The Nurturing Brave Writers Workshop is an in-service training for parents who homeschool their kids. This workshop will empower parents to be the best writing coaches and allies they can be during the crucial developmental years of 8-18. We’ll spend a Friday evening and all day Saturday together not just listening to me talk, but working together through various exercises, learning how to make use of the tools that enhance your children’s writing abilities and most importantly, tackling that beast called writer’s block that thwarts even the most passionate writers from time to time.

 

 

Our time together will look something like this:

 

Friday Night: Rescuing Reluctant Writers It seems everyone has one reluctant writer. And even the “natural writers” give their parents fits (they write run-ons and never finish their stories and hate assigned writing but love to keep journals…) The Friday Night Workshop is devoted to stripping away myths about writing and the teaching of it. Are you under the impression that kids need to write every day? Do you wonder why your 12 year old is a bad speller? How much help can you give before the writing is no longer an original product and is yours instead?

 

We’ll look at how relying on the old adages about writing actually cripples your writers, or damages their authentic voices. Not only will we look at your writers’ struggles, but also your insecurities about teaching writing. Friday night is both therapy and practical support in liberating your writing program from the oppression of wrong thinking about writing. Don’t miss it!

 

Saturday Morning: The Natural Stages of Development in Writing Saturday morning we really click along. Wonder whether your child should be writing essays or short stories, cartoons with captions or villanelles? By mid-morning you’ll be able to identify what developmental phase of writing each of your children is in. We’ll look at practices and principles that will help you to shape a tailor-made curricula that will give both you and your children confidence that progress is being made. And yes, you’ll do some writing to help foster that understanding.

 

Midday: The Brave Writer Lifestyle
Once you have a sense of how the writing process works and how to apply it to your unique child, we’ll show you how to create a lifestyle that makes writing as natural as learning to speak. Poetry, spelling, art, nature study, grammar, Shakespeare, copywork, dictation, reading and more, play a big part here. This is where writing gets fun!

 

Afternoon: Help for High School
At the end of the day, I’ll show you the “down and dirty guide” to getting through high school writing with the minimum fuss and maximum results. We’ll also address the SAT/ACT and what to do about those inscrutable writing prompts.

 

 

Nurturing Brave Writers is the hands down best way to transform your writing program in one fell-swoop. Not only that, we have such a great time together! You’ll love meeting other Brave Writer moms (who happen to be among the most genuinely kind, earnestly caring mothers I’ve ever met).

 

Really Early Bird Registration is only $49.00, until August 15th, and includes free admission for an additional parenting partner.

 

Regular Early Bird Registration is still a very reasonable $59.00 until September 15th, and also includes free admission for an additional parenting partner.

 

After September 15th, and at the door, Regular Admission will be a worthwhile $69, and still includes free admission for an additional parenting partner.