Merry Meet to Merry Meet!

My partner and I like many other families have been trying to navigate homeschooling our five year old while also working full time since March when her school closed. 

We have found the road bumpy yet hugely rewarding. In that time I realized that my path of Pagan spirituality provided a fresh way to connect with my daughter as well as allowing me to continue my own practices that I had previously done in private. 
You can read more about  that revelation here.

The intention of Merry Meet is to provide realistic ideas and activities for those of you who are like us juggling A LOT. I call what we are doing homeschooling but it’s not really that rigorous, mostly because it can’t be. Over the months, if I can do one or two things with my daughter on a daily basis where I am present and both of us are together fully, I consider it a win. Sometimes this can be learning the alphabet, other times it is building an altar or “Mother Earth” table.

If you are not Pagan, I would still suggest that developing opportunities for spirituality in your life with your children is of particular importance right now and it can be entirely secular. As you will see, Pagans are not interested in indoctrination and we tend to be very open to different belief systems. I rarely talk about faith or belief with my daughter because I don’t think it’s necessary for her at her age. What I want for her is rituals and traditions that are meaningful to her and our family as a whole coupled with an awareness of the world and all its varied life forms.

It is tough to generalize about Pagans and Paganism but there are some basic tenets that I doubt many followers of the path would dispute. A venerence for the earth and its rhythms, and a respect for living things is probably at the core of many people’s practice who identify as Pagan. Within this there is so much opportunity for growth and education for children and adults alike such as working with the earth, observing seasons, pausing for self-care and reflection, and being of service to others and showing respect for living things.

The pandemic and recent uprisings in the US have exposed inequities and a need for us as humans to change the way we do things. For me, raising my child within the context of Paganism, is an important step towards radical change that we can all be part of while also helping her develop as an individual full of joy, thoughtfulness, and creativity.