Brave Writer

Welcome back for Part 2 of our conversation with Tara Mohr, homeschooling mom and expert on women’s leadership.  We discuss teaching kids to notice and name their inner critic, the terms “pachad” and “yirah,” and what Tara means when she uses the term “calling.” You can pick up a copy of Tara’s book, “Playing Big: Practical Wisdom for Women Who Want to Speak Up, Create, and Lead,” in the Brav...

What is it that holds women back when it comes to taking risks or living authentically? How can we raise our daughters so they don’t have to struggle as much as we have? Tara Mohr, an expert on women's leadership and a homeschooling mom herself, joins the show today to discuss this topic and share her book, Playing Big: Practical Wisdom for Women Who Want to Speak Up, Create, and Lead. We discuss...

On New Year's Day, Julie's beloved mother, Karen O'Connor, passed away at the age of 86. Karen was a remarkable woman who touched the lives of many with her kindness, warmth, and wisdom. As a prolific author of 70 books and a gifted writing teacher, Karen's legacy is one of inspiration and creativity. She was deeply cherished by her three children, nine grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren....

Welcome back for the second half of our walk down Brave Writer memory lane! Julie regales us with never-told-before stories about the ups and downs of the Brave Writer business. She tells us about the one and only time she took out a loan for Brave Writer. We also hear about a stressful lawsuit that ended up with a scammer getting arrested! Most of all, we hear story after story about how the love...

It started with editing church materials and swapping advice on 1990s internet message boards. Today, Brave Writer has served thousands of families, helping them transform their relationship to writing and each other.  In this episode, we walk you through the history of Brave Writer. Take a listen as Julie explains why she started the business and how she grew it. Her story is unique, but sim...

Learning is a natural function of the brain. As teachers, our job is to facilitate that natural function. In today’s episode, we dive into the research around how brains perform learning and the ideal conditions for optimal learning. We dig into Renata and Geoffrey Caine’s research on the topic, focusing on three key areas: orchestrated immersion, relaxed alertness, and active processing. We expla...

Julie’s back! You may have noticed that Melissa’s been hosting the podcast solo recently. Today we learn why Julie has been absent and what she’s learned while she’s been away. We talk about Julie’s experience with her mother’s illness, leading Julie to reflect on how her mother created a homeschooling culture for her kids even though they were enrolled in traditional school. We also review how th...

Is there anything better than the warm, magical feeling you get from a good book series? In today’s episode, Dawn Smith, Brave Writer’s Director of Publishing, joins us to discuss the power of children’s book series. We talk about the unique delight of reading a book series, getting immersed in the characters and the world they live in. We also dig into how series help build kids’ confidence throu...

How can you go beyond the daily grind of lessons to truly enliven your kids’ learning? In this episode, we go over two methods that you might have already observed pop up naturally in your kids’ lives: rabbit trials and rabbit holes. Is your kid super obsessed with something at the moment? That’s great! Feed their “rabbit hole” deep-dive with as much material and curiosity as you can. Does your ki...

If you feel like an outsider when it comes to art, you aren’t alone. In fact, as Bianca Bosker explains, there’s a whole gatekeeping system built up around art: who you know, how you dress, what words you use, etc.  Lucky for us, Bianca Bosker spent five years finding a way past the gatekeeping. In her book and in today’s episode, Bianca brings back her findings to the rest of us, teaching us...

Play isn’t a reward for learning, it is the learning. In this episode, we dig into the puritanical reflex to be suspicious of anything fun, and rebuke it with developmental science and lived experience. We give ideas on how to create playful conditions for deep, sustainable learning for your kids and even yourself. We also break down how to evaluate homeschool learning you’re already doing: How do...

Chances are someone you know will have a sick child hospitalized at some point. In this episode, Melissa explains how you can best support that parent and caregiver. Melissa herself has had two of her kiddos hospitalized so her suggestions come from lived experiences. First, Melissa discusses the practical physical items you can bring to a caregiver in the hospital: toiletries, quality food, and a...

Leaves changing color, evenings getting chillier–autumn is a wonderful time of the year to turn our attention toward the natural world around us. Today’s episode is all about how to facilitate nature study for your kids. We cover resources that can help you on your journey. We also give you specific practices you can try out with your family.  Most importantly, we dig into why nature study is...

We tend to have a pretty clear idea of what practice looks like for musicians and athletes. But what does practice look like for writers? In today’s episode, Julie and Melissa discuss what writing practice can look like for writers of all ages and developmental stages. Julie and Melissa describe their own daily writing practices and those of well-known authors. Then they dive into how you can faci...

Ever have one of those days where the kids won’t stop bickering, everything seems difficult, and overall there’s just bad energy? In today’s episode, we give you tips and tricks on how to turn the mood around…or at least keep your own internal peace. We give ideas that are focused on the body: movement and the five senses. We also give tips that are focused on the surroundings: making a small, new...

What does it mean to be adultist? Do children have a right to not brush their teeth… or the right not to have cavities? Eloise Rickman joins the show today to discuss her new book, “It's Not Fair, Why It's Time for a Grown-Up Conversation About How Adults Treat Children.” We have a big juicy conversation about human development, education, societal structures, lived experiences, and the UN Convent...

The sound of Moroccan Arabic, the smell of dried buffalo chips, the taste of sugary mint tea, the view of an open prairie–in today’s episode Julie and Melissa reflect on immersive learning experiences and how education becomes a part of a person for the rest of their life. Julie is back from her trip to Europe, having spent a significant amount of her time in Spain. Always the homeschooler, she de...

As homeschooling parents, one of our biggest concerns is ensuring our children are ready for college when the time comes (if they choose that path). Today, we’re joined by Elizabeth Christie, homeschooling mom of six, who tells us about how her Brave Writers are now excelling in college. Tune in to hear how Elizabeth’s kids sailed through college application essays, how her daughter was recruited...

“Structure” might be one of the most anxiety-provoking words for a homeschooling parent. If you feel like you’re always struggling to achieve structure in your household or if you don’t even know what level of structure is best for your kids, this episode is for you. This episode is a previously recorded webinar about parties. Yes, structure and parties are one and the same in the Brave Writer wor...

Literary analysis shouldn’t be a cold dissection that increases the distance between the reader and the text, but rather a way for the reader to more deeply engage with the text. In today’s episode, Julie lays out Brave Writer’s approach to teaching literary analysis and writer’s craft to your kids. This is a rebroadcast of a training webinar. Literary analysis and noticing a writer’s craft can st...

Welcome to Julie’s webinar, “The GPS of Writing: Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling.” Since Julie is taking a short break from the podcast to focus on her newest book, we’re replacing our typical podcast with a broadcast of this webinar. Throughout the webinar, Julie weaves a metaphor for grammar, punctuation, and spelling: Grammar is the rules of the word-party, punctuation is the decorator and b...

Once you view time as a gift to be savored, you can start to naturally exchange agendas for rhythms and arbitrary expectations for deep learning. This is one of the takeaway messages from The Joy of Slow: Restoring Balance and Wonder to Homeschool Learning , a book by experienced homeschooling mom Leslie Martino. Leslie is our guest on the program today. She earned bachelor and master’s degrees in...

What’s living literature? What does it have to do with teaching your kids grammar and spelling? Today’s episode is a recording of Julie’s webinar where she explains the heart of Brave Writer’s approach to teaching writing. Julie explains how immersion in rich, powerful literature is the best way to teach your child writing mechanics. She outlines the Brave Writer process in six steps: Parent reads...

Tia Levings was trapped in a high-control religion, experiencing church-sanctioned domestic abuse at the hands of her husband. Her only relief was the Trapdoor Society online message boards where she could discuss big ideas about education and human development. Years later, she barely escaped with her and her kids’ lives. Tia joins us today for an emotional, deeply meaningful episode where we dis...

Homeschooling can be isolating, but it shouldn’t be and it doesn’t have to be. In fact, as a homeschooling family, you have unique opportunities to meaningfully connect with all kinds of folks. In this episode, we discuss how to find community as homeschoolers and why it is so important. We discuss connecting to your local homeschooler advocacy organization, using the internet to find like-minded...