A Brave Writer's Life in Brief - Page 47 of 759 - Thoughts from my home to yours A Brave Writer's Life in Brief
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A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

Thoughts from my home to yours

Mechanics & Literature: March 2024

Brave Writer

March’s Dart, Arrow, and Boomerang shine light on the power of deep relationships. While exploring writing, mechanics, and literary devices, lean into the big, juicy conversations these stories will inspire!

And this month’s Quill is Pets, and we think you’ll agree it’s the purr-fect way to introduce new concepts to your kids. We’ll investigate wordplay and onomatopoeia, we’ll connect with nature, and play with vivid vocabulary!


Brave Writer Quill
Quill (ages 5-7)

Pets

Go off-leash with the March issue of the Quill!

In the Brave Writer Book Shop, you’ll find books about pets that we adore! These are not required (you can use any books about these topics that you have in your stacks or discover at your library), but we find it’s helpful to have a list to get you started.

In this Quill, we’ll:

  • make like terriers and sniff out some book themes;
  • expand vocabulary as we squirrel away pet names;
  • take our imaginations for a walk by designing a dream pet;
  • draw upon fine motor skills to decorate awesome animals;
  • conduct a count of marvelous marks; and
  • get carried a-weigh with pet weights!

Get the Quill.


Brave Writer Dart
Dart (ages 8-10)

Duet by Elise Broach

Embark on an adventure with Mirabelle, a young goldfinch, and Michael an eleven-year-old musical prodigy, as they work to solve a real-life musical mystery!

The literary device focuses on Lyrical Language. Join us for a closer look! 

Inside this Dart we’ll also:

  • make colorful comparisons;
  • collect commas in a series;
  • discover a double-dot punctuation mark, the colon;
  • scope out the jobs of a semicolon;
  • consider closed compounds;
  • meander through a magnificent description; and so much more! 

Purchase the book.

Get the Dart.


Brave Writer Arrow
Arrow (ages 11-12)

Peter Lee’s Notes from the Field by Angela Ahn

Eleven-year-old Peter Lee has one dream—to become a paleontologist. But that dream is put on hold when unforeseen circumstances turn his life upside down! Thankfully, Peter’s scientific savvy can help!

The literary device focuses on Journal Writing. Join us for a closer look! 

In this Arrow we’ll also: 

  • explore the power of alliterative adjectives;
  • illuminate interjections;
  • sleuth for syllables;
  • act out action beats;
  • consider quotation marks;
  • sidle up to symbolism,and so much more! 

Purchase the book.

Get the Arrow.


Brave Writer Boomerang
Boomerang (ages 13-14)

Romeo & Juliet (graphic novel) by Gareth Hinds

Gareth Hinds’s graphic adaptation of the Bard’s romantic tragedy will delight the most loyal of Shakespeare fans, and it will appeal to readers new to his work as well! 

In this Boomerang, we’ll:

  • tune our ears to rhyme and meter;
  • see how Shakespeare celebrated and satirized the sonnet;
  • wonder what’s in a name and an identity;
  • appreciate the art of abridged text;
  • look into literary foils;
  • charge into graphic novel action, pacing, and inference; and so much more! 

Purchase the book.

Get the Boomerang.


For ages 15-18, check out the Slingshot.


Brave Writer

Posted in Arrow, Boomerang, BW products, Language Arts | Comments Off on Mechanics & Literature: March 2024


Friday Freewrite: Long or Short Stories?

Friday Freewrite

Do you prefer really long stories like 800+ page books, three hour movies, or shows with six seasons? Or are short stories and novellas, animated length films, or limited series more your speed? Or maybe you like both or are somewhere in the middle? Explain your answer.

New to freewriting? Check out our online guide.

Tags: Writing prompts
Posted in Friday Freewrite | Comments Off on Friday Freewrite: Long or Short Stories?


Amusement Day!

Brave Writer

Could amusement be the antidote to weariness?

I don’t know the evidence-based answer to that question. But does it matter if we know for sure? It’s worth the experiment!

If burnout can be caused by chronic exposure to emotionally draining environments, then flip it. Fill your cup with some fun!

So have an “Amusement Day!”

Literally, put amusement on your calendar if you need to.


More Inspiration

It’s Okay to Have Fun
Are We Having Fun Yet?
Put Fun on the Schedule—for YOU!


Brave Learner Home

Posted in Brave Writer Lifestyle | Comments Off on Amusement Day!


[Podcast #226] The Internet and Parenthood with Jill Smokler of She’s Got Issues

Brave Writer Podcast

The internet has been a great tool for creating community. It has given us ways to connect, commiserate, and even start entrepreneurial adventures. In the 90s, we were just figuring out blogs and message boards. Now, there is TikTok, Instagram, and going viral.

Jill Smokler
Jill Smokler

Founder of Scary Mommy and She’s Got Issues, Jill Smokler joins us to talk about how being a parent on the internet has changed, and stayed the same, over the years. We talk about our experiences with figuring out what stories to share about our kids, and which to keep private.

We also talk about:

  • being an entrepreneur,
  • growing older,
  • and parenting adult kids.

Tune in to the Brave Writer podcast and enjoy the conversation.

Show Notes

Choosing What to Share on the Internet

In the 90s, it was much easier to be anonymous on the internet. In fact, anonymous confessions catapulted Jill Smokler’s Scary Mommy website to fame. Now, true internet anonymity is much harder to achieve, making privacy more precious than ever. As parents, especially parents who write public works, we need to think carefully about what we share about our kids’ lives, and seek their affirmative consent.

Being an Entrepreneur 

Although Jill knew pretty early on that Scary Mommy could be profitable, it took years for it to bring in significant money. Julie experienced the same with Brave Writer. Our advice? When starting an entrepreneurial endeavor, be realistic about how much time it may take to start making more than a supplemental income. Also, build a team of support– this will help prevent burnout so you can stick around to see the full fruits of your labor.

Parenting Adult Children

As parents of adult children, we know that “it gets easier” does not necessarily apply to parenting. Although we now end up with more time to ourselves, we still worry about our grown children. Plus, our worries get multiplied by spouses and grandchildren. If you find yourself struggling with this stage of parenting, don’t worry, you definitely are not alone.

The internet may change, but the fundamentals of community stays the same: Share your authentic self, support others and ask for support, and be mindful about sharing stories that are not solely your own.


More About Jill

Jill Smokler is a New York Times bestselling author and entrepreneur who became an authentic voice for millions of imperfect moms through her Webby award winning blog, Scary Mommy. Launched in 2008, Scary Mommy began as a chronicle of Jill’s stay-at-home days with her children and quickly transformed into a vibrant community of women brought together by a common theme — parenting doesn’t have to be perfect.

Over the next eight years, without advertising dollars and on a shoestring budget, Jill and her team provided the destination for high quality, humorous, sharable parenting content. In 2015 with millions of followers, three books and the top parenting site in the country, Jill became the first “mommy blogger” to sell her brand to a media company. After three years acting as Chief Content Officer, Jill departed in 2018. Following a much needed break, Jill returns with She’s Got Issues – a brand for Gen X women focusing on the myriad issues uniting them.


Resources

  • Check out Jill’s website: She’s Got Issues
  • Follow Jill on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillsmokler
  • Read Jill’s first book: Confessions of a Scary Mommy
  • Read Jill’s second book: Motherhood Comes Naturally (and Other Vicious Lies)
  • 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
  • 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!
  • Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention!

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

Brave Writer Podcast

Posted in Podcasts | Comments Off on [Podcast #226] The Internet and Parenthood with Jill Smokler of She’s Got Issues


Try It: Clever Combinations

Brave Writer Try It

Wordplay is a great way to make grammar concepts stick! 

When two words team up to create one, you’ve got a compound word. And compound words offer a lively opportunity for active wordplay.

Let’s make some clever combinations!

This activity is from the Arrow (ages 11-12) for the book It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas.

Encourage your kids to combine an everyday noun with a food item, then let your imaginations soar!

EVERYDAY OBJECTS

mail
cat
glass
book
daisy
poodle
wool
chair
keyboard
straw
pencil
desk

FOODS

pizza
steak
mozzarella
anchovy
artichoke
onion
banana
kiwi
popsicle
lemonade
granola
cookie

Print this chart and cut out the words or write them on index cards for easier mixing and matching.

Ask your child: Do you want to

  • smoosh the words together to make a closed compound, 
  • leave a space to create an open compound word, or
  • include a hyphen to hook up a hyphenated compound word?

How would it feel to receive pizza mail? Is kiwi-wool green yarn or a sign of mold?

You can even turn this into a game!

One person acts out the word (charades-style) while the others try to guess the creative compound word.

Wordplay for the win! 


Brave Writer Literature Singles

Tags: Try It
Posted in Activities | Comments Off on Try It: Clever Combinations


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