As home educators, what does it mean to have a satisfying adult life? How can we nourish and enrich our lives when we are so depleted from giving away so much to our kids? What happens if we spend so much of our time preparing our children that we end up watching our own lives go by? Today we’re going to address these questions, and many more, with a conversation about Awesome Adulting. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ Resources: Ch...
May 14, 2018•48 min
In 1989, homeschool curriculum programs were few and far between; parents had to assemble products piecemeal, and this problem was far worse overseas. However, Sarita Holzmann decided to help by creating book lists for parents living abroad and then shipping those books to them, all before Amazon and the modern Internet. Fast-forward to present day: Sarita is the co-founder of successful homeschool curriculum brands Sonlight and Bookshark . The book selections are superb, and we especially enjoy...
May 07, 2018•31 min
When Julie started homeschooling, all of the curricula she saw focused on what tasks the kids should do – there was nothing explaining to parents what it actually looks like to facilitate that process. In other words, most writing programs and teaching methodologies said what to do, but not how to do it. So when Julie started Brave Writer, her goal was to help parents and children become partners in writing and learning because she saw that as the key element of a successful home education. You ...
Apr 30, 2018•44 min
What’s the difference between Brave Writer and some of the other writing programs available online? Julie originally saw the writing process as a relationship between trusted allies; the child and the parent. You don’t grow a writer simply by focusing on the skill and act of writing – you also have to establish bonds of affection and joy around language. And it’s so easy and natural to find that joy through Poetry Tea Time (so easy, in fact, that we call it the gateway drug to Brave Writer)! You...
Apr 23, 2018•39 min
Anne Guarnera has always been passionate about learning, languages in particular. Anne shares her passion for language learning with her husband, Daniel, and they are now introducing that love of language to their two young sons – and the rest of the homeschooling community through Language Learning at Home. In this episode, Anne shares how cultural learning can be integrated into any homeschool curriculum, even if you don’t speak a second language yourself. You can download show notes for the p...
Apr 16, 2018•52 min
Today I want to talk about hominess in homeschool, and how you can you help your kids stay on task, while still experience the peace and comfort that home provides all of us. At Brave Writer, we steadfastly resist images of yellow #2 pencils, school buses, and apples because we are not bringing school into our families. We want to reinforce the properties of home, as opposed to reinforcing the qualities of a faux school. Home is about relaxing; letting go of obligation and pressure. It’s the pla...
Apr 09, 2018•38 min
Dachelle McVey owns and operates Hide the Chocolate , a blog about homeschooling adventures, parenting, and – occasionally – hiding the chocolate! She currently homeschools her daughters, ages 10 and 12, and homeschooled her son, who is in his first year of college. We talk about the value of collaborative learning, how you can bring both local and online communities into your homeschool, and bringing your children on literary adventures. You can read full show notes for the podcast here: http:/...
Apr 02, 2018•36 min
Today we’re going to look at the habit of perfectionism. We all know, deep down, that we have to let go of this compulsion to do things right on the first try, if we want to get better at living a satisfying life. So if we all know that, why do so many of us have this bad habit? To figure that out, we’re going to explore the different dynamics of perfectionism, look at the topic through a new lens, and come up with some more tools for letting go of the things that just don’t work for us. You can...
Mar 26, 2018•52 min
Julie has written a lot on the natural stages of growth for young writers , which help parents place their children and figure reasonable expectations. Today we’re looking at the natural stages of development for home school instructors. If you are a home educating parent, this is made for you – and if you are married to someone who is not a home educating parent, this may serve as a helpful guide for them. Even if your spouse is not on the exact same journey, it is valuable for them to understa...
Mar 19, 2018•44 min
Charnaie Gordon is a computer programmer by day, blogger and influencer by night, and a wife and mother of two 24/7. She is also a self-proclaimed lifelong learner, podcast junkie, and diversity and inclusion expert. In Charnaie’s blog, Here Wee Read , she expresses her creativity and passion for reading, diverse literature, and literacy. More than anything else, Charnaie cares about connecting people with great books that they love because she believes – and we at Brave Writer agree – that book...
Mar 12, 2018•27 min
To be a home educator is to value learning – if you are part of the Brave Writer community, it is because you value learning. Although your children may not be able to articulate it, they know that your home is about learning, and that that is important to their parents. It is this gift that creates the platform for all else that you do. Truly, if you approach your homeschool from a space of valuing education, as opposed to a fear of public schools, your children have already earned a sacred spa...
Mar 05, 2018•37 min
Julie homeschooled five children, and today each of them is grown and thriving, in very different environments. We know that homeschooling parents often have some anxiety around the aspirations for perfection that are so prevalent in home school education – but we don’t have to be perfect! In this episode, we want to dispel some of that anxiety by sharing 55 thing that Julie did NOT do in her homeschool, but at some point thought she should do (or did do, and at some point thought she shouldn’t ...
Feb 26, 2018•34 min
Today Julie is talking about one of her favorite topics in the world: morning routines! She discusses how you can approach structuring your mornings, five things you can do before noon, and the educational philosophy behind what we’re trying to achieve with our morning routines. This is NOT a list of things you need to do every morning if you want to have a good day of homeschooling – it is an exploration of how morning routines really helped our home school, and how they may be used to help you...
Feb 19, 2018•47 min
We know the early years are crucial when it comes to a child’s development – but do you know, specifically, how it affects the brain? For example, in the first year of life, more than one million new neural connections are formed every second . Adversity impairs these new connections, and the greater the adversity a child faces, the greater the odds of a delay in their cognitive, language, or emotional development. Today we’re going to learn more about the developing brain so that we, as parents...
Feb 05, 2018•47 min
Season three of the Brave Writer podcast has been all about Brave Shifts; how to make the necessary shifts so you can have the homeschool you long to have. The shifts that Julie has made, and the growth she has experienced in her life, has been guided and shaped by one individual more than any other: her Mom, Karen O’Connor! Karen has always been a role model for how to grow, adapt, change, and become the best version of yourself no matter what life throws at you – and today we want to share tha...
Dec 11, 2017•48 min
Joules Evans is a mother of three, writer, cancer activist, fierce cheerleader of her friends in all of their creative endeavors, a girl with a severe case of wanderlust, YouTube vlogger, and on a mission to leave a beauty mark that she was there. Nine years ago, Joules received a breast cancer diagnosis – and, today, she celebrates every single day, even the day she heard the scary C word. She shares her journey, writing her memoir, and what she’s doing now to support others. You can download s...
Dec 04, 2017•49 min
Terry Heick is the Founder and Director of TeachThought, one of the world’s leading progressive learning brands, and their philosophy of education pairs beautifully with the Brave Writer lifestyle. In this episode, we discuss the education trends in our digital world and how we can best apply those insights to the home environment. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ Resources: You can download Free Writing Lessons here: go.bravewriter...
Nov 27, 2017•1 hr 7 min
Susanne Barrett is a beloved teacher, staff writer, and friend who has been with Brave Writer since the very beginning, when our classes were taught via prehistoric Yahoo Groups! She is currently in her 21st – and final – year of homeschooling, and she joins us on the show to share the lessons she’s learned along the way. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ Resources: You can download Free Writing Lessons here: go.bravewriter.com/free-...
Nov 20, 2017•42 min
Stephanie Elms is Brave Writer’s fabulous Homeschool Alliance coach, and we hired her to help all of you homeschool with peace and progress. She is a passionate and experienced home educator who encourages parents to trust themselves, trust their kids, and trust the process. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ Resources: You can download Free Writing Lessons here: go.bravewriter.com/free-writing-lessons Join The Homeschool Alliance: co...
Nov 13, 2017•38 min
Millie Florence is an enthusiastic homeschooler and a published author – and she’s only 13-years-old! Her debut novel, Honey Butter , was published in August 2017, and she’s currently working on two more books: a collection of poems and a fantasy novel. She shares how NaNoWriMo changed her life, and offers her own tips for young writers. We are hosting a Brave Writer classroom for all of the young people who want to write as part of NaNoWriMo, and you can sign up your kids for FREE! Visit the Yo...
Nov 09, 2017•34 min
Today’s guests have experienced one of life’s most harrowing events: losing a child. Brian and Tywana Smith are fellow homeschoolers and, more importantly, dear friends of Julie’s. They came on the show to share their story and offer support in the hopes of encouraging others who live, as Tywana describes, with “one foot in the spiritual world with Shayna and one foot in the physical world.” You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ Resource...
Nov 06, 2017•35 min
Rita Cevasco is a speech language pathologist, mother of three incredible children, the author of Trees in a Forest , and the Founder of Rooted in Language, a private speech and therapy practice that she conducts with her daughter. Julie and Rita share many of the same ideals, and their families have been on a Homeschooling journey together since Brave Writer was in its infancy. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ Resources: You can do...
Oct 30, 2017•1 hr 15 min
Ashley White enjoyed her career as a first grade teacher, but when her children were born, her entire world changed—including her perspective on public education. With the full support of her husband Jeremy, Ashley decided to focus her attention on homeschooling. The White family has since put a twist on traditional homeschooling by embarking on what they call Roadschooling. It’s just like it sounds—they hop in their minivan and take their education on the road, visiting the places that intrigue...
Oct 23, 2017•53 min
Christy Thomas is the definition of an Awesome Adult! Her husband Adam is on active duty and they have moved eight times in 13 years on the whim of the Navy. Christy balances the unpredictability by homeschooling their three kids, and she fuels her Awesome Adult life by running, drawing, knitting, reading, and blogging. Self-care isn’t just a luxury for Christy – it’s a priority. In this episode, Christy shares her tips for developing an Awesome Adult mindset and integrating these pockets of hap...
Oct 16, 2017•45 min
Kim and Gabrielle Linnell are an amazing mother-daughter duo we invited on the show to share how Brave Writer — and homeschooling in general — has shaped their understanding of education. Gabrielle is 25 and was homeschooled for about nine years, also spending time in private and public schools. She currently works at Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., as the digital projects associate, where she gets to work on awesome digital initiatives relating to Shakespeare and his world. Gabr...
Oct 09, 2017•50 min
We were first introduced to Christina Celebi in the height of live streaming broadcasts like Periscope, and we were immediately attracted to her contagious passion and sparkle. We sat down to talk with her because her family have made a brave decision: they have taken their homeschool on the road abroad! Christina immediately fell in love with the freedom that homeschooling created for her family. That independence, mixed with her and her husband’s wanderlust, took root and blossomed into what s...
Oct 02, 2017•45 min
Dotty Christensen is a one of Julie’s long-time friends, mentors, and partners in shared homeschooling . They sit down to discuss how families can create a warm, rich environment in their homeschool life, and why parents shouldn’t be afraid that homeschooling is a dead end – it can even be the catalyst for something exciting and new in your adult life! You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ Resources: You can download Free Writing Lessons...
Sep 25, 2017•45 min
Susan Wise Bauer is best known for writing her homeschooling classic, The Well-Trained Mind , and she is a trusted authority in the homeschooling community. Her new book, Rethinking School: How to Take Charge of Your Child's Education, will be available later this year. Susan also has a uniquely comprehensive understanding of the history of the home education movement because she’s been a student, a teacher, and a homeschool business owner. We are starting this series about Brave Shifts with Sus...
Sep 18, 2017•53 min
Today’s guest, Mason Lawler, is 14-years-old and recently self-published his first book, How the Chameleon Got Its Colors . 2016 was a rough year – Mason went through surgeries and long recoveries – so his mother focused on a big project that would lead to a satisfying outcome. They decided to write a book. We discuss... self-teaching the self-publishing process commissioning illustrations and why there is a grain of truth behind all good fiction. You can download show notes for the podcast here...
Sep 04, 2017•16 min
We’ve reached the finale of this Brave Writer Lifestyle Series. The past interviews have shared literally decades of homeschool experience, including all of the challenges, discoveries, family relationships, and friendships that have resulted from this Brave Writer lifestyle of love and learning. (Don’t worry! We’ll be back with a new episode next week!) We’re going to wrap up the series with the wisdom and wit of the wonderful friend, author and homeschooling pro Melissa Wiley. Melissa is mom t...
Apr 17, 2017•1 hr 1 min
