Showing posts with label Brave Writer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brave Writer. Show all posts
We are so enjoying Brave Writer this year and since I have been sharing so much about our experience with Brave Writer, it seemed logical that we would need a giveaway!  I did a review of Brave Writer here, a post on our version of Teatime Tuesday (Poetry Smoothietime) here, a post on Routine and Relationship Inspired by Brave Writer) here, and Partnership vs. Performance Learning here. Can you tell we are learning a lot?!? Have you been wanting an opportunity to try out one of Brave Writers' great products? Here is your chance!


Enter to win a free copy of either Brave Writer's Partnership Writing (ages 9-10) OR Jot It Down (ages 5-8) -- 
WINNER'S CHOICE!!!



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Brave Writer Giveaway!!!

by on 3:38 PM
We are so enjoying Brave Writer this year and since I have been sharing so much about our experience with Brave Writer, it seemed logical th...
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One of the great concepts of Brave Writer is their explanation of the stages of writing. That as a young writer grows so does his needs from his teacher. We don't expect essays from kindergartners.

However, these stages don't just show up in writing...learning in general is a process. In Partnership Writing, author Julie Bogart explains how we as parents have no problems helping our child with other schoolwork but feel that if we help our child with writing it then no longer becomes "theirs." This is a great thought, however, if you are anything like me, this has been an issue in areas outside of writing as well! Partnership Writing has inspired a whole new thought process in me on partnership learning!


In math, if they need your help you may wonder are they truly getting it? Do they understand it if you have to remind them of the next step or to slow down...In reading comprehension-- if I have to repeat what I read certainly they are missing something, right??? If I have to repeat the dictation 5 times, is it even effective?

We constantly question our methods and wonder if in the end our children will have truly learned. However, we often cheat them out of the learning process in a rush to have it "learned." What about if we allowed ourselves to think that it was ok to do the math page alongside our child helping each step as they needed...not being frustrated that they need our help, but understanding that our help is actually teaching them. Changing our focus from expecting immediate performance in the beginning to partnering in learning and allowing the process room to work. Perhaps by the end of the math page they can work the last few problems alone? And if they don't? You were right there alongside them to see the need for a different approach or more practice.

I know it has been a challenge for me to stretch myself in this area. Spelling words not spelled correctly? No problem! That is why it is a spelling word so we can learn it! If it was easy we wouldn't have to take time to learn it. Key word here: Learn. Sometimes I expect it to simply be understood and "learned" after the explanation or initial lesson. This just isn't realistic sometimes. We need to partner with our children to engage them in the learning process-- allow our children the freedom to "learn," not perform.

My kids have perfectionist tendencies (can't imagine where they get that from!) ;) I only serve to debilitate them when I expect perfection at the gate. I need to give them room to flounder, make mistakes . . .learn. What a blessing that I get to be a partner alongside them for this great endeavor!  The shift from performance learning to partnership learning has been eye opening and has brought much freedom to the learning adventure in our home! But oh is it still a challenge for this perfectionist mama!
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I have mentioned a few times that we are new to Brave Writer this year-- a writing/language arts program. There are two main concepts that completely hooked me at first and resonated deeply when I began to research Brave Writer-- the ideas of routines and relationship. Brave Writer has done more than inspire our writing this year, it has inspired our entire homeschool.


ROUTINE

For the first time since we have started homeschooling there is no schedule printed and hung in multiple location around the house. In truth, I never felt the need to stick closely to the schedule, but it stressed me out occasionally anyway.

The idea of routine verse schedule has always resonated with me. From the time my first newborn was in my arms it made sense to follow a routine...not a schedule, not watching the clock ... not forcing what is often natural. From breastfeeding to nap times, we followed the natural rhythms of our children and gently helped them establish routines. We never became slaves to the clock. I refused to tell a crying baby it wasn't time to eat yet. We did what we could to establish consistency and amazingly every one of my three children settled into predictable patterns of routine. When growth spurts, teething, or the phases of the moon messed with those routines...we went with it. Routine...gentle, natural, and flexible.
This school year we have no schedule. No spread sheet, no color coded table...<gasp> I know. Shocking isn't it! At first I thought I needed those things-- even if I never followed them before-just knowing they were there made me feel efficient. I am the kind of person that makes the too do list and then never looks at it again...

Amazingly, we are about to start our seventh week of school and having the smoothest days we have ever had.(well...excluding this past week!) All without a schedule.
Routine. Loving it!


RELATIONSHIP

"It's the relationship silly" is one of the concepts of the Brave Writer lifestyle that called to my soul. My children are the reason I do what I do. They are so much more than teaching styles or curricula. They are precious little people who God has created for a purpose. Looking back on the first few years of my oldest daughters life I have so many regrets. Always looking for the next step or milestone. Unintentionally wasting precious moments of little. I spent way too much of our first homeschool year pushing my daughter to finish the lesson plans for that day. Or "catch up" to where we were "supposed to be."

It has been a long time since I changed that in our homeschool...but even still one of my kids will occasionally ask the question that now makes me cringe: "Are we behind?" No matter how many times I tell them we can't be behind...we set the pace. As long as we are diligent we are fine...my sins of the past linger and cause the kids to question an otherwise perfectly engaged homeschool day.

This past week, with a crazy weekend, no school on Monday, and a few rough days...it was time to break the routine for the sake of the relationship. Friday became beach day with Grandma. Sun, sandcastles, and smiles were just the thing to break the downhill spiral we were on and restore us to the place where we like each other again. Monday will be so much better for it! And I am sure I will sometime in the future have to assure my children that no, our day at the beach did not put us "behind."

Homeschooling is a marathon, not a sprint. As is parenting. We want them to like us when they move out. No, I am not advocating being their best friend and not the parents we need to be...and I am not advocating anything less than our bests, but I am advocating elevating the relationships above the tasks. When math brings tears...break out the tea pot...(or a smoothie).

Routine and Relationship

by on 9:31 PM
I have mentioned a few times that we are new to Brave Writer this year-- a writing/language arts program. There are two main concepts that c...
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This summer I forayed into the wonderful world of Brave Writer. After a rough start in the writing area with my oldest, I was desperate for something that would encourage and blossom my natural writer instead of send her into fits of tears like our current curriculum was doing.

This is the child who wrote books of songs and poems for fun....who brought me pages of copywork from Little House on the Prairie books just because she liked what it said. This was NOT a child who should be crying from writing.

I have been greatly inspired by Brave Writer and the Brave Writer lifestyle. In fact I have a few posts in the queue in a series I have deemed "'Brave Writer' inspired."

And what better way to kick off a Brave Writer inspired series than with a review and giveaway!?!

Understanding Brave Writer was a challenge at first. It seemed like a lot of ideas but I was unable to understand how they all came together. The more I read, the more Brave Writer began to take shape and I could see what the Brave Writer lifestyle looked like day in and day out.









The Brave Writer Lifestyle

 One of the main concepts that attracted me to Brave Writer was the idea of the Brave Writer lifestyle. While I differ in the desire for formal spelling and grammar, I appreciate the integration approach of language arts in BW. Routine over schedule and the importance of relationship are integral parts of this lifestyle and these concepts alone have revolutionized the way I do things. The focus on a language rich environment and incorporating nature studies, weekly movies, monthly writing projects, poetry teas, copywork, narration, and dictation into a regular routine makes sense to me. Flexible progression of language arts skills... this makes sense.


The Writer's Jungle

 The Writer's Jungle is the heart of Brave Writer. I took the plunge and bought The Writer's Jungle from the Homeschool Buyers Co-op. I will be honest here, I got bogged down for quite awhile here. It was a great read, but it was HEAVY with so much information it was a little overwhelming. It took months to wade through the jungle, trying to understand what the Brave Writer lifestyle was all about. The read was definitely worth it but probably the most difficult part of reading it was the realization that I would have to read it several times through in the next few years to grasp the fullness of all that was there. I bought the ebook but there were numerous times I wish I would have had a hard copy in front of me. I took notes, but it was one of those books you want to post it note, mark up, highlight, and star. I had to settle by listing the chapter and making notes digitally. The Writer's Jungle is the overview of the Brave Writer lifestyle. You can do "Brave Writer" with just this, but the author has also produced several resources that help flesh out the process if you need assistance...which I did! Reading The Writer's Jungle was like a thorough yet crash course in being your child's writing coach. It is so full of great information, I will revisit those pages again and again!


The Arrow/Boomerang

This is one of the highlights of BW for me. The Arrow/Boomerang, as described by the BW website is "a monthly digital downloadable product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel." You can purchase a year's subscription with the newest issues, but you can also buy back issues from the Homeschool Buyers Co-op. The latter option worked best for us as we could pick books we already had planned to read this year. The Arrow is geared for grades 3-6 and The Boomerang is for grades 7-10.

I love how these issues are designed. Each week has copywork and dictation, and it goes through why that passage was chosen and how to teach it. Each month covers a literary element found in the book. The ideas presented here are great and have given me so many ideas of how to implement further the BW lifestyle. Lastly, the way The Arrow teaches dictation is wonderful. Both my daughter and I needed a little hand holding in this area, and while before dictation produced tears, I now hear "I love this! I am great at this!" Definitely better than tears!

One of the greatest parts of The Writer's Jungle is the great understanding and explanation of the developmental processes of a writer. We are so careful to be developmentally appropriate with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers-- never expecting sleeping through the night at birth or potty training too early...yet, all thoughts of the developmental process are off when it comes to writing-- we just expect it. Brave Writer clearly articulates the stages of a writer and how we as parents and teachers can help our children move smoothly from one stage to the next. Jot it Down and Partnership Writing are two of Brave Writer's newest resources that greatly explain these two stages and how to implement them in your home. Honestly, just reading through them was worth the money even if I never used it (which I plan to!)
Jot it Down

 Jot it Down is a year long writing program for kids ages 5-8. It outlines month long writing projects for this age group, including how to do them step by step. These projects are so fun! I am planning to implement several of these this year with my 6 and 8 year old. My kids don't even see these as school let alone writing. It is just fun!




 Partnership Writing

 Partnership Writing is a year long writing program for ages 9-10. Out of all the Brave Writer resources, this may be my favorite...(perhaps because this is where we are with E so it is the most helpful for us right now!) PW outlines writing projects with step by step instructions--the what to write for this stage. PW gave me a much clearer understanding of what the BW language arts routine should look like. The sample schedules are also very helpful.



There is more...The Wand (for early readers and writers), high school materials, online classes...Brave Writer will remain a wonderful resource for years to come.

How We are Incorporating the Brave Writer Lifestyle:

 I am a fan of the classical writing philosophy. I loved Writing with Ease...the thing is, my daughter didn't. It made my natural writer cry. So I had to stretch myself and my ideas and get something that would work for her. Enter Brave Writer. I still believe in classical writing, but I have found a way to blend some of the classical ideals with the more relaxed, relationship oriented, routine based nature of Brave Writer. I am in love with the result! This schedule has a classical bent to it, but it is where we are comfortable for now.

Monday: Copy work via the Arrow, discuss The Arrow passage
Tuesday: Dictation via the Arrow
Wednesday: Written narration
Thursday: Oral narration/dictation
Friday: Free Write/Writing Project

2X/month:

 Poetry Teas (we do Poetry Smoothie's!) This has been a serious highlight of our school year and we may soon try to incorporate it weekly.
Movie Nights (We did these regularly before, but now I am more intentional about asking questions, and creating environment for discussion. Digging in, asking questions like "should" and "ought" make them think, and is wonderful for helping them develop a Biblical worldview as well! Besides, how fun is it to call movies school!?!?)

A Few Personal Differences...

 BW is a complete language arts program and for many families, covering grammar, spelling, and vocabulary through this manner is sufficient. I am no Julie Bogart, so I believe her, I do. The author of Brave Writer suggests having an intensive grammar year once in elementary, once in middle school, and once in high school. It seems reasonable, it does. But I am a bit paranoid so I feel compelled to add formal grammar and spelling each year. I like sentence diagramming, what can I say?!?! I do think eventually I will give in on the spelling...maybe in middle school! ;)

Being a believer in classical writing I am more a fan of copy work, dictation, and narration that inventive spelling and original writing. However, I have found that with Brave Writer I can have both. I focus heavily on copywork/narration/and dictation, but we are also enjoying Friday Free Writes here and there and the month long writing projects are so much fun!

Brave Writer Inspired 

 So the truth is, Brave Writer has more than revolutionized writing in our homeschool-- there are so many aspects of our schooling that have been impacted by Brave Writer-- routine verse Schedule, relationship, Partnership Writing (Partnership Learning)...  More to come on all of this soon!

Giveaway Coming Soon!!!

 Now for the fun part!!!! Brave Writer has become a wonderful part of our homeschool, and they have graciously agreed to give away the winner's choice of either Jot it Down or Partnership Writing. 

Keep watch for the announcement this week!!! 

Brave Writer: A Review

by on 11:10 PM
This summer I forayed into the wonderful world of Brave Writer. After a rough start in the writing area with my oldest, I was desperate for ...
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We are so excited about starting Brave Writer this year!

(I will be writing more about Brave Writer (BW) soon. Also, keep watch for a BW giveaway coming soon!)

We all have those areas of homeschooling we are petrified just a little afraid to teach...poetry is one of those ares for me. I am a rather black and white person-- not exactly the abstract type. ;)

Up until this point we have covered poetry through whatever poems come up to memorize in First Language Lessons.

Our first week of the 2013-2014 school year, brought our first foray into the world of Brave Writer Poetry teas-- Teatime Tuesday. Well, we are not really tea drinkers (ducks and hides) and while I love the idea...I thought in order to hook my kids, I probably should offer them something that they would LOVE and get excited about-- smoothies it is!

Following the BW instructions I put a table cloth on the table (well, the closest thing to a table cloth I had!), a candle in the middle, broke out some of the poetry books we had on our shelf, made some smoothies, and called in the troops.
   
                           

The kids perused the poetry books (that they had never laid hands on before), and each chose one to read aloud. C chose for me to read his for him and I was ok with that. We read poems by Robert Louis Stevenson, Christina Rosetti, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The one I chose was by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and we read some of the fun facts about her life in The Child's Introduction to Poetry.


                             


      


After reading our poems, we added our own twist to end our poetry "smoothie" time. BW suggests ending with a read aloud. However, going along with one of BW's Jot it Down writing projects we are doing, we plan to read a fairy tale to end our poetry time. Jot it Down has a fairy tale writing project where the kids write their own summaries of fairy tales and make their own books. So much fun! The kids loved reading the story The Snow Queen. It was a new one for all of us!

Our first Poetry Smoothie Tuesday was a success, the kids were begging for more! I love it! It may not be tea, and it may never again be on a Tuesday, but it it was great fun anyway!

I have always been so nervous about teaching poetry, but Brave Writer's Guide to teaching poetry, and poetry teas are such great starting points! I am finding that I myself an growing a great appreciation for poetry and am loving sharing that excitement with my little people!

Brave Writer has been a breath of fresh air in our homeschool.  I look forward to sharing more about Brave Writer soon!


Check out how the other Homeschool Help Series 
bloggers tackle poetry! 

Lucinda
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