Letting Kids Teach Themselves

You can’t know everything your kids need to learn in advance.

They’re going to learn things they never use and they’re going to need things you never taught them.

Your chief task, then, is to ensure that your kids learn how to teach themselves what they want to know.

The ONLY WAY that happens is if you let your children and teens teach themselves the things they want to know.

That means you have to make time in the day for your child to learn what they want to know even if it means they don’t learn all the things YOU think they should know.

Now, read all of that again.

You’re doing great!

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Brave Learning: Spelling, Punctuation, My Kid Hates Writing, and more!

Brave Learning

Recently on Brave Learning…

Just how important are spelling and punctuation anyway? [Public]

This is the last of our series on writing voice. [More]

Help! My Kid Hates Writing [Public]

Turning Struggling Students into Brave Writers [More]

Writing Prompt: The Great Sock Debate [Public]

Freewriting is that wonderful key that unlocks the writer within. [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)! 

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[Podcast #282] Help! What if you hate teaching writing?

Brave Writer

Do your kids hate writing? You’re not alone.

In this Brave Writer podcast episode, we explore why so many children (and adults!) feel blocked when it comes to writing—and why it’s more important than ever to teach kids to write from scratch, even in an age of AI.

We look at:

  • the emotional power of writing,
  • the damage done by performance-based instruction,
  • and how we can shift our approach to help kids see themselves as thinkers and communicators.

Listen to hear an excerpt from Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing, and learn how to turn struggling students into brave writers.

Show Notes

We’ve all had moments when writing felt like a public trial—every word scrutinized, every typo judged. In a world where artificial intelligence can compose an entire essay faster than we can pour a cup of tea, it’s fair to ask: why even bother teaching kids to write at all?

Here’s why.

Writing is self-expression, not just self-presentation.

It’s tempting to see writing as a performance for others. But at its core, writing is about externalizing our internal world. When kids are given the freedom to write what they truly think—even if it starts with “I hate this”—they start to connect with their own voice. That’s when transformation happens. Writing isn’t just for grades; it’s for healing, discovery, and clarity.

Yes, AI exists. No, it doesn’t replace your child.

Sure, technology has made it easier to bypass the hard parts of writing. But it hasn’t replaced the most valuable part: the human part. No machine can replicate your child’s one-of-a-kind perspective. We write because no one else can think exactly what we think. We write to preserve our voice in a way no algorithm can duplicate.

Kids love writing—they just don’t love school writing.

Give a child a phone, and they’ll write all night. Texts, captions, comments, scripts—they’re already writing. But it’s writing that feels meaningful to them. What they resist is the sterile, formulaic kind of writing we often assign in school. When we reposition writing as a tool for thinking, creativity, and connection—not just academic performance—it becomes something worth doing.

We teach writers, not just writing.

When we put the writer at the center instead of the assignment, we unlock something powerful. Kids become thinkers, not just students fulfilling a rubric. They clarify their ideas, explore their feelings, and build confidence in their ability to communicate. That’s why writing is still worth teaching—even if your kid hates it right now.

We believe the act of putting words on a page is a deeply human endeavor. It deserves care, respect, and even joy. Our job is to help kids find their way into writing—not by force, but by helping them see the value of their own thoughts.

And here’s the truth: when they realize their ideas matter, writing stops being a chore and starts becoming a tool they can use for the rest of their lives.

Resources

Connect with Julie

Connect with Melissa

Produced by NOVA

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What’s the Point of Grades?

Brave Writer

For homeschoolers, grading is pretty irrelevant. Grades were designed to help a teacher communicate with a parent who isn’t present in the classroom to know if their child is doing a good enough job keeping up with the class content. At home, you know how your child is doing. Who is the grade for?

If you give grades because you want to build a transcript for admission to a school, just know that most universities and high schools don’t trust your grades anyway! There’s no way to “norm” the grades a parent gives. Sometimes the parent is generous, sometimes punitive. How can a school rely on parent-generated grades? They can’t!

What sets homeschooled kids apart?

  • Their unique interests
  • The overall composition of their coursework (what they studied and how)
  • Their personal narrative essays where they demonstrate that learning

Colleges, in particular, are looking for a diversity of experiences in their freshman classes. They want kids who care about learning and have shown that passion.

The bottom line is: don’t sacrifice learning for the standardized education that drew you to homeschooling in the first place! If you want that standard education, send them to school! Otherwise, take advantage of the opportunity to live a rich life of learning that is not demonstrated by grades but by mastery, passion, and depth!

More on this topic:

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Brave Learning: A Lively Voice, Disarming Your Teens, and more!

Brave Learning

Recently on Brave Learning…

Fill the “house” with a lively voice! [Public]

Here’s the third part of our series on writing voice. [More]

Hello! 👋 [Public]

A recording of Julie’s live video. [More]

Disarming Your Teens

What a cup of coffee will do… [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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