The brave learner : finding everyday magic in homeschool, learning, and life / Julie Bogart ; [foreword by Susan Wise Bauer].

"A joyful and accessible approach to homeschool that harnesses children's natural curiosity and makes learning a part of everyday life, whether they're in elementary or high school. Parents who are deeply invested in their children's education can be hard on themselves and their kids. When exhausted parents are living the day-to-day grind, it can seem impossible 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 around the world--to show parents how to make education an exciting, even enchanting, experience for their kids, whether they're 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 can create an environment that naturally moves learning forward. If a child wants to pick 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, while 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."-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Enchanted living: creating the context for magic in our homes -- Sparks fly: igniting a passion for learning -- Magic doors: lessons from monsters and maps -- The four forces of enchantment: surprise, mystery, risk, and adventure -- The four capacities for learning: curiosity, collaboration, contemplation, and celebration -- The four ports of entry: mind, body, heart, and spirit -- Applying the superpowers: practical help in core subjects -- Liberation from school: to schedule or not to schedule, that is the question (answers inside!) -- House-schooling: recruit your home to help you educate (and that pernicious topic: chores) -- The pixie dust of reasonable expectations: embracing our limits -- Awesome adulting: expanding our horizons -- The invisible education: the power of family dysfunction to sideline learning -- The disenchanting power of doing it right: the dangers of ideological alignment and true belief-ism in home education -- Reverse the curse: how to rekindle the magic.