I love cake. LOVE it. Cheesecake. Chocolate cake. Lemon cake. German chocolate cake. Coffee cake. Pound cake. Creme cake. Strawberry cake. Pineapple upside down cake. You name it, I love it. And, if I have cake, you better believe I am going to eat it.
My favorite cake in the whole world is the one in this picture. It is served at Cheesecake Factory and is called Raspberry Lemon Cream Cheesecake. It has the perfect blend of creaminess, sweetness, and tartness (is that a word?).
But, what does cake have to do with homeschooling? Well, when you hear the term "you can have your cake and eat it to", how often does that actually mean real cake? Of course, I am going somewhere else with this term. I do believe you CAN have your cake and eat it to....literally and figuratively.
Yesterday, out of curiosity, I watched the made for tv movie, Cyberbully. It was a movie about a girl in high school who got an account on a social website kind of like facebook and how rumors about her started to spread online that spilled into her school life. People started saying the most awful things about her and it eventually drove her to attempting suicide and she could not deal with the pressures created by the lies.
This is, of course, an epidemic. Bullying, cyber or otherwise, has been on the forefront of the news for the past couple years as suicides have risen. I was, myself, a victim of bullying in school. Jr. High and High School were torture for me and I contemplated suicide myself many times. I fantasized about the easiest, least painful way to end the pain. In the end, they were just fantasies and I never attempted anything, but my teen years are a blur of pain and confusion...never fully understanding why I was a target for so many hateful words and actions.
As I watched this movie, I wept with the teenage girl as she experienced the pain and confusion of not understanding why she was targeted and I thought of all those naysayers out there that say we should not try to protect our children so much when we decide to homeschool.
I think if you talked with any homeschooler, you will find that one of the many reasons they decided to homeschool their children was to provide a safe haven for their children to grow and mature. And what is wrong with that? What is wrong with protecting our children? Isn't that part of our job description? It isn't just about protecting them from bullying...but protecting them from a plethora of issues that run rampant in the school system. Protect them from exposure to bad attitudes, gossip, bullying, sexual contact (in any form), pressures from adult teachers, pressures from peers, distractions, bad music, bad tv, etc.
Sierra had a thing with a girl from school once. From about 3rd grade to 4th grade there was a girl who had a vendetta against Sierra and would torture her (getting her little friends to join her). It really affected Sierra, making her question her every move, not wanting to do anything that would make this particular girl have more fuel. I talked to the teachers about this and their response was disbelief because this other girl "was incredibly sweet and a great helper in the classroom". I was in shock...did these teachers never go to school? Did they not understand how mean girls could be?
So, what does all this have to do with cake? Well, society will tell you that kids need school for social growth and they need school for educational growth...they need to deal with social issues. Well, I say you can make a cake mix that is delicious, and creamy, and sweet that will not make you put on those extra pounds that you do not want or need in your (or your kids) life. It takes a bit of work, you will need to make the cake from scratch...but we all know, homemade is always better than store-bought.
You start off with an education program tailor made to your child's needs, not some thrown together plan with artificial flavors and preservatives. If your child is slower in one area and faster in another, you tailor their program for that. Next, you throw in, for extra flavor, social activities. This is where the flavor can be enhanced to such a degree that nothing ever tasted sweeter. There is nothing quite so satisfying as the peace of knowing who your kids are hanging out with and what their values and beliefs are. It is sweeter than the sweetest sugar without all the carbs. Oh, sure, once in a while, you may find a sour one in the bunch, but you can deal with that and move on. And to top off this fine dessert, you add on a covering (a fondant type covering, if you will) of Jesus and you know you cannot go wrong.
There is something to be said for providing a safe haven. There is something to be said for taking our time molding our children for a life in the world instead of dropping them into the kitchenaid mixing bowl of public school and not knowing what ingredients are being dropped in and mixed on high speed. Taking our time with a recipe...not adding ingredients too early or too late...fine tuning the recipe....it makes for the best cake you have ever tasted.
Oh, and for an extra bonus, at the end of this month, Cheesecake Factory is celebrating National Cheesecake Day by offering, for dine-in only, half price slices of cheesecake. Does it get any better? The kids and I will be at our local restaurant indulging in a slice or two... Try the Raspberry Lemon Cream Cheesecake...it is INCREDIBLE!!
My favorite cake in the whole world is the one in this picture. It is served at Cheesecake Factory and is called Raspberry Lemon Cream Cheesecake. It has the perfect blend of creaminess, sweetness, and tartness (is that a word?).
But, what does cake have to do with homeschooling? Well, when you hear the term "you can have your cake and eat it to", how often does that actually mean real cake? Of course, I am going somewhere else with this term. I do believe you CAN have your cake and eat it to....literally and figuratively.
Yesterday, out of curiosity, I watched the made for tv movie, Cyberbully. It was a movie about a girl in high school who got an account on a social website kind of like facebook and how rumors about her started to spread online that spilled into her school life. People started saying the most awful things about her and it eventually drove her to attempting suicide and she could not deal with the pressures created by the lies.
This is, of course, an epidemic. Bullying, cyber or otherwise, has been on the forefront of the news for the past couple years as suicides have risen. I was, myself, a victim of bullying in school. Jr. High and High School were torture for me and I contemplated suicide myself many times. I fantasized about the easiest, least painful way to end the pain. In the end, they were just fantasies and I never attempted anything, but my teen years are a blur of pain and confusion...never fully understanding why I was a target for so many hateful words and actions.
As I watched this movie, I wept with the teenage girl as she experienced the pain and confusion of not understanding why she was targeted and I thought of all those naysayers out there that say we should not try to protect our children so much when we decide to homeschool.
I think if you talked with any homeschooler, you will find that one of the many reasons they decided to homeschool their children was to provide a safe haven for their children to grow and mature. And what is wrong with that? What is wrong with protecting our children? Isn't that part of our job description? It isn't just about protecting them from bullying...but protecting them from a plethora of issues that run rampant in the school system. Protect them from exposure to bad attitudes, gossip, bullying, sexual contact (in any form), pressures from adult teachers, pressures from peers, distractions, bad music, bad tv, etc.
Sierra had a thing with a girl from school once. From about 3rd grade to 4th grade there was a girl who had a vendetta against Sierra and would torture her (getting her little friends to join her). It really affected Sierra, making her question her every move, not wanting to do anything that would make this particular girl have more fuel. I talked to the teachers about this and their response was disbelief because this other girl "was incredibly sweet and a great helper in the classroom". I was in shock...did these teachers never go to school? Did they not understand how mean girls could be?
So, what does all this have to do with cake? Well, society will tell you that kids need school for social growth and they need school for educational growth...they need to deal with social issues. Well, I say you can make a cake mix that is delicious, and creamy, and sweet that will not make you put on those extra pounds that you do not want or need in your (or your kids) life. It takes a bit of work, you will need to make the cake from scratch...but we all know, homemade is always better than store-bought.
You start off with an education program tailor made to your child's needs, not some thrown together plan with artificial flavors and preservatives. If your child is slower in one area and faster in another, you tailor their program for that. Next, you throw in, for extra flavor, social activities. This is where the flavor can be enhanced to such a degree that nothing ever tasted sweeter. There is nothing quite so satisfying as the peace of knowing who your kids are hanging out with and what their values and beliefs are. It is sweeter than the sweetest sugar without all the carbs. Oh, sure, once in a while, you may find a sour one in the bunch, but you can deal with that and move on. And to top off this fine dessert, you add on a covering (a fondant type covering, if you will) of Jesus and you know you cannot go wrong.
There is something to be said for providing a safe haven. There is something to be said for taking our time molding our children for a life in the world instead of dropping them into the kitchenaid mixing bowl of public school and not knowing what ingredients are being dropped in and mixed on high speed. Taking our time with a recipe...not adding ingredients too early or too late...fine tuning the recipe....it makes for the best cake you have ever tasted.
Oh, and for an extra bonus, at the end of this month, Cheesecake Factory is celebrating National Cheesecake Day by offering, for dine-in only, half price slices of cheesecake. Does it get any better? The kids and I will be at our local restaurant indulging in a slice or two... Try the Raspberry Lemon Cream Cheesecake...it is INCREDIBLE!!
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