When parents say they have a child who is terrible at writing, it’s hard to know what they mean.
- Does the child freeze when faced with a blank page?
- Is the child unskilled at spelling or punctuation?
- Or is the parent worried that the child isn’t writing a 5-paragraph essay yet?
The word “writing” could mean any of these skills, which grow at different rates. In Brave Writer, we divide writing into three categories and design products and classes accordingly.
- Original Thought (grown through the writing process)
- Mechanics (taught through literature)
- Writing Projects (assignments that combine mechanics and original thought)
Think of writing as three interlocking puzzle pieces to create writing proficiency. Our products are tagged with the piece of the puzzle it addresses.
Original Thought
Each of us is born a writer. Once you can externalize language (talk!), someone can jot down your words for you and turn you into a writer. Baby’s first words that go into the baby book? Voila! Published writer. Brave Writer teaches parents how to be partners to their children so that a child’s sophisticated verbal language continues to grow even while a child’s spelling and punctuation skills lag behind. We use processes to help children grow as thinkers, and therefore, writers.
Example Products & Classes
Growing Brave Writers
$79.00
Put away the red pen!
Most programs tell students what to write. We show them how to write.
Growing Brave Writers is the essential training you need to be the delightful writing coach your children deserve. End writer’s block!
One product to teach all your kids, and will last your entire homeschool career!
Together, you and your kids will:
- play oral and writing games
- grow a rich vocabulary
- do research
- freewrite (unblocks your blocked writers)
- revise (brand new material)
- edit (two strategies your kids will embrace)
- polish fiction and nonfiction writing
Empower your kids to feel good about writing.
This program works for a wide-range of children. Perfect for children who can read easily and handwrite comfortably.
Each chapter contains:
- A coaching guide for a writing practice
- A writing activity with detailed instructions
- A checklist for completion
- A sample written narrative of skills mastered
An additional chapter and an appendix feature:
- Directions for how to use the program in co-ops, with schooled children, and across the curriculum
- Writing samples for the activities
Growing Brave Writers is a 200+ page PDF file. It’s non-consumable and works well with students of all ages (8–18). It’s designed to support a writer doing any kind of writing, including assignments in other programs or classes, for homeschooled and traditionally schooled students.
Purchase perks!
Upon purchase, automatically enter into a 10-month email workflow that will guide you step-by-step, chapter by chapter. Implementation was never so easy!
Want a print copy? Go to the front of the line at the Homeschool Printing Company with a special Brave Writer offer. Order here.
Help for High School (Old Version)
$79.00
Essay training made simple
Finally, a program written for teens, to teens!
Help for High School is a self-directed academic writing program.
It teaches rhetorical thinking, as well as the essay formats most commonly assigned in high school and college.
Inside are:
- Fifteen modules of writing instruction
- Six exercises that build critical thinking skills
- Nine lessons that teach the two key essay formats
- Exploratory Essay (open form)
- Persuasive Essay (closed form)
- Instruction in writing thesis statements and conducting research
- Helpful directions for how to paraphrase and cite expert opinion
- Samples and models for feedback are included
Help for High School teaches teens how to think, argue, and create their own powerful writing style at the same time.
Your teen will build the following skills:
- developing a command of language
- creating a supported argument
- fostering a rhetorical imagination
- comparing and contrasting viewpoints
- discovering the role of narrative writing in academic formats
- understanding the difference between exploratory and expository essay forms
- writing thesis statements
- identifying points and particulars
- documenting sources
- paraphrasing versus quoting experts
- understanding viewpoint, bias, perspective, and facts
- creating in-line citations and works cited
This program is great for kids who are no longer struggling with writing. If your student has not written a report or finds it difficult to freewrite, start with the Building Confidence program. Learning those skills first will make Help for High School a much more successful experience.
Help for High School is 166 pages, in a black and white format, and is a non-consumable PDF. One copy may be used for multiple students in the same family.
Mechanics and Literature
Handwriting, spelling, punctuation, and craft grow through reading great literature, copying some of it in your own hand, and then attempting to handwrite it correctly while listening to someone read the passage aloud. Copywork and dictation practice are strategies for mastering the mechanics of writing, using quotations from quality literature.
Example Products & Classes
Groovy Grammar Workshop
Ages 7 - 14
Dart 2025-2026
$179.55
$149.00
Bringing literature, grammar, and joy together
Jumpstart your writing program with delight! The Dart invites kids ages 8-10 to enjoy literature while learning grammar, spelling, punctuation, and reading comprehension.
Our year-long program is delivered in nine month-long lesson plans, released monthly.
Each handbook features a novel and immerses your child in the world of:
- stories
- literary devices
- grammar
- punctuation
- spelling
- and book club parties
Discover how easy it is to teach writing using literature!
Our program uses the time-tested practices of copywork and dictation as key tools to teach punctuation, spelling, and grammar naturally in context. Don't worry—we'll show you how.
Each handbook contains:
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Notes to go with a selected read-aloud (book not provided)
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Four passages taken from the novel for copywork and dictation, one per week
-
Easy-to-follow instructions to teach writing elements found in the passages
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Playful and effective grammar and punctuation activities that kids love
-
A delightful writing exercise to apply what they have learned
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Nine comprehension questions
-
Book club party ideas
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Copywork passages on separate printable pages
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Four-color design that looks gorgeous on tablets or printed at home
The Dart program comes with Guidelines to help you implement the practices of copywork and dictation, as well as a planning tool and a writing skills tracker to help you stay attuned to your child's progress.
Start any time. Enjoy the published Darts in any order. You will receive all nine by April 2026.
2025-2026 book list:
- August: Painting the Game by Patricia MacLachlan
- September: Sidekicks (book 1) by Dan Santat
- October: Ra the Mighty: The Crocodile Caper by A. B. Greenfield
- November: Book Uncle and Me by Uma Krishnaswami
- December: Winterfrost by Michelle Houts
- January: The Lighthouse Family: The Storm, The Whale, The Eagle, The Turtle by Cynthia Rylant
- February: With Just One Wing by Brenda Woods
- March: Heartwood Hotel: Better Together (book 3) by Kallie George
- April: The Land of Roar by Jenny McLachlan
Swap one! When you purchase the year-long program, you may swap one handbook in the program for a handbook in the Literature Singles collection. Find the swap form in your account after purchase.
Want mentorship to learn how to use Dart? Join our Brave Writer Training Program!
Delivery: The Dart is delivered to your Brave Writer online account once per month on the 15th. Each handbook (40-50 pages) is a non-consumable PDF and can be used with multiple children in your own family—no need to purchase additional copies.
Join the thousands of families that have made Dart the #1 Brave Writer program!
Want a print copy? Go to the front of the line at the Homeschool Printing Company with a special Brave Writer offer. Order here.
Note: The Dart is one part of the Emerging Writers Bundle. Get all three parts of the Brave Writer program in one bundle!
Find related books in the Brave Writer Book Shop:
Writing Projects
The writing puzzle is complete when a child combines their current level of skill in mechanics with their original thoughts and produces a writing assignment—what we call a “writing project.” For instance, a child may narrate a fairytale that the parent jots down at age five, handwrite a thank you card at age nine, type a report at age 12, or write an expository essay at age 15. Brave Writer designs writing projects to match the child’s natural stage of growth in writing.
Example Products & Classes
Middle School Writing: Nonfiction Projects
Ages 9 - 14
Writing a Greek Myth
Ages 9 - 14
Jot It Down! (5-7 yrs)
$47.00
Catch your child in the act of self-expression
Welcome to the joy of writing without requiring your child to lift a pencil!
Jot It Down offers a collection of delightful activities that cover a range of writing formats:
- Writing fairytales
- Going on scavenger hunts in art museums
- Designing a photo journal
- Writing a mini book about animals
- Setting up a mail system in your house
- Creating posters, lists, and exploring the world of numbers
- Drawing a full sized body shape and filling it with words
- Three sorts of parties
- Not to mention poetry, music, recitation, and oral games!
By jotting down your child's words even before they know how to read, your youngest children discover that they're writers already!
Included in the program:
- Guidance for poetry recitation, word play, nature study, art appreciation, music, and movies
- Ten month-long writing projects: letters, fairytale narrations, posters, mini-books, lists, writing about numbers, and body art
- A tool to plan the projects
- A tool to track the skills your child gains
- A sample schedule (routine) for how to incorporate these practices into your year
Children love these projects because they get to hold in their hands evidence that they are writers, even when they're still learning to read and handwrite.
Jot It Down! is 80+ pages in a four-color PDF file. Looks great on tablets and iPads, or can be printed. The product is non-consumable and can be used for multiple children in your own family at once. Each activity can be done more than one time with a fresh topic to practice the formats.
Note: Jot It Down is one part of the Beginning Writers Bundle.
Partnership Writing (Original)
$59.00
Team up with your young writers
When you partner with your child, writing skills and confidence soar!
Partnership Writing features a wide array of flexible writing projects that work for families with kids under 12.
What kid wouldn't enjoy a few of these?
- Breaking secret codes
- Creating a personal timeline
- Writing a humorous homophone mini book
- Investigating who, what, where, when, and why
- Designing an imaginary map
- Crafting a lap book about a Greek myth or tall tale
- Writing ad copy for a historical artifact
- Not to mention enjoying poetry, movies, music, and oral games!
Bring writing voice and writing formats together!
The most overlooked practice in writing is working with a partner.
Good news! You get to be that partner for your child.
Included in the Partnership Writing program:
- Guidance for poetry recitation, word play, nature study, art appreciation, music, and movies
- Ten month-long writing projects: secret codes, personal time line, mini books, lap books, mail order catalog, how-to project, and written narrations, to name several.
- A tool to plan the projects
- A tool to track the skills your child gains
- A sample schedule (routine) for how to incorporate these practices into your year
This program offers the maximum flexibility for your family. Can be modified up or down in challenge level for kids between the ages of 5 and 12! One program for the entire family.
Partnership Writing is 113+ pages in a four-color PDF file. Looks great on tablets and iPads, or can be printed. The product is non-consumable and can be used for multiple children at once. Each activity can be done more than one time with a fresh topic to practice the formats.
Want a print copy? Go to the front of the line at the Homeschool Printing Company with a special Brave Writer offer. Order here.
Note: Partnership Writing is one part of the Emerging Writers Bundle.
Building Confidence (11-12 yrs)
$67.00
Jumpstart your middle school writers
Want your Middle Schoolers to feel good about writing while also gaining important academic writing skills?
Building Confidence offers a slew of engaging writing projects that introduce tweens to a variety of writing formats and prepare them for a life of self-expression and academic achievement.
Combine style with skill!
Your middle schoolers will:
- Indulge wild word play
- Design a dust jacket book review
- Report on a natural disaster
- Keep a diary as a historical figure
- Examine headlines for bias
- Learn the features of great fiction
- Discover the joy of writing poetry
- Write a semester length report and celebrate with a party
- ...and so much more!
Confidence and competence are around the corner!
Middle School is a great time to introduce academic writing skills.
You'll guide and coach your middlers in:
- summary
- reporting
- conducting research
- notetaking
- citing sources
- letter writing
- book reviewing
- interviewing
Included in the Building Confidence program:
- Guidance for poetry recitation, word play, nature study, art appreciation, music, and movies
- Twelve month-long writing projects: reports, interviews, letters, poetry, fiction, advertisements, diaries, literary elements, book reviews and more
- A tool to plan the projects
- A tool to track the skills your child gains
- A sample schedule (routine) for how to incorporate these practices into your year
This program can easily last more than one year and can be adapted for families with children between the ages of 10 and 15. If your student is in high school but not yet a confident writer, start here. These projects lay the foundation for the Help for High School program skills.
Building Confidence is 160 pages in a four-color PDF file. Looks great on tablets and iPads, or can be printed. The product is non-consumable and can be used for multiple children at once. Each activity can be done more than one time with a fresh topic to practice the formats.
Note: Building Confidence is one part of the Middle School Writers Bundle.
Help for High School (Old Version)
$79.00
Essay training made simple
Finally, a program written for teens, to teens!
Help for High School is a self-directed academic writing program.
It teaches rhetorical thinking, as well as the essay formats most commonly assigned in high school and college.
Inside are:
- Fifteen modules of writing instruction
- Six exercises that build critical thinking skills
- Nine lessons that teach the two key essay formats
- Exploratory Essay (open form)
- Persuasive Essay (closed form)
- Instruction in writing thesis statements and conducting research
- Helpful directions for how to paraphrase and cite expert opinion
- Samples and models for feedback are included
Help for High School teaches teens how to think, argue, and create their own powerful writing style at the same time.
Your teen will build the following skills:
- developing a command of language
- creating a supported argument
- fostering a rhetorical imagination
- comparing and contrasting viewpoints
- discovering the role of narrative writing in academic formats
- understanding the difference between exploratory and expository essay forms
- writing thesis statements
- identifying points and particulars
- documenting sources
- paraphrasing versus quoting experts
- understanding viewpoint, bias, perspective, and facts
- creating in-line citations and works cited
This program is great for kids who are no longer struggling with writing. If your student has not written a report or finds it difficult to freewrite, start with the Building Confidence program. Learning those skills first will make Help for High School a much more successful experience.
Help for High School is 166 pages, in a black and white format, and is a non-consumable PDF. One copy may be used for multiple students in the same family.