{"id":2872,"date":"2009-12-01T01:10:08","date_gmt":"2009-12-01T06:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=2930"},"modified":"2009-11-23T13:33:41","modified_gmt":"2009-11-23T18:33:41","slug":"pagan-parenting-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2009\/12\/01\/pagan-parenting-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Pagan Parenting"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin: 1ex;\">\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\"><strong>The Wintertime Family<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment wp-att-2929 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/winter.jpg\" alt=\"winter\" width=\"221\" height=\"166\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\">The winter months can be very  gloomy for us.\u00a0 We contend with few hours of daylight, cold temperatures  and often limited mobility due to snow and ice.\u00a0 Beach frolicking  is a distant memory, the piles of leaves for jumping in have been racked  away and the fresh sprouts of spring are not quite stirring under their  frozen blanket.\u00a0 Despite the limitations of the season we crave  activities to share that connect us to the quite slumber going on under  our feet.\u00a0 This month we\u2019ll look at some options for sharing  this time as a family in terms of activities that connect the family  unit and feed our spiritual souls in the dark time of the wheel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\">Winter activities tend to require  more planning than in the summer months but a great way to keep the  winter blues at bay is to plan out a tentative schedule for weekend\/vacation  activities so that the kids can anticipate them, and parents have time  to make them happen.\u00a0 Brainstorm with the family while you are  still home for the holidays having each member include some activities  that they would like to do.\u00a0 Be sure to make an Outdoor and Indoor  list.\u00a0 Here are some examples to get you started.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\"><strong>Outdoors: <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul type=\"DISC\">\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\">winter sports such    as: skating, skiing, sledding, hockey<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\">snow ball fights <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\">winter forest hikes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\">winter animal search <\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/fun.familyeducation.com-childrens-science-activities\/winter\/35037.html\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; color: #0000ff; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">snow    science experiments<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\"> <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\"><strong>Indoors:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul type=\"DISC\">\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\">cooking &amp; baking<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.allkidsnetwork.com\/crafts\/winter\/snow-measuring-stick.asp\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; color: #0000ff; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">arts    &amp; crafts<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\">journals <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\">future family plans    (like vacations, classes or rituals)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\">reading together<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\">movies together<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.spa-living-for-health.com\/winter-home-spa.html\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; color: #0000ff; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">at-home-family-spa<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\">family talent shows\/theatre<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\">I would recommend planning  one indoor and one outdoor activity each weekend and if the weather  is storming or too cold for the outdoor option you have a second option.   A key to meeting the spiritual needs of your child and yourself is to  let the messages of the season resonate through your home.\u00a0 One  of those lessons in my opinion is rest.\u00a0 So while keeping the kids  and yourself somewhat busy is a good way to ward off winter blues there  is also a certain yearning that the body has for more rest during the  dark months.\u00a0 Finding the balance of rest and activity is not an  easy task and may be impossible, so instead aim for a healthy home environment  that tries to relieve stress rather than create it through too much  scheduling. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\">The moon is particularly beautiful  in the winter months with its light reflecting off the snow.\u00a0 Even  if you live in a climate that does not have snow you can still think  of creating a special Esbat ritual for the family to celebrate together.\u00a0  It can be as simple as taking a moonlit walk together or as elaborate  as ritual garb and assigned roles but let the planning process be something  that each family member contributes to and I\u2019m sure you will make  some lasting memories together. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\">Another key to this time of  year is to try and be in the moment.\u00a0 Yearning for summer or another  time period is natural but living in the present keeps us connected  to each other and helps us appreciate what we can do now as opposed  to later.\u00a0 And in closing \u201calone time together\u201d should also  be an option for wintertime activities.\u00a0 A lazy afternoon of one  parent having tea and reading, while the other is playing with a child  and another child watches a favorite movie is  sometimes a more peaceful  and needed option than forcing an activity on some members who are not  very in to it.\u00a0 After all we are not looking to create a war zone  in the home but a retreat. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;\"> Here\u2019s to some fun, active  and rejuvenating family memories this winter &amp; many blessings to  you and yours this Yule.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Wintertime Family The winter months can be very gloomy for us.\u00a0 We contend with few hours of daylight, cold temperatures and often limited mobility due to snow and ice.\u00a0 Beach frolicking is a distant memory, the piles of leaves for jumping in have been racked away and the fresh sprouts of spring are not quite stirring under their frozen blanket.\u00a0 Despite the limitations of the season we crave activities to share that connect us to the quite slumber going on under our feet.\u00a0 This month we\u2019ll look at some options for sharing this time as a family in terms of activities that connect the family unit and feed our spiritual souls in the dark time of the wheel. Winter activities tend to require more planning than in the summer months but a great way to keep the winter blues at bay is to plan out a tentative schedule for weekend\/vacation activities so that the kids can anticipate them, and parents have time to make them happen.\u00a0 Brainstorm with the family while you are still home for the holidays having each member include some activities that they would like to do.\u00a0 Be sure to make an Outdoor and Indoor list.\u00a0 Here are some examples to get you started. Outdoors: winter sports such as: skating, skiing, sledding, hockey snow ball fights winter forest hikes winter animal search snow science experiments Indoors: cooking &amp; baking arts &amp; crafts journals future family plans (like vacations, classes or rituals) reading together movies together at-home-family-spa family talent shows\/theatre I would recommend planning one indoor and one outdoor activity each weekend and if the weather is storming or too cold for the outdoor option you have a second option. A key to meeting the spiritual needs of your child and yourself is to let the messages of the season resonate through your home.\u00a0 One of those lessons in my opinion is rest.\u00a0 So while keeping the kids and yourself somewhat busy is a good way to ward off winter blues there is also a certain yearning that the body has for more rest during the dark months.\u00a0 Finding the balance of rest and activity is not an easy task and may be impossible, so instead aim for a healthy home environment that tries to relieve stress rather than create it through too much scheduling. The moon is particularly beautiful in the winter months with its light reflecting off the snow.\u00a0 Even if you live in a climate that does not have snow you can still think of creating a special Esbat ritual for the family to celebrate together.\u00a0 It can be as simple as taking a moonlit walk together or as elaborate as ritual garb and assigned roles but let the planning process be something that each family member contributes to and I\u2019m sure you will make some lasting memories together. Another key to this time of year is to try and be in the moment.\u00a0 Yearning for summer or another time period is natural but living in the present keeps us connected to each other and helps us appreciate what we can do now as opposed to later.\u00a0 And in closing \u201calone time together\u201d should also be an option for wintertime activities.\u00a0 A lazy afternoon of one parent having tea and reading, while the other is playing with a child and another child watches a favorite movie is sometimes a more peaceful and needed option than forcing an activity on some members who are not very in to it.\u00a0 After all we are not looking to create a war zone in the home but a retreat. Here\u2019s to some fun, active and rejuvenating family memories this winter &amp; many blessings to you and yours this Yule.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2872\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}