The sound of Moroccan Arabic, the smell of dried buffalo chips, the taste of sugary mint tea, the view of an open prairie–in today’s episode Julie and Melissa reflect on immersive learning experiences and how education becomes a part of a person for the rest of their life.

Julie is back from her trip to Europe, having spent a significant amount of her time in Spain. Always the homeschooler, she describes events on her journey that illuminated the true meaning of learning and teaching. She and Melissa discuss the joy that comes from being a lifelong learner alongside adult kids.

As the academic new year begins, this episode is a great way to fall back in love with education.

Resources:

• Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics Programs
• Peruse the virtual bookshelves in the Brave Writer Book Shop
• Read all the https://bravewriter.com/online-classes
• Check out the Fall Class Schedule
• Sign up for Brave Writer 101
• Sign up for our Text Message Pod Ring to get podcast updates and more!
• Send us podcast topic ideas by texting us: +1 (833) 947-3684

Connect with Julie:

• Instagram: @juliebravewriter
• Threads: @juliebravewriter
• Twitter: @bravewriter
• Facebook: facebook.com/bravewriter

Connect with Melissa:

• Website: melissawiley.com
• Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
• Instagram: @melissawileybooks
• Twitter: @melissawiley

Produced by NOVA Media

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

Tune in to hear how Elizabeth’s kids sailed through college application essays, how her daughter was recruited to be a well-paid student writing tutor, and how her son has excelled as a technical writer.

If you’ve ever wondered about the power of read-aloud time or chunk writing, this is the episode for you.

Resources:

• Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention.
• Check out all the 2024-2025 Brave Writer Mechanics and Literature Program class descriptions.
• Take a look at the Class Schedule for Fall.
• Learn more about Brave Writer 101.
• Sign up for our Text Message Pod Ring to get podcast updates and more!
• Send us podcast topic ideas by texting us: +1 (833) 947-3684

Connect with Julie:

• Instagram: @juliebravewriter
• Threads: @juliebravewriter
• Twitter: @bravewriter
• Facebook: facebook.com/bravewriter

Connect with Melissa:

• Website: melissawiley.com
• Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
• Instagram: @melissawileybooks
• Twitter: @melissawiley

Produced by NOVA Media

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

Julie explains parties are, in fact, highly structured events. They have indicators of beginning, middle, and end stages. They have the clear purposes of reducing stress, increasing interactions between people, and making memories– which happen to be the foundational pieces of deep learning. Don’t worry, Julie also gets into the details of what this practically looks like for homeschooling families.

This episode is full of examples of how to use the party-structure lens in your homeschooling: snacks, candles, games, movement, decorations, music, and more. You’ll be surprised how much easier learning happens with this structure, even if you have to put up with a little more confetti on the floor.

Resources:

• Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention.
• Create a party structure with these Tools for the Art of Writing.
• Find “Becoming a Critical Thinker” in the Brave Writer Book Shop.
• Check out all class descriptions here.
• Take a look at the Braver Writer fall class schedule.
• Sign up for Brave Writer 101.
• Sign up for our Text Message Pod Ring to get podcast updates and more!
• Send us podcast topic ideas by texting us: +1 (833) 947-3684

Connect with Julie:

• Instagram: @juliebravewriter
• Threads: @juliebravewriter
• Twitter: @bravewriter
• Facebook: facebook.com/bravewriter

Connect with Melissa:

• Website: melissawiley.com
• Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
• Instagram: @melissawileybooks
• Twitter: @melissawiley

Produced by NOVA Media