Last updated on November 18, 2020
Does the sentence ‘I need to homeschool my kids’ make your anxious? or maybe this you’re even considering homeschooling your child due to COVID19 pandemic that does not seem to go away completely…. If so, then please stick around for this conversation with 17 years mother of 5 and veteran homeschooler Julie Bogart.
In fact, not only has she learned and experimented with a few different educational homeschool methods but she has founded over 20 years ago the Homeschooling Alliance rebranded recently to ‘The Brave Learner’ and every year she is helping thousands of parents on this specific homeschooling journey. In addition to that she has also created the Brave Writer Program, known as an expert writer herself, what makes Julie’s programs fun is that they use lots of kinesthetic curriculums (using their hands and senses to learn) for teaching kids about words and language and writing.
The gift we can give ourselves is permission to experiment with education.
Julie Bogart
Kids are actually very receptive to learning
Well, my child doesn’t like school….or my child is not good in math or french or geography or physics or biology or history or….. but that’s not exactly true… more often then not it’s the method of teaching that’s the issue as opposed to the content taught.
Unfortunately, traditional schools do not offer teachers as much flexibility in their teaching styles for a group of kids as a parent can do with 1-2 or 3 at home. The big idea that Julie shares is that when the child can apply and use the information right away, then and only then will they remember and absorb it and simply care enough to learn it.
Encourage your child to dream big….but then don’t say it’s impossible
Julie talks about BHAG’s in this conversation…which boils down to encouraging your child to dream big. Ask your child ‘if you could have or do anything in the world what would it be?…. she shared 2 examples and honestly….kids usually have fun and surprising answers…and nope it’s not the common parental answer of travelling the world or getting a car…well not yet anyways.
The amazing thing is that Julie speaks to the truth of this matter saying that often we are too quick to find an excuse or excuses as to why this is not possible right now dangling variables such as finances, available or known resources, time and will. So let’s do ourselves a favor mamas and keep an open mind and not squash our kids BHAG’s next time.
There is an illusion that homeschooling is hard
Goodbye are the days where being homeschooled and homeschooling your kids meant following only the school’s curriculum. In fact, today there are a few options of teaching methods that can be adapted to you, the parent that will be teaching your child. AND it’s not a typical schedule of let’s study from 9am to 3pm either… in fact to break it down simply for us mamas that are not homeschoolers …depending on your child’s age younger kids get about 60 minutes per day split into 20 minutes time slots (most likely happening in the morning) and then the afternoons are for playtime or anything else that fits with your family’s lifestyle, obligations and interests. High Schoolers typically go for longer streches that can last a few hours a day.
Julie Bogart has a very open and flexible approach to homeschooling and how to teach your child through experiences as opposed to only do-it-yourself worksheets and exams. I hope you’ll enjoy this conversation that goes deeper than just homeschooling 101, it’s about how we parents and mothers communicate with our kids new concepts via useful, concrete, you can use this now activities instead of the ‘someday it’ll be useful’ notions.
- If you like this episode, make sure to listen to this one (about raising kids these days).
LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE!
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What You’ll Learn In This Episode:
0-6:20 Intro
7:15 How she homeschooled her 5 kids over 17 years at home
8:30 How she first found out about homeschooling in the 80’s while traveling
9:30 Deciding to homeschool her children & doing writing work on the side
10:45 Be brave to learn a new way of educating your children & examples
14:10 The reality of homeschooling & how much work it takes to do it.
16:35 The magic of homeschooling through mystery & surprise to help younger kids learn
19:30 Clearing the coffee table concept to stimulate a learning moment
22:40 A tip for parents to stimulate your kids imagination & self-direction
23:25 How to get your child to enjoy writing and language
28:10 The forces of risk & adventure to help tweens & teens learn
30:35 BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) what this is and why you should try it
34:00 The story of the boy who dreamed of having a horse.
36:00 The importance of collaboration with your child to promote learning
39:40 Weather Icons for the Family & Family Dysfunction related to your child’s learning at home
44:00 How to adjust each lesson to your children’s strengths
46:15 Who are these homeschooling parents & a brief history of homeschooling
49:40 How the pandemic… COVID19 has changed homeschooling
51:00 Is homeschooling a full time job or not? How to make it work for you & your family
53:30 What she really thinks about teachers and schools these days.
56:40 The teacher that changed her perception on how to teach kids
59:00 Her words of wisdom on how to make a relationship thrive after having kids.
1:03:45 Where you can learn more about Julie & her homeschool programs ‘the brave learner’
1:04:50 The last Question : Keeping Motherhood Inspired, what keeps Julie inspired and energized on her mom journey
Connect With Our Guest:
Ressources Mentioned In This Episode:
- Book by Julie Bogart – ‘The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life’
- Brave Writer Programs for Kids
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