Raising Kids in Pagan & Nature Traditions

(Note: I’ve edited this article to change the focus from Druidry to Paganism and Nature Spirituality in general. I’ve left in the American Druid phrase “hearth culture”, as it is a useful term in general to describe a cultural tradition one follows for one’s deities, traditions, cosmology, etc.)

This is a bit of a guide, mainly made up of links to previous blog articles I’ve written on the various subjects for children, and links to some other websites, books, etc. In previous versions of this post, I suggested that you could arrange these into a schedule or a curriculum. However, knowing what I know now, I would say or keep your plans flexible, and follow your child’s lead. Many of the suggested books can be found at a library, or scored for cheap, used. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to do this. It is, however, an excellent use of your time and effort.

But first– something to think about, when considering raising one’s kids in a spiritual tradition, that may not even occur to a lot of people, is what to call it. Sure, it’s common for many of us to call ourselves Pagan if we are open or partially open about it. However being “out” as a Pagan doesn’t mean that we necessarily tell every person that we happen to meet that we’re Pagan. But… that’s exactly what your kid might do, and that could be dangerous. But we shouldn’t expect them to keep their spirituality a secret. Many kids can’t keep a secret– secrets are burdens to the young. For this reason, I recommend, when a young child asks “what religion are we?” to just say something like it’s a “family tradition” or something along those lines. Being a member of a multi-tradition religious organization (that includes nature-based spirituality) can be helpful here as well– if your kids go around telling folks they’re Unitarian Universalist, it comes across as pretty benign.

But what are to be your “family traditions”? Does your spouse or significant other share your spirituality? If not, is there a way to combine them? There’s almost always a way to find a middle ground that doesn’t put one parent on the sidelines. You’re all in this together. If working with a Christian spouse, look to the beliefs and writings of St. Hildegard of Bingen and St. Francis of Assisi for inspiration, and I would recommend “The Circle of Life: The Heart’s Journey Through the Seasons” by Joyce Rupp & Macrina Wiederkehr. If working with an atheist or agnostic spouse, I recommend exploring the world of Naturalistic Paganism.

An Emphasis on Nature

Most kids love being outside. Developing a love and respect for Nature is at the heart of what we want to give their kids. My article Nature Study for Pagan Kids contains several suggestions for nature study as well as links to camps and scouting programs, and ideas for blending hearth culture lore into your child’s nature education.

Hearth Culture Stories: Fairy Tales & Mythology

Fairy Tales convey the underlying philosophy and values of the culture. Fairy tales also fulfill a psychological need in a developing child, and clues to the deeper mysteries and themes of a culture’s mythology are hidden within. In my article Fairy Tales, I go a little more into the subject and review some of our family’s favorite illustrated fairy tale books. (In addition to the usual fairy tales, don’t neglect to tell the traditional folktales or your particular region.)

Mythology is the next step, and through myths your child will learn the lore of the family’s hearth culture, and about the deities and spirits. Norse Mythology for Kids and Celtic Mythology for Kids are simple guides to teaching children mythology, mainly through densely illustrated books, and a few other ideas. For other hearth cultures, simply follow the suggestions I laid out in Norse Mythology for Kids, but with well written and well illustrated mythology books for your particular hearth culture. Greek and Roman illustrated mythology books are easy to find. I especially recommend D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths. For some of the other cultures, you may have to dig a little deeper, or come up with your own illustrations to supplement unillustrated books.

Cosmology

From the above mythology books, one may teach ideas of the cosmology of one’s hearth culture as well, such as the concept of Otherworld realms and the World Tree. In addition, my article The Three Realms: An Introduction for Children is mainly a Celtic perspective but may be adapted for other cultures that have a tripartite cosmology.

Magic & Divination

A Child’s Introduction to Magic will give you ideas and resources, as well as a printable for a magic-one-page book.

Divination for Kids will give you some ideas for what kinds of divination methods to start with and what to progress toward. In addition to this, you’ll want to teach your kids the omens and portents embedded in our culture’s nursery rhymes…

One crow is sorrow, two crows mirth, three crows a wedding, four crows a birth.

Holidays

Your child will learn a great deal through being a part of family or community rituals. You may consider keeping the holidays simple with short unscripted rituals, or a celebration that is more about the customs than ritual (see The “No-Ritual” Plan for Celebrating Pagan Holidays). Here are some specific ideas for getting kids involved with celebrating the holidays:

Kids’ Activities for Yule / Winter Solstice

Kids’ Activities for Imbolc / Winter Thermstice

Celebrating the Spring Equinox with Kids

Kids’ Activities for May Day / Spring Equitherm

Kids Activities for Midsummer / Summer Solstice

Kids’ Activities for Lúnasa / Summer Thermstice

Autumn Equinox Crafts for Kids and More Autumn Equinox Activities for Kids

Kids’ Activities for Samhain / Autumn Equitherm

and Introducing Samhain to Children