A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

It seems the spirit of the age is that parents ought to take control of their children’s lives because the parent knows best and the world is dangerous.

Yet the child knows best what their interior life feels like. Most kids want to have a good and happy life (believe me—didn’t you?). They are not out to get away with anything.

Your children are learning what is good for them and what isn’t. They cannot always know that on their own.

We’ve forgotten the inner child cry—“I know things! I’m not a bad person. I want to be happy!” We can start here with optimism rather than scrutiny and fear.

We don’t have to…

• treat our children like they’re lying to us or are bent on their own self-destruction.
• lead with suspicion or treating our children’s desires as frightening to us.
• shame them or blame them for wanting what we decided was bad for them (more computer time, extra candy, staying up late, climbing an eight foot wall).

If we start with curiosity and kindness while showing interest in how a child wants to assemble their lives, we may find ideas that help both them and us thrive.

It’s hard for kids to trust their parents when kids feel they aren’t seen as trustworthy themselves.

I wrote a whole book called The Brave Learner to help you find meaningful ways to connect with your children, while trusting them and leading them into a great life that they will enjoy and you will feel good about.

Enchantment does not always mean adding more. Sometimes, enchantment means recognizing what your family already does and leaning into it—counting it!

Little moments that make up your day can be encounters with enchantment if you stop to recognize them and soak them up with pleasure and appreciation.

This collection of posts will give you insights into what you should “count” as enchantment, and offer ideas for little ways you can boost your day to connect with your child and up the enchantment in your homeschool.

• Enchanted Education
• What Enchanted Education Is NOT
• Enchant the Environment
• 5 Magic Words
• The Four Forces of Enchantment
• Enchanted Education for Teens
• Keeping Enchantment Alive in High School
• A Little Enchantment Goes a Long Way

For more on this important topic,
check out Julie’s book, The Brave Learner!

Sometimes it feels hard to be a homeschooler. You’re looking for the group where you fit in and you can’t quite find one. I feel you.

The stakes are higher than ever. So many groups have a strict philosophy or practice or belief system and if you don’t align, it can feel difficult to participate wholeheartedly. In some cases, you can’t even join!

I’ve lived a version of that experience and it’s not fun. It doesn’t feel good to be told that you don’t belong just because you don’t agree or you changed your mind.

When I built Brave Writer, I always wanted to welcome as wide a variety of homeschooler as there was into our work. We grow and we learn when we are exposed to a wide range of ideas and people and beliefs.

If it feels like you don’t fit elsewhere, just know that you have a home with us. We see you. We want you.

Need more support? Join our Brave Learner Home community and unlock the riches inside: coaches, resources, trainings, and friendships! And, as a member, you’ll have immediate access to the most extensive homeschool resource library on the internet.