The Sky Is Falling: Reflections from a Homeschool Mom
I have been giving myself unfettered access to social media and the news this month. It is the month before an election after all. I should be informed. What are the nominees saying again? What bills will I be voting on? It has left me emotionally drained.
The sky is falling.
The sky is falling while my son plays legos and listens to a composition by Tomas Taillis. My daughter notes the birth of polyphonic music during the 1200s in her book of centuries. She delights over the latin words that are being chanted as that she’s learned from her class. “This sounds like the same tune from church.” She remarks to me.
The sky is falling.
The sky is falling while my children build a bug terrarium to house a leaf bug they found in the backyard the other day. She laid eggs in the mason jar that originally put her in and both decided that a soon to be mother needs a more spacious place to exist. My mind alternates between the images of mothers all over the world who have lost everything. The small aquarium we purchased from petco might have been the best $10 we’ve ever spent. I remind myself to make another donation to one of the many organizations helping others across the world.
The sky is falling.
The sky is falling while I work on shapes with my son and long division with my daughter. I do a mental calculation of the number of lives lost this week. “Mama! That’s a triangle!” My son excitedly yells while doing a shape scavenger hunt. My brain plays the soundtrack of a mother saying the last words her son said were, “Save me, Jesus.”
The sky is falling.
The sky is falling while we sing hymns and folk songs. While we read the Bible and poetry. While we read the history of days long ago. I wonder if my children will be learning of the events of their lifetime in their history classes one day.
According to my children this week held stories of heroes. They made observations about a leaf bug and sang. We went on walks. We baked muffins. We read Shakespeare and Plutarch and learned that the sky has always been falling.
The sky is falling.
There’s little to nothing I can do about it outside of these four walls of my home. What I can do is point my children to truth, beauty, and goodness. We can read, sing, care for others, and love each other well.
Until the day that the sky is no longer falling.
