The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life

A joyful and accessible approach to homeschooling that harnesses children’s natural curiosity and makes learning part of on a regular basis life, whether they’re in elementary or high schoolParents who are deeply invested in their children’s education can also be hard on themselves and their kids. When exhausted parents are living the day by day grind, it can seem not possible to muster enough energy to make learning fun or interesting. How do parents nurture a love of learning amid childhood chaos, parental self-doubt, the flu, and state academic standards? In this book, Julie Bogart distills decades of experience–homeschooling her five now grown children, developing curricula, and training homeschooling families world wide–to show parents how to make education an exciting, even enchanting, experience for their kids, whether they are in elementary or high school. Enchantment is about ease, not striving. Bogart shows parents how to make room for surprise, mystery, risk, and adventure in their family’s routine, so they may be able to create an environment that naturally moves learning forward. If a child wants to pick out up a new hobby or explore a subject area that the parent knows little about, it’s easy to simply say “no” to end the discussion and the parental discomfort, at the same time as dousing their child’s curious spark. Bogart gently invites parents to model brave learning for their kids so they, too, can approach life with curiosity, joy, and the courage to take learning risks.