Homeschool Creations

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Homeschooling is Like Making Pancakes

If you HAD to eat pancakes every day and there was just ONE recipe for making pancakes and you had to follow that recipe without making any variations, there would be potential for a whole lot of problems.

What if the recipe called for milk and your child was allergic to milk? Or eggs? Maybe you wanted a 'healthier' pancake, but weren't able to change it. How would you do it?

Fortunately, there are a multitude of recipes available to make pancakes and you don't have to do anything you don't want to when it comes to making pancakes. You can add chocolate chips. Or blueberries. Go egg-free. Add some flax seed. You can make those pancakes any way you want to.

Homeschooling is like that.

Someone may claim to have the RIGHT way to homeschool. A better way. The perfect way. If only you would follow how they do it, you wouldn't have any problems at all.

But their way may not mesh with your family or special circumstances in your family.

Maybe they have a wonderfully huge room that they can use for their school time and your family sits huddled around a small dining room table.

Maybe their kids LOVE to do school {or appear too!} and your kids fight you tooth and nail to get any bit of school-time done.

Maybe their kids create amazing dioramas out of 10 toothpicks and 3 marshmallows while your kids would be sticking the marshmallows up their nostrils and your afternoon would be spent in the ER.

You know what?

There isn't one set way to homeschool. You can't go out and purchase a set of plans that will work for every single homeschooling family. What works for one family, will most definitely not work for another.

That's why we homeschool! Because as a mother or a father or a grandparent that homeschools, you ultimately know what works best in your family. Ideas are rampant around the blog world, but you don't need to measure up to how any other family is doing things in their homeschooling time. You need to do what helps your kids learn, what makes learning fun, and find the niche that is just for your family.

No guilt for not doing it just like someone else does it.

Just JOY in knowing you have the freedom to make school unique to your family and the opportunity to be there with your kids watching them grow every step of the way.


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32 Comments:

  • What a great illustration!

    That would be my kid with the marshmallows up his nose, by the way.

    By Blogger Sincerely Anna, At September 10, 2009 at 12:27 AM  

  • Amen sister! I just spoke last night at a homeschooling support group and this was my biggest message to them. Don't have the guilt, just enjoy those children-in the blink of an eye they will be gone. You have to do what is best for your family and your life, no one elses. Great post

    Angela

    By Blogger Angela, At September 10, 2009 at 12:42 AM  

  • What a great post! Wow, did I ever need that! THANK YOU!!!! I think the best thing most moms could do (maybe a handful of others like myself) is to let go of the unnecessary burdens and expectations we put on ourselves as homeschooling mothers. In a nutshell, stop comparing ourselves, and then piling on load after load of discouragement because we can't pull it off like "they do." You're singing my song!

    By Blogger Kathy, At September 10, 2009 at 12:50 AM  

  • This is super! I know I find myself reading blogs (yours is one of them:-) ) and thinking--it doesn't work that way here, or what am I doing wrong, or I need to do that and that and that!!

    I agree with you 100% and am glad you said/posted this!!

    By Blogger Susana, At September 10, 2009 at 1:07 AM  

  • Oh this post is music for my heart and soul. Thank you Jolanthe for writing this.

    Note to self: Repeat: I will not compare my children to other children.

    By Blogger Goat Gal, At September 10, 2009 at 1:25 AM  

  • I am so glad you posted that. I have six children in all different grades and it becomes difficult to be so organized and keep it all together like others. So switching up the most basic of routines is rare.

    This year I am encouraged by you and others to step out there and try something new. I look at all you do and say, "wow, I wish there was enough time in a day, where does she find the time". And the creativity is just amazing.

    But while I know we cant be like others I am encouraged to step away from the norm and try new things!
    Latyia

    By Blogger Shoestring Sista, At September 10, 2009 at 3:28 AM  

  • Awesome post Jolanthe - goes right along with my post last week too!

    Oh how I wish parents would understand this and walk away from guilt!

    Hugs and much love,
    Jill

    By Blogger Unknown, At September 10, 2009 at 6:13 AM  

  • You are so on track here! It all goes back to comparing yourself to others. Just don't do it!

    Read, research, pray, and make a reasoned decision, knowing WHY you made those choices.

    That's a danger with blogging. We see all the "perfect" stuff and don't realize the details behind the scene.

    By Blogger Unknown, At September 10, 2009 at 6:45 AM  

  • I love it! It is hard not to feel like you aren't measuring up to those around or you read about. But you have been an inspiration to me!

    By Anonymous Sarah R, At September 10, 2009 at 8:33 AM  

  • Thank you, thank you, thank you. :)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At September 10, 2009 at 8:43 AM  

  • BRAVO!

    By Blogger Ticia, At September 10, 2009 at 8:54 AM  

  • One word: AMEN

    Great post!

    By Blogger Heidi, At September 10, 2009 at 9:04 AM  

  • Although I don't have any school-age children yet and I don't plan on homeschooling, this is a good message for all areas of our life. Like blogging. haha. We don't need to have all the bells and whistles on our blogs in order for them to be good and likeable. And we don't have to post something everyday in order to "keep up" with everyone else. Thanks for that message.

    By Blogger Sheena, At September 10, 2009 at 9:08 AM  

  • You are correct. I believe we should study and assess what we are doing not by comparing with others but by looking at our family and development of our own child.

    Jenb

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At September 10, 2009 at 10:38 AM  

  • Great Post!! I used to love pancakes, well actually waffles, with a scoop of ice cream. Every day I learn something different about how I like to teach and learn.

    By the way, I posted a link to this post on my website: http://www.yourhomeschoolconnection.blogspot.com.

    By Blogger Andrew Pass, At September 10, 2009 at 12:07 PM  

  • Amen sister!!! Great illustration!

    By Blogger Joesette, At September 10, 2009 at 1:31 PM  

  • Wow - great post. Thank you. Homeschool moms should find the way that is 'best for them and their family' regardless of how others do it, and you expressed that very eloquently.

    By Anonymous Julie, At September 10, 2009 at 1:49 PM  

  • Great post, Jolanthe. I am in the (agonizing) decision-making stage about whether to homeschool or not; in fact I just posted about that very thing earlier today. Your post is very timely for me as one of the questions I ask myself is "am I really capable of doing this?" - it's easy to think everyone else has it all together and that I can never "measure up." You are so very genuine and I appreciate your posts like this so much! Thank you!

    By Blogger Nicole {tired, need sleep}, At September 10, 2009 at 3:37 PM  

  • Great post! I'll be including a link to it in my Friday Favorites tomorrow.

    By Blogger Erin @ Closing Time, At September 10, 2009 at 4:49 PM  

  • Great post! Thanks for the reminder.
    It's often even different from child to child as well as family to family. Each one of my children is so different and what works for one doesn't work for the other. Keeps life interesting. ;-)
    Debra

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At September 10, 2009 at 6:14 PM  

  • Thank you for posting this, it is all too true. Sometimes I see something that another family has done only to discover, well that didn't go so well for us. Other times I find GREAT ideas that work better then my ideas. I had a teacher tell me: "The Best Teachers are not afraid to share, borrow or steal ideas" I don't like the word steal, but I think he hit it on the head, don't be a stick it the mud or like pancakes.

    Thank you too for adding grandparent in your posting, you would be surprised to know how many of us our out here doing the samething with our little ones just like you parents are. I know I never realized it until I started raising my granddaughter.

    By Blogger Debbie, At September 10, 2009 at 8:25 PM  

  • Bravo, what a great analogy!

    By Blogger Hen Jen, At September 10, 2009 at 8:54 PM  

  • Great post - so many homeschooling mothers would have to agree with this!
    I've just started homeschooling and already being told what I should and shouldn't do, let alone those telling you how you shouldn't homeschool at all!
    Great blog!

    By Blogger Gina, At September 10, 2009 at 10:57 PM  

  • Jolanthe,

    After reading and commenting earlier on your post, I knew I had to send this one on to some Mom's, so I created a link to your blog and sent it out to our homeschooling support group.

    What a great reminder: I've even re-read the post a few times myself. This is going into a file as one of my personal favorites.

    Blessings and Grace!

    KATHY

    By Blogger Kathy, At September 10, 2009 at 11:22 PM  

  • What a great analogy! Wonderful post.

    By Blogger Mozer, At September 10, 2009 at 11:28 PM  

  • Thanks for your post. Well said & I totally agree.

    By Blogger Test, At September 10, 2009 at 11:41 PM  

  • Did you know I needed to hear that today? I betcha you did :) Thanks girl. Great analogy!

    By Blogger Mary@notbefore7, At September 11, 2009 at 6:54 PM  

  • Great post, thank you!

    By Anonymous Sybille, At September 15, 2009 at 8:57 AM  

  • Thank you so much for this. Because my children are the ones with the marshmallow up their nose I have always evied the ones who built the diarama. Maybe we are normal afterall...lol.

    By Blogger Gerky, At September 16, 2009 at 9:13 AM  

  • Beautifully said!

    By Blogger Lift Up Your Hearts, At September 18, 2009 at 8:58 PM  

  • Great analogy! I had to read that one to my Hubby. I will definitely be sharing this wisdom with others. I wholeheartedly agree.

    By Blogger Misty aka Elvisgirl, At September 30, 2009 at 12:59 PM  

  • I need to read this everyday. And pass this on to my mom who wonders why my kids don't sit at a table with a stack of worksheets.

    By Blogger kw, At October 9, 2009 at 12:52 AM  

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