Friday Freewrite: Color Change

Friday Freewrite

Today’s freewriting prompt:

One autumn, a lone tree decided to turn their green leaves hot pink instead of their usual orange. Write what happened!

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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Get Ready for Essay Writing

Brave Writer Essay Writing

Whether you and your teen are waiting for our Essay Prep: Research and Citation class to start or you’re tackling essays on your own, check out this conversation idea that sets the stage for scholarly discourse.

Warmup Exercise

Help your kids learn the difference between a qualified statement and a sweeping statement.

Sweeping Statement

Here’s an example of a sweeping statement: 

White sugar makes kids hyperactive and unruly.

When you make a statement like the one above, the reader feels motivated to invalidate it. They want to find an exception! So they search their minds for the one kid who eats sugar all day long and is mostly a sweet, sleepy kid. 

That’s not what you want in a persuasive essay.

Qualified Statement

Instead, make a qualified statement—which invites the reader to consider if they’ve seen that correlation:

For some kids, white sugar can create hyperactivity and sometimes leads to unruly behavior.

Immediately, the reader tries to validate the argument by finding examples from their own experience that match the statement.

Qualified statements seem like they’d be less persuasive, but they are actually MORE persuasive and much more effective in academic writing.

With your student, create other examples of sweeping and qualified statements.

Essay Prep: Research and Citation

Once upon a time, students got their information from books at the library, not the internet. Remember that? One thing’s for sure, the academic terrain is different from when we were in school!

You need a refresher. Your kids need the low-down. That’s why we created Essay Prep: Research and Citation. 

This class teaches:

  • How to find reliable, essay-worthy information on the internet 
  • How to take notes and collect your research effectively 
  • The most current expectations surrounding how to format an essay 
  • How to cite sources (to avoid inadvertently plagiarizing!)
  • The trick to skilled paraphrasing 

Print the materials from this online class, and voilà! You have a handbook for all your teen’s academic writing needs until college, and without fretting over skills you’ve forgotten!

Brave Writer

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Welcome Back Julie! Plus Lessons from Spain

Brave Writer Podcast

The sound of Moroccan Arabic, the smell of dried buffalo chips, the taste of sugary mint tea, the view of an open prairie—on today’s podcast we reflect on immersive learning experiences and how education becomes a part of a person for the rest of their life.

Julie is back from her trip to Europe, having spent a significant amount of her time in Spain. Always the homeschooler, she describes events on her journey that illuminated the true meaning of learning and teaching. We then discuss the joy that comes from being a lifelong learner alongside adult kids.

As the academic new year begins, fall back in love with education!

Show Notes

Adult Homeschooled Kids

The joy of homeschooling your kids, guiding them through self-empowering learning, doesn’t stop when they graduate. It continues throughout your adult relationships with them. As adults, they teach you new things and make you grow through new perspectives. You can continue to enjoy immersive learning experiences with them, no matter their age.

Immersive Learning on a Budget

Trips to Europe might be wonderful once your homeschooled kids are adults themselves, but often money is tight when they are little. Don’t worry, you can still give your young kids immersive experiences on a budget.

  • Take them to cultural festivals in your city,
  • teach them to soak in paintings at a museum,
  • and cook different cuisines.

It might be tempting to skip experiences like these for more formal coursework. But remember: immersive experiences are what makes learning really really “stick.”  

As the new academic calendar starts, we wish you all the joy and wonder that comes with learning alongside your kids.

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA Media

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Mutual Trust

Brave Writer Mutual Trust

What if…

  • you made a rule for yourself that said: “I will never assume my child is out to trick me”?
  • you heard a child’s complaints as useful information so you can solve a problem together?
  • your child’s unhappiness mattered more to you than your need to push that child through schoolwork?

Trust Goes Both Ways

Trust goes both ways only if it goes both ways. Can your child trust you to bring good things into their daily lives? Does your child trust that when they are bored, tired, annoyed, or unhappy those feelings matter to you?

You can still have objectives. But what happens to those objectives when we take our children’s experience seriously? Might we:

  • change the delivery system?
  • create different conditions for performing the task?
  • lend kind support or a sense of humor?

Our kids are not the problem.

Mutual trust is.

When we build mutual trust, we improve everyone’s life. Learn to be trustworthy by trusting that your children are not out to ruin the day, your homeschool, your family or your life. Meet them where they are so they can meet you where you are too.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

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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Friday Freewrite: Thwarted

Friday Freewrite

Today’s freewriting prompt:

The word “thwarted” can mean to be prevented or stopped from doing something. Have you ever been thwarted? Write about your experience.

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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