The Heart of Education

Brave Writer

I believe in a pedagogy (the method and practice of teaching) that puts these three things at the center:

  1. Curiosity
  2. Learning
  3. Questions

I don’t believe in a pedagogy that starts with a viewpoint and then hunts and pecks for support to protect that perspective.

One is critical thinking and the other is apologetics.

We’re all capable of both, every day of our lives. It takes self-awareness to be able to recognize when you are being an apologist rather than a thinker. It’s the temptation of an ideologue. Being beholden to a belief system is dangerous to critical thought.

The hardest thing I’ve ever done is confront my need for the evidence to support what I want to be true. I’ve experienced the internal battle, the anxiety, the fear of losing meaning and friends. I’ve had to rethink so many of my assumptions over the years. There have been costs associated with that rethinking. But I wouldn’t change the journey.

If you are going through a season of rethinking, congratulations. It takes courage. It’s the heart of what education is all about.

Becoming a Critical Thinker

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[Podcast #334] Rescuing Reluctant Writers: Brave Writer Online Classes

Brave Writer Podcast

What if an online writing class didn’t mean Zoom fatigue, rigid schedules, or one more thing to manage?

In this Brave Writer podcast episode, Melissa Wiley talks with Kirsten Merryman about what makes Brave Writer’s online classes so different: asynchronous discussions, text-based coaching, warm instructor feedback, and a structure that makes room for all kinds of learners.

We explore:

  • how real writing growth happens,
  • why parents learn right alongside their kids,
  • and which classes might be the best fit for your family, from Story Switcheroo to Essay Prep.

Kirsten Merryman is Brave Writer’s Vice President of Operations and former director of online classes. She is also a longtime homeschooler, writing coach, and curriculum creator who has helped shape Brave Writer’s approach to supporting both parents and young writers.

Join us to discover how writing support can feel personal, practical, and surprisingly freeing.

Show Notes

What Makes Writing Instruction Actually Work?

Every homeschooling parent has felt it: your child has something interesting to say, but the moment writing begins, the struggle starts.

What should be an act of expression can quickly turn into frustration, avoidance, or tears. It can feel tempting to focus on the obvious fixes, grammar, punctuation, spelling, structure. But what if strong writing begins somewhere else entirely?

The truth is, writing growth doesn’t start with correction. It starts with connection.

When children feel safe to put words on the page, when they know a reader is genuinely interested in what they mean, writing begins to open up. That shift can change everything.

Writing Is More Than Mechanics

It’s easy to think of good writing as clean writing.

We want our kids to use correct punctuation, organize their thoughts, vary sentence structure, and produce polished final drafts. Those skills matter. They help writing communicate clearly.

But mechanics are not the heart of writing.

The heart of writing is having something to say and believing it is worth saying. Children need space to discover their ideas before they can refine them. They need to experience writing as communication, not just as a performance of correctness.

That’s why messy first drafts matter. Real writers do not sit down and produce polished work in one pass. They draft, rethink, revise, and shape their language over time.

When we expect children to do everything at once, think of something meaningful, express it clearly, spell it correctly, punctuate it properly, and organize it neatly, we often make writing feel heavier than it needs to be.

Response Builds Confidence

One of the most powerful things we can offer young writers is a real reader.

When someone responds to a child’s writing with interest, something shifts. A comment like “This made me laugh,” or “I can really picture this,” or “You taught me something here,” does more than encourage. It helps the child see that writing has a purpose.

They are not just completing an assignment. They are reaching another human being.

That kind of response builds confidence. It also teaches. When children hear what is working in their writing, they begin to recognize their own strengths. They start to notice voice, detail, humor, rhythm, and insight.

This is often more useful at the beginning than a long list of corrections.

Once a child feels invested in their own words, revision starts to make sense. Improving the writing no longer feels like punishment. It feels like making something meaningful stronger.

Practical Ways to Support Writing at Home

Small shifts in how we respond to writing can make a big difference.

One helpful practice is to read as a reader first. Before correcting anything, notice what stands out to you.

You might:

  • point out a vivid word or phrase
  • mention a line that made you smile
  • reflect back an idea that felt strong or surprising
  • ask a curious question about something they wrote

Another useful approach is to separate drafting from editing. Let your child get the ideas out first. Save grammar, spelling, and punctuation for later passes.

It also helps to let children write about topics they truly care about. When a child is invested in the subject, they are far more willing to stay with the process.

Even reluctant writers often have strong opinions, deep interests, or a quirky sense of humor waiting to show up on the page.

The Real Goal

Many of us were taught to approach writing as correction first. We learned to look for what was wrong before we noticed what was alive.

But strong writing instruction begins by helping children experience themselves as writers.

That means noticing effort. It means honoring risk. It means looking for the spark in a rough draft and trusting that polish can come later.

Our goal is not simply to produce error-free papers.

Our goal is to help children develop fluency, ownership, and confidence so they can grow into writers who know they have something to say.

And when that happens, the mechanics become easier to teach, because the child is no longer just trying to finish.

They are trying to communicate.

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA

Brave Writer Podcast

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Harness the Energy of Home

Brave Writer

“What is most important and valuable about the home as a base for children’s growth into the world is not that it is a better school than the schools, but that it isn’t a school at all.” ―John Holt

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a child in possession of a good instructor must be in want of an education.

Alas, kids don’t care.

It’s impossible to demand inspiration, passion, or self-discipline without affinity for learning.

Let me rephrase that: You can’t coerce caring!

Though adults try. We use grades, little statues, and ice cream sundaes to prod kids into reading, diagramming sentences, and practicing piano. Meanwhile, that same child will stand in the hot sun for five hours shooting free throws to break a personal record.

No reward except satisfaction.

How do we get more of that into traditional school subjects?

A happy house for homeschool is one where every inch is used for learning, messes are welcomed, people are more precious than furnishings, and household maintenance is a varying standard with fluctuating amounts of help. And we’re all okay with it most of the time.

To have more effective home education, I realized I needed to abandon the trappings of school and harness the energy of home.

The Brave Learner

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Planning Jam Session: Week One

Brave Writer

Need help using Brave Writer’s Mechanics & Literature guides? Watch the recorded live below and plan your first week with Dawn Smith!

Also, before watching, you might open your current Dart, Arrow, Boomerang, or Slingshot and:

  • Print the “Our Week With” planner (see guide or Guidelines) 
  • Print the Skills Tracker (see guide or Guidelines) 
  • Prep the guide you are using by printing or having the PDF open to review
  • Open the Guidelines PDF for reference. 

Next, simply hit play and get started!

Resources

Brave Writer

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[Podcast #333] Resisting FOMU, the Fear of Messing Up

Brave Writer Podcast

What if the biggest obstacle in your homeschool isn’t what you’re missing—but the fear that you’re doing it wrong?

This week on the Brave Writer podcast, we explore “fear of messing up” and how perfectionism quietly shapes our expectations, decisions, and confidence as parent educators.

We unpack:

  • where that pressure comes from,
  • how it shows up (hello, endless curriculum switching),
  • and why chasing the “perfect” method keeps us stuck.

We also share practical ways to shift your focus toward connection, curiosity, and process—plus tools like interval training and a flexible writing app to support real learning.

Ready to trade perfection for progress? Let’s rethink what success actually looks like.

Show Notes

Let Go of Getting It Right

Every homeschooling parent has felt it: the quiet worry that you might be doing it wrong.

You plan carefully, choose materials thoughtfully, and try to create meaningful learning experiences. But then your child resists, or something doesn’t click, or you see another family doing it differently—and suddenly, doubt creeps in.

What if that fear isn’t a sign you’re failing—but a sign you’ve been taught to expect perfection?

Much of us were shaped by systems that measured success by correctness. One hundred percent. Right answers. Completed work. Over time, we internalized the idea that learning should look polished and predictable.

But real learning rarely looks like that.

The Myth of the “Right Way”

It’s easy to assume there’s a correct path through education—a sequence of subjects, skills, and milestones that guarantees success.

Once you start homeschooling, that assumption quickly unravels.

Different philosophies emphasize different things. Some prioritize structure and sequence. Others focus on curiosity and exploration. Even school systems don’t agree on what should be taught or when.

There is no universal roadmap.

That realization can feel unsettling at first. But it also offers relief. If there isn’t one right way, then you’re free to respond to the learners in front of you.

The goal shifts from “getting it right” to “paying attention.”

Process Over Outcome

When we fixate on outcomes—reading by a certain age, mastering a concept on schedule—we start to measure every moment against a future result.

That creates pressure. And pressure often leads to frustration for both parent and child.

Learning happens in the present.

It happens when your child wrestles with a problem, asks a question, or makes a connection. It happens in the middle of the attempt, not just at the moment of success.

When we focus on process instead of outcome, we begin to notice those moments. We see growth where we once saw gaps.

And we create space for learning to unfold.

The Trap of the Endless Quest

One common response to uncertainty is to keep searching for something better.

A new curriculum. A different method. A promising system that seems like it might finally make everything work.

But constant switching often creates more disruption than progress.

Children need time to settle into a rhythm. What looks imperfect on the surface may actually be working just fine underneath.

Before changing course, it helps to ask: is something truly broken, or am I reacting to discomfort?

Sometimes the most productive choice is to stay the course.

Building Competency and Confidence

If perfection isn’t the goal, what is?

A more helpful aim is competency and confidence.

  • Competency grows through practice, variation, and time. It doesn’t require flawless performance—just steady engagement.
  • Confidence grows when children feel safe to try, struggle, and try again. Mistakes become part of the process, not evidence of failure.
  • Progress includes missteps. Choosing a program that doesn’t work or hitting resistance in a subject is information, not failure.
  • Growth happens when we stay responsive—adjusting, supporting, and continuing forward rather than starting over.

This applies to us as well.

We are learning how to homeschool in real time. We will choose materials that don’t fit. We will have days that feel off. We will question our decisions.

None of that means we’re doing it wrong.

It means we’re in the middle of learning.

The Long View

There will be moments that feel like missteps. A program that didn’t work. A subject that took longer than expected. A season that felt unproductive.

But those moments are not the whole story.

Learning is built over time—through repetition, adjustment, and lived experience.

What matters most is not whether every decision was perfect, but whether you stayed engaged, responsive, and willing to keep going.

That’s where growth happens.

And that’s more than enough.

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA

Brave Writer Podcast

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