A Homeschooling Mother's Gift

On Wednesday we were at our local public library enjoying Biography Club - a time for kids to share in any way they chose about people they have been studying. In the course of our club's meeting, many families stopped by to see if we were what they were looking for. At the time, I didn't know that was creating the extra traffic. I learned later they were on their way to storytime with Santa Claus.

No, we were not what they were looking for.

There was no guy in a red suit passing out candy and reading from a book.

Instead, we were hearing stories told by kids, recounted or acted out, about about great men and women in history. We've covered kings, business innovators, artists, composers, pioneers and pilgrims, benevolent and terrible leaders, and people who have overcome great odds. WHO we have learned about in this club (which meets monthly) has felt almost as instructive as what we learn about them.

What struck me this week was the potential impact all these stories may have on those who tell them, and those who are privileged to hear.

Certainly, my thoughts were bent this way because of Cornelia Africana, my daughter's biographical subject. Cornelia Africana was a mother in ancient Rome. I've blogged about her here. The story I shared in my blog post has inspired me since I heard it years ago, but looking further into her life, I found there was more she had to teach me.

Cornelia hoped for great things for her children. Having such high hopes, she chose to oversee their educations herself. She accomplished this, in part, by associating with great scientists, orators, and thinkers of her day. She welcomed foreigners. And she told her children stories of the greatness of her family, creating the traditions of bravery and service she wanted for her sons. Her sons grew to be some of the most important men in Rome in their time.

What I learned from her life is this: I have a great gift to give my children. If I chose to, I can give them the best the world has to offer. These simple accounts - "just stories" by some reckoning - are of great accomplishment, or great wisdom, or great triumph, or great tragedy. Their impact is powerful because the stories are real. Because in them we see who we are or who we would like to be. In the safety of parental love and care, my kids are hearing stories best suited to THEIR talents and futures. Not because these stories will be on a test. Not because these stories are required by the state. But shared because of MY love for them - BOTH the stories and my kids. That is a powerful education - one that inspires and uplifts. One that empowers children to be all they can be, as all great people before them have done.

No, our Biography Club was not Santa and candy, but I tend to think that Cornelia Africana would have joined us, as might some of the other moms who passed, if they knew what we were passing out.