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Brave Writer

21. (S2E2) Unexpected Homeschoolers - with The Homeschool Sisters

Brave Writer

Julie Bogart and Melissa Wiley

Books, Education, Arts, Kids & Family, Education For Kids

4.8 • 927 Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2017

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today we are talking about the Brave Writer lifestyle and how it shows up in homeschooling families all around the globe. Our guests and partners in crime, Kara Anderson and Caitlin Fitzpatrick, co-host the wonderful The Homeschool Sisters podcast.

“I think Brave Writer brings joy because it gives the parent permission to let school be a lifestyle, and take the school away from the education.” –Caitlin Anderson

Caitlin is a school psychologist, a mother of three and calls herself an “unexpected homeschooler.”

Kara never imagined herself homeschooling either, when she was working at the newspaper. She brought her passion home with her and works part-time while learning with her two favorite people on the planet.

“As a writer and somebody who love books, I want my kids to love it, but I know it’s not going to work if I try to force them to love it. Brave Writer has been a perfect solution to that, and the whole lifestyle has taken that worry and anxiety and turned it into joy.” –Kara Anderson

So… what is an unexpected homeschooler?

Caitlin works as a school psychologist and she is a product of public education. Her vision was that, when her kids were old enough to go to school, she would go back to work. Things don’t always go the way you envision.

Caitlin and Kara both had to reassess what they knew about school and education when their kids experienced difficulties during the first few years of public education. The public classroom didn’t address their kids’ needs, so both of them decided to go on a new journey with their children.

“It was a very unexpected, impulsive decision and one that I haven’t regretted for a second.” –Caitlin Fitzpatrick  

Support can be a vital part of homeschooling, for both the child and the parent. The Internet makes finding that support easier than it has ever been. Kara and Caitlin have never met, but they support each other through every step of the homeschooling process.

You can connect with like-minded, brave individuals online – and it can be vital for your own well-being as a homeschooling parent. Online communication can bring you together from hundreds of miles away to help each other, at any time.

Kara and Caitlin are a gentle, supportive and nourishing presence in the homeschooling world. If you haven’t already, head over to TheHomeschoolSisters.net and listen to the podcast.

Resources:


Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to season two of the podcast A Brave Writers Life and Brief. I'm Julie Bogart, your host.

0:07.0

I desperately, you know as a writer and somebody who loves books, I want my kids to love it, but I don't want to, I know it's not going to work if I try to force them.

0:22.0

Kate and I both know what it feels like to be looking for your tribe and not being able to find it.

0:28.0

I think we've both had that experience in our communities and so through the podcast we've always thought we just

0:34.1

want to let other moms know that it's okay and you're normal and your kids are

0:40.0

normal and you know you've got this.

0:45.3

You're listening to season two of the Brave Rider podcast.

0:49.2

This season we're focused on what I call the Brave Rider Lifestyle.

0:53.2

I'm not talking about lifestyles of the rich and famous,

0:56.3

more like lifestyles of the underfunded and messy,

0:59.6

you know, families like yours, like mine. The Brave Writer lifestyle is all about

1:05.0

creating a language-rich environment for your kids so that they're naturally

1:10.0

drawn to not only writing, poetry, and reading great books, but also subjects like Shakespeare,

1:17.0

art appreciation, and nature journaling. Even beyond those, we like to add things like tabletop gaming, movie viewing, and television.

1:26.2

Oh my! I interview brave writer parents each week who are just like you and we get to hear both their struggles and their

1:35.1

creativity in providing a wonderful homeschool life for their kids. I can't

1:40.0

wait for you to meet this wide array of moms so let's get started with this week's

1:44.1

episode. Today I get to introduce you to a pair of intrepid homeschooling mamas

1:50.5

Kara Anderson and Caitlin Fitzpatrick.

1:54.0

They call themselves the Home School Sisters.

1:57.0

They've got a slew of fans for their entertaining podcast by the same name,

2:02.0

where they riff about the hardships and happy surprises of

...

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