When it comes to politics, keeping your facts straight can feel nearly impossible. It seems as if every outlet has some political bias, and misinformation can run rampant on social media and take hold of millions without question. That?s why critical thinking ? especially in this realm ? is incredibly important. Sharon McMahon of SharonSaysSo has so much to teach me ? and all of us ? about government, history, and whales. She?s a former high school government and law teacher who earned a reputation as ?America?s Government teacher? amidst the historic 2020 election proceedings for her viral efforts to educate the general public on political misinformation. Through a simple mission to share non-partisan information about democracy, Sharon launched her Instagram account to explain the facts without the political bias and clickbait that often go along with them. Her community of governerds have raised over 1.3 million dollars for people with needs and to relieve medical debt. She?s here to discuss the art of critical thinking. We talk about the importance of unpacking biases, how to identify facts, when to defer to the experts, and how to think like a scientist. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2021 and you?ll get a free seven-day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

As we talk about critical thinking, the conversation tends to skew towards teenagers and high schoolers, but you?d be amazed at the powerful wheels turning in the minds of our little ones. We can prime the environment for them to be quality thinkers at as young as preschool or even toddlerhood. Susie Allison has a lot of insight into this age group. She runs the popular Instagram account, Busy Toddler, and she?s created a wealth of experiences for her own children and other families. Busy Toddler has grown up to become a worldwide brand, with Susie authoring ?The Busy Toddler?s Guide to Actual Parenting.? She has a degree in Elementary Education and is currently earning her master?s degree in Early Childhood Education. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Follow Susie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/busytoddler/ (@busytoddler) Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2021 and you?ll get a free seven-day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Today?s guest is someone of which I?m a huge fan, who lives as a role model for my future, who has hundreds of thousands of followers, and who has even been featured in commercials for GoDaddy. She?s Lyn Slater, the Accidental Icon. She has multiple degrees and lives in New York where she taught social work at Fordham University for 20 years. She?s a fashion icon, but what really sets her apart is her critical thinking. Throughout her academic work and teaching career, she balances creativity with thoughtfulness for learning and education. She?s also a person of integrity and depth. Lyn started Accidental Icon when she had trouble finding a fashion blog that offered an urban, modern, and intellectual aesthetic for women who live what she calls ?interesting but ordinary? lives in cities. Women who ? like her ? aren?t celebrities, but are smart, creative, fashion-forward, thoughtful, engaged, and comfortable with who they are. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Learn more: https://www.accidentalicon.com/ (accidentalicon.com) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iconaccidental/ (@iconaccidental) Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2021 + you?ll get a free seven-day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Is university a rite of passage or merely a means to success? Or is there even more to it? Could college grow our young adult?s minds and hearts in addition to their thinking and practical skills? Dr. Adam Clark is a professor and theologian at Xavier University. He?s committed to the idea that 21st century theological education must equip and inspire students to live according to the St. Ignatius dictum, ?Go forth, and set the world on fire.? During his tenure, Dr. Clark has received many distinctions and awards for his work. His courses contribute to the Jesuit practice of educating students in the service of faith and the promotion of justice. He currently serves as the co-chair of Black Theology Group at The American Academy of Religion, and he is frequently in demand by news programs for his comments on issues related to social justice. Adam speaks from the fullness of his personal, Christian faith as he discusses critical thinking. His concepts, however, are life-giving ? no matter which belief system you hold. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with ?Brave Writer?? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the ?Brave Writer? newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we have in 2021 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

The Enneagram can be a useful tool for understanding the different ways in which people perceive the world, but how can it apply to critical thinking? Leslie Hershberger has a unique blend of wisdom, practical training, and insight. She has worked with the three-centered Enneagram approach for over 20 years as a consultant, master teacher, coach, spiritual guide, facilitator, and mentor. She?s certified in The Narrative Tradition and in Enneagram in Business and has served on the board of the International Enneagram Association. Leslie talks about how critical thinking shows up in each of the nine Enneagram types. Some of this conversation gets into the weeds of the Enneagram system, but if you stick with it you will come away with a greater understanding of the ways people sort the world. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: https://lesliehershberger.com/ (lesliehershberger.com) Sign up for https://lesliehershberger.com/courses/foundations-of-the-enneagram/ (The Centers Approach Course) and get 25% off using code ?bravewriter? Read: ?https://bookshop.org/books/the-complete-enneagram-27-paths-to-greater-self-knowledge/9781938314544 (The Complete Enneagram)? by Beatrice Chestnut Peter O?Hanrahan: https://theenneagramatwork.com/ (theenneagramatwork.com) Purchase our Intuitive Homeschool Planning Tool at https://store.bravewriter.com/products/intuitive-homeschool-planning-tool (store.bravewriter.com) Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Homeschooling should be an option for everyone. That doesn?t sound like a controversial statement, and yet many of us struggle to make our homeschool right for us and our family. Maren Goerss and Angela Sizer are the dynamic duo behind Homeschool Unrefined, an inclusive and non-sectarian podcast and community all about keeping homeschool simple, real, and fun. These friends of more than 20 years carry a breezy chemistry that bleeds into every topic they touch. They are both former public school teachers with master?s degrees in education and they want parents to know that homeschooling can be less about lesson-plans and more about nurturing the inherent, natural love of learning already within our kids. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Raising five kids during the internet era, everyone is dying to know what my thoughts on video games are! How many hours, how many minutes, how many days? Are they too violent? Is it okay if they love Minecraft? Will they lose all motivation to work? Let?s discuss all this and more! Ash Brandin (they/them) is a middle school teacher from Golden, Colorado. After researching the use of video games in classrooms, Ash found that there was very little research about how games compel people to play, and how this can be brought into the classroom ? or any educational environment. Since 2016, Ash has spoken across the country about how academic spaces can mimic game structures to make learning compelling, motivating, and engaging. They believe games, specifically entertainment based games, can help us create better teaching, more engaged learning, and motivated lifelong learners. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

The podcast has been dark for a few months? and for a good reason! Julie just wrapped up writing her newest book (out February 2022). Now that it?s in the hands of publishers, she?s ready to get back to the business of podcasting. The theme for this season comes from the topic of the book: Critical thinking. Let?s peel back the layers and get a closer look at what it means to be a critical thinker. Dr. Diana Hill is a psychologist and podcaster with Off The Clock Psychologists. At the beginning of the pandemic, when so many people unexpectedly had their children at home with them, Dr. Hill discovered Julie?s book ?The Brave Learner.? She used the ideas in The Brave Leaner to become a home educator herself. In today?s podcast, Diana talks about how to create a better relationship with ourselves. She has co-authored a therapeutic personal journal that features a practice called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is cutting-edge, evidence-based psychology that helps people develop psychological flexibility. Psychological flexibility is one of the best indicators of effective parenting, and recent research shows that psychological flexibility reduces the impact of pandemic stress on families and kids. Psychological flexibility involves directing yourself towards your values ? even in the face of difficulty and challenges. It takes skills in acceptance, perspective taking, values, being present, stepping back from thoughts, and commitment to become psychologically flexible. The ACT Daily Journal breaks psychological flexibility into an eight-week program that helps people in each of these skills to get present, identify their values, and take committed action in the direction that matters most to them. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts) Resources: https://drdianahill.com/ (drdianahill.com) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdianahill/ (@drdianahill) Purchase: https://drdianahill.com/book/ ("ACT Daily Journal") Listen: https://drdianahill.com/podcast/ (Psychologists Off the Clock) Learn about our Brave Learner Home membership and our special offer at http://bravewriter.com/specialoffer (bravewriter.com/specialoffer) Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (bravewriter.com/blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Join Julie today as she talks with best-selling author and award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig. Together, they explore their shared enthusiasm for Shakespeare and how to bring the Bard to life for our children. Learn about memorizing soliloquies, examining Shakespeare?s language, and the details of how Shakespeare?s plays have been preserved for us to enjoy (it?s a great story!). You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

It?s a little thing: that one comment, the nudge in the acceptable direction, the calm and carefully-worded reminder. You had the right tone of voice, the best intentions, the least egregious expectation. And then your child flies off the handle anyway. The resistance, the tongue-lashing, the pushing past whatever small boundary you set?putting on shoes to go to Target, taking the bowl to the sink, not licking the jug of milk with his tongue, not making that scooching sound with his chair... When we face resistance or challenge, it?s so easy to abandon ourselves and declare: I?m overwhelmed! Today?s episode is all about overturning that overwhelm and reclaiming our power?especially for women (though men are welcome to listen along). You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Cyber Monday: https://store.bravewriter.com/ (https://store.bravewriter.com/) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

When you signed up for the task of homeschooling, you surely imagined what the ideal homeschooling life would look like. This is the life you are fighting for. In homeschool, the vision for natural learning is a powerful draw. It?s also worthy of fighting for that vision. But because it is not natural to many of us and we have this controlling memory of traditional school interfering with our new, fragile vision of what homeschool can be, we often wind up fighting about it more than for it. We?re going to unpack the differences between the two, and how you can focus on fighting for the things you want instead of fighting about them. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

The number one question I get is not how to prepare kids for college, or what you need to start homeschooling, or even about homeschooling at all ? it?s about chores. Should kids be assigned chores, should they be rewarded, and how do we enforce them? While we?ve got our little ones home all day, we?ve got to keep our house running and sanitary. We?re not necessarily looking for a perfectly presentable home, but we are looking for order and a sense that yesterday?s mess will not impede today?s progress. Let?s go over three myths regarding chores as well as practical solutions. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

How do parents ensure that homeschooling is challenging and rigorous enough for their kids to become smart, successful adults? Many parents are under the impression that rigor is the best version of learning. Education that is rigorous means students are learning more, so many see rigor as a measuring tool for how serious the institution is for learning. But is that really the case? Let?s deconstruct the notion of rigor and see if there is something easier to implement and more effective for learning. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Purchase A Gracious Space: Fall Edition at http://bravewriter.com/gsfall (bravewriter.com/gsfall) Learn more about the Brave Writer Lifestyle: http://store.bravewriter.com/collections/brave-writer-lifestyle-tools (store.bravewriter.com/collections/brave-writer-lifestyle-tools) The Stanford Article: https://tomprof.stanford.edu/posting/1508 ("Why Relaxed Alertness Provides the Optimum Emotional Climate for Learning") Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

I heard from a mom who wanted to know how to shed the fear that her children won?t be ready to enter the school system one day. She wanted to be able to put her kids in school at any given moment?next semester, next year, maybe high school, definitely college. So, let?s talk about the difference between being educated and schooled, being a learner and being a student. Are you worried that you may ?ruin? your kids? They may love learning but they will have serious academic gaffes if you keep your kids home. Or perhaps you worry they won?t be socialized or will miss out on school traditions like sports, marching band, prom, and Spanish club. Do you wonder how a child ?catches up? if behind in a particular subject area? What happens to the child who wants to enter school but never kept up with math or skipped over science? What if your child is entering high school without ever having studied a foreign language? And finally, how can you tell if you are doing a good enough job at preparing your child for tests, lockers, or self-management in a classroom? The underlying belief that I hear behind this fear is: To be successful in school, you have to go to school for years without interruption. Is that really the case? Homeschoolers have proven for decades that they can enter the school system at any point in time and be successful. We know that in theory, but there?s always the feeling that your child may be the exception. So let?s take this topic one piece at a time and put that fear to rest. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Did you ever think of learning as training your brain chemistry? The goal of skill-building in learning is automaticity, fluency, ease of use. It?s as useful to the child learning to ride a bike as it is the teen learning to think critically. Becoming automatic looks just like ease, skill, or fluency. Think of what it?s like driving: You can sing along to the radio and think about the upcoming election simultaneously, all while changing lanes on a highway at 75 miles per hour. Driving is so automatic that you have the bandwidth to focus on other things?but it wasn?t like that when you were first learning, where just the radio could be a distraction. How can we facilitate this growth of a mind, skill, fluency? How can we train our children?s brain chemistry for learning? The three primary tools that we want to teach children and then build upon as teenagers are the ?3 R?s? of reading, writing, arithmetic. These are the tools that help children get at everything they will ever want to know, but we often unload them in the most uninteresting way possible?through a workbook. For novice homeschoolers, teaching from the book seems like the easiest and most approachable way to educate. But what if you looked at the workbooks as a reinforcing tool, not the main teaching tool, and you found ways to convey the power of that subject outside of the book first? Let them have the same excitement for the subject they had when discovering the world. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Are you one of those people that thinks you just aren?t inventive enough to imagine creative learning experiences? We tend to think of creativity as something in the arts or something that is crafted?maybe even cooking, woodworking, and gardening. There?s a belief that creativity is attached to the imagination, and when we hear that word we are immediately thrust into the world of storytelling. It?s hard to summon a different definition for creativity and imagination?but that?s just what we?re going to do. Along with the true definition of creativity and imagination, I will walk you through the five stages of creativity in teaching so that anyone who believes ?I am not a creative person? will be able to conjure creative ideas. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

This episode addresses a specific question: What do I do about children who refuse to learn?children who balk, who throw fits, and who are consistently in a bad mood about their educations? How do we address this? What we need to do is step back from insistence and coercion and rediscover the joy of learning?whether that comes through interest or directed school subjects. I will offer you a strategy for how to recapture some of that connection and joy in learning, even in relation to academic subjects. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Ideally, homeschooling as a common interest should be enough to unite us and drive us forward to forge friendships with a variety of people and learn from a variety of cultures. It should, but for many, that?s not how it is. How do you create a healthy, diverse homeschool culture for your local group? What kinds of guidelines, policies, and practices help bridge difference within a homeschool group? Let?s talk about the answers to those questions, as well as why homeschooling became so siloed in the first place and the benefits of a deeply diverse community. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

I have been asked the same question repeatedly over the past 10 years: How do I know if I should get a divorce? And this question has a friend: I am getting a divorce, so what do I do about my children? These two questions presuppose a third question, a bigger question: What?s a healthy home life for children?  That?s what we?re going to address, including your marriage, reasons to divorce, reasons not to, and how to salvage or support homeschooling in the midst of all of those dynamics. Even if you?re in a happy relationship and you see no likelihood of divorce, this topic can give some insight into times where you are in conflict and how to be better friends to others in the community going through this. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Read https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JMKTPA (?Between Two Worlds?) https://www.verbalabuse.com/ (verbalabuse.com) Financial planning: https://www.wife.org/ (wife.org) Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Join the Brave Learner Home: http://bravewriter.com/special-offer (bravewriter.com/special-offer) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Is it possible to work from home while doing homeschooling? This school year is different from any other. We are not going into it with the same sense of confidence or the same tools, resources, and experiences that we rely on to be good homeschoolers. Instead, we?re coming in with a lot of uncertainty amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This has caused parents to think about the fall in a new way, and in addition to the garden variety homeschooler who chose this lifestyle long ago, there?s a new crop of homeschooling parents joining the community. Welcome. In this episode, we will cover what learning is NOT, how homeschooling differs from traditional school, and the essential steps to facilitate learning at home. Learning is not an activity that is confined to just school, and I want to teach you how to make learning a natural part of your life. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: When you spend $198 on any Brave Writer products after July 1st, get a free lifetime membership to Brave Learner Home: http://bravewriter.com/special-offer (bravewriter.com/special-offer) Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Millions of families have been forced to educate at home due to the pandemic of COVID-19. Millions of families also educate their kids this way by choice. Whether you are the former or the latter, all are welcome here. In the midst of this pandemic, Harvard Magazine published an article titled ?The Risks of Homeschooling,? and I certainly have some thoughts about this. These are my own personal views, and I may push some buttons or challenge some ideas that you have, but I mean to do that. When we are confronted with someone who wants a presumptive ban on homeschooling, I want us to dig a little deeper and discover what this article is attempting to do. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Let?s address this global, unique moment where homeschooling is suddenly center-stage and millions of families are experiencing a lifestyle change that is in some ways similar and in some ways different than the choice many of us made to do this homeschooling project. The move from having kids in school to having their education thrust upon you is creating a serious amount of anxiety, confusion, and disruption to what was considered ordinary life. If that weren?t enough, parents who used to send their kids to school and then drive to an office are now also at home, trying to conduct a 40-hour workweek while they educate their children using a school system that they didn?t create. What I want to do today is look at homeschooling as a philosophy, and looking at the dynamic of what happens when you combine working from home with education from home. It is no easy thing to be confined in your house, to not have access to much of the entertainment and distractions we?re accustomed to, and to be so uncertain about what the future holds. For all of us in this conundrum, I want to talk about ways we can foster learning and play and cooperation while parents are trying to get their jobs done. I?m going to break this up into tips for those of us who are suddenly-at-home schoolers and then some tips for working from home while schooling. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Today?s question comes from an encounter I had at a homeschool conference several years ago. It echoed a feeling I?ve experienced myself in the homeschool space as both homeschooler and homeschool speaker/business owner. And then, as we ramped up to this new podcast season, and I asked for your current questions, the same wish resurfaced. See if you relate to this fundamental heart cry of so many of us. How do I find my people in the homeschool space? Why can?t being a ?homeschooler? be common ground enough? We are built to have close ties with other people. When you embark on this lifestyle that challenges the status quo, the need for friends escalates because, let?s face it, it?s lonely in a world of institutional schooling filled with traditions and school mascots. Let?s talk about the ways you can find community, the different ways they break down, and the merits of wide or narrow tents. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

What do you do when your child has no clear passion? When we exhaust the value of the planned learning model, and we pivot to our children?s passions ? at least for a season ? what do we do when our kids pick passions that look pointless? We say that our kids have no passions, but the truth is they will find things to do. It?s just you may not approve of what that is. It may not look like the education you feel you owe your kids. The truth is: no subject on the planet is isolated from school subjects. Chemists are as likely to work in a medical lab as at Proctor and Gamble improving the power of Tide Detergent.  A child who is obsessed with making memes (those ironic images that speak to a current social trend or political reality) requires clever use of language and audience awareness and staying up to date with what?s happening in the news. If you could see the meme-creation differently, you might discover a world of learning happening that you do value. It?s so easy to dismiss what looks like it?s a mere passing craze. But you never know where it might lead! You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Download the Brave Learner Companion Guide here: http://go.bravewriter.com/download-the-companion-guide (http://go.bravewriter.com/download-the-companion-guide) Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

In this season of the podcast, my goal is to give you a chance to pause and consider ways to improve the experience of learning in your home and in your family by answering questions you?ve sent to me via Instagram, email, and through our customer help desk.  One theme is clear as I glance through the list of growing topics: parenting! You want to know how to get your kids to cooperate with the plan or the lack of a plan, how to prepare them for their futures when they don?t seem to imagine life past age 15. You want to know how to help them fall in love with learning, and you want to do it without provoking resistance or anger or boredom or lethargy. So often we believe that the issue we are facing in our homeschools is about learning itself or the subject area (like math, writing, or science). What we are facing, though, is more universal in nature. Even parents of kids who attend traditional schools struggle to get their children to finish homework or to care about their grades or to feed the dog or to brush their teeth and make their beds.  We ARE parents. But the question I want us to consider is: do we do an action called ?parenting?? Do I do an action that can be described as ?parenting?? You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Today?s question will likely feel very familiar to pretty much any parent:  ?What if you just don?t have the energy to do all the stuff? The magic-making, the planning, the execution of all the tasks? I know what needs to get done, but I just can?t get myself to do it all. Help.? I get it. There are seasons of life that make the ordinary tasks feel like bench pressing a truck. When you?re in a season like that, you can?t imagine ever getting out of it. So, to address this topic, let?s identify a few of the reasons we lose heart or energy for the tasks of homeschooling, as well as some solutions for finding your normal self again. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter to learn about all of the special offers we?re doing in 2020 + you?ll get a free 7-Day Writing Blitz guide just for signing up: http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz (http://go.bravewriter.com/writing-blitz) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Our goal with this season is to focus on your questions, both the questions you?ve been asking Julie throughout this podcasting journey and the questions you haven?t asked yet. https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (Instagram), https://twitter.com/bravewriter (Twitter), https://www.facebook.com/pg/bravewriter/community/?ref=page_internal (Facebook groups) ? wherever you have the opportunity to reach out, please send a message to Julie about what you?d like to learn during season six of Brave Writer. Today?s question: How do you balance your roles as a parent and a teacher? You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Get Started with Brave Writer by watching Julie?s brand new video series that helps you understand how to use the program at https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started). Each video is only a couple minutes long and will give you the necessary information to determine which level and which products are just right for your kids. If you have further questions, reach out to our trained staff for personal advice and help: [email protected] Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter at http://go.bravewriter.com/tea-with-julie (go.bravewriter.com/tea-with-julie) https://www.bewildandfree.org/book (The Call of the Wild and Free: Reclaiming Wonder in Your Child's Education Book) by Ainsley Arment Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Welcome back, Brave friends! We want to start this season with a big thank you to all of you for helping us achieve an incredible milestone: over one million downloads of the show! We couldn?t be more proud or more grateful. Our goal with this season is to focus on your questions, both the questions you?ve been asking Julie throughout this podcasting journey and the questions you haven?t asked yet. https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (Instagram), https://twitter.com/bravewriter (Twitter), https://www.facebook.com/pg/bravewriter/community/?ref=page_internal (Facebook groups) ? wherever you have the opportunity to reach out, please send a message to Julie about what you?d like to learn during season six of Brave Writer. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Get Started with Brave Writer by watching Julie?s brand new video series that helps you understand how to use the program at https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started). Each video is only a couple minutes long and will give you the necessary information to determine which level and which products are just right for your kids. If you have further questions, reach out to our trained staff for personal advice and help: [email protected] Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter at http://go.bravewriter.com/tea-with-julie (go.bravewriter.com/tea-with-julie) Join https://bravewriter.com/homeschool-alliance (The Homeschool Alliance) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

We want to share some exciting news: Brave Writer just turned 20!  To celebrate, we will have a slew of wonderful offers throughout the year. You will find all of these deals in our newsletter, which http://go.bravewriter.com/tea-with-julie (you can sign up for at this link). Our goal with this season is to focus on your questions, both the questions you?ve been asking Julie throughout this podcasting journey and the questions you haven?t asked yet. https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (Instagram), https://twitter.com/bravewriter (Twitter), https://www.facebook.com/pg/bravewriter/community/?ref=page_internal (Facebook groups) ? wherever you have the opportunity to reach out, please send a message to Julie about what you?d like to learn during season six of Brave Writer. You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/) Resources: Get Started with Brave Writer by watching Julie?s brand new video series that helps you understand how to use the program at https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started). Each video is only a couple minutes long and will give you the necessary information to determine which level and which products are just right for your kids. If you have further questions, reach out to our trained staff for personal advice and help: [email protected] Sign up for the Brave Writer Newsletter at http://go.bravewriter.com/tea-with-julie (go.bravewriter.com/tea-with-julie) Join https://bravewriter.com/homeschool-alliance (The Homeschool Alliance) Connect with Julie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliebravewriter/ (instagram.com/juliebravewriter) Twitter: http://twitter.com/bravewriter (twitter.com/bravewriter) Facebook: http://facebook.com/bravewriter (facebook.com/bravewriter) -- Brave Writer is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Julie is getting ready to go down to Texas to present at the https://www.bewildandfree.org/frisco (Wild + Free) conference, so today we talk with someone who?s been getting Wild + Free since the inception of this beautiful gem of a community. Greta Eskridge is a go-getter creative entrepreneur with enough projects to keep a team busy! Greta runs a website, a blog, a podcast, is an avid Instagrammer, and has written for and spoken at nearly every Wild + Free Conference. On top of that, she is a second-generation homeschooler to four adorable kids, wife to her artist husband Aaron, and ?fur mama? to the family?s rescue dog, Shadow. Nature is Greta?s self-proclaimed ?Happy Place,? and she is best known in the home school community for her passion for taking her children into the great outdoors and helping them make nature a source of joy in their lives ? and she?s even writing a book about this topic!   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/ (http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/)   Resources: Register for the Wild + Free Conference: https://www.bewildandfree.org/frisco (https://www.bewildandfree.org/frisco) (Feb. 15-16 in Frisco, TX) Learn more at: http://www.gretaeskridge.com/ (http://www.gretaeskridge.com/) Listen to At Home: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/at-home/id1098331677?mt=2 ( https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/at-home/id1098331677?mt=2) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maandpamodern/ (https://www.facebook.com/maandpamodern/) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maandpamodern (https://www.instagram.com/maandpamodern) Order Julie?s new book & get your FREE companion guide at http://thebravelearner.com/ (thebravelearner.com) Sign up for The Brave Learner Conference (July 19, 2019 in Cincinnati, OH): https://thebravelearner.com/conference (https://thebravelearner.com/conference) Join https://bravewriter.com/homeschool-alliance (The Homeschool Alliance) Ask Julie a question: [email protected] (include ?The Brave Learner? in the subject line)   -- Brave Writer is produced by http://www.podcastmasters.net/ (Podcast Masters)

We are so excited because it is the Book Birthday of Julie?s brand new book, The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life!   We?ve heard from a lot of brave homeschooling parents throughout this season of the show, and looking forward, we want to hear from more of you Brave Learners out there: How are you rethinking curiosity, online gaming, or the role of collaboration in your home school ? and what does that look like in your unique family?   We can change the conversation around education by being homeschoolers who take pride in what we do; we have a contribution to make back into the story of schooling, learning, and education, and this community is here to make it!   Resources: Order Julie?s book & get your FREE companion guide at thebravelearner.com Sign up for The Brave Learner Conference (July 19, 2019 in Cincinnati, OH): https://thebravelearner.com/conference Join The Homeschool Alliance Ask Julie a question: [email protected]   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

Today we?re joined by five wonderful moms from the CO Springs Homeschool Mamas Group.   So instead of focusing on just one question, we?ll tackle one from each of them, representing the wide variety of problems that every homeschooling parent has to tackle throughout their home education journey.   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Sign up for The Brave Learner Conference (July 19, 2019 in Cincinnati, OH): https://thebravelearner.com/conference Preorder Julie?s upcoming book at http://thebravelearner.com/ (thebravelearner.com) (releasing Feb. 5th, 2019) Looking to kickstart your writing program this school year? Download the FREE 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!) Learn more about SCALE: https://readwriteact.org/ Join The Homeschool Alliance   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

Courtney Moyer, a homeschooling mother of four (plus a young niece), wrote to Julie saying, ?The consistent homeschool challenge that has confronted me is homeschooling multiple children at multiple levels, lacking expertise to multitask... It seems that chaos overrides my agenda on most days... I know if I could understand a way to multitask, anxiety would be minimal, creating a hospitable atmosphere that's desirable for my children.?   Courtney?s concern is one that almost every homeschooler deals with at some point (really, almost every parent), and our natural inclination is that doing everything requires multitasking expertise. However, that?s not the case at all ? especially not in homeschooling!   So today, Julie discusses how our traditional notions of education interfere with our homeschooling opportunities ? and how you can break free from multitasking to offer all of your children a more complete and joyful education!   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Sign up for The Brave Learner Conference (July 19, 2019 in Cincinnati, OH): https://thebravelearner.com/conference Preorder Julie?s upcoming book at http://thebravelearner.com/ (thebravelearner.com) (releasing Feb. 5th, 2019) Looking to kickstart your writing program this school year? Download the FREE 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!)   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

Our guest Myah St. John homeschools three children (plus a newborn), and her oldest child, 14, is on the verge of high school. Myah?s always embraced a one-room schoolhouse model for her family, but she finds herself floundering trying to balance high school with elementary school... and as her teenage daughter starts to become a young woman.   Why do our children become these people we don?t understand? How do they transform so quickly from a young kid happy to be part of the team to a young adult with their own opinions, wants, and needs ? which they are more than happy to share with us, loudly?   We don?t always think about this transition in our children?s lives, but eventually, your pleasant young children will become teens, and they?ll start trying to figure out how they can be individuals in a homeschool household. This can be a big challenge, for both your and your child, but Julie is here to offer a helping hand.   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Follow the St. John Family on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stjohnfamilyfarm/ (https://www.instagram.com/stjohnfamilyfarm/) Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for The Brave Learner Conference (July 19, 2019 in Cincinnati, OH): https://thebravelearner.com/conference Preorder Julie?s upcoming book at http://thebravelearner.com/ (thebravelearner.com) (releasing Feb. 5th, 2019) Looking to kickstart your writing program this school year? Download the FREE 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!)   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

Jessica Hammond is a homeschooling mother of two who feels conflicted as she tries to spin half a dozen plates. She has a laundry list of passion projects and hobbies, and she wants to be able to devote time and energy on those passions without feeling guilty.   ?I want to be present and engaged with my kids during our days. But I also want to accomplish interesting projects of my own. And right now, it feels a constant tug of war between the two, Jessica says. ?How can I adjust my mindset and trust that I really am going to get enough time for all of it??   Sound familiar? With your various roles as a parent, spouse, and home educator, have you ever stopped and wondered where your own personal fulfillment fits in? How to nurture your Awesome Adult self?   If so, then our talk with Jessica will help you, too.   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Sign up for The Brave Learner Conference (July 19, 2019 in Cincinnati, OH): https://thebravelearner.com/conference Preorder Julie?s upcoming book at http://thebravelearner.com/ (thebravelearner.com) (releasing Feb. 5th, 2019) Looking to kickstart your writing program this school year? Download the FREE 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!)   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

Jardel Manalo is a homeschooling mother of five, ranging from the ages of two to 12, who also opened her school doors to a wonderful 12-year-old young woman named Samantha.   That?s a lot of children at a lot of different stages in life ? a situation we know many of you can relate to ? and that can create a lot of pressure for us to perform, both as parents and teachers.   Jardel says, ?I don't feel like I am able to connect with each of my children daily, both personally and academically ... Is this ok? Often, it leaves me feeling like such a failure because I'm failing at connecting with some of the kids ALL the time.?   You?re not a failure, Jardel, and neither are any of you reading ? but for your own sanity, you might need to adjust your expectations.   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Preorder Julie?s upcoming book at http://thebravelearner.com/ (thebravelearner.com) (releasing Feb. 5th, 2019) Looking to kickstart your writing program this school year? Download the FREE 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!)   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

Karen Goldstein and her son Elijah are struggling with the difficult transition into high school. It can be a challenge to fit in the oftentimes-rigorous high school work while still allowing breathing room for a laid-back, enjoyable lifestyle ? and holding on to the love of learning throughout it all!   ?More subjects leaves less time for in-depth exploration, field trips, time in nature, rabbit trails, and down time. I miss that. There is only so much time in a given day. We are both working harder than ever,? Karen says. ?Working hard isn't a bad thing but I am wondering how to make high school feel smoother??   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Preorder Julie?s upcoming book at http://thebravelearner.com/ (thebravelearner.com) (releasing Feb. 5th, 2019) Looking to kickstart your writing program this school year? Download the FREE 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!)   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

Today?s guest, Jennifer Hunter, is a mother struggling with a problem that afflicts many homeschooling parents.   Jennifer says, ?My homeschool challenge is that I am lonely! My kids are all young, and while I am honoured to be spending my days helping them learn, it isn?t always stimulating for me.?   We expect this is something that every homeschooling parent experiences at one point or another. We all love our kids, of course, but it can be difficult to connect with other families, or even just our personal friends, when they operate on a completely different schedule.   But it?s also really important that we do because community is a critical part of our mental health! Luckily, though, Julie has been there and done that, and she has some great tips for finding communities online and in your area.   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Preorder Julie?s upcoming book at http://thebravelearner.com/ (thebravelearner.com) (releasing Feb. 5th, 2019) Looking to kickstart your writing program this school year? Download the FREE 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!)   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

There?s a dilemma that plagues every homeschooling parent?s mind at some point in their journey, filling threads online and conversations in person: How can we make learning fun?   And then the natural follow up question comes up: Do we have to make learning fun? Because the truth is that education won?t be fun 100 percent of the time.   This is the dilemma brought to us by our guest Anne Trott, who asked how she can push through these challenging moments and teach perseverance, without hurting her relationship or connection with her kids.   It?s a fine line some days, but Julie has some advice to guide you through the difficult days!   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Preorder Julie?s upcoming book at http://thebravelearner.com/ (thebravelearner.com) (releasing Feb. 5th, 2019) Want to kickstart your writing program this school year? Download the FREE 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!)   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

Jenniver Vetter is a brave mother of six who has been homeschooling for nine years. She has embraced the emphasis on relationship and freedom in learning that homeschooling offers, but she worries that her children also need to learn skills that don?t lend themselves as easily to fort building and play.   Jennifer asked, ?How do I balance the love and creative side of learning with the nuts, bolts and rules side of learning??   We know this is a big question in the Brave Writer community, but Julie has a few ideas for how homeschoolers can meet both of those goals.   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Preorder Julie?s upcoming book at http://thebravelearner.com/ (thebravelearner.com) (releasing Feb. 5th, 2019) Want to kickstart your writing program this school year? Download the FREE 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!)   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

In this day and age, we are so connected to technology. We carry these magic little screens with us everywhere ? and if you?re anything like us, it can start to feel like a third arm! We use them for work and for entertainment, and when our kids see us using these tools, they want to use them too.   But what is too much screen time for our children, and what is an appropriate use of that time?   Today we?re going to explore those questions with our guest Lindsay McCarthy, a homeschooling mother of a boy and a girl ages nine and five. Lindsay also runs a Facebook community called The Miracle Morning for Parents and Families.   When Lindsay reached out for help, she said, ?One of my biggest struggles is how to help my kids love to read when they are bombarded with easier ways of entertainment and fact-finding due to technology.   ?We have a limit for them of 2 hours of screen time a day, but often get complaints from them when we enforce that rule. I'd love some tips on how to balance technology in our homeschool.?   So how do we foster a family culture that values what technology offers, without allowing it to take over? Listen to find out.   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Please consider donating to Tammy Kim and family, survivors of the Camp Fire in CA. They?ve lost their home and everything in it. gofundme.com/tammykimfund Join The Miracle Morning for PARENTS & FAMILIES Community on Facebook Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Preorder Julie?s upcoming book at http://thebravelearner.com/ (thebravelearner.com) (releasing Feb. 5th, 2019) Want to kickstart your writing program this school year? Download the FREE 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!)   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

Today we?re going to talk to a brave mother who wants to support her children?s dreams, is inspired by everything she?s learned about on Brave Writer... but feels stumped. She wants her family to be immersed in a culture of learning, without always being in ?school mode,? but she?s struggling to figure out how.   That brave mother is Christa Gregg, a homeschool mother of three children with a Master?s degree in social work and a background in counseling.   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Preorder Julie?s upcoming book at http://thebravelearner.com/ (thebravelearner.com) (releasing Feb. 5th, 2019) Want to kickstart your writing program this school year? Download the FREE 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!)   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

Over the past four seasons, our help inbox has been flooded with What Abouts: What about the kid who won?t work hard? What about college? What about chores?   There are vexing dilemmas that come up in a lot of our home education journeys, and they can lead to a lot of questions and self-doubt. Homeschooling is hard! We get it, and we?re here to help.   So we?re calling this season Ask Julie because Julie Bogart is here to help you figure these questions out, while discussing all the ways you can improve your experience of being home with your kids!   We?d like to thank the wonderful parents who have given us permission to see the insides of their family lives. It?s incredibly brave to expose their insecurities and feelings of inadequacy so that we can grow together, and we?re honored that they shared their time.   So each episode of this season will feature a parent?s or a group of parents? dilemma, their conversation with Julie, and a follow-up communication sharing how it all turned out.   If you?re thinking that all sounds wonderful, but how can I get all of these ideas in one convenient place ? well, you?re in luck! Julie has a new book coming out, The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life, which will be published on February 5th, 2019.   So let?s meet our first parent, Tammy Kim, who brings forward one of the most common and vexing of homeschool dilemmas: she is experiencing a sense of overwhelm and worry over her effectiveness as a homeschool educator!   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Want help getting started with Brave Writer? Head over to https://bravewriter.com/getting-started (bravewriter.com/getting-started) Learn more about Julie?s new book at thebravelearner.com Want to kickstart your writing program this school year? Download the FREE 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!)   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

Our guest MacKenzie Koppa (aka Bold Turquoise) is the creator of a slew of resources for families: the Cultivating the Lovely podcast, the Lovely Homeschool online course, and the brand new The Same Page podcast.   http://boldturquoise.com/thesamepage/ (The Same Page) is practically designed with Brave Writer families in mind. The core of each episode is memory work encompassing poetry, Shakespeare, historical facts, and scripture.   So in five minutes or less, you can get a spoonful of great literature and, over the course of multiple episodes, you and your family can memorize them while enjoying a shared experience.   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Learn more at http://boldturquoise.com/ (boldturquoise.com) Connect with Mackenzie: Instagram | Twitter Listen to The Same Page Listen to Cultivating the Lovely Read: The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

Homeschooling changes when you transition into the scary world of teenagers, so today I want to discuss teens in general and what you can expect from a homeschool with teenagers.   After home births, breastfeeding, babywearing, cosleeping, and having a wonderfully close relationship with her young children, Julie thought that she would seamlessly move into the teen years and escape all of the weirdness that other families talk about. Their family was so tuned in, so it was going to be different.   Then Julie had a rude awakening!   But even if there are difficult and distant moments, hold onto the memories of when you were close and know that you will be close again ? you just have to weather the storm.   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Join Julie on Instagram: @juliebravewriter Check out this free product designed to kickstart your writing program this school year: 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!) You can download Free Writing Lessons here: go.bravewriter.com/free-writing-lessons   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

Before Julie started Brave Writer, she worked as a freelance writer, freelance magazine editor, and a ghostwriter ? which is to say, yes, you can simultaneously pursue a dream or passion and homeschool!   Whether you want to earn money, go to grad school, start a business, or write a blog, you can do that and still be a phenomenal homeschooling parent.   In today?s episode, Julie shares some of her experiences in developing a working lifestyle, as well as what it feels like to earn money while being a woman and a home educator.   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Join Julie on Instagram: @juliebravewriter Check out this free product designed to kickstart your writing program this school year: 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!) You can download Free Writing Lessons here: go.bravewriter.com/free-writing-lessons   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

After working with parents for years, we have learned that there is often a reluctance to giving your own efforts to your child?s writing. But kids with parents who are involved in their education get better grades, and as a result, they feel more successful ? and children who receive no support end up performing worse.   Because parental involvement in education is what produces the greatest results in children!   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Join Julie on Instagram: @juliebravewriter Check out this free product designed to kickstart your writing program this school year: 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!) You can download Free Writing Lessons here: go.bravewriter.com/free-writing-lessons   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

There?s a difference between correct writing and good writing. You can check off all the boxes and put together a series of grammatically correct sentences, but does that engage the reader and make them want to keep reading? Probably not!   Even academic writing, at its best, should compel the reader ? that?s it?s #1 job!   But many popular writing curricula keep perpetuating myths about good writing, and today we?re going to bust them!   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Join Julie on Instagram: @juliebravewriter Check out this free product designed to kickstart your writing program this school year: 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!) You can download Free Writing Lessons here: go.bravewriter.com/free-writing-lessons   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

One of Julie?s most popular talks is called ?Updating Charlotte Mason to the 21st Century,? so when she stumbled upon Leah Boden ? AKA Modern Miss Mason ? Julie knew that she had found a kindred spirit.   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Learn more about Modern Miss Mason Connect with Leah on Instagram: @leahvboden | @modernmissmason Facebook: facebook.com/modernmissmason Read: For the Children's Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay Join Julie on Instagram: @juliebravewriter Check out this free product designed to kickstart your writing program this school year: 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!) You can download Free Writing Lessons here: go.bravewriter.com/free-writing-lessons   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters

Imagine this scene: your child is reading a book, and they?ve been reading for a few months now. Suddenly, you think, ?What if I had taught them to read this other way? What if I had used this other philosophy from the beginning? What if my child were in school??   When the "what ifs" show up, they can trigger worry, envy, and despair ? and they can show up everywhere ? but that isn?t serving you or your children!   So how can we keep these ?what ifs? from derailing our homeschools? Today I want to address some of the big ones that tend to pop up in our lives.   You can download show notes for the podcast here: http://blog.bravewriter.com/category/podcasts/   Resources: Join Julie on Instagram: @juliebravewriter Read Brave Writer?s ?One Thing Principle? Check out this brand new, free product designed to kickstart your writing program this school year: 7-Day Writing Blitz (and tag your creative young writers using #BWBlitz on Twitter & Instagram!) You can download Free Writing Lessons here: go.bravewriter.com/free-writing-lessons   -- Brave Writer is produced by Podcast Masters