Connect with Melissa

  • Website: melissawiley.com
  • Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
  • Instagram: @melissawileybooks
  • Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA

Brave Writer Podcast

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Connection Is Everything

Brave Writer Raising Critical Thinkers

Our students need to believe that they can rely on parents and teachers who will stand by them, not abandon them—even when we find their reasoning incomplete.

The tough part about raising teens is that they test a belief system that sometimes feels illogical or dangerous to you.

  • Stick by them.
  • Talk with them.
  • Be curious and interested.

Teens deserve parents who are capable of holding space for their developing brains. Don’t worry. The things you thought you knew so confidently at 15 underwent revision in your 20s and 30s and 40s. Ideas can grow and change when we feel free to think, rather than defend.

What you don’t want to lose is connection between parent and child. Your kids are good. They’re your beautiful children. They are playing with ideas the same way they played with Melissa and Doug toys. You can do it!

Connection is everything.

—exceprt from Julie’s book RAISING CRITICAL THINKERS

Raising Critical Thinkers

Posted in Parenting, Raising Critical Thinkers | Comments Off on Connection Is Everything


Brave Learning: The Power of Talking

Brave Learning

Recently on Brave Learning…

The Power of Talking

Why talking is so important to writing.

We want words, lots of them, churned out on reassuring sheets of lined paper, with curlicue cursive ‘r’s and proper punctuation reflecting both the demands of syntax and emotion. When the words fail, we try to coax them out.

What sometimes gets missed in this process is the power of talking. Speaking leads to writing more than any other skill. Getting words formed in the head and then out through the mouth leads to better writing. It doesn’t even matter if they are organized or concise or logical. What matters is the process of dredging them up, giving them room to develop in the mind and then speaking them through the lips by way of the tongue. [More]


Subscribe to Brave Learning on Substack where we chat, discuss, problem-solve, and create together. Here’s what you can expect: weekly themed content, freewriting prompts, and a podcast for kiddos called Monday Morning Meeting (first 6 are free)! 


Brave Learning with Julie Bogart on Substack

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