Every so often I like to highlight a book that has opened my eyes to a different perspective or given me a greater understanding. These are not exclusively homeschool books however recently many of the books I have been reading center on education, homeschooling and learning.
So without further ado the first book I am recommending is “Brave Learner” by Julie Bogart. Let me start by saying that I in no way agree with her across the board and in fact there are many things I disagreed with her on but I think that’s part of why I enjoyed reading this book. She came from a very different approach than I do and I enjoyed that. Her perspective is truly unique and her book is well worth the read and I’d like to highlight a few things that are both unique and inspiring about her book.
- For some the idea of a schedule is terrifying or overwhelming and for other it is electrifying, if I am being completely honest I am the weird second one. I crave and love tidiness, organization and a schedule. I love, love, love order BUT the truth is that kids are messy, and while children often crave consistency the also need you to be flexible enough to see when pushing through isn’t working and to stop, yes you heard me right to stop to take a brain break and to come back to it when their minds are refreshed. Julie Bogart talks about this idea of having a “Routine and not a schedule” and while I weirdly love the idea of a schedule routine it is so much more important. If you have a schedule then you’re writing down everything that needs to be done that week for each of the kids to be where they need to be. But a routine is simply on a normal day this is the order in which things are done and while that may seem like a little difference the long term impact is huge and here’s while when you take the stress off of checking off that box and you place it instead on your child grasping the concepts being presented to them each day they may take a few days to learn material that you had hoped to learn in only one day but they can confidently move forward know they understand what they are being taught.
- Poetry and Tea: poetry and tea are things that sounds so feminie and the idea is interesting but maybe not something you will implement but maybe just maybe as you see the importance and joy of reading good poetry,great speeches and thought provoking or even comical limericks and tea time is the perfect place for this to be introduced. Long before Julie wrote the “Brave Learner” my sisters and brother and I began weekly tea. It was enchanting. It became our magical world of make believe we all created characters with backstories where we all learned creative writing without ever picking up a pen. It was also a time we learned the importance of manners in a hands on way, we also took turns hosting our teas, and learning to set the table,creating lovely centerpieces, and making different tea worthy delicacies.
- Children crave comfort and this takes so many different forms have you thought about what you’re surrounding your children with and I am not talking about influences. What kind of lighting are they able to read with best? Do they have a comfortable place to sit while studying ? What about the temperature in the room? And of course the all important could they maybe be hungry or thirsty ? Now rebellious attitudes and temper tantrums are things that happen and it’s important to deal with those but sometimes your child is just craving something that you can actually accommodate.
- This is my favorite by far although in many ways I learned more from many of her other points. Big Juicy Conversations!!!! If I could highlight and circle this for you I would. I cannot overstate how important this is. TALK to you children Listen really really listen. If I were to pick one and only one thing that stood out to me about my own education it would be this but I didn’t know until long after I was an adult how big a deal this was. My wonderful mom listened endlessly to all her children as we prattled on about everything! I am serious about everything! From what we were learning in school, to our books that we were reading in our free time, to our dreams, aspirations and plans, to business ideas she endlessly listened and it has made a tremendous impact in our lives.
- There are so many more fabulous ideas in this book I mean what is “staging the home”,”read aloud baskets”, “Hygge” ,”Scatterbooks” and so many many more but this last one I picked is the having a “Great Wall Of Questions” Julie talks about having a specific place where kids can write things they’ve wondered and questions they have and then once a week taking down those questions and finding the answer this is a fabulous way to connect with different learning styles since it ends up incorporation so many different types. Its visual, if you’re reading them aloud to find the answer is audio, you’re physically taking down the questions which is kinesthetic it’s truly a fabulous idea.