Q & A: Brave Writer

Question: I noticed from by all that subtle linking that you just finished up a Brave Writer course with your kids. Which course did you take? What did you use? It looks so overwhelming!

Answer: I have had the manual, called The Writer’s Jungle, by Julie Bogart, for an embarrassingly long time. The whole philosophy, with it’s decidedly Charlotte Mason flavor, appealed to me. That’s the kind of lifestyle, the kind of education I want for my kids. But making it work? I struggle with implementation. I signed us up for the class because I love to write and I wanted and needed to know how to get my kids to love to write, too. And it worked! What I discovered is that my eldest two, at thirteen and eleven, actually want to write, love to write, and have so much to express, but they were bogged down in the mechanics of writing. This class let me help them to get their thoughts out first and worry about the spelling and punctuation later. My nine year old Meg was reluctantly participating. She took the course pretty much because I made her. Once she got going, though, she was eager for each new step on the road to a finished piece. And she’s proud of what she did. They all are. So am I.

It was so liberating for me to sit my kids down to write and be able to tell them -and really mean it- that spelling didn’t matter, that punctuation didn’t matter, that it’s all about their ideas. Every time I said that, they beamed. And every time I read their work with that thought in mind, it was like I was reclaiming my status as their adoring mother and stuffing that annoying teacher lady in a closet somewhere. I could just be happy with what was really some pretty good writing, even if it was raw and unreadable by anyone except the writer.

Everything we learned in that course can be transferred over to any other writing assignment we ever do. Sometimes, we’ll write just to write, with no expectations, but when we need to or want to, we know how to turn out a finished piece with no tears and no stress for any of us. That’s a priceless gift, if you ask me.

The course we took is called Kids Write Basic and it’s their foundational course. They offer others, but I’d say this one is a must if you are having trouble teaching your children to write. It’s fairly expensive at $175 for the first child plus $50 for each additional, but if you compare that with the amount of money you’ve spent on courses that aren’t working for you or your kids, you’ll probably come out ahead here. The course brings to life the information in the book. I like having the book to refer to when I need to refresh my memory, but you don’t need it to take the class.

And if you sign up for one of her courses, tell Julie I sent you. Maybe she’ll give me a discount on that Help for High School book. We’re coming up on that a little too fast for my tastes!

Nine year old Megan’s piece can be read here.
Eleven year old Delaney’s piece is here.
And last, but not least, is thirteen year old Brenna’s, here.

Next up in this brand spanking new Q & A series: The bare bones cloth diapering kit! Because my sister asked.

Got a question? Send me an email: armyofeight at gmail dot com.