Brave Writer

Is sharing your homeschool online helping your family, or changing the experience you're trying to capture?

From handwritten newsletters to Instagram reels, homeschoolers have always looked for connection, inspiration, and practical advice. But what happens when sharing ideas becomes creating content for an audience?

We explore the benefits and hidden costs of homeschooling on social media, including the pressure children may feel to perform, the temptation to compare our homes to picture-perfect feeds, and the challenge of staying present.

How can we enjoy the best of online communities without losing ourselves in it? Join us as we rethink what deserves to be shared and what deserves to stay private.

Resources:

• Explore the Growing Without Schooling archives
• Registration is open now for Scriptwriting and many other Brave Writer classes!
• Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
• Find our favorite readalouds and nonfiction in the Brave Writer Book Shop
• Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
• Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
• Melissa’s books make great readalouds—and there are Darts for The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World.
• Find community at the Brave Learner Home
• Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
• Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
• 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
• Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to [email protected]

Connect with Julie:

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

Connect with Melissa:

• Website: melissawiley.com
• Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
• Instagram: @melissawileybooks
• Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA

What if the way we think about sickness has been shaping our lives for thousands of years?

Historian and author Susan Wise Bauer joins us to discuss her new book, The Great Shadow, and the surprising ways illness has influenced everything from religion and medicine to consumer culture and politics.

We explore why ancient beliefs about sickness persist, how historical pandemics mirror our experience with COVID-19, and why we so often associate good health with personal virtue.

Susan also shares how understanding history can help us question our assumptions, navigate medical decisions, and approach illness with greater compassion.

Join us for a fascinating look at the history we carry into the present!

Resources:

• Connect with Susan at ​​susanwisebauer.com, welltrainedmind.com, and on Instagram @@susanwisebauer
• Check out her podcast and Substack
• Here’s the article Susan mentioned: “What I Got Wrong as as New Pediatrician Talking to Parents” (gift link)
• Find Susan’s new book, The Great Shadow, in the Brave Writer Book Shop
• Registration is open now for Movie Discussion Club: Aquatic Adventures and many other Brave Writer classes!
• Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
• Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
• Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
• Melissa’s books make great readalouds—and there are Darts for The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World.
• Find community at the Brave Learner Home
• Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
• Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
• 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
• Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to [email protected]

Connect with Julie:

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

Connect with Melissa:

• Website: melissawiley.com
• Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
• Instagram: @melissawileybooks
• Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA

What if the best thing we can give our kids isn’t a perfectly planned education, but a childhood that leaves room for wonder?

We’re joined by Wild + Free founder Ainsley Arment to talk about her new picture book, Grow Wild, My Child, and the philosophy behind a childhood rooted in nature, curiosity, story, and play. We explore Ainsley’s unexpected path to homeschooling, the origins of Wild + Free, and why wonder and rigor don’t have to compete.

We also dig into screens, AI, child-led learning, family culture, and the joy of following “contagious obsessions” wherever they lead.

Join us for a refreshing reminder that learning doesn’t need a worksheet to count.

Resources:

• Connect with Ainsley on [email protected] and at Wild + Free
• Find her new picture book, Grow Wild My Child, in the Brave Writer Book Shop
• Registration is open now for Building Brave Writers: Experience and many other Brave Writer classes!
• Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
• Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
• Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
• Melissa’s books make great readalouds—and there are Darts for The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World.
• Find community at the Brave Learner Home
• Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
• Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
• 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
• Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to [email protected]

Connect with Julie:

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

Connect with Melissa:

• Website: melissawiley.com
• Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
• Instagram: @melissawileybooks
• Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA

What if the thing standing between us and a satisfying homeschool rhythm isn’t the curriculum, but our resistance to sitting down and making a plan?

We’re looking at how attention, boredom, confusion, and even our phones shape the way we approach learning. Then we get practical, building a flexible monthly rhythm around read-alouds, Poetry Teatime, copywork, dictation, freewriting, nature study, and meaningful writing projects.

The goal isn’t a rigid schedule or endless workbook pages. It’s enough preparation to help learning feel alive, responsive, and sustainable.

Join us and discover how a little scaffolding can create more freedom in your homeschool.

Resources:

• Click here to download a sample monthly plan!
• Registration is open now for Brave Writer 101: Guided Writing Process and many other Brave Writer classes!
• Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
• Find our favorite readalouds and nonfiction in the Brave Writer Book Shop
• Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
• Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
• Melissa’s books make great readalouds—and there are Darts for The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World.
• Find community at the Brave Learner Home
• Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
• Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
• 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
• Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to [email protected]

Connect with Julie:

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

Connect with Melissa:

• Website: melissawiley.com
• Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
• Instagram: @melissawileybooks
• Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA

What rights do we forget we have when homeschooling becomes an all-consuming family project?

Staying home to educate our kids can be meaningful, joyful work, but it is still work. We deserve a voice in family finances, time to maintain employable skills, space for lesson preparation, personal interests, exercise, rest, and a say in the educational decisions we spend our days carrying out.

We also get to change our minds. Homeschooling does not require signing away the rest of our adulthood.

We’re talking about financial agency, shared household labor, professional development, supportive partnerships, and why caring for our own future belongs inside the homeschool plan too.

Listen in, then ask yourself: what would change if you treated homeschooling like the real career it is?

Resources:

• Here’s our episode on homeschooling as a working parent
• Registration is open now for Building Brave Writers: Description and many other Brave Writer classes!
• Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
• Find our favorite readalouds and nonfiction in the Brave Writer Book Shop
• Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
• Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
• Melissa’s books make great readalouds—and there are Darts for The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World.
• Find community at the Brave Learner Home
• Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
• Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
• 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
• Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to [email protected]

Connect with Julie:

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

Connect with Melissa:

• Website: melissawiley.com
• Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
• Instagram: @melissawileybooks
• Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA

What if movie day isn’t a break from learning, but one of the ways we build a rich education?

Movies give our kids stories, language, history, cultural references, and characters they can return to again and again. We talk about why rewatching counts, how film can make Shakespeare and Jane Austen more accessible, and what happens when favorite lines become family lore. We also explore modern adaptations, film clubs, fandom, and the joy of recognizing an old story in a new form.

So dim the lights, grab the popcorn, and give yourself permission to count the movie. Then tell us what your family is watching!

Resources:

• Here’s the Andrew Scott performance of the “To be or not to be” soliloquy that Melissa was raving about!
• Registration is open now for Essay Prep: Reading the Essay and many other Brave Writer classes!
• Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
• Find Shakespeare Stories by Leon Garfield (not Garfield the Cat) and our favorite readalouds and nonfiction in the Brave Writer Book Shop
• Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
• Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
• Melissa’s books make great readalouds—and there are Darts for The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World.
• Find community at the Brave Learner Home
• Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
• Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
• 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
• Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to [email protected]

Connect with Julie:

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

Connect with Melissa:

• Website: melissawiley.com
• Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
• Instagram: @melissawileybooks
• Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA

What if one of the best tools in your homeschool is already free?

We’re celebrating the library as a place where curiosity gets to roam and the default answer can be “yes.” We explore how browsing the stacks creates discoveries no search bar can replicate, why learning the Dewey Decimal System can empower kids, and how a regular library rhythm can enrich your homeschool.

Then we make the case for picture books at every age. From visual literacy and sophisticated vocabulary to science, art, emotional insight, and family traditions, these books offer far more than beginning reading practice.

Grab your library card and come rediscover the stacks with us!

Resources:

• We love the Santa Clarita Public Library’s Dewey Decimal cheat sheet (customized for kid interests!)—a perfect starting point for kids to make a bookmark or bingo card.
• Find Melissa’s Inch and Roly books, Chris Barton’s The Day-Glo Brothers, Jane Yolen’s Owl Moon, and many other Brave Writer favorites in the Brave Writer Book Shop
• If you’d like to spend your school year celebrating the riches of picture books, be sure to take a look at Brave Writer’s Quill collections! These theme-based guides offer reading, writing, and math activities for ages 5-7, using picture books as portals for joyful learning.
• Registration is open now for Middle School Writing: Nonfiction Projects and many other Brave Writer classes!
• Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
• Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
• Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
• Melissa’s books make great readalouds—and there are Darts for The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World.
• Find community at the Brave Learner Home
• Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
• Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
• 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
• Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to [email protected]

Connect with Julie:

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

Connect with Melissa:

• Website: melissawiley.com
• Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
• Instagram: @melissawileybooks
• Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA

What if the missing ingredient in your homeschool isn’t a better curriculum, but a bigger toolkit for teaching?

When kids resist a lesson, it’s easy to reach for familiar parenting strategies: consequences, bargaining, reminders, and demands for cooperation. But learning asks something different of us. We need teaching tactics that spark curiosity, invite collaboration, leave room for contemplation, and celebrate real growth.

We explore playful, practical ways to make math, history, writing, and other subjects more meaningful, while helping our kids develop genuine ownership of what they learn.

Tune in and discover how to trade “Come on, you guys!” for richer learning experiences.

Resources:

• Registration is open now for Middle School Writing: Nonfiction Projects and many other Brave Writer classes!
• Interested in helping the Library of Congress transcribe old documents? Sign up here!
• Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
• Find Jim Weiss’s Greek Myths CD along with our favorite readalouds and nonfiction in the Brave Writer Book Shop
• Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
• Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
• Melissa’s books make great readalouds—and there are Darts for The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World.
• Find community at the Brave Learner Home
• Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
• Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
• 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
• Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to [email protected]

Connect with Julie:

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

Connect with Melissa:

• Website: melissawiley.com
• Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
• Instagram: @melissawileybooks
• Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA

What if feeding our kids didn’t have to feel like a test we could pass or fail?

Registered dietitian and Kids Eat in Color founder Jennifer Anderson joins us to talk about raising capable, curious eaters without getting trapped by nutrition trends, food guilt, or rigid rules. We explore picky eating, growth and weight concerns, food advertising, introducing unfamiliar foods, and why the “best practice” isn’t always the best fit for the child in front of us. Jennifer also shares ideas from her new book, Feed Them Well, for helping kids care for their bodies while enjoying food.

Come rethink what it means to feed our children well.

Resources:

• Don’t miss out on the special pre-order bonuses for Jennifer’s new book, FEED THEM WELL! It comes out on Sept 8th, so be sure to order your copy before then. You’ll find all the details on Jennifer’s website: kidseatandcolor.com/landing-pages/feed-them-well-book
• Registration is open now for Playing with Poetry: Discovery and many other Brave Writer classes!
• Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
• Find our favorite readalouds and nonfiction in the Brave Writer Book Shop
• Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
• Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
• Melissa’s books make great readalouds—and there are Darts for The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World.
• Find community at the Brave Learner Home
• Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
• Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
• 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
• Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to [email protected]

Connect with Julie:

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

Connect with Melissa:

• Website: melissawiley.com
• Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
• Instagram: @melissawileybooks
• Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA

Can you really homeschool well while also holding down a job? Yes, but the answer may require us to rethink when, where, and how learning happens.

With Brave Writer president Dawn Smith joining us, we explore flexible schedules, morning meetings, night schooling, body doubling, buddy reading, planning from behind, and the art of “triangling in” support. We also look at why homeschool doesn't need to imitate a nine-to-three school day and how ordinary moments, from breakfast to dishwashing, can become rich opportunities for connection and learning.

Come discover how work and homeschool can fit into the same family tapestry.

Resources:

• Registration is open now Registration is open now for Playing with Poetry: Discovery and many other Brave Writer classes!
• Check out the special offer at Talkbox.MOM/brave and start speaking a new language with your kids from day one!
• Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
• If you’ve ever thought of trying out online music lessons, now is the time! Claim your free Maestro Music lessons at Maestromusic Free Music Lessons for Brave Writer Families | Maestro Music .
• Find our favorite readalouds and nonfiction in the Brave Writer Book Shop
• Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
• Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
• Melissa’s books make great readalouds—and there are Darts for The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World.
• Find community at the Brave Learner Home
• Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
• Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
• 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
• Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to [email protected]

Connect with Julie:

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

Connect with Melissa:

• Website: melissawiley.com
• Substack: melissawiley.substack.com
• Instagram: @melissawileybooks
• Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social

Produced by NOVA