Aliens from outer space visit and share that they don’t understand what “itchy” means. Describe how it feels.
New to freewriting? Check out our online guide.
Aliens from outer space visit and share that they don’t understand what “itchy” means. Describe how it feels.
New to freewriting? Check out our online guide.
Tags: Writing prompts
Posted in Friday Freewrite | Comments Off on Friday Freewrite: Itchy
Today on the Brave Writer podcast we answer a listener’s letter. An excerpt::
My kids craft. All. The. Time. They wake and craft. Hot glue and paper scraps everywhere. Markers and lost lids everywhere. Cardboard everywhere. Currently they’re making some kind of escape room with string strung everywhere like a spider’s web.
I let them be and I read aloud for an hour or so, so that our morning starts fun. But then I can’t stop them. And the energy it takes me to try and get them to clean up and then refocus on some math or whatever drains me before I can even begin. I do short (no busywork) lessons but even that they balk at because they just wanna do their own thing that they are on a roll with. And they are ALWAYS on a roll!!
The mess stresses me out…I wonder if you have any caring ideas for the frazzled mom. I wish I loved artsy chaos. I am not my best self in it. I’m exhausted with the struggle of trying to keep some order and also do the lessons we need to do.
We’ve all been there: trying to wrangle wild, messy children away from what they’re engrossed in and towards a small lesson or two that needs to be done. It can become a daily grind that frazzles and exhausts you, maybe even making you doubt yourself.
So today we open the podcast listener mailbag and respond to “Molly,” a mom who is looking for ideas to unfrazzle her life.
While it’s natural to feel frazzled sometimes, you shouldn’t have to live in a constant state of frazzlement. We hope our conversation today helps “Molly” and all the other homeschooling families out there.
Big Picture: Your Voice Matters
First, let’s talk big picture: Your needs as a mother matter. While you’re finding the balance between letting the children engage in curiosity-based learning and making sure they’re doing what they need to do in order to keep future doors open, don’t forget your own needs for a functional home and life.
If your kids are at an appropriate age, you can disclose to them that you are feeling frazzled and why. You can engage them in planning how to make a change. Keep in mind, this is not the same thing as dumping or manipulating their emotions.
Specifics: The Tactics
There are tactics you can try to manage physical space.
There are also tactics for smoother transitions between activities. Give your kids a roadmap of the day so they know ahead of time that there will be transitions. Play music, light a candle, or create some other ritual that shows one time period has ended and a new one is beginning. Use natural transitions like mealtimes to help the process.
Communication is another important tactic. Recognize your children’s emotions, but stay matter-of-fact about the transition. Speaking firmly but with a smile goes a long way. Remember, you are showing your child how to make transitions and changes, a skill they will need for the rest of their lives.
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Posted in Podcasts | Comments Off on [Podcast #234] Unfrazzling the Frazzled Homeschooling Mom
Today’s Try It activity is from the A Rover’s Story Arrow by Jasmine Warga.
Perhaps that purple bedroom is violet. The gray cat might be manatee gray, while a red flower in the garden sports shades of vermillion.
Colors are a powerful descriptive writing tool!
Enjoy the color hunt alone, or play with the color words to create a poem or micro-story!
P.S. Try it activities like this are found in each Dart (8-10), Arrow (11-12), Boomerang (13-14), and Slingshot (15-18)! Grab one of our Literature Singles and invite wordplay into your day!
Tags: Try It
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If you have a great day, the temptation is to believe that you should only ever have great days. What makes a day great, however, is the fact that it gets compared to the garden variety days and wins! One key to a better experience of your life is to not overvalue the great days or undervalue the garden variety ones.
It’s not possible to have all great days as a homeschooler. Each time we have a great day, though, it’s as if the bar gets raised and suddenly they all need to be great.
Great days exist in contrast to our garden variety, every day days. That’s what makes them great. You only need a handful a year!
Oh and I should tell you: there will be some really, really rotten days.
So the rule of thumb is: garden variety days punctuated by great days (hurray!) and occasionally ruined by rotten ones. Rinse and repeat. That’s homeschool… it’s also life.
This post is originally from Instagram and @juliebravewriter is my account
so come follow along for more conversations like this one!
Posted in Homeschool Advice | Comments Off on Garden Variety Days
A “workaround” is dealing with a problem without solving the problem itself (for example, if you’re out of oil when baking, you might substitute it with applesauce, or if you’re missing a board game piece, you might use a penny to stand in for it). Think of a time you used a “workaround.” Write about it!
New to freewriting? Check out our online guide.
Tags: Writing prompts
Posted in Friday Freewrite | Comments Off on Friday Freewrite: Workaround
I’m a homeschooling alum -17 years, five kids. Now I run Brave Writer, the online writing and language arts program for families. More >>
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