Nurturing Brave Writers

Workshops (2008)

Join us in Wichita Falls, TX on November 14-15, 2008!

(Other locations and dates to be added as they are scheduled)

Nurturing Brave Writers is the two-day, in-person workshop that travels around the country to support homeschooling parents in becoming the writing allies and coaches your kids need you to be.

This workshop will include the following topics:

Rescuing Reluctant Writers

Applying the Brave Writer Writing Process

Creating a Language Arts Rich Environment

Preparing Teens for Academic Writing (and SAT/ACT preparation)

The teen session comes at the end of the two days together and is optional. Please indicate whether or not you will stay for the optional teen session in the registration form below.

Brave Writer workshops are highly interactive. You won't just be sitting taking notes. We'll write, plan, play games, and work through the writing process so that you'll know how to do it with your kids. I'll have several question and answer sessions where you are free to pepper me with your toughest writing and language arts cases.

You'll go home feeling equipped to take on writing in a fresh way, emboldened to trust your children's writing voices, knowing how to naturally nurture and guide them into more and more competent writing. You'll also take some time to design a tailor-made plan for your kids before you leave for home. We'll get it all done in an evening and a day.

Both moms and dads are welcome. Parents who've attended Brave Writer workshops in the past have commented that they've come away inspired, encouraged and equipped to take on the biggest writing challenges while also finding new ways to make their homeschools places of joy and nurturing.

I hope you'll come! I love meeting the Brave Writer community.

To get a feel for how we see writing and writers, please read the Brave Writer Statement of Values.

Note: We are adding speaking engagements to my schedule as they are firmed up. I will update this page with new workshops as we schedule them. If you'd like me to come to your town, please contact me for details about how to host a Brave Writer workshop.

To attend the Wichita Falls, TX workshop, please fill out the registration form below. Then you will return to this page to click on Paypal tuition payment. We must have payment with registration in order to determine the size of this event.

We'll contact you via email with all the details of hotels in the area as well as with directions to the event.

There are three prices:

Early Bird Registration: $49.99 (by September 30)

Regular Registration: $59.99 (up until date of workshop)

At the Door Registrastion: $69.99

To register now for the Early Bird Price, please fill out the registration form and use the Paypal payment button below. Or you may pay by check.

 

 

Monique says it works!

The best way to understand the impact of the Nurturig Brave Writers workshop is to hear what mothers have said after attending. You can read their comments in the sidebar.

This comment, however, so typified what we are about and what we hope to achieve through our workshop, classes and materials, I thought I'd share Monique's experience in full here:

When I came home Sunday [after the workshop], I had to do homework with Molly. She had a book report due. Instead of plopping her in front of her worksheets to fill it in, I decided to make it a collaborative, learning experience, as well as honoring my child's amazing love of projects. So we turned her boring book report into a splendid lapbook. We spent 11 hours on it, only breaking for dinner for an hour.

My sweet girl just LOVED making a lap book. She kept sighing and looking at me and saying, "Mommy, I just love you." She did so much copywork in one day that she now has every possible form of punctuation mastered. We pored over quotes in the book that would encapsulate each character. We discussed every aspect of the book imaginable. Instead of doing a character sketch on just the main character, as her teacher asked, we did a character sketch on every single character. Her choice.

When she summarized the book, I tried to mimic how you said your mother would compliment and then say, "How about . . . " I taught her about good openers instead of saying, "The first part of the book was about..." We had to come up with the heart of the book as well. We couldn't figure it out. So we sat on it for an hour then came back and it struck us. She kept asking me if all this help would be considered cheating. I told her all I care about is if she's learning. If she got an F on it for cheating, oh, well! I knew her teacher would be thrilled, though.

When we turned it in, her teacher was astonished. She ooohed and ahhhed and praised up my Molly. She made a point to pass it around the class so everyone could see. She told the class that she would never assign this, but if they want to take a homework assignment and make it into a lap book, by all mean, please do. My shy daughter was bursting with pride.

And I felt great all over that I honored who she is and basked in it for 11 hours. What a gift to give my daughters, just to honor them.

Oh, and before I launched into this all day marathon project, I played Webkinz with my middle daughter. I never told her YUCK once. I kept telling myself I'm the adult here. I'm the bigger person. I've navigated a marriage, for crying out loud, I can play Webkinz with my daughter for a half an hour!

Thank you again for a great weekend. I love opening my thoughts to positive, new ideas.

Monique

Nurturing Brave Writers unlocks the mysteries of working with children, whether they are reluctant writers or enthusiastic wordsmiths. Moms and Dads who attend will experience the power Brave Writer techniques by using them themselves. We'll explore how langauge arts practices enhance the writing experience. We'll look at how to create a context where your children feel nurtured by the writing process rather than tortured... all while you become more confident that you are in fact providing sufficient support and opportunity for writing to occur.

We've discovered that these workshops are especially valuable as they are an intimate setting where participants have the chance to leave behind the failed efforts of the past while looking forward with optimism to the future. I'm always amazed at how cathartic, enlightening and energizing our times together turn out to be! Your kids will thank you, too.

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You may also pay tuition for the workship by check. Make checks payable to Brave Writer LLC and mail them to:

Brave Writer LLC

7723 Tylers Place Blvd. #165

West Chester, OH 45069

Always include your name, the service you are ordering, your email address and your phone number with your check. Do fill out the registration form above as well.