• Brave Writer

  • Amy says: 

    • I was introduced to the idea of living a “writer’s life” through Julie Bogart’s Writer’s Jungle.  We started doing weekly freewrites in our journals, poetry tea time and copywork and narration, all of which have stuck throughout our homeschooling years.  Last year we began using the Arrow guides, which lay out spelling, grammar and punctuation notes for great literature.  My kids love art and design, so we made our own blank book and embellished our work with drawings and colorful borders. Follow Brave Writer on Instagram to see all the unique ways family’s use their guides. 

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• Daily 6-Trait Writing

  • ​Heather says:

    • We tend to do most of our writing and reading as it happens naturally, so this is not an area we focus on formally too much .  We have loved using these workbooks for exactly that reason… a quick touch to make sure we’re getting some new skills is perfect for us (and to save me from panicking that we’re not doing enough writing!).  We usually do this three days per week… we double up the lessons for two days, and then do the last day on its own.

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• Layers of Learning - Writers Workshop series

  • Jessamyn says:

    • This has been really good for us. It was hard for me to commit to a little bit of writing every day, and the way they break this down has finally been the format that works for us. 

  • Amy says:

    • We tend to gravitate towards ways we can all learn together, so the format for Writer’s Workshop has worked well for us.  And it’s a chance for kid’s to find their writing voice while also working on mechanics and spelling.  During the writing portion (the bulk of the workshop), I also get a chance to work on my own writing projects for my small business, which has been a time-saver for me. 

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• Show Me A Story

  • Heather says:​

    • I really love this book!  It takes storytelling concepts, and provides so many creative projects to explore those concepts.  It's perfect for expanding ideas, building stories, and breaking down the barriers that can block children from writing.  We've made story stones, puppets, gone on story scavenger hunts, and more.​

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• Any Poetry Collection for Children

  • Jessamyn says:

    • Depending on what we are learning about, we sometimes find a poem that is related. I will print out a copy on cardstock for each of my kids and we will take some time each morning reading it aloud and memorizing it until we have it down. Then it’s a great handwriting practice to write it down beautifully and add a border or other artwork. I print poems on cardstock so they last longer and we keep a folder of all the poems we have memorized.​