You Can’t Change Your Child

Brave Writer

Take it from me: you can’t really change your child.

What you can do is help them learn how to adapt to a world that isn’t designed for the kind of person they are. Fundamentally, “Who We Are” stays pretty much the same throughout our lives. What we learn to do is cope.

Your job as a parent is to be the chief instructor of coping skills not the chief changer of personalities.

Don’t worry.

If you can’t figure out how to do it, your kids will teach you. Stay open to the lesson.

Love them for who they are. Help them adapt while protecting their original quirkiness!

Watch the Video

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The Gift of a Great Home Life

Brave Writer

I believe in homeschooling. It’s one decision I made that I don’t regret for my children.

That said, there are kids who regret being homeschooled. What I’ve noticed when I talk to them is that the system of parenting created pain and the parents did not acknowledge that. They persisted in an ideology rather than attuning to their children.

I also know kids who suffered in traditional school environments. I know children who regret going to school where they were unable to keep up or participate at the level they wanted to because their family lives were such a wreck.

The Lens of Your Relationship

Your children will interpret their childhood through the lens of your relationship to them more than the educational choice you make for them.

Give them the gift of a great home life. Put your relationship with your child first.

Education and all good things flow from that.

Balancing Being a Parent and a Teacher

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[Podcast #303] Introducing Monday Morning Meetings: a Brave Writer Podcast for Kids

Brave Writer Podcast

Do you ever wish your homeschool week started with momentum instead of Monday drag?

We’ve found that small, doable invitations right at the start of the week prime kids for curiosity, competence, and follow-through. Think five minutes of inspiration that launches hours of self-directed learning—no elaborate prep required.

In our work with families, three tiny shifts consistently flip the “on” switch for kids: cozy learning spaces, gathering the world into the home, and playful comparison that sharpens thinking.

In this Brave Writer podcast episode, we share kid-friendly prompts you can use right away.

We show how five-minute Monday cues, paired with simple tools like clipboards, lamps, and labels, generate ownership and momentum all week long.

Show Notes

Create a “Hidey Hole” for Focus

Environment shapes attention. When a child builds a small, cozy nook—behind a chair, under a card table, or in a closet—with a lamp, clipboard, pillows, and a blanket, the space itself signals, “This is where I do my thing.” A hidey hole reduces visual noise and invites immersion. Reading, copywork, or a short math set often feels easier when it happens someplace special. Pro tip: let kids assemble a “go bag” (clipboard, pencil, book light) so their setup is always ready. The win isn’t the fort; it’s the ownership kids feel over their learning.

Gather a Nature Table to Grow Observation

Kids love to collect. Channel that impulse into a rotating nature display: leaves, cones, bark, shells, driftwood, feathers, stones. Add index cards for handwritten labels and a magnifier for closer looks. Now you’ve built a mini-museum that evolves with the seasons and keeps curiosity alive between outings. The Nature Table is quiet science: sorting, classifying, noticing patterns, and building vocabulary. It also dignifies “treasures” by giving them a place of honor—an early lesson in curating ideas and evidence.

Try “Movie Twins” to Practice Compare & Contrast

Analytical thinking blossoms when kids hold two versions of the same story side by side (e.g., an original film and its remake). Invite them to list similarities and differences in plot beats, acting choices, costumes, or pacing. Rewatch one shared scene back-to-back and ask: Which performance convinces you? What choices change the meaning? This playful exercise builds core academic skills: identifying criteria, evaluating evidence, and articulating a point of view.

Keep It Five Minutes, Then Let Them Run

Kick off Monday with a five-minute prompt, then get out of the way. The secret isn’t length—it’s leverage. Short, vivid cues paired with concrete tools (clipboard, lamp, Ziplocs, index cards) create momentum kids can sustain on their own. If younger siblings hover, invite them into a parallel version (a mini hidey hole or a smaller collection tray) so everyone has a win.

From Micro-Invites to Macro-Growth

When we honor children’s agency—“Here’s an idea; make it yours”—we see stronger attention, better stamina, and more confident expression. A cozy nook births a reading streak. A labeled leaf becomes a paragraph. Two films turn into a lively family debate. Start small on Monday; watch the learning ripple through the week.

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA

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It’s Okay to Wait

Brave Writer

Timing is everything! It’s better to NOT teach ancient history to your third grader who isn’t yet interested than to build resentment that your child won’t cooperate with your lesson plan.

You don’t have to teach everything today, or tomorrow, or even next week!

In fact, you can put off a subject for a semester until you find the right spark to make it interesting. Your biggest task is to ignite interest.

If your child isn’t ready, adding pressure doesn’t improve the child’s chance of “getting it.” Sometimes a little mindful neglect of a school subject is just good sense and teaching!

You’ve got time to circle back.

In the meantime, figure out what about the topic IS interesting and put some of your own energy there. It’s amazing how much adult fascination can trigger interest in kids.

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

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Heal Yourself First

Brave Writer

I was the play-acting, lit-loving, history buff in school. No way did I feel confident enough to teach SCIENCE to my kids! Why trust me with that huge task?

Well it turns out that when your own school education failed you, you get a second shot at it when you have kids to home educate!

I healed my own sour relationship with the subject of “science” by becoming interested in it as though I knew nothing about it. I looked for tools and kits and experiments and explanations that I needed when I was a child so that my kids would have a better shot at liking and learning science than I did. It worked!

You can change how you see any subject that you supposedly “hate.” As it turns out: the subjects are all utterly fascinating.

A Fresh Attitude

It’s the method of teaching that likely turned you off.

Now you get the chance to approach that subject with a fresh attitude of curiosity. That attitude can spark a lot of learning and a little love too!

When we studied geology, I found these incredible rock kits from the Ring of Fire program (founder now retired so no longer available). But look at it!

Brave Writer

A fish tackle kit with rocks, a jeweler’s loupe for close study, and a booklet of amazing activities to help us get to know the beauty and wonder of rocks.

Of ROCKS!

Yes, it’s possible to even heal your sad educational history with rocks.

Today so many incredible programs and activities in every subject exist for homeschoolers. Go on the journey and find something that inspires you because then you have a better shot at inspiring your kids.

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

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