Refer-a-Friend!

Brave Writer Refer-a-Friend

We hear from you ALL THE TIME!

You and your homeschool pals:

  • plan book club parties!
  • brainstorm unit studies—sharing all the books and resources!
  • lean on each other when you don’t feel you’ve done enough! (You have!)

Wish more of your homeschool friends would homeschool the Brave Writer way?

Think of all you could do together.

Help them take the leap!

Join Brave Writer’s Refer-a-Friend program!

Give $10! Get $10!

It’s always a great time for your friends to jump into Brave Writer! And everyone gets a discount!

Here’s how it works: 

  1. Use this link to refer new-to-Brave-Writer friends—refer as many as you like.
  2. Your new-to-Brave-Writer friend will receive a $10 discount code for a purchase in the Brave Writer store.
  3. Once your friend purchases, you’ll receive a $10 discount code good for anything in the Brave Writer store.
  4. Use one code per purchase in the Brave Writer store (excludes online classes).

Sharing was never so easy!

Help more friends find the joy in homeschooling with Brave Writer. Refer-a-Friend! 

Growing Brave Writers

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Friday Freewrite: Cookie Jar

Friday Freewrite

The title of today’s writing prompt is: A Day in the Life of a Cookie Jar. Go!

New to freewriting? Check out our online guide.

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Podcast: Rereading, Rewatching, Revisiting

Brave Writer Podcast

Do you ever wonder if there are benefits to letting your kids reread, rewatch, and revisit their favorite books, movies, and TV shows?

On today’s Brave Writer podcast, we delve into this practice and its numerous advantages for children and their families, highlighting how revisiting beloved stories can foster:

  • critical thinking,
  • emotional growth,
  • and shared experiences.

Show Notes

Developing critical thinking skills

When children reread or rewatch their favorite stories, they often notice new details, ideas, and patterns they may have missed initially. This process enables them to think more deeply about the story, the characters, and the overall themes. As they grow older and their understanding of the world expands, they will likely find new layers of meaning in the same story. This promotes critical thinking, which is a valuable skill that can be applied in various aspects of life.

Emotional growth and connection

Revisiting favorite stories can also provide emotional support and a sense of stability for children. Familiar characters and settings can offer a comforting escape from real-life challenges or transitions. Moreover, discussing these stories with their parents or peers can foster emotional growth by helping kids understand their feelings and share them with others.

Bonding through shared experiences

One of the most significant benefits of encouraging kids to reread, rewatch, and revisit their favorite stories is the opportunity for families to bond through shared experiences. Parents can read or watch along with their children, creating moments of connection and conversation. They can also create family traditions around specific books, movies, or TV shows, strengthening their relationships and creating lasting memories.

Introducing the “90-minute idea”

We love the concept of the “90-minute idea,” which encourages parents to set aside 90 minutes to explore their children’s interests. By investing time in understanding their passions, parents can support their children’s learning and creativity. This approach can help uncover hidden talents, skills, and knowledge that may not be evident in traditional learning environments.

The joy of buddy reading

Buddy reading, where two or more people read the same book and discuss it, is a valuable experience for children. It allows them to share their thoughts, opinions, and emotions about the story, fostering a deeper connection with both the material and their reading partner. Parents can also participate in buddy reading by leaving margin notes in books for their children to discover, creating a unique, interactive experience.

Creating book clubs and discussion groups

Parents can support their children’s love for rereading and rewatching by organizing book clubs or discussion groups. These gatherings encourage children to engage in conversation and analysis, which can lead to a lifelong love for learning and intellectual exploration.

The practice of rereading, rewatching, and revisiting favorite stories has numerous benefits for children and their families. It promotes critical thinking, emotional growth, and shared experiences, while also encouraging a love for learning and intellectual exploration. By supporting this practice, parents can foster strong connections with their children and help them develop valuable life skills.

Resources

Connect with Julie

Brave Writer Podcast

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Learning in the Wild: Take Grammar and Literature Outside!

Brave Writer

When it comes to writing, interacting with abstract concepts through physical activity and play is educational gold!

  • Go on a letter or word hunt using the signs at a local park. 
  • Enjoy a bookish Big Juicy Conversation during a walk through the woods or city streets.
  • Move and groove in the playground to punctuations’ directive drumbeat. 
  • Practice the art of recording descriptive details by observing birds in trees.

Brave Writer’s Mechanics and Literature programs naturally engage both body and mind, making it easy to take your learning outdoors.

Let’s see how!

Quill (ages 5-7)

Hop, skip, and jump your way into nurturing pre-literacy skills! The Quill introduces young learns to reading, writing, and math with engaging activities you can do over and over again.

If you are eager to take learning outside with lots of movement to make concepts stick, these handbooks will be of special interest: 

Try this im-press-ive mark-making activity from the Rocks Rock Quill: 

Cuneiform writing was developed in ancient Sumer in the early Bronze Age. People “wrote” by pressing wedge-shaped sticks into soft clay. The marks often represented an exchange of goods. Your child can make marks to practice letters or symbols while developing the fine motor skills necessary for writing! 

Here’s what you do: 

  • Find a spot outdoors with a flat surface. 
  • Gather soft clay and a few tools to make marks. 
  • With your child, flatten a slab of clay with your hands or a rolling pin. (Tip: a rolling pin is another helpful tool that develops gross motor skills necessary for writing!) 
  • Invite your child to experiment with motions that work best. Get curious! Does it work to drag the pencil through the clay to make lines and squiggles? Is it easier to press the point into the clay, forming shapes out of dots? 
  • Join them with your own slab of clay. 
  • Press to flatten and make new marks for as long as your child is engaged. 

Explore literature, grammar, and punctuation outdoors the Brave Writer way!

The Dart, Arrow, Boomerang, and Slingshot literature handbooks feature one novel per month and use weekly passages for copywork and dictation. They explore punctuation, grammar, spelling, literary devices, and literary analysis.

Try it prompts

Try It prompts, featured in every handbook, engage kids and teens with concepts through simple movement, discussion, and hands-on activities. Some are written to be enjoyed outdoors, while others could be easily modified for this purpose.

Explore the sampling of Try It activities below—take them outdoors!

Dart (ages 8–10)

This Try It from The Very, Very Far North Dart was made to be done outdoors!

What are the colors in your crayon box?

Have your child trot around the house to gather objects in their favorite colors. When the collection is assembled, brainstorm together to name these particular shades. Does your child prefer moss green or lime? Cherry red or scarlet? Playful and wacky names are encouraged: your palette could include unique shades like sourdough white or mouthwash green.

Next time you and your child take a walk, notice the colors in your own landscape. Together, invent descriptive names for the hues you encounter. Or if your child is a Minecraft fan, you can come up with a list of color words for each biome! 

And remember: colorful writing utensils can make copywork and dictation more engaging! You may want to collect a bunch of blue pens, markers, and crayons from around the house and let your child write the painter’s shades of blue in ink that matches their description.

Arrow (ages 11-12)

Here’s an engaging Try It from Harriet the Spy Arrow:

Personify it!

Grab paper, a clipboard, and a pen and take this activity outside.

Look for an object you want to describe. Let personification help you get the job done.

Tips for success:

Make a list of objects that are familiar to you—modify this list to feature objects outdoors.

  • dog bowl
  • guitar
  • sheet of paper
  • shoe
  • glue bottle
  • pencil sharpener

Make a second list of human characteristics.

  • hard worker
  • walking 
  • helpful
  • joyful
  • creative
  • performing
  • cranky
  • exhausted

Connect them.

  • The dog’s bowl worked hard to keep its owner nourished.
  • The guitar joyfully performed its song for guests at the party.
  • Her shoes hit the pavement happily on their way to the movie theatre.

Boomerang (ages 13–14)

The Beast Player Boomerang is bursting with nature connections teens can apply to their own writing: 

Nature Writing

Take a walk and pause for a moment anywhere you choose—or gaze out a window, if you like. Capture one aspect of life outside. It can be as small as a raindrop on a leaf or as expansive as clouds in the sky. Write a paragraph or perhaps a haiku poem about your observations.

The benefits of outdoor learning.

The science is conclusive: outdoor learning is where it’s at! Research shows that getting outside is a healthy lifestyle choice with measurable academic and emotional benefits that include:

  • improved mental health
  • stronger academic performance
  • increase in focus
  • fewer disciplinary challenges

Bonus: an outdoor “classroom” supports individualized learning styles of all kinds. So, if the wild outdoors is lately summoning your family, tempting you away from your indoor workspaces, perfect! Heed its call and enjoy!

Looking for books begging to be read outdoors?

Darts

Arrows

Boomerangs & Slingshots

Ready for an online class?

Natural Jounaling! Enroll the entire family for ONE price. Write, hike, and draw together!

Brave Learner Home Members!

Check out the One Thing Challenge library for ready-made outdoor activities! 

Brave Learner Home

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Complete Series: Am I Doing Enough?

Brave Writer

“Tea with Julie” is a weekly emailed missive that enhances your life as an educator, parent, and awesome adult. From time to time, we’ll share some of our past topics here on the blog.

It’s an oft-asked homeschool question: “Am I doing enough?” and if you’d like to see how Brave Writer addresses the issue, we’ve gathered together ALL the Tea with Julie messages on the topic plus two recent podcasts!

Am I Doing Enough?

Tea with Julie messages:

PLUS listen to these Brave Writer podcast episodes:

If you’d like more hands-on coaching, join our Brave Learner Home coaching community. You’ll find a slew of Brave Writer staff coaches as well as thousands of members who share their experiences of homeschooling with each other.

The Brave Learner Home is for every level of homeschooler, from newbie to middle of the muddle to homeschooling high school. It provides:

  • professional development,
  • lesson plans,
  • community discussion,
  • self-care, and
  • guidance.

Can’t wait to help you have the best year of your life!

Brave Learner Home

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