Hold on to your seat, that book is incredibly encouraging and challenges the norm! The best part of your channel is watching you grow and change your ideals of schooling. I mean, you’re pretty self aware and even said it at the beginning…love it!!
Awe! Thank you sweet friend! Yes! I’m almost halfway through the book already and have only had it about a week! It’s challenging me. I don’t know if I agree with EVERYTHING….(like allowing your kids to stay up all night playing video games! 😳 and thinking , “that’s cool!”) BUT… She’s giving me a lot to ponder. It’s interesting. It definitely sounds like more fun just following your interests. I’m struggling with, well how does that work for high school, though? How do you let your high school follow their interests (if not through a formal curriculum) and then translate that to a transcript? But maybe she’ll get there…. Or maybe the Lord will give me divine inspiration! 😂
I have been using Brave Writer since my kids were young, and now they are in high school. For the writing curriculum portion (such as Faltering Ownership) it would take my kids at least two years to go through the projects we wanted to (personalizing them for my kids interest). Over the years we also did daily read-alouds together, sporadic tea times and family movies, regular personal reading on their own to their own interests, All About Spelling, as well as Daily Grams. So, it wasn't super intensive, especially with grammar, but we worked at it a little over time, regularly. Mostly, I wanted my kids to not hate writing and develop their own "writing voice/style". We are currently on the "Helps for High School" with essay writing. One of my kids recently took a practice PSAT as a sophomore and hit the 75% percentile without practicing anything (it is this child's first standardized test since first grade). I suspect this child will continue to increase the score on this test over the next year, and as this child does some specific studying to learn what we might have missed. But, this child learned a lot, just by being immersed in the "Brave Writer Lifestyle". I hope that helps those feel better since Brave Writer doesn't feel as "strict" as other programs, but it really does work!
Thank you for sharing that!! This first project has been more difficult than I expected bc it’s so different than anything we’ve ever done before. So I’m try to take it slowly. I like the idea of taking a couple years. We’ll see how it goes. 😉 I love the lifestyle concept and it does seem like, “when do I squeeze that in also!?!?” 😉 but over two years….that helps to ease the mind.
I decided yesterday to pull out the Bravewriter curriculum I bought and panicked about a couple of years ago 🤣 I think I'm going to go for it this year! My daughter is halfway through TGTB Level 5, and honestly it's almost all busywork, because she's one of the lucky ones that grammar comes easy, and the writing assignments don't have much variety. I showed her some of the Bravewriter writing projects and she's already super excited!
i’ve been looking into a Brave Writer as well and I’m so excited that you did this flip through because you’re right it’s really hard to find thorough reviews and flip through and it’s probably because like you said that it’s a lot to explain. But I am actually drawn to Brave Writer because of the open ended Ness of it. we have been doing IEW for the last two or three years and I think it is a really great program but it’s also feels really rigid and as much as I want to Love it, I don’t feel like it’s a good fit for my kids. so we have been using the good and the beautiful which I also love but we’re going to dive into brave writers arrows for their literature studies and get a little taste of the BW “lifestyle.” thank you for this review.
You’re welcome!!! The lifestyle looks so wonderful, doesn’t it?? I’ve heard other people say that while they like IEW, they wonder if it actually inhibits a creative writer. Until one of my good friends said that, I haven’t thought of it. But I can see the concern bc it is so very structured.
We are doing IEW this year - looking at this - it is so out of my comfort zone. lol. But it does look really fun. Thank you for your look inside! I can't wait to hear a review from you once you have really gotten into it! :)
Thank you for this video.Have you heard of A+Interactive Math? It's like "serious"Saxon Math with a Teaching Textbooks "fun" approach. We chose the Adaptive Math Curriculum Package for my rising 7th grader, which is meant to bridge any learning gaps the students might have. It has not only bridged learning gaps we knew he had from switching math curricula- Horizon 1-4, TT- 5 and Master Books Math - 6, but exposed other gaps we didn't know were even there. I'm very pleased with it!
You are brave to try this type of learning. I am not very organized and need curriculum to be easy to follow. We love IEW for that reason. I love the idea of Charlotte Mason but didn’t implement it well.
I love IEW for that reason as well! I’m nervous! But this use hat intrigued my daughter……and it does look a little more creative so we’ll have a fun year trying (I hope) and if it doesn’t work out …hopefully we’ll have fond memories! 😜 Thank you for calling me brave!! 😂😂😂 So what did you try from the Charlotte Mason life? The only thing we’ve ever tried was living books and nature walks.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan We attempted a year of Ambleside online. The written narration went pretty well. The drawing and nature journaling did not. I think a laid out program like Simply Charlotte Mason or A Gentle Feast would work better. My youngest starts high school this fall and Classical style is where my child thrives. So that is what we are going to do.
I am intrigued but man, it looks like a lot of work :/ please keep us updated and would love to know how your daughter likes it! My daughter struggles with ideas too and have looked at Brave Writer but always back away bc I feel overwhelmed. Awesome video though :)
Bravewriter makes me feel the same when researching it. Sounds very cool, but intensive and overwhelming and it seemed expensive, unless I was just confused about what is required? 🤔 I am creative and did well in my writing and creative writing classes.
I hope It works out where I can share something positive. I’m thinking about if my high schooler should do some of these projects too! I wish I didn’t have to think so much about transcripts!!
I have such a love-hate relationship with BW! It speaks to my soul; the “messiness” of teaching it works well for me because I do align more with the CM/unschooling methods for homeschool. But! After using various components of BW for a couple years with both my kids (currently grades 5 and 10), I can say you REALLY have to trust the BW process and there are many times you’re likely to doubt it’s efficacy. It does not look like any other learning process or curriculum. It’s a bit unorganized and it takes so long to see quantifiable results. Yes, it creates joy in writing for your child, but you can’t always tell how much your child is improving in the moment. It’s only when you look back at 10 months of projects that you can see the growth. And if you aren’t strong in your conviction to use BW or you get swayed by all the other homeschoolers whose kids are cranking out well-written IEW papers every couple of weeks? Forget it. BW is not for you. It really does take nerve to stick with it. We are ending our BW journey for my 10th grader next year, as she is moving into a co-op program that uses IEW but she has already expressed how much she’s going to miss it. I have been using the BW literature program with my 5th grader for the last couple years, but your video makes me excited to give the BW writing program a try with my youngest… something I’ve been on the fence about. Excited to see how it works out for you and your daughter!
This makes perfect sense!! I’ve looked at the arrow guides and you’re right…..it’s hard to really see how the grammar is taught. That’s why I bought TGTB LA also (bc it was so inexpensive to do so) for the writing….I’m looking at it like, this is just creative writing….I’m still going to have teach certain elements of writing as we go along. But the purpose is, to spark a joy. So I totally get what you’re saying!! It’s hard for me to imagine this teaching all the mechanics of writing, which is why in my last video, I mentioned that we likely will return to IEW at some point when it’s time for mechanics. But this years goal is to make writing fun!! Im actually surprised at how many comments I’ve received where people aren’t more intrigued, they’re more turned off from this. I guess you really do have to have a specific vision for this!! Good luck to you also!! Be brave!! 😜
I like doing my own thing...but I ALSO really like open-and-go and being told what to do. After watching your video, I can understand why Brave Writer is pretty difficult to explain/fully understand. But, I also really see some appealing and cool things about this. Words and the art of using words that we don't use every day is one of my favorite parts of writing, and it's also one of my favorite parts of reading--stumbling across a phrase or sentence that is simply delicious. So that first project sounds really cool, and so do the rest. There is "scope for the imagination" in them.
Yes! I think the first project may intimidate some but the more I thought about it, the more excited I was getting about it and even last night on our way home from church, I told my husband, “we should collect words as a family this summer!” So I may put up a big poster board in our hallway so we can just write down cool words we come across. I’ve been pointing them out more to my daughter this past week and I’m amazed at how many words I know, but still are not a regular part of my vocabulary and I think that’s the real exercise here.
Why we are supplementing bc TGATB language arts with Brave Writer….what was missing? And why not IEW (which I also love!): watch here! czcams.com/video/Uzu-0KitJjY/video.html If this isn’t your jam, though, and you want To check out IEW: ‘s site: WHERE TO BEGIN - IEW.com/affiliate/280966/start
This type of curriculum scares me big time. I like the open and go but have dabbled with the thought of doing my own thing for history. We shall see... We have TGATB and IEW. My 7th grader loves IEW and will go watch the videos on her own. I will be going through her TGATB LA book and marking out assignments. So I guess I am slowly moving toward the make it my own style homeschool mom.
I’m not gonna lie….it scares me a little too! 😂 I think every year of homeschooling experience you get under your belt, the more comfortable you get with the IDEA of doing your own thing, right? We can do it!!
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan Yes we do. We are finishing up our 3rd year (pre-pandemic). I feel as though next year is going to look a lot different then the last 3 years have. What I am using has not changed really. Maybe it is my outlook. 🤷♀️
I have to disagree on one point: commas do evoke emotion. Leave out the serial comma and it irritates me to no end, lol 😜 This curriculum looks amazing. I’m a writer (or I was before entering parenthood, now I dabble in writing). I think I would love this curriculum! My masters is in creative writing, so this is right up the alley of a creative mind. Sounds like your daughter is going to have a very fun school year 🤗
I hope so!! Thank you for this encouraging comment! And yes…..some grammar mistakes drive me nuts but it depends on the setting. 😉 I make them all of the time when sending emails out too quickly!! I hope people forgive me! 😂
Ive looked at brave Writer book guides but I didn’t think it was a good fit for us. We discuss words when we do writing assignments!!! This curriculum looks good tho.
After seeing the brave writer “collecting words” project, I’ve been pointing out cool words to my daughter all week! It’s actually been very fun……for me anyway! 😜
Yeah…that’s why it’s a little scary for me too! So I guess I’m putting some confidence in myself and going to dig deep and channel my inner child! I’m mostly worried about much time this is going to require from me, but I can also see how these projects incorporate history and science…..so thats where my mind is headed. This could be the spine for it all.
Also-as I’ve dug deeper into the book….the brave learner is very interest-led, bordering unschooling….so that’s probably another reason why so many people either love this or can’t understand. I don’t agree with everything she’s said in the book, but she’s definitely got some good ideas that have got me considering trying something different. What’s the harm in trying it for a year? I’m not going to ruin anybody……………..right? 😬😂😉
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan you are absolutely NOT going to ruin anyone by trying something new! As I have begun to think about next year, I feel the Lord leading me to joining a homeschool community again…I’m leaning towards CC again….which I didn’t think I would ever consider again, but we need community and as I think about my oldest going into 7th next yr I think she would benefit from having a “teacher” other than me and having peers. She is not motivated on her own and I think community would help that along…. HOWEVER, I have found interest led learning to be a pretty perfect fit for her over the last two years (using Gather Round). Why am I rocking this boat that is smooth sailing?!?!? B/c the Lord is leading me towards finding community for my kids/family. But I’m just not sure if Challenge is “right” for my special 😉 kids. Is it going to be too much for her? Or will she rise to the “challenge” and thrive?! I’m interested in any insight you might have since you have so much experience with CC and our daughters are so similar in personalities.
@@faithfullyinfertile I understand the draw to a community. Challenge A isn’t too bad although Latin requires a lot of studying and diligence. So does the cartography definitions. But if your daughter likes drawing…the world and the science systems will be fun. Also in science is simply researching whatever animal you want and writing about it. That’s all the science. History is in all the literature. That’s the biggest part (besides the rote memorization of Latin and cartography m). If your daughter loves to read and has opinions, she’ll probably be fine. You may have to help a lot with the papers. That, too, is a different way of thinking. ;) fallacy detective is fun! So hard to say….I don’t see my daughter memorizing Latin or having the diligence to keep up with the amount of work. It’s been a few years….I just remember my son having a ton more to do. It was fine for his personality bc he’s very task oriented. But he’s not a reader. I think 💭 n CC, being a reader can mean a totally different experience. I don’t know if that helped or not! :) I guess you’ll have to watch my CC pros and cons video again to see if something else triggers an opinion. 😜
So far….There’s no comparison to TGTB! They are completely different types of programs. We are just getting started with it and have barely scratched the surface! I’m excited to see what we do with it this year!
I love this video. My daughter is currently using IEW. Has her writing improved? Yes! Does she like it? Absolutely not! She is a reluctant writer and I’m looking for something that we will both love. I like open and go but love the Charlotte Mason approach. I am just terrified I don’t have the time. This video is a bit old so my question to you is how is it going? Do you and your child like Brave Writer?
It has A LOT of creative ideas! I do feel like Brave Writer products in general are not as intuitive. That was my experience. So the learning curve feels greater than other curriculum. This needed me and my guidance more than I would’ve liked so we ended up ditching it mid year. BUT… I still love the ideas in it! My daughter just was being very self-directed and it made it difficult to continue. If your child loves to write though….and wants creative assignments, this may work for you! My daughter is not a self learner though. So if I wasn’t there to push her and “nag” her, she wasn’t being diligent with it. In that way, TGATB language arts was better for her bc it is more independent and clear! I hope that makes sense
Thank yo so much for your reply. My daughter has dyslexia and dysgraphia. Her writing has improved tremendously with IEW but my daughter hates the banned words and checking off boxes for ly adverbs, strong adjectives, etc…She feels it becomes something that isn’t her writing. 😢 I need something different but realistically I don’t have a ton of time. I work full-time. I will definitely look into TGATB. Thanks!
I am thinking of taking the plunge on the arrow bundle even though my youngest school aged child is almost 8. I would rather age up and then be able to use for a few years because no way are we doing all 10 arrows in one year.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan we probably will read aloud at least 10. But I let them do more interest led learning so I know since I am tailoring the read alouds with units based on interests that we won’t want to read all of the arrow bundles. I also really like the idea of her community. One thing I did was tried out the read aloud revival for a few months and it was nice, what I liked was the parent help videos and what I could not do is justify the monthly fee for that alone. BW is amazing for offering lifetime memberships.
I mentioned it some in my mid year. But basically even since then , I ditched it. Not bc if the curriculum but bc of other interruptions in our school. We’ve just been doing TGATB instead.
Did you have any concerns from a Christian perspective in what you have seen for Brave Writer? I'll be honest, i couldnt finish her book The Brave Learner. Too many parenting philosophies I disagreed with. That said, the curriculum looks intriguing for me for my second child. She needs creativity and fun.
I didn’t see anything in the brave writer curriculum but I completely agree with you in general. I quit following Julie on Instagram bc of her philosophies.
My 9 year old has tested out of grade school in reading and language comprehension, but literally won't do a sentence of copy work without complaining. I'm so lost on finding a LA program for him!
Oh no! Have you tried IEW?? Even their fix it grammar progresses in a way where if he can move through it quickly, you just move to the next book. And even the writing curriculum….though there are levels….it doesn’t feel the same as a “grade 5” curriculum. If you never looked much into it, I have some detailed videos explaining the writing program. I’m going to have a detailed video on the grammar coming soon.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan thanks! He absolutely loves reading but idk why he isn't excited about writing. He is very logical/literal and seems to like specific instructions. I think he may like IEW for that reason. I'll have to check them out. Thanks!
Hold on to your seat, that book is incredibly encouraging and challenges the norm! The best part of your channel is watching you grow and change your ideals of schooling. I mean, you’re pretty self aware and even said it at the beginning…love it!!
Awe! Thank you sweet friend!
Yes! I’m almost halfway through the book already and have only had it about a week! It’s challenging me. I don’t know if I agree with EVERYTHING….(like allowing your kids to stay up all night playing video games! 😳 and thinking , “that’s cool!”)
BUT…
She’s giving me a lot to ponder. It’s interesting. It definitely sounds like more fun just following your interests. I’m struggling with, well how does that work for high school, though? How do you let your high school follow their interests (if not through a formal curriculum) and then translate that to a transcript? But maybe she’ll get there…. Or maybe the Lord will give me divine inspiration! 😂
Yes love this book!
I have been using Brave Writer since my kids were young, and now they are in high school. For the writing curriculum portion (such as Faltering Ownership) it would take my kids at least two years to go through the projects we wanted to (personalizing them for my kids interest). Over the years we also did daily read-alouds together, sporadic tea times and family movies, regular personal reading on their own to their own interests, All About Spelling, as well as Daily Grams. So, it wasn't super intensive, especially with grammar, but we worked at it a little over time, regularly. Mostly, I wanted my kids to not hate writing and develop their own "writing voice/style". We are currently on the "Helps for High School" with essay writing. One of my kids recently took a practice PSAT as a sophomore and hit the 75% percentile without practicing anything (it is this child's first standardized test since first grade). I suspect this child will continue to increase the score on this test over the next year, and as this child does some specific studying to learn what we might have missed. But, this child learned a lot, just by being immersed in the "Brave Writer Lifestyle". I hope that helps those feel better since Brave Writer doesn't feel as "strict" as other programs, but it really does work!
Thank you for sharing that!! This first project has been more difficult than I expected bc it’s so different than anything we’ve ever done before. So I’m try to take it slowly. I like the idea of taking a couple years. We’ll see how it goes. 😉 I love the lifestyle concept and it does seem like, “when do I squeeze that in also!?!?” 😉 but over two years….that helps to ease the mind.
I decided yesterday to pull out the Bravewriter curriculum I bought and panicked about a couple of years ago 🤣 I think I'm going to go for it this year! My daughter is halfway through TGTB Level 5, and honestly it's almost all busywork, because she's one of the lucky ones that grammar comes easy, and the writing assignments don't have much variety. I showed her some of the Bravewriter writing projects and she's already super excited!
❤️❤️❤️excitement is always a good sign!! I wonder how many parents panic about brave writer! 😜
i’ve been looking into a Brave Writer as well and I’m so excited that you did this flip through because you’re right it’s really hard to find thorough reviews and flip through and it’s probably because like you said that it’s a lot to explain. But I am actually drawn to Brave Writer because of the open ended Ness of it. we have been doing IEW for the last two or three years and I think it is a really great program but it’s also feels really rigid and as much as I want to Love it, I don’t feel like it’s a good fit for my kids. so we have been using the good and the beautiful which I also love but we’re going to dive into brave writers arrows for their literature studies and get a little taste of the BW “lifestyle.” thank you for this review.
You’re welcome!!! The lifestyle looks so wonderful, doesn’t it??
I’ve heard other people say that while they like IEW, they wonder if it actually inhibits a creative writer. Until one of my good friends said that, I haven’t thought of it. But I can see the concern bc it is so very structured.
We are doing IEW this year - looking at this - it is so out of my comfort zone. lol. But it does look really fun. Thank you for your look inside! I can't wait to hear a review from you once you have really gotten into it! :)
I understand totally!!! Thank you!
This is fantastic thank you for the flip through and your enthusiasm. This really seems like what we need! I’m going to get the sample thanks so much
You’re welcome!!! The creative projects are fun! Hopefully, your homeschooler will be more enthusiastic about it than mine is. 🤪
I always love your flip throughs... Might add Help for High School with my TGATB HS.
Thank you!! Yes, I’m waiting for inspiration there.
This would go perfectly along with what we are doing next year
So did you try a writing program at one time?
Thank you for this video.Have you heard of A+Interactive Math? It's like "serious"Saxon Math with a Teaching Textbooks "fun" approach. We chose the Adaptive Math Curriculum Package for my rising 7th grader, which is meant to bridge any learning gaps the students might have. It has not only bridged learning gaps we knew he had from switching math curricula- Horizon 1-4, TT- 5 and Master Books Math - 6, but exposed other gaps we didn't know were even there. I'm very pleased with it!
Nope. Another math curriculum I’ve never heard of. 😉
This video was very helpful. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome!!! 😁
You are brave to try this type of learning. I am not very organized and need curriculum to be easy to follow. We love IEW for that reason. I love the idea of Charlotte Mason but didn’t implement it well.
I love IEW for that reason as well! I’m nervous! But this use hat intrigued my daughter……and it does look a little more creative so we’ll have a fun year trying (I hope) and if it doesn’t work out …hopefully we’ll have fond memories! 😜
Thank you for calling me brave!! 😂😂😂
So what did you try from the Charlotte Mason life? The only thing we’ve ever tried was living books and nature walks.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan We attempted a year of Ambleside online. The written narration went pretty well. The drawing and nature journaling did not. I think a laid out program like Simply Charlotte Mason or A Gentle Feast would work better. My youngest starts high school this fall and Classical style is where my child thrives. So that is what we are going to do.
I am conflicted in the same way. I love open and go but I liked that they had a sample weekly schedule.
Yea! They still broke it down by week. So it looks like weekly assignments instead of daily! We’ll see how it goes! ;)
I am intrigued but man, it looks like a lot of work :/ please keep us updated and would love to know how your daughter likes it! My daughter struggles with ideas too and have looked at Brave Writer but always back away bc I feel overwhelmed. Awesome video though :)
I definitely will!! And yes…it looks like a lot of involvement which is definitely the “I have to be brave” part. :)
Bravewriter makes me feel the same when researching it. Sounds very cool, but intensive and overwhelming and it seemed expensive, unless I was just confused about what is required? 🤔
I am creative and did well in my writing and creative writing classes.
We haven’t tried their writing programs, so I am excited to see you share your experience.
I hope It works out where I can share something positive. I’m thinking about if my high schooler should do some of these projects too! I wish I didn’t have to think so much about transcripts!!
I have such a love-hate relationship with BW! It speaks to my soul; the “messiness” of teaching it works well for me because I do align more with the CM/unschooling methods for homeschool. But! After using various components of BW for a couple years with both my kids (currently grades 5 and 10), I can say you REALLY have to trust the BW process and there are many times you’re likely to doubt it’s efficacy. It does not look like any other learning process or curriculum. It’s a bit unorganized and it takes so long to see quantifiable results. Yes, it creates joy in writing for your child, but you can’t always tell how much your child is improving in the moment. It’s only when you look back at 10 months of projects that you can see the growth. And if you aren’t strong in your conviction to use BW or you get swayed by all the other homeschoolers whose kids are cranking out well-written IEW papers every couple of weeks? Forget it. BW is not for you. It really does take nerve to stick with it.
We are ending our BW journey for my 10th grader next year, as she is moving into a co-op program that uses IEW but she has already expressed how much she’s going to miss it. I have been using the BW literature program with my 5th grader for the last couple years, but your video makes me excited to give the BW writing program a try with my youngest… something I’ve been on the fence about.
Excited to see how it works out for you and your daughter!
This makes perfect sense!! I’ve looked at the arrow guides and you’re right…..it’s hard to really see how the grammar is taught. That’s why I bought TGTB LA also (bc it was so inexpensive to do so) for the writing….I’m looking at it like, this is just creative writing….I’m still going to have teach certain elements of writing as we go along. But the purpose is, to spark a joy. So I totally get what you’re saying!! It’s hard for me to imagine this teaching all the mechanics of writing, which is why in my last video, I mentioned that we likely will return to IEW at some point when it’s time for mechanics. But this years goal is to make writing fun!!
Im actually surprised at how many comments I’ve received where people aren’t more intrigued, they’re more turned off from this. I guess you really do have to have a specific vision for this!!
Good luck to you also!! Be brave!! 😜
I like doing my own thing...but I ALSO really like open-and-go and being told what to do. After watching your video, I can understand why Brave Writer is pretty difficult to explain/fully understand. But, I also really see some appealing and cool things about this. Words and the art of using words that we don't use every day is one of my favorite parts of writing, and it's also one of my favorite parts of reading--stumbling across a phrase or sentence that is simply delicious. So that first project sounds really cool, and so do the rest. There is "scope for the imagination" in them.
Yes! I think the first project may intimidate some but the more I thought about it, the more excited I was getting about it and even last night on our way home from church, I told my husband, “we should collect words as a family this summer!” So I may put up a big poster board in our hallway so we can just write down cool words we come across. I’ve been pointing them out more to my daughter this past week and I’m amazed at how many words I know, but still are not a regular part of my vocabulary and I think that’s the real exercise here.
When you say you like doing your own thing, can you share what that might look like? I’m simply not finding a program that’s grabbing me.🤦🏽♀️😩
Why we are supplementing bc TGATB language arts with Brave Writer….what was missing? And why not IEW (which I also love!): watch here!
czcams.com/video/Uzu-0KitJjY/video.html
If this isn’t your jam, though, and you want To check out IEW: ‘s site: WHERE TO BEGIN - IEW.com/affiliate/280966/start
This type of curriculum scares me big time. I like the open and go but have dabbled with the thought of doing my own thing for history. We shall see... We have TGATB and IEW. My 7th grader loves IEW and will go watch the videos on her own. I will be going through her TGATB LA book and marking out assignments. So I guess I am slowly moving toward the make it my own style homeschool mom.
I’m not gonna lie….it scares me a little too! 😂 I think every year of homeschooling experience you get under your belt, the more comfortable you get with the IDEA of doing your own thing, right? We can do it!!
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan Yes we do. We are finishing up our 3rd year (pre-pandemic). I feel as though next year is going to look a lot different then the last 3 years have. What I am using has not changed really. Maybe it is my outlook. 🤷♀️
You are making me want to try this again… 🤔🤔🤔
Hee hee hee heeeeeeee!!! 😜😜😜 I’m so glad SOMEBODY thinks this looks fun! I’ve gotten a lot of comments from people are like, “I don’t think so!” 😜
I think you are brave to take on Brave Writer 🤣 it looked so involved to me the one time I looked into it.
Yes! That’s the scary part for me too!
I have to disagree on one point: commas do evoke emotion. Leave out the serial comma and it irritates me to no end, lol 😜
This curriculum looks amazing. I’m a writer (or I was before entering parenthood, now I dabble in writing). I think I would love this curriculum! My masters is in creative writing, so this is right up the alley of a creative mind. Sounds like your daughter is going to have a very fun school year 🤗
I hope so!! Thank you for this encouraging comment! And yes…..some grammar mistakes drive me nuts but it depends on the setting. 😉 I make them all of the time when sending emails out too quickly!! I hope people forgive me! 😂
Ive looked at brave Writer book guides but I didn’t think it was a good fit for us. We discuss words when we do writing assignments!!! This curriculum looks good tho.
After seeing the brave writer “collecting words” project, I’ve been pointing out cool words to my daughter all week! It’s actually been very fun……for me anyway! 😜
I can’t quite wrap my mind around Brave Writer 😝
Yeah…that’s why it’s a little scary for me too! So I guess I’m putting some confidence in myself and going to dig deep and channel my inner child! I’m mostly worried about much time this is going to require from me, but I can also see how these projects incorporate history and science…..so thats where my mind is headed. This could be the spine for it all.
Also-as I’ve dug deeper into the book….the brave learner is very interest-led, bordering unschooling….so that’s probably another reason why so many people either love this or can’t understand.
I don’t agree with everything she’s said in the book, but she’s definitely got some good ideas that have got me considering trying something different. What’s the harm in trying it for a year? I’m not going to ruin anybody……………..right? 😬😂😉
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan you are absolutely NOT going to ruin anyone by trying something new!
As I have begun to think about next year, I feel the Lord leading me to joining a homeschool community again…I’m leaning towards CC again….which I didn’t think I would ever consider again, but we need community and as I think about my oldest going into 7th next yr I think she would benefit from having a “teacher” other than me and having peers. She is not motivated on her own and I think community would help that along….
HOWEVER, I have found interest led learning to be a pretty perfect fit for her over the last two years (using Gather Round). Why am I rocking this boat that is smooth sailing?!?!? B/c the Lord is leading me towards finding community for my kids/family.
But I’m just not sure if Challenge is “right” for my special 😉 kids. Is it going to be too much for her? Or will she rise to the “challenge” and thrive?!
I’m interested in any insight you might have since you have so much experience with CC and our daughters are so similar in personalities.
@@faithfullyinfertile I understand the draw to a community. Challenge A isn’t too bad although Latin requires a lot of studying and diligence. So does the cartography definitions. But if your daughter likes drawing…the world and the science systems will be fun. Also in science is simply researching whatever animal you want and writing about it. That’s all the science. History is in all the literature. That’s the biggest part (besides the rote memorization of Latin and cartography m). If your daughter loves to read and has opinions, she’ll probably be fine. You may have to help a lot with the papers. That, too, is a different way of thinking. ;) fallacy detective is fun!
So hard to say….I don’t see my daughter memorizing Latin or having the diligence to keep up with the amount of work. It’s been a few years….I just remember my son having a ton more to do. It was fine for his personality bc he’s very task oriented. But he’s not a reader. I think 💭 n CC, being a reader can mean a totally different experience.
I don’t know if that helped or not! :) I guess you’ll have to watch my CC pros and cons video again to see if something else triggers an opinion. 😜
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan thank you for this. Very helpful!
Would love to see an update on how you like Brave Writer! And how it compares to TGATB.
So far….There’s no comparison to TGTB! They are completely different types of programs. We are just getting started with it and have barely scratched the surface! I’m excited to see what we do with it this year!
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan Please keep us updated as you go! I’m so intrigued by Brave Writer!
Yes please keep us updated!
I love this video. My daughter is currently using IEW. Has her writing improved? Yes! Does she like it? Absolutely not!
She is a reluctant writer and I’m looking for something that we will both love. I like open and go but love the Charlotte Mason approach. I am just terrified I don’t have the time. This video is a bit old so my question to you is how is it going? Do you and your child like Brave Writer?
It has A LOT of creative ideas! I do feel like Brave Writer products in general are not as intuitive. That was my experience. So the learning curve feels greater than other curriculum.
This needed me and my guidance more than I would’ve liked so we ended up ditching it mid year.
BUT…
I still love the ideas in it! My daughter just was being very self-directed and it made it difficult to continue. If your child loves to write though….and wants creative assignments, this may work for you! My daughter is not a self learner though. So if I wasn’t there to push her and “nag” her, she wasn’t being diligent with it. In that way, TGATB language arts was better for her bc it is more independent and clear!
I hope that makes sense
Thank yo so much for your reply. My daughter has dyslexia and dysgraphia. Her writing has improved tremendously with IEW but my daughter hates the banned words and checking off boxes for ly adverbs, strong adjectives, etc…She feels it becomes something that isn’t her writing. 😢 I need something different but realistically I don’t have a ton of time. I work full-time. I will definitely look into TGATB. Thanks!
You’re welcome!
I am thinking of taking the plunge on the arrow bundle even though my youngest school aged child is almost 8. I would rather age up and then be able to use for a few years because no way are we doing all 10 arrows in one year.
Yea 10 seems like a lot. But if you’re avid readers maybe it’s not!
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan we probably will read aloud at least 10. But I let them do more interest led learning so I know since I am tailoring the read alouds with units based on interests that we won’t want to read all of the arrow bundles. I also really like the idea of her community. One thing I did was tried out the read aloud revival for a few months and it was nice, what I liked was the parent help videos and what I could not do is justify the monthly fee for that alone. BW is amazing for offering lifetime memberships.
We are a Brave writer family! Trust the process!!!
What’s the process??? That’s kind of what makes me nervous. Its not very structured so it’s hard to pin down…..
Any update on how this went…or didn’t?
I mentioned it some in my mid year. But basically even since then , I ditched it. Not bc if the curriculum but bc of other interruptions in our school. We’ve just been doing TGATB instead.
Classical CM Eclectic Unschoolers unite!
Haha!! 😂
Did you have any concerns from a Christian perspective in what you have seen for Brave Writer? I'll be honest, i couldnt finish her book The Brave Learner. Too many parenting philosophies I disagreed with. That said, the curriculum looks intriguing for me for my second child. She needs creativity and fun.
I didn’t see anything in the brave writer curriculum but I completely agree with you in general. I quit following Julie on Instagram bc of her philosophies.
My 9 year old has tested out of grade school in reading and language comprehension, but literally won't do a sentence of copy work without complaining. I'm so lost on finding a LA program for him!
Oh no! Have you tried IEW?? Even their fix it grammar progresses in a way where if he can move through it quickly, you just move to the next book. And even the writing curriculum….though there are levels….it doesn’t feel the same as a “grade 5” curriculum.
If you never looked much into it, I have some detailed videos explaining the writing program. I’m going to have a detailed video on the grammar coming soon.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan thanks! He absolutely loves reading but idk why he isn't excited about writing. He is very logical/literal and seems to like specific instructions. I think he may like IEW for that reason. I'll have to check them out. Thanks!
Any video over 5 mins I speed up to 1.5x 😬
I never think of that! But it’s such a great idea!!!
Yeaaaahh…..nope. Way to open ended and too many moving parts for me. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I concur! It’s very different!