Look at all these beautiful Brave Writer families!
Sarah, Brave Writer mom, set up a Brave Writer Lifestyle Facebook Group. You can join if you’d like to discuss all things Brave Writer.
Thanks Sarah and good luck! I’ve joined, but will be scarce. Want you all to feel free to discuss whatever you need to!
–Julie
Bogart Kids, 1999
What I did when I homeschooled my five: I kept us all together as much as possible! Here’s how.
We started our days together every day. We spent one hour of the morning reading.
The kids usually knitted, or played with Legos or blocks while I read.
When we finished what we called Read Aloud Time, we would move to the table for math pages and copywork. These were usually according to level, but we did them all at once so that I could be in “math mind” or “writing mind” and not go back and forth.
Sometimes copywork came first, and usually passages were pulled from the same book, but different lengths per kid. Sometimes they picked their own copywork passages. New-to-writing kids used handwriting books.
Then we’d work on our history all together—same topic, same era. This might include preparing little oral reports or acting out a scene of history. It might include captioning an illustration of the reading of the morning or making maps or artifacts from that era. Sometimes we prepared a party to go with the era of history.
If we were working on a writing project, we all worked on the same topics or same concept for writing (posters – everyone, mini books – everyone, freewriting – everyone). Each child would write naturally at his or her level. It’s not like I had to drum up a brand new idea for each child each week. So exhausting! When we wrote descriptive paragraphs, we were all observing and note-taking and talking about our items at once, with me superintending. I didn’t create a project for each child, unique to that child.
Poetry Teatimes were always done as a group, poetry books of all levels available. I brought my adult poetry books to the table so I could share poems I found meaningful, even if above their level. I felt that was the best way to introduce them to some of the more challenging poets.
Then we might take a hike or kick a soccer ball in the yard or watch a movie or go to the store or to an art museum or the library…
The rhythm of our days was not determined by grade level. Rather, it was shaped by topics—each child would naturally perform at his or her level. That’s where “grade level” revealed itself. But I didn’t cater to it or pay it much notice, honestly.
It’s a shift in thinking. You are a one-room school house. You want to make the most of that environment. Create learning opportunities that call all of you together. Your older kids will inspire your younger ones, your younger ones will cheer up your older ones (and make them feel smart). They can work together, helping each other out, and making suggestions. They provide great audiences for one another too!
Sulky adjective sullen; dismal; gloomy.
Think about the last time you were sulky. Describe what happened.
Image © Annems | Dreamstime.com
New to freewriting? Check out our online guide.
A brave writer is a person who has discovered that the risk to write is worth it.
A brave writer is a person who knows that s/he has lots of words inside and that after getting some of them out for this writing task, the supply hasn’t been exhausted and there are plenty more for next time.
A brave writer discovers that writer’s block is a condition that plagues even the most prolific writers, and then writes to unblock (or goes for a walk, or takes a shower, or jumps on a trampoline).
A brave writer already lives inside each of us, but some have been coaxed into hiding until a safe space opens the way to take the writing risk.
A brave writer writes what s/he wants to write and finds ways to “tweak” assignments so that they bend toward the writer’s strengths and interests.
A brave writer tells the true truth—choosing to generate insight rather than parroting someone else’s.
A brave writer explores a variety of writing voices and genres, knowing that content can be shaped for many different audiences.
A brave writer doesn’t start from scratch every time, but freely repurposes previously completed writing as raw material for new writing projects.
A brave writer sometimes writes poorly, hates writing, resists revision, gets hurt feelings, and wishes someone else could do the writing for him or her.
A brave writer knows that weak writing efforts are a part of a life’s work of writing.
A brave writer throws away some of his/her original writing.
A brave writer discovers that a trusted creative partner is a fantastic resource and learns to ask for writing feedback.
A brave writer relishes “having written” when it all comes together.
A brave writer is not always a good speller or typist or punctuator, but is responsible to ensure that final drafts have been edited to ensure those features are in place.
A bunch of brave writers live in your house already. They simply need to be coaxed to express themselves, and supported as they do.
Becoming a brave writer takes about ten years—the span of time it takes to be a fluent wordsmith, idea generator, speller, grammatically sound sentence-builder, fluent typist or handwriter, and insight cultivator. Take it a year at a time, a writing project at a time.
Become the brave writer you wish to see in your children, and live from that risky-self-expressing space. Your kids figure out what it means to be an adult by looking at you. If they see that being an adult means being a brave writer, they will be much more likely to want to be one too.
Image by Steven Depolo (cc cropped, tinted)
My post about worry is featured in this week’s Homeschool Carnival at Living Life & Learning!
Other posts include: “Capturing Contentment: Being interested in the details of daily life,” “Lessons from an 8-Month-Old: An Illustration of Natural Learning,” and “Homeschooling?” (a mother debates whether or not to home educate).
