You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
201 reviews for:
The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life
Julie Bogart
4.16 AVERAGE
201 reviews for:
The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life
Julie Bogart
4.16 AVERAGE
Let me preface this by saying, I don't home school. I was going through a phase (still am) on questioning whether I wanted to or not, and figured I would read some books about it to educate myself a bit more. I guess I was expecting more from this one? It was just repetitive.
Education in general looks different for everyone. What your kids need is specific to them and there isn't a one way, rules all sort of deal. Some parents are going to be more creative with things than others. The basic idea is to make sure you're catering to each child's interest to keep them engaged and wanting to know more. Perhaps having to put yourself in uncomfortable situations to make your child happy (introvert vs extrovert child for example).
And of course, don't be so hard on yourself. You'll eventually get a routine and when you think you have it down, you'll get a curve ball and have to shift the way you do things.
So for me, this just seemed self explanatory and just what comes with the territory.
Education in general looks different for everyone. What your kids need is specific to them and there isn't a one way, rules all sort of deal. Some parents are going to be more creative with things than others. The basic idea is to make sure you're catering to each child's interest to keep them engaged and wanting to know more. Perhaps having to put yourself in uncomfortable situations to make your child happy (introvert vs extrovert child for example).
And of course, don't be so hard on yourself. You'll eventually get a routine and when you think you have it down, you'll get a curve ball and have to shift the way you do things.
So for me, this just seemed self explanatory and just what comes with the territory.
I found some very great insights about homeschooling in this book- wrote almost three pages of notes, mostly reminders to myself. Learning WITH my children continues to be my approach to homeschooling.
There are some good nuggets and reminders in here, but the first several chapters, especially, gave me the impression that she would never have her kids do something challenging or that didn't "spark delight." It felt as though everything was to be interest-led and inspired and magical and off-the-cuff - which honestly feels like more pressure to me han the "meeting standards" pressure she (rightly) pushes back against. Her later chapters had some practical help (but still, not my style - both in writing and in her approach to school and parenting).
Still, some good reminders about what really matters, and some solid ideas for bringing new life to a homeschool, so for that I'll bump it up to three stars.
Still, some good reminders about what really matters, and some solid ideas for bringing new life to a homeschool, so for that I'll bump it up to three stars.
My biggest take away was that the environment you create in your home has the greatest lasting impact on your children, far more then what you teach them or how you teach them. As a mom with a few toddlers, I related a lot to the chapters on how your attitude and demeanor, as the parents, effect the atmosphere in your home and in your children. Julie Bogart’s writing is a little bit repetitive and I don’t agree with all her philosophies but her heart behind her work is evident.
Thought Provoking and Insightful Read
If it is possible to wrestle with a book, I wrestled with this one as a homeschool kid grown into a homeschool mom there were some things in the initial chapters (which are more ideological) that were very triggering. I’m so glad I read it with a group of other homeschool moms, including former teachers, because their insights were invaluable. Once we shifted from the philosophical to reality, I realized we actually believed a lot of the same things but with different terminology or frames around it. All in and now that it’s finished, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to some one wanting to school their children differently from the traditional school setting in the United States. As with anything, there are things I will apply going forward and things I won’t, but this is a very well thought out examination of how we can inspire a love of learning in our families.
If it is possible to wrestle with a book, I wrestled with this one as a homeschool kid grown into a homeschool mom there were some things in the initial chapters (which are more ideological) that were very triggering. I’m so glad I read it with a group of other homeschool moms, including former teachers, because their insights were invaluable. Once we shifted from the philosophical to reality, I realized we actually believed a lot of the same things but with different terminology or frames around it. All in and now that it’s finished, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to some one wanting to school their children differently from the traditional school setting in the United States. As with anything, there are things I will apply going forward and things I won’t, but this is a very well thought out examination of how we can inspire a love of learning in our families.
This has some great "hooks" to help get your kids to buy into homeschooling and many ideas that you can pick and choose from.
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Love reading this one again and again! I implement a new idea or two every time!
I have homeschooled for over 10 years now and really enjoyed reading this. I haven't used the Brave Writer curriculum, but that doesn't matter. I enjoyed reading her experiences and things she has learned through homeschooling her own children. It resonated with me as I reflected on my own journey. And it also gave me ideas for new things to try, new approaches as homeschooling is something that is always adapting and changing based on our kids and their interests and desires and ways of learning. And it's also sometimes a challenge to not get in a rut and do the same things because it's what we know. In some ways I wish I had read this book before I started homeschooling as it gives practical day-to-day ideas how to do it. But I think in some ways this is a great time because I have so much experience and can see things I'd like to change or something new I'd like to try to keep our homeschool an exciting and fun place to learn.