Thoughts on Parenting

Brave Writer

I don’t care that much about a child’s behavior. I care a lot about what that child is thinking when they behave the way they do.

So I did a series of messages on Instagram stories that say what I’ve wanted to say for a long time about “parenting”—that wretched word that sets up a power struggle before we get out of the starting blocks!

What if we got curious about what our kids are telling us all day every day with their actions, their attitudes, their ideas, and their passions? What if we saw our kids as rational and reasonable?

This video compilation is almost 7 minutes long.

It’s for those who:

  • keep asking why your kids watch videogamers on YouTube.
  • are locked in conflict with your teens.
  • have children who just. won’t. wash. their. hands. (Yep! Got you too.)
  • or wonder if I’ll ever write a “parenting book”—yeah, I have already.

It’s my belief we get further with our kids if we lead from curiosity about their brilliant minds rather than scripts for how to get them to change their behavior to match our expectations.

Remember: a slight shift in how you see your kids can change everything.

Watch the Video

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Brave Learning: How to Have a Poetry Teatime

Brave Learning

Recently on Brave Learning…

How to Have a Poetry Teatime [Public]

Teatime is THE practice that will transform your homeschool.

Poetry Teatime is the magic you seek for a subject you value!

This Brave Learning post shares everything you need for a successful teatime:

  • The Preparation
  • The Process
  • Tips for Reading Aloud

Enjoy! [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 #285] Poetry All Year Long

Brave Writer Podcast

Do you ever wonder why poetry feels like a balm for the soul—especially when life gets hard?

In this Brave Writer podcast episode, we read aloud a collection of favorite poems, reflecting on how poetry helps us process emotions, connect with our children, and find beauty in everyday life.

We talk about:

  • why we keep reading poems even after National Poetry Month ends,
  • how Poetry Teatime can foster emotional resilience,
  • and why letting poetry “just be” can deepen our appreciation of it.

We also share personal stories, original poems, and ways to make poetry a natural part of your family rhythm.

Tune in to hear the poems that moved us—and maybe find one for your pocket too.

Show Notes

Poetry Month may come to a close, but our love affair with poetry doesn’t end on April 30th. In fact, some of the most moving encounters with poetry happen outside of celebration windows—in the quiet moments of parenting, in grief, in joy, and in the ordinary rituals that make up a family’s life. That’s why we keep poetry alive in our homes year-round, and why we believe in the transformative power of Poetry Teatime.

Poetry, after all, invites us to pause. It teaches us to notice. In a world of fast-paced curriculum and productivity checklists, poetry says: Slow down. Listen. There’s beauty here.

When we host Poetry Teatime, we aren’t simply teaching literary devices or memorizing verses. We are offering a gentle rhythm of connection—a space where kids and parents alike can gather around language that moves the heart. Some poems make us laugh with their linguistic acrobatics; others hold our sorrow with tender hands. That range is what makes poetry so vital. It meets us exactly where we are.

Let the poem do the talking

There’s no “right” way to read a poem. In fact, we try not to explain them too quickly. We let them linger. We let them land how they land. Children, especially, need room to respond from their own internal worlds. Whether it’s a limerick or a profound meditation on loss, a poem has the power to express something our kids may not yet have the words for. And often, it’s through modeling—reading aloud without agenda—that children find the courage to write their own.

Poetry as a path to expression

We’ve seen firsthand how a child who has never written much can be sparked by a single poem. Sometimes they imitate a favorite structure. Other times, they write straight from the heart. One parent told us her son wrote a poem about a traumatic car accident only after weeks of quiet Poetry Teatimes. He hadn’t wanted to talk about it—but the poem gave him a way to process. No worksheet or essay assignment could have reached him in that same way.

Language for what we feel

Poetry helps us live with our feelings, not fix them. It gives us metaphors when direct speech is too much. And it reminds us that there is a lineage of humans—across centuries—who have felt what we’re feeling. When we read aloud, especially in the shared ritual of teatime, we’re connecting to something larger than ourselves.

Make poetry a year-round tradition

That’s why we return to poetry not only when we’re teaching but when we’re grieving, celebrating, or just needing a reset. A good poem doesn’t age. It expands with us.

So whether you missed Poetry Month entirely or celebrated every day, it’s never too late—or too early—to open a book of verse, pour some tea, and read a poem together. That quiet presence poetry brings? It’s something we need all year long.

Resources

Connect with Julie

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Produced by NOVA

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Writing Is the Mind’s Best Friend

Brave Writer

We write first to know ourselves—our own thoughts, feelings, concerns, ideas. Writing can be its own reward.

I’ve noticed that the least read posts I share are about writing. Ironic, no? Everyone wants to be read. But we all forget that the power of writing is making our OWN thinking visible to ourselves. Writing is first and foremost for YOU! It’s a gift only you can give yourself.

Writing…

  • is the way you discover what you really think
  • can heal your pain and trauma (research says it heals as well as therapy, and it’s free!)
  • is the place to put your risky ideas before you risk expressing them to those who would judge you
  • is how you sort out whether or not a lover is the right one for you
  • gives you a moment of pause in the day to slow the racing thoughts that run your brain

My best writing has not been read by other people, and my worst writing has never been read by anyone—and I am entirely grateful for that! Also, my journals are private. Secret writing—what a rich gift!

Never underestimate the power of writing in your child’s life.

It’s not about essays or grades or getting into college.

Writing IS the best gift you can give your children for self-knowledge and relief. If nothing else, give them the gift of knowing that writing is there for them when no one else is—no commenter, reader, parent, or friend.

Writing is a witness to our insides, and we all need that loving witness.

Help! My Kid Hates Writing

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Brave Learning: Poetry Teatime

Brave Learning Poetry Teatime

Recently on Brave Learning…

Poetry Teatime [Public]

A simple idea with big implications

For as long as I can remember, adults and kids routinely confess a fear of poetry. They say, “Oh I hate poetry. It’s too difficult to understand.” In truth, most people assume they must do something with poetry—analyze it, make meaning from it, find its themes and imagery, identify its rhyme schemes. The provocative rhythms and sometimes old world vocabulary act as barriers to enjoyment, too, for so many smart, successful, fluent adults!Subscribed

Yet somehow I managed to develop a love of poetry from an early age. My grandfather gave me a book of poems to read aloud when I was seven years old. I still have it. I played with words and wrote my own poems on scratch paper and in my diary. Poetry felt like puzzles, riddles, inside jokes, and bursts of music to me. I didn’t worry too much about “getting” it.

When my children were coming along every two years, I hoped to pass my enjoyment of poetry to them. Yet the culture of anxiety around poetry was so strong, I worried they would resist or declare, “I don’t get it!” [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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