Brave Writer

What if math felt less like drudgery and more like discovery?
In this episode, we explore “mathematical imagination” and the many ways math is already alive in everyday family life. We talk about counting, measuring, predicting, sports, video games, art, nature, and how curiosity can turn numbers into something meaningful. We also share practical ways to make formal math time more inviting, from manipulatives and mystery-based activities to math tea times and even bubblegum math. If you’ve ever wanted to help your child experience math as a language for describing the world, this conversation is for you.
Listen in, then come tell us what math looks like in your home.
Resources:
Explore the Journey North Mystery Class archives
Encounter solar system planet sizes and distances in this fun activity
Find our favorite books for kids and parents in the Brave Writer Book Shop
Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
Purchase Julie’s newest book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
Find community at the Brave Learner Home
Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
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 an online writing class didn’t mean Zoom fatigue, rigid schedules, or one more thing to manage?
In this episode, Melissa Wiley talks with Kirsten Merryman about what makes Brave Writer’s online classes so different: asynchronous discussions, text-based coaching, warm instructor feedback, and a structure that makes room for all kinds of learners. We explore how real writing growth happens, why parents learn right alongside their kids, and which classes might be the best fit for your family, from Story Switcheroo to Essay Prep, Gamers Write, and Media Literacy.
Kirsten Merryman is Brave Writer’s Vice President of Operations and former director of online classes. She is also a longtime homeschooler, writing coach, and curriculum creator who has helped shape Brave Writer’s approach to supporting both parents and young writers.
Join us to discover how writing support can feel personal, practical, and surprisingly freeing.
Resources:
Explore our upcoming Brave Writer class schedule
Got questions about classes? Reach out to us at [email protected]
Find our favorite books for kids and parents in the Brave Writer Book Shop
Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
Purchase Julie’s newest book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
Find community at the Brave Learner Home
Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
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 biggest obstacle in your homeschool isn’t what you’re missing—but the fear that you’re doing it wrong?

This week, we explore “fear of messing up” and how perfectionism quietly shapes our expectations, decisions, and confidence as parent educators. We unpack where that pressure comes from, how it shows up (hello, endless curriculum switching), and why chasing the “perfect” method keeps us stuck.

We also share practical ways to shift your focus toward connection, curiosity, and process—plus tools like interval training and a flexible writing app to support real learning.

Ready to trade perfection for progress? Let’s rethink what success actually looks like.

Resources:
Pacemaker: pacemaker.press
Julie’s Substack post on this topic: http://juliebogart.substack.com/p/fomu-fear-of-messing-up?r=bv7b0&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
Find books mentioned in this episode in the Brave Writer Book Shop
Brave Writer class registration is open!
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
Find community at the Brave Learner Home
Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
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

Why does a child understand something one day and forget it the next?
In this episode, we explore what neuroscience reveals about how learning actually works. Drawing from Uncommon Sense Teaching and Make It Stick, we unpack the difference between working memory and long-term memory—and why retrieval, repetition, and even mistakes play a vital role in lasting learning. We also share practical strategies like jotting notes, sketching ideas, and spaced repetition to help knowledge stick.

When we understand the brain’s learning process, we can guide our kids with more patience and confidence. Listen in and discover how to turn everyday lessons into lasting knowledge.

Resources:
Listen to our episode “Make It Stick: How to Know If Your Kids Are Retaining What They Learn”
Find Uncommon Sense Teaching and Make It Stick in the Brave Writer Book Shop
Brave Writer class registration is open!
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
Find community at the Brave Learner Home
Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
Interested in advertising with us? Reach out to [email protected]
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

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

Ever have one of those homeschool days when your brain feels completely empty?
We’ve been there too. In this episode, we share a long list of practical, creative hacks that can revive your homeschool when energy is low. From painter’s tape timelines and DIY history games to geocaching adventures, urban walking tours, and quick art projects, we explore simple ways to bring curiosity back into learning. We also talk about focus tools, seasonal nature activities, and building systems that make everyday homeschooling run smoothly.

If you need fresh inspiration or a reminder of the good ideas you already have, this conversation is for you. Tune in and start your own “good ideas” list today.

To help you put these ideas into action, here’s the full checklist of practical homeschool hacks we discussed:
Adhesive whiteboard that sticks to your wall. Lap-sized whiteboards for math & handwriting practice & general doodling.
Painter’s tape for timelines + write events on index cards and tape to wall.
Make-your-own Chronology game (this is an actual card game, but we made our own with index cards)
Combine geocaching with local geography & history.
Watch urban planning videos — you learn so much about how neighborhoods are constructed!
A spin on this — put your own area into the Youtube search bar with “buildings” or “urban planning” or other terms. We’ve been learning about specific Portland buildings & landmarks this way. Also: look up the origin of place names in your area. Great local history!
Cookie sheet with magnets for car trips with littles (and other uses)
Make a FOCUS-FIRE-FAST-FUN grid for triaging tasks
A little thing that makes a big difference: assign pencil sharpening to a weekly time slot. Get a good sharpener! Also — scissors and tape in every room.
Have the kids do wet-on-wet watercolors and then cut into bookmarks. Leave a stash on every bookcase
Take an afternoon to create playlists for yourselves: one for afternoon tidy-up chores, one for instrumental music while reading, one for songs you play to transition between daily activities, etc.
Check out Joshua MacNeill’s book: 101 Brain Breaks & Educational Activities
Have a day for choosing the best squishy stuff for playing with during readalouds - what does each kid like best? Beeswax, Sculpey, modeling clay, silly putty, playdough, wiki stix. Make the texture exploration an activity by itself.
With spring coming — plant some peas & sweet peas! An old custom in some regions was to plant your peas on St Patrick’s Day. They like cold soil. Cheap, easy activity for rapid payoff.
Decorate by cutting out frames from black card stock, stick to clear contact paper, make designs out of pieces of tissue paper. Easy holiday window decor.
Look up local foraging groups. Might be able to join a walk & learn about edible plants.
Learn about wildlife corridors. Can your yard become one? Some easy ways to assist. Pick one species you’d like to help. Look up its needs: for example, if a butterfly: what host plant is native to your area? What nectar plants attract it? What else might it need – a dish of water with stones for perching on? Or - mason bees. Various birds. Start with a single species and learn how to spot it. Notice who else shows up. A literary tie-in for older kids: Read The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
A nice tie in – a poetry anthology like The Wonder of Small Things (edited by James Crews) or Sing a Song of Seasons: A Nature Poem for Each Day of the Year (Fiona Waters & Frann Preston-Gannon). Consider propping on a bookstand turned to each day’s page.
In that vein – any kind of seasonal nature book is great to prop open. Like a field guide turned to a bird your kids might encounter.
Make a list of short stories you’d like to discuss with your kids. Keep this on hand for times when you want a short-term literary activity — say, between longer books, or whenever life is filling up with appts/distractions/new baby/etc and you want something self-contained. A good short story immersion can span a single afternoon (but will likely stick with your kids forever).
Melissa’s daughter keeps a visual reading journal: she chooses a sticker to represent each book. When she finishes a book, she puts the sticker in her notebook with the date, gradually creating a page full of stickers. On the facing page, she writes details about the books.

You don’t always know how much you know! Make a GOOD IDEAS notebook or Apple Note!

Resources:
Learn more about geocaching at https://www.geocaching.com.
Find books mentioned in this episode in the Brave Writer Book Shop
Brave Writer class registration is open!
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
Find community at the Brave Learner Home
Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
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...