By GLORIA YODER

The Amish Cook

My dream is coming to reality. What I used to consider a stark negative is now not only intriguing but exciting.

When I was 6-years-old, my parents were among those to establish our parochial school. This is where I attended grades one through eight. I was the first student to complete all eight grades at our new school, which we named Pilgrim’s Christian School. I only had a skip and a hop across the woods to get there. I loved school, friends, my teachers and learning.

After observing some stark negative situations in some homeschooling situations, I just did not value the idea of homeschooling at all. Well you know how it goes — develop a strong opinion, and it is bound to come back and bite you. That was precisely what happened; ten years ago, as I got to know this wonderful young man from Ohio. I learned that he was homeschooled by his mother. As he fondly recalled memories of school days at home, I thought to myself, “Well, maybe it could be okay for some folks, but not for me.”

Time went on, and I got to marry this wonderful young man, then along came Julia. As she neared the age of going to school, I just felt a sense of twisting on the very inside of me. I really wanted to teach her myself, yet I wanted her to go to school and be able to experience with her friends what I did during my school years. With us having a Christian school next door (the one I had attended) it was a no-brainer, she would be sent to school. “Okay,” I told God, “I am fine with sending her, but if it ever is your will that I homeschool her, I trust you to work it out for me.”

Now listen to this, this year things went precisely opposite of what anyone and everyone imagined. When we thought things were coming together on who will be teaching, things fell through. It simply didn’t work out for our prospective teacher to proceed with her plans of teaching and with no one else available to take her place, we agreed to all homeschool this year. I’m thrilled. Julia is all smiles, last year she loved school, yet is delighted to have more time at home.

What I look forward to the most is having more one on one time with her. We are only in our first weeks, but I can already tell that it does have a bonding effect on both of us. One concern Daniel and I have is that she does get plenty of social interaction with her friends and people outside our family.

No one knows whether we will be back in the swing of school at our parochial school by next year or not, God does, and that is all I need to know for now. We have been deeply grateful for Julia’s positive experience with going to school for preschool and first grade. She had an excellent teacher that excelled in thoroughly teaching each category, and being out for the good of the children. Plans are for the school children to get together on a biweekly basis for social interaction and classes on a variety of other hands-on type things, such as baking, cake decorating or mechanical training and other basic skills that will be a benefit to them. Julia is excited for these times with her friends, at the same time, she is all into setting up our little schoolroom here at home. We borrowed a desk from the school where she put her books. Today we had her first lesson in German which she was quite pleased with.

The biggest challenge for me is to know precisely how we can most efficiently fit this into our schedule that is already relatively tight with four preschoolers. I don’t know how it’ll all come together, but God does, and that is all that matters. He will continue leading us a step at a time.

Talking about school draws my mind once more to those of youth in Dayton, Ohio, who have had the trauma of another terrible school shooting. “I know there are a lot of you readers in Dayton impacted by this traumatic event. You are in our prayers. We cannot imagine what all of you must be going through.”

As I thought of yummy lunch ideas for those of you who pack lunches for school, I thought I had  to pass on our pizza pockets for you to try. They can easily be made ahead of time then just thawed and heated. A delicious treat every time.

Homemade pizza pockets

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons active yeast

1/2 cup warm water

3/4 cup warm milk

1/4 cup oil

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 to 4 cups flour

Filling:

1 pound sausage

1 cup pizza sauce

Pepperoni

Shredded cheese

Onions

Peppers

Mushrooms

Directions:

POCKET: Dissolve yeast in water then add the rest of ingredients with last kneading in flour to right consistency. Let rise until double. Then roll the dough thin and cut in circles, in whatever size strikes your fancy.

FILLING: Fry sausage and add pizza sauce. Next spoon onto half of each circle and top with remaining ingredients. Fold in half and press shut. Bake at 350° until golden brown. Delicious fresh or you can stick some in the freezer for a quick future lunch!