I asked for the cookbook Barefoot in Paris as a birthday gift after a trip to France this summer. I made a dinner using recipes from the cookbook and learned some success principles that apply to homeschooling too. I wish you could have joined me for dinner, but I hope you enjoy this buffet of homeschool wisdom instead.

Appetizer: You can succeed without experience

I did not make an appetizer to go with dinner. The meal and dessert were going to take enough time, and I wanted everyone to be hungry. I had no appetizer and no experience with French cooking. I've never watched a single French cooking video, yet I invited guests to join me for a French dinner.

I had no experience homeschooling either. The only teaching I'd done was with college students. I did read a book about homeschooling and I attended a continuing ed talk about it, but I just jumped in and hoped for the best.

Main dish: It takes longer than you think but turns out okay

I chose to make boeuf bourguignon, which is a beef stew with a name I can't say in French. This recipe has you adding Cognac or brandy to the carrot mixture and then lighting it on fire to burn off the alcohol. I felt fancy but also fairly freaked out by the size of the flames and how long it took to stop burning.

I was reminded of the days of homeschool experiments that rarely seemed to go as planned but were fun to try anyway.

After browning the meat and assembling the stew, I was supposed to put it in the oven for an hour and fifteen minutes. At this point, the meat was supposed to be tender. It was not. I kept putting it back in the oven for another 15 minutes and grew more and more anxious about having tough meat.

This too was like homeschooling. It look much longer to teach my kids how to write well than I expected, for example. And character? That pot was in the oven for hours!

Side dish: You don't have to do it all yourself

I planned to make garlic mashed potatoes using garlic cloves steeped in oil. I hadn't even started them, though, when my son and his girlfriend got home. They made the potatoes their own project. I had to peel a few potatoes, but that was it.

Homeschooling in the early years is time consuming. But when your child can read and is mature enough to direct their own education, some of the pressure is off you. Involving other teaches and coaches to assist in my kids' education also took pressure off.

Dessert: It's more satisfying than you expect

I made profiteroles for dessert, which are like cream puffs with vanilla ice cream inside. My mother frequently made cream puffs when I was a kid, but I never thought I had the time. I also worried that I would fail in making them.

In the same way, when I felt called to homeschool, I worried about the time commitment and my ability to successfully teach my kids. I had no idea if it would be worth the effort.

The Reviews

I sat down at the dining room table, set with china and lit candles, and took a bite of the boeuf bourguignon and couldn't believe how much I loved it. The mashed potatoes? Chef's kiss. The groans of satisfaction around the table told me that I wasn't the only one enjoying the meal.

The profiteroles, while not bakery perfect in appearance, were so delicious that we all wanted seconds.

Homeschooling too has been immensely satisfying. Though our homeschool was far from perfect, our kids agree that it was an educational buffet worth going back to. Some of them say they would consider homeschooling their own children.

Now that I've cooked a French meal, I'm hooked. I highly recommend it, just as I highly recommend the homeschooling life.

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