If you could select all the artwork for your home (including other family members’ rooms!), what would you choose and why?
New to freewriting? Check out our online guide.
[Podcast #221] Rethinking Your Beliefs with Josh Harris
As lifelong learners and educators in the homeschooling community, we understand that the journey of teaching and guiding our children is ever-evolving.
Our recent podcast guest, Joshua Harris, shared his personal journey of growth and transformation, which resonates deeply with many of us who navigate the complex waters of education and parenting.
Show Notes
Embracing Change and Growth
A vital element of our homeschooling experience is the willingness to embrace change. Initially, we may start with a set of beliefs and practices we deem perfect for our children. However, we soon realize that adapting and reevaluating these approaches is essential for their holistic growth and our own development. This openness to modify our perspectives demonstrates strength, maturity, and a commitment to lifelong learning.
Learning from Challenges
The challenges we face in homeschooling, such as reconsidering our educational methods or parenting views, are invaluable learning opportunities. They offer profound insights into our capabilities and the depth of our growth. It’s through these experiences that we gain the most understanding of ourselves and our roles as educators and parents.
The Role of Feedback and Community
In our homeschooling journey, the feedback and support we receive from our community play a crucial role. This network, including our children, fellow homeschoolers, and even critics, provides diverse perspectives that are essential for reassessing and enriching our practices. It’s through this communal interaction that we learn to value different viewpoints and refine our educational approach.
Personal and Professional Transformation
Many of us in the homeschooling world undergo significant personal and professional transformations. Changes in careers, family dynamics, or core beliefs are part of our evolving narrative. These transformations remind us that our identity is dynamic and that life is a continuous learning process.
Appreciating Our Efforts and Intentions
An important aspect of our homeschooling path is recognizing and appreciating our efforts and intentions. The pressure to provide the best for our children can be immense, but it’s crucial to remember that our actions stem from a deep-seated commitment to their well-being and growth. Even when our methods require adjustments or reevaluation, they originate from a place of love and dedication.
Our journey in homeschooling, much like Joshua’s journey, is filled with learning, growth, and transformation. It’s a path that requires us to be open to change, receptive to feedback, and forgiving of ourselves for the decisions we make along the way. As we continue to navigate this path, we do so with the understanding that each step, each challenge, and each change is a part of the beautiful tapestry of our homeschooling experience.
Resources
- Josh Harris’s website: joshharris.com and clearandloud.com
- Follow Josh on Instagram: @harrisjosh
- Preorder: Becoming a Critical Thinker Workbook by Julie Bogart
- Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention!
- Curious about Brave Writer but not quite sure what it’s all about? Join our free 7-Day Writing Blitz to transform your writing program in just one week!
- Sign up for our Text Message Pod Ring to get podcast updates and more!
- Send us podcast topic ideas by texting us: +1 (833) 947-3684
- Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Go to bravewriter.com/getting-started
Connect with Julie
- Website: bravewriter.com
- Instagram: @juliebravewriter
- Threads: @juliebravewriter
- Twitter: @bravewriter
- Facebook: facebook.com/bravewriter
Connect with Melissa
- Website: melissawiley.com
- Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
- Instagram: @melissawileybooks
- Twitter: @melissawiley
- Facebook: facebook.com/authorMelissaWiley
Produced by NOVA Media
Try It: Reading Faces
Did you know that your little ones are already great at reading? Try our ideas below and see!
Reading Faces
- Pick up a board or picture book (or for older kids, screenshot a YouTube video)
- Read character facial expressions. (It’s okay if your child sees a different emotion than you do. Show interest and learn why!)
| Joy | Fear | Relief |
| Anger | Effort | Tired |
| Worry | Surprise | Sadness |
- Ask: how do you know what that face is saying? Identify a curved mouth, raised eyebrows, a crinkled nose, and more.
- Next, make your own faces. See if you can guess each other’s emotions by reading each other’s faces.
Remember, we read more than the alphabet every day!
Explore more activities like this one in the Wordless Picture Book Quill!
All ‘Try It’ Activities
Brave Writer® programs teach writing using your child’s body, mind, and heart.
Discover why writing is the key to all of learning!
NEW: Becoming a Critical Thinker!
How does the queen of no workbooks get arm-twisted into writing one?
Compliments.
My editors believed in me. They thought you’d all want a book that gave your 12-18 year olds a way to work through the exercises in Raising Critical Thinkers. They also thought that I had more exercises and tricks up my sleeve (they were right).
And so, I made a thing and I like it! I hope you do too.
It’s called Becoming a Critical Thinker and it’s written directly to your teens.
Preorder Your Copy!
I have some big announcements related to the workbook coming closer to publication day (May 7, 2024) so stay tuned for those. But in the meantime: Yay! I wrote a workbook I would actually use with my own kids!
Editor’s Description
At a time when we’re constantly flooded with contradictory information and opinions, critical thinking skills are more important than ever. This accessible workbook is full of valuable insights, thought-provoking questions, and useful exercises to help teens and preteens expand their perspectives, skillfully navigate thorny issues, recognize bias, identify misinformation, and become more comfortable with dissent and differences of opinion. Becoming a Critical Thinker offers essential tools for students to mature into thoughtful, curious, and empathetic learners.
Friday Freewrite: Saying Sorry
Have you ever said “I’m sorry” for something you shouldn’t have been sorry for? Or have you ever not said you’re sorry when you should have? Write about your experiences with apologizing.
New to freewriting? Check out our online guide.
