Permission Slip

Brave Writer

It’s official! Homeschool stops now.

  • Bake cookies
  • Watch holiday films
  • Sip hot chocolate
  • Sit by the fire
  • Wrap gifts
  • Waste time
  • Sleep in

Put the school books AWAY until January!

In case you need someone else to tell you that you can be done for the year, here’s your permission slip!

Go be that holiday parent your kids crave! They will cherish the memory of your fun parent energy. Indulge! You’re teaching your kids that traditions and family matter.

Happy Holidays!

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

Brave Learner Home

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Friday Freewrite: Two Gifts

Friday Freewrite

Today’s freewriting prompt:

Two gifts (one large and one small) find themselves side by side. Write their conversation!

New to freewriting?

Freewriting is that wonderful key that unlocks the writer within. It’s the vehicle by which we trick our inner selves into divesting the words and ideas that we want to share but are afraid won’t come out right on paper if we do. So, read the freewriting prompt, set the timer for 5-10 minutes then write whatever comes to mind. Just keep the pencil moving!

Need more help? Check out our free online guide.

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[Podcast #267] Natural Learning and the Brain

Brave Writer Podcast

Learning is a natural function of the brain. As teachers, our job is to facilitate that natural function. In today’s Brave Writer podcast episode, we dive into the research around how brains perform learning and the ideal conditions for optimal learning.

We dig into Renata and Geoffrey Caine’s research on the topic, focusing on three key areas:

  1. orchestrated immersion,
  2. relaxed alertness,
  3. and active processing.

We explain how each one works and how to leverage them as homeschooling parents.

This episode is packed with information and ‘lipstick drops’ (you’ll understand after you listen). It will give you tools to create more ‘aha moments’ for you and your learners.

Show Notes

Orchestrated Immersion

Orchestrated Immersion is sometimes known best as the popular ‘strewing’ method. It is when you strategically invite children to approach learning through their own curiosity. For example, Julie leaves bird books and binoculars out when her grandchildren come to visit. She also has her granddaughter help her restock the bird feeders. These items pique her granddaughter’s curiosity and she naturally starts asking questions about birds and the environment. Learning is done best when it organically comes about from real-world contexts.

Relaxed Alertness

Relaxed alertness is the practice of maintaining a highly challenging environment with no pressure. The Caines describe it as ‘a state of mind that combines confidence, competence, and intrinsic motivation in the learner with a low degree of threat.’ It’s an ideal state for learning. In Brave Writer, we stimulate this state by providing motor- and sensory-rich exercises like Keen Observation of an Item. 

Active Processing

Kids (and adults) learn best when they consolidate and internalize information by actively processing it. Kids often get overwhelmed by abstract learning and shut down. The more you can literally put learning in their own hands, the better. For example, baking can be a great exercise in fractions– if something goes wrong, you can taste it! 

The more you can incorporate this research on how the brain works in your homeschooling, the more ‘aha moments’ you and your kids will enjoy. 

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA

Brave Writer Podcast

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That Annoying Curiosity

Brave Writer

You can’t indulge your children’s outrageous curiosity every day, but you can stay alert to those moments when it would change the entire dynamic of your homeschool.

Sometimes the tedium of a routine deserves to be disrupted by a child’s wild imagination and your participation in it!

“Pay attention to when a child’s ideas irritate you. Could it be that your child is exercising an outrageous imagination? Is the idea too complicated messy or expensive? Are the questions bigger than what you can easily explain?” (The Brave Learner)

I remember one of mine wanting to know the word origins for cuss words—like how did we get them? Why were they bad? Yeah: annoying! But he went on to major in linguistics!

So be on the lookout for your kids’ annoying curiosity, and be open to exploring it with them.

This post was originally shared on Instagram.
Watch the accompanying reel for more.

The Brave Learner

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Friday Freewrite: Decorating

Friday Freewrite

Today’s freewriting prompt:

Do you enjoy decorating for special occasions like a holiday or birthday? Why or why not?

New to freewriting?

Freewriting is that wonderful key that unlocks the writer within. It’s the vehicle by which we trick our inner selves into divesting the words and ideas that we want to share but are afraid won’t come out right on paper if we do. So, read the freewriting prompt, set the timer for 5-10 minutes then write whatever comes to mind. Just keep the pencil moving!

Need more help? Check out our free online guide.

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