329. Accidental vs. On-Purpose Learning

Brave Writer

Julie Bogart and Melissa Wiley

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

4.8 • 927 Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2026

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Are you wondering if you’ve done “enough” this year? What if the real question isn’t about subjects completed—but about the atmosphere you’re creating?

Melissa developed a simple framework to help her notice what was filling her children’s days. She called it the “Rule of Six”:

Living Books – Rich, engaging books written by authors with passion and depth.
Encounters with Beauty – Art, music, and nature woven into daily life.
Meaningful Work – Household responsibilities and academic efforts that truly matter (not busywork).
Imaginative Play – Unstructured time for creativity, games, and exploration.
Big Ideas to Ponder and Discuss – Narration, conversation, and reflection on what’s being learned.
Reflection – Ending the day with gratitude, prayer, or thoughtful review.

This week, we revisit this concept as a method of filling our children’s days with living books, beauty, meaningful work, imaginative play, big ideas, and reflection. From accidental learning to on-purpose instruction, we explore how to balance immersion with explicit teaching—so our kids gain both joy and skill. If you’re feeling that mid-year wobble, this conversation will help you notice what’s thriving, what’s missing, and how to move forward with clarity.

Resources:

Read about Melissa’s Rule of Six
Discover our favorite readalouds and nonfiction in the Brave Writer Book Shop
Brave Writer class registration is open!
Visit Julie’s Substack to find her special podcast for kids (and a lot more!)
Purchase Julie’s new book, Help! My Kid Hates Writing
Find community at the Brave Learner Home
Learn more about the Brave Writer Literature & Mechanics programs
Start a free trial of CTCmath.com to try the math program that’s sure to grab and keep your child’s attention
Subscribe to Julie’s Substack newsletters, Brave Learning with Julie Bogart and Julie Off Topic, and Melissa’s Catalog of Enthusiasms
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Send us podcast topic ideas by texting us: +1 (833) 947-3684
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Transcript

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0:50.1	Welcome back to another Brave Writer podcast. Hello, Melissa. Hi, Julie. It's good to be with you today. I'm excited about today's topic. You know, last week when we were debriefing, we had so much to share in the episode that we literally left half of our content on the table for this week. And I would like to interview you about that content because
1:13.4	you brought up an idea that was inspired by your study of Charlotte Mason. And you brought up this
1:19.9	notion of the rule of six. And I thought it would be interesting to hear from you what you were learning when you came across this rule of six and how you applied it to your family.
1:33.2	So can you start just by giving us a little background on Charlotte Mason's rule of six?
1:39.3	The rule of six was not Charlotte. Charlotte had three things that in her writings, she talked about as what should be
1:47.8	part of every child's life. Something to do, something or someone to love, and something to think about.
1:56.0	And those ideas, which are very broad, are woven and unpacked in all of her books. What does it mean to have
2:03.2	something to love? And what do we mean something to do? Something to think about. The think about
2:09.2	was what really sparked my imagination because here I was already with this endeavor of educating
2:15.4	my kids underway. And I began to think about it and think about,
2:21.2	oh, okay, this notion of what should be, what do I want my kids' days to be full of? That was really my
2:27.6	starting point. Like, every child should have. What do I think? Every child should have beyond, you know,
2:32.4	the basic needs of living being met in their
2:37.5	education. And I named these six concepts for myself. And then I called it the rule of six. I don't even
	...

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