A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

The sixth Brave Writer precept is: We take risks and experiment with methods, knowing we can double back any time to sure footing.

When learning becomes stale, the best strategy is to take learning risks, and to experiment with different methods.

For instance, what if your child got to pick any page in the math book to work on today? Does it matter if that child knows how to do the problems on that page? It doesn’t! Why? Because the fact that the child had curiosity and picked a page that looked interesting provides the foundation for teaching and experimenting and learning.

Can the child use skills they already have to figure out what that page is trying to teach? Is there a meaningful approach the child could take without any help from you? What does a child need to know that they don’t know yet simply by looking at that page?

Same thing is true for any subject. Perhaps you hand your child the book you’re reading aloud and say to your child: “Pick one sentence on this page that you think is interesting for any reason.” If the child comes back and says all the sentences are boring, ask them to find the most boring sentence. Discuss why.

Experiment, get curious, take a risk!

What would happen if you told your child that it was time to write, but every sentence had to end in an exclamation point? How would that impact what they wrote?

What if you asked your child to write on a sheet of paper in landscape view rather than portrait? How about if your child used a different color pen for each word?

We’re only limited by our imaginations and our willingness to depart from the conventional. Be brave! You can’t blow it.

No matter what you do, you learn something.

Brave Writer’s 12 Precepts

The fifth Brave Writer precept is: We coordinate academics with our children’s delights, passions, and skills. We are the seekers and finders of everyday magic.

It’s the holidays where seeking and finding everyday magic is a little easier. Maybe it’s the twinkle lights or the fragrance of cinnamon in cookies and hot apple cider. Maybe its festive decor that helps us really see the room we’re in with new eyes.

Now is a great time to slough off the schedule and lean into learning through living. Academics can look a whole lot like preparing for the end of the year celebrations.

Learning through Living

Reading: poetry, lyrics to holiday songs and hymns, stories about the holiday, spiritual literature if that is a part of your family’s tradition.

Math: shopping for gifts with a budget, counting houses with lights on a drive, baking sweet breads and holiday cookies, assembling apparatus or hanging lights

Writing: place setting name cards, gift tags, letters to family and friends, the note to “Santa” if that is in your tradition, wishes and regrets as you enter the new year

History and Geography: identifying New Year’s celebrations around the world, tracing the history of the spiritual tradition your family celebrates, tracing the history of celebrations others enjoy, picking one tradition (like tree decorating or the dreidel) and doing a deep dive on its origin

Science: making candles, baking, sustaining the life of a cut tree, building a fire, shooting fireworks, stringing lights, mulling cider

Handicrafts: knitting, embroidery, making baked clay ornaments or earrings, rolling beeswax candles, creating window stars from kite paper, decorating a holiday table

Nature: making a wreath, collecting nature items for a centerpiece, creating a bird feeding bell from pinecones, peanut butter and birdseed, decorating an outdoor tree with dried oranges and cranberries for visiting birds

Brave Writer’s 12 Precepts