13 Pagan Lessons for Toddlers
Page 1 of 1
13 Pagan Lessons for Toddlers
13 Pagan Lessons for Toddlers
by Ruthee
I have a toddler who is a tree-hugger. I
am not kidding. Her very first word was
tree.
My family is blessed with two children –
an 11 year-old and the tree-hugging
toddler. I want very much for my
children to be Pagans. However, I am
fairly resigned to the fact that my 11
year old might not be and that is ok with
me (well, sort of but she is her own
person). I want to teach them things
about Paganism, nature and the cycle of
the Wheel that they will enjoy and
embrace and not feel constrained to a
religious path that they do not wish to be
on.
Each of us has specifics about Paganism that is important to us. I
have a dear friend, who is really a rather mild person. When she sees
complete strangers throw cigarette butts out of their car windows, she
turns into this banshee, threatening to burn their eyes out. Although
her young son does not see this behaviour, this is a truth of who she
is and what she deems important. Her love of nature, garden and
ground is something that she does translate to her child. He will be
the most Reclaiming toddler I have ever seen.
Below you will find my list of 13 things I want to teach my toddler over
the next year.
1. Respect for fire: My toddler loves candles and enjoys watching
me light them and blow them out. But we all know that fire is no joke
and I want her to understand that as well. I also want her to
understand fire in Pagan terms of release, transformation, change –
when she is a wee bit older.
2. Respect for nature: This includes the trees, grass, flowers,
water, dirt, rocks, bugs and just about anything in between that I have
not listed. Respect for nature, especially animals and bugs, is a
learned behaviour. The lessons in respect for nature will be the
stepping stones to creating a new generation of environmentally
aware kids.
3. Respect for others: This is right in line with respect for Nature.
Whether you live in a large city or a small town, in a suburban area or
in the country, it is a good habit to smile and say hello to people you
encounter, especially older people. This is a habit of mine and my
daughter asked me once why I did this. I didn’t have an answer other
than to be kind to people around me. She started doing the same
about a year ago.
4. Picking up trash: My older daughter has seen me pick up trash
since we lived on Fort Bragg 7 years ago. She has heard me rail out
at people who throw things out of their windows in the car. She sees
me pick up bits and pieces wherever we are. She sees me throw
trash in trashcans when we are in public at parks. These lessons are
important. These are really habits more than anything….and a good
habit to get your children into.
5. Involve your children in sabbats: I don’t care how you do it. I
don’t care if you are solitary or part of a community. You have to
involve your children in the sabbats, some way or another. Making
the sabbats part of family celebration is one of the ways the sabbats
will stick out in the child’s memory as family traditions. Mark the day
in some fashion. Some family traditions include celebrating the
sabbat for 7 or more days prior to the sabbat itself. This has a nice
way of really imprinting the sabbat on little minds.
6. Involve your child in esbats: I do a very simple esbat from
Circle Round. Zoe, the toddler, has started to follow me around and
such during the blessing of the home. What I hope is that by the time
she is 4 or so, she will be able to do the small chant in the esbat and
be more participant in the ritual. Like with the sabbats, by doing these
rituals, they will become more rote and expected than unusual.
7. Read mythos to your toddler: The libraries are chock-full of
wonderfully illustrated mythology for children (and adults, too). Start a
book list of mythology that illustrates your path, a sabbat (harvest,
midsummer, etc.) or focuses on Moon Goddesses or Gods. Read
these over and over and add some to your own family library.
Mythology fascinates children of all ages and is a wonderful tool for
teaching Pagan ideas.
8. Talk about Gods and Goddesses: When children are younger,
it is usually a better idea to talk about the deities in the sense of them
being ‘real’ people like in mythos, rather than archetypes. Obviously,
the idea of archetypes is a little above the average child’s mind. One
concept to push is the balance of male and female in deity. Ask
children to draw pictures of various deities you have read about or
talked about. Have a child pick a favourite and ask them why.
9. Chanting and Rhythm: The chants from the accompanying CD
to Circle Round is fantastic for use with young children. The rhythms
are enchanting and children love to move and dance to them. Some
of the chants are so simple that younger children can follow along
with them. Many adults know how spiritual chanting can be – and the
same is said for children, if not more. Their acute sensitivity and
enjoyment of music is something many adults do not have.
10. Show them nature: My toddler loves the moon. We recently
moved to a quiet neighborhood where the stars and moon are much
more visible than our previous abode. I took Zoe out one night to look
at the moon, and pointed up to it. As her eyes followed my pointed
finger, she saw the moon and her eyes became huge. Since then,
she wants to go out looking for the moon alllllll the time. Although she
is too young to understand the Moon’s cycles, she does understand
where the moon is. Trees, grass, flowers, anthills, spider webs….all
these things are nature. Exploration is a good way to find out your
child’s particular interest in nature and help to nurture it.
11. Seasonal produce: Using the seasons to talk about what is
grown during that time is a good habit. Harvest, planting, etc. are
things to talk about. Visit local gardens, farms or other growing areas.
Explain how grapes become raisins. Buy produce at farmer’s
markets. Begin to eat more closely grown items to learn true
seasonal foods.
12. Show them how to grow things: Growing simple beans in
cups is a place to start. Growing a garden, big or small is also a good
idea. Show them your compost heap. Involve them in dumping
scraps in your compost heap. Let the child water plants with you.
Show them dead flowers on a plant, new buds and new growth.
Explain that plants need water and sun and attention.
13. Show the child how to wrap up a growing season: Explain
how to make the produce last from a garden – canning, drying,
freezing, etc. Explain why we till under dead plants. Explain the
death cycle of gardening and apply it to the Wheel of the Year.
by Ruthee
I have a toddler who is a tree-hugger. I
am not kidding. Her very first word was
tree.
My family is blessed with two children –
an 11 year-old and the tree-hugging
toddler. I want very much for my
children to be Pagans. However, I am
fairly resigned to the fact that my 11
year old might not be and that is ok with
me (well, sort of but she is her own
person). I want to teach them things
about Paganism, nature and the cycle of
the Wheel that they will enjoy and
embrace and not feel constrained to a
religious path that they do not wish to be
on.
Each of us has specifics about Paganism that is important to us. I
have a dear friend, who is really a rather mild person. When she sees
complete strangers throw cigarette butts out of their car windows, she
turns into this banshee, threatening to burn their eyes out. Although
her young son does not see this behaviour, this is a truth of who she
is and what she deems important. Her love of nature, garden and
ground is something that she does translate to her child. He will be
the most Reclaiming toddler I have ever seen.
Below you will find my list of 13 things I want to teach my toddler over
the next year.
1. Respect for fire: My toddler loves candles and enjoys watching
me light them and blow them out. But we all know that fire is no joke
and I want her to understand that as well. I also want her to
understand fire in Pagan terms of release, transformation, change –
when she is a wee bit older.
2. Respect for nature: This includes the trees, grass, flowers,
water, dirt, rocks, bugs and just about anything in between that I have
not listed. Respect for nature, especially animals and bugs, is a
learned behaviour. The lessons in respect for nature will be the
stepping stones to creating a new generation of environmentally
aware kids.
3. Respect for others: This is right in line with respect for Nature.
Whether you live in a large city or a small town, in a suburban area or
in the country, it is a good habit to smile and say hello to people you
encounter, especially older people. This is a habit of mine and my
daughter asked me once why I did this. I didn’t have an answer other
than to be kind to people around me. She started doing the same
about a year ago.
4. Picking up trash: My older daughter has seen me pick up trash
since we lived on Fort Bragg 7 years ago. She has heard me rail out
at people who throw things out of their windows in the car. She sees
me pick up bits and pieces wherever we are. She sees me throw
trash in trashcans when we are in public at parks. These lessons are
important. These are really habits more than anything….and a good
habit to get your children into.
5. Involve your children in sabbats: I don’t care how you do it. I
don’t care if you are solitary or part of a community. You have to
involve your children in the sabbats, some way or another. Making
the sabbats part of family celebration is one of the ways the sabbats
will stick out in the child’s memory as family traditions. Mark the day
in some fashion. Some family traditions include celebrating the
sabbat for 7 or more days prior to the sabbat itself. This has a nice
way of really imprinting the sabbat on little minds.
6. Involve your child in esbats: I do a very simple esbat from
Circle Round. Zoe, the toddler, has started to follow me around and
such during the blessing of the home. What I hope is that by the time
she is 4 or so, she will be able to do the small chant in the esbat and
be more participant in the ritual. Like with the sabbats, by doing these
rituals, they will become more rote and expected than unusual.
7. Read mythos to your toddler: The libraries are chock-full of
wonderfully illustrated mythology for children (and adults, too). Start a
book list of mythology that illustrates your path, a sabbat (harvest,
midsummer, etc.) or focuses on Moon Goddesses or Gods. Read
these over and over and add some to your own family library.
Mythology fascinates children of all ages and is a wonderful tool for
teaching Pagan ideas.
8. Talk about Gods and Goddesses: When children are younger,
it is usually a better idea to talk about the deities in the sense of them
being ‘real’ people like in mythos, rather than archetypes. Obviously,
the idea of archetypes is a little above the average child’s mind. One
concept to push is the balance of male and female in deity. Ask
children to draw pictures of various deities you have read about or
talked about. Have a child pick a favourite and ask them why.
9. Chanting and Rhythm: The chants from the accompanying CD
to Circle Round is fantastic for use with young children. The rhythms
are enchanting and children love to move and dance to them. Some
of the chants are so simple that younger children can follow along
with them. Many adults know how spiritual chanting can be – and the
same is said for children, if not more. Their acute sensitivity and
enjoyment of music is something many adults do not have.
10. Show them nature: My toddler loves the moon. We recently
moved to a quiet neighborhood where the stars and moon are much
more visible than our previous abode. I took Zoe out one night to look
at the moon, and pointed up to it. As her eyes followed my pointed
finger, she saw the moon and her eyes became huge. Since then,
she wants to go out looking for the moon alllllll the time. Although she
is too young to understand the Moon’s cycles, she does understand
where the moon is. Trees, grass, flowers, anthills, spider webs….all
these things are nature. Exploration is a good way to find out your
child’s particular interest in nature and help to nurture it.
11. Seasonal produce: Using the seasons to talk about what is
grown during that time is a good habit. Harvest, planting, etc. are
things to talk about. Visit local gardens, farms or other growing areas.
Explain how grapes become raisins. Buy produce at farmer’s
markets. Begin to eat more closely grown items to learn true
seasonal foods.
12. Show them how to grow things: Growing simple beans in
cups is a place to start. Growing a garden, big or small is also a good
idea. Show them your compost heap. Involve them in dumping
scraps in your compost heap. Let the child water plants with you.
Show them dead flowers on a plant, new buds and new growth.
Explain that plants need water and sun and attention.
13. Show the child how to wrap up a growing season: Explain
how to make the produce last from a garden – canning, drying,
freezing, etc. Explain why we till under dead plants. Explain the
death cycle of gardening and apply it to the Wheel of the Year.
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
|
|