I've never participated in a cakewalk. Something that easy just didn't appeal to me--and now, with my wheat sensitivity, a cake wouldn't do me much good anyway. Instead, at the carnival I would make my way to the maze.
In fact, I'm rarely one to take the easy path. I'd rather do something exciting, challenging, and, hopefully, meaningful... even if it isn't a cakewalk.
Homeschooling is rarely easy--so I'm told... as a kid it was great!--there are challenges and confusing parts. Sometimes it feels like you're in a maze. But in the end, it is incredibly rewarding both for you--so I'm told--and your students.
If you feel lost in the middle of the homeschooling maze, don't fret. There are many blogs that offer encouragement and tips, and I try to link you to many of them in the Other Posts of Note. The Sonlight Forums are another great place to find support and encouragement. Also, don't forget about the Sonlight Homeschool Advisors--these are homeschooling moms who have "been there, done that," and can help you find exactly what you need for your homeschooling journey.
And I'm always here to help in any way I can.
So here's to the exciting journey that is homeschooling. The reward is great, but it's not likely to come in the form of a cake.
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father
Melonie, great points. I especially liked your "icing on the cake" bit <laughing>.
Heather, I think it is a sign <smile>. "Let them eat cake!"
Tony, I'm more than a little biased, but you should definitely give homeschooling a shot. It's an incredible blessing and a ton of fun... most days <smile>.
Jill, that's great! And you're right, I totally spaced that. So, here, let me link to the Conventions page. Definitely check them out. I know a lot of the SCCs, and they are a great group of people!
~Luke
Hi Luke,
As the saying goes, "Nothing worthwhile comes easily." And I actually won a cake in a cake walk when I was a kid! That was great!
I wanted to remind folks that the Sonlight Consultants will be at a lot of conventions around the US, Canada, England and S. Africa. People can get homeschool help and encouragement, as well as get their hands on Sonlight Curriculum at these events. Check out Sonlight's Convention calendar to find one near you.
Luke, you have my wife and I seriously thinking about homeschooling. We are both teachers by education, but she runs a Pre-School, and I left teaching years ago.
We've been reading info from the website too.
Figuring out what you need and Sonlight's website is difficult. But once you've got it figured out, using Sonlight's curriculum is a piece of cake.
Oddly enough, I hadn't even thought of cakewalks in ages. And then on Sunday at our church activities committee meeting we were talking about them because we're going to have one at our Spring Fling activity next month. And here you are talking about them. Weird. It must be a sign that I must go have some cake lol
Ah, but it can come in the form of cake, Luke. :-) Think of the family that makes a cake together and all of the math, science, nutrition, etc they can cover in that one project. Even more so if they are working from scratch vs using a mix (which still has plenty of math involved and can sometimes be way easier depending on your children's ages). Ooo, my mind is spinning now with all the checkmarks we could put on a list of "school" subjects with this.
:-P
I do have to say that Sonlight offers an amazing amount of support - even to those who haven't started using it yet. The website and catalog are still chock-full of resources. Wait, would that be "the icing on the cake"? heh heh.