306. Challenge Accepted: An Interview With Chris Balme

One of the major perks of homeschooling is that the middle-school years can be about adventure instead of awkwardness. In this episode, Melissa chats with author Chris Balme about his book Challenge Accepted: 50 Adventures to Make Middle School Awesome. Balme’s book invites young readers to discover how trust, agency, and meaningful challenges transform “awkward years” into growth years. Join us for a conversation about kid-driven adventures—stealth art, teaching what you know, citizen science, apprenticeships, and building from scratch—plus practical ways to close the gap between social perception and interpretation, repair friendships, and use side-by-side activities to spark conversation. We also share why modeling a beginner’s mind (learning an instrument, sketching, coding) invites kids to try, fail, and try again. Listen to the full episode to gather specific challenge ideas you can use this week and to reframe these years as the great adventure they are. Resources: Learn more at Chris Balme’s website: www.chrisbalme.com Chris’s Substack: Growing Wiser Follow Chris Balme on Instagram: @chrisbalme Find CHALLENGE ACCEPTED: 50 ADVENTURES TO MAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL AWESOME in the Brave Writer Bookshop Fall 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 Join us at the Brave Learner Home: https://bravewriter.com/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 Sign up for our Text Message Pod Ring to get podcast updates and more! Send us podcast topic ideas by texting us: +1 (833) 947-3684 Connect with Julie: Instagram: @juliebravewriter Threads: @juliebravewriter Bluesky: @bravewriter.com Facebook: facebook.com/bravewriter Connect with Melissa: Website: melissawiley.com Substack: melissawiley.substack.com Instagram: @melissawileybooks Bluesky: @melissawiley.bsky.social Produced by NOVA

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306. Challenge Accepted: An Interview With Chris Balme

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This episode is 53 minutes long.

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This episode was published on September 24, 2025.

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