I'm not a curriculum junkie - I don't usually extole the virtues of any one curriculum from the rooftops.  I understand that there isn't one curriculum that fits all families - BUT (you knew there was going to be a but).....I have to do this entry about Bravewriter.  (I know, I know I've done MANY entries about Bravewriter, but I just LOVE it SO much).

Bravewriter?  You say you never heard of it - you are probably right - she doesn't advertise - she is strictly known from word of mouth only (which is a shame actually, I wish every homeschooler at least knew about this program so that they could make an informed decision). 

What is Bravewriter?  Bravewriter is a writing philosophy, written by a homeschooling Mom who is a writer.  What is her philosophy?  In a nut shell - teach kids how to write the way writers write so that their writer voice is heard.  Sounds complicated?  It isn't, it's a lifestyle.

The cornerstone of the philosophy is a publication called The Writers Jungle - what you won't find - what to do day to day, what you will find - how to slowly implement the Bravewriter lifestyle into your homeschool journey.

The Writer's Jungle is one of those "good books" that you can reread many times and still get gems or tidbits that you can use that very day.  Some of the philosophy includes a "Jot it Down" stage, narration, copywork and dictation or course, exercises that seemingly don't have to do with writing at all but in fact flame the fires of freewriting.  Of course the lifestyle wouldn't be complete without Teatime, something we implemented last year and can't do without now.  This year we are looking at Afternoon Movie time to our repitoire.

Besides the philosophy itself (which by the way means that The Writers Jungle works for all the ages you will be working with) I love the fact that Julie wants to keep involved with the people who are using her program.  She does this a variety of ways but she really is there to hold you hand, give you suggestions and talk you down off of writing theology ledges.

Julie offers other resources as well such as online courses (which teaches Moms and kids at the same time) and subscriptons to "magazine" type articles that help you focus in on specific tasks.  She has a yahoo group calendar setup that will even send you reminders of things to try that day (that was how I first "tried" out Bravewriter).

There is SO much more I can blog about but it really is one of those things that you need to discover for yourself.  So here is your start, Julie answering a very common question from a new user of her philosophy http://www.bravewriter.com/blog2/?p=795

From there check out all Julie has to offer - do LOTS of research and I think the more you read the more excited you'll get about this program.  I hope it blesses you as it has our household.

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Posted by BChsMamaof3

That sound really interesting! And like you said I've never heard of it :) I'm going to have to check it out. I'm usually one that likes to have a schedule that sort of dictates where to take my daily lessons but it never hurts to look into something new! Thanks for sharing,
Rosina

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Posted by BChsMamaof3

Just a quick couple of questions :) Did you just purchase the book or did you get the book and access to the forums? I'm just curious if you think that having forum access would be a good idea to help out when just starting to use it. Also have you purchased any of the mags? Do you like them?
Hope you don't mind the questions *grin*
Blessings,
Rosina

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Posted by LoriD

No problem, I'm happy to answer any questions. This is what I did: I joined her yahoo group which basically just sends out calendar reminders of what kinds of things to do daily - it gave me good insight into her "philosophy" and some ideas to try. From there I investigated her blog more and her bravewriter site on the specific ideas - such as tea time - and then implemented that. I FINALLY broke down and ordered The Writers Jungle - which I am SO glad I did. By submitting an article on tea time she gave me a free subscription to The Arrow for a book that we were reading Archiemedes and the Door to Science - it's more like an article than a magazine - but if you are looking for "steps" for each week for copywork and dictation (spelling and grammar and litererary elements that's the way to go). It was nice to see what one was like for a book that was interesting to my boys. Her book list for next year is out and what I would recommend is if there is a book on the list that is interesting to you get the subscription for that month (it's only $10) and then you get an idea if it's something that would be useful to you. Finally when I felt I had reached a plateau as far as (ok what should I implement next - or how should I "teach" this) I took the online course Kids Write Basic, we both loved it. Josh thought it was fun and it taught me how to teach writing - it was very encouraging and well worth the money. This year we are going to take the One Thing Workshop for Copywork and Dictation - taking this just helps me (a very nondisciplined what should we do today type of person) accomplish/focus on something. Anyways I hope that that answers some of your questions and if you have more please post, I'm happy to help. I LOVE this program (and I don't say that about very many programs). I hope you find it as wonderful as we do.

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Posted by molytail

Always good to hear about new resources, thanks! :-)

http://molytail.blogspot.com/

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Posted by BChsMamaof3

Thank you SO much for taking the time to answer all that! I really appreciate it :) I think I will join her yahoo group first like you mentioned and check out the book list.
Blessings,
Rosina

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