‘He hates his teacher threatening him to send the principal’s office. It doesn’t work because I’m too soft and tired.’: Mom learns important lesson from son, ‘their innocence is worth keeping a little bit longer’

“My eldest Luca has absolutely loved homeschooling.

*Insert MASSIVE EYE-ROLL AND SARCASM*

Okay so, yeah, he hates it. He hates his teacher (dad) and threatening to send him to the principal’s office. (AKA me) It doesn’t work because I’m too soft and tired to give him detention. It equals extra work for me. And ain’t nobody got time for that!

So I sent him outside, where he found some birds trying to peck at a caterpillar.

He scooped it up and brought it to me. I am not the biggest fan of insects, but I obliged him.

He told me all about the life of caterpillars. What they eat and how they grow. He told me he wanted this caterpillar to live a little longer so it could become the beautiful butterfly it was meant to be (pretty sure this one was destined to be a moth).

But I watched him express empathy as he gently placed it on a leaf out of the birds’ reach. He said to it, ‘It’s okay little guy, you’ll be safe here.’ And was talking to it with so much kindness and love.

I realized even though we weren’t ‘schooling’ together, we were both learning. He learned about compassion and empathy and the importance of protecting even the most (disgusting) little things on this planet.

And me? Well during this whole pandemic, I’ve lost the curiosity and joy for life these children have. They have taught me to slow down and appreciate the little things; learning can also just be about exploring our own front yard. Smiling more is what’s most important in these weird times.

So rest assured, even though they might not want to sit down right now and listen, your children will become the beautiful butterflies they were meant to be and guess who’s teaching them that? You are!

After he went inside, the birds swooped in and I think they ate the caterpillar, proof that not everything needs to be taught to our kids too, their innocence is worth keeping a little bit longer, and maybe so is ours.”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Laura Mazza, where it originally appeared. Follow Laura on Instagram here. Do you have a similar experience? We’d like to hear your important journey. Submit your own story here. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

Read more stories from Laura:

‘She’s the kid you see biting her parents. You think, ‘Thank god she’s not mine.’ I would not purchase again.’: Mom ‘salutes’ parents with ‘feral’ children

‘Laura can do it, she’s home every day.’ I was told how hard my husband must have it. They didn’t tell me about the frustrations, the anger.’: Mom tells other stay-at-home moms ‘you are not alone’

Provide beauty and strength for others. SHARE this story on Facebook with your friends and family.