Activities to do with your children – Bronwyn’s Blog – Wicca.org

From my perspective:

As you consider what you are teaching your children during this outbreak and social isolation time, consider their birth sign, or, if you know it, their entire chart. A prime example from my life is that I have a “weak” earth chart (for those of you that know astrology, this is the simplest way to describe it without delving into huge details about astrology, houses,  planets, etc). An activity that really helps ground me and my energy is gardening. To counter that, I have a lot of fire energy, so learning how to tame and understand fire was an important beginning for me. My Leo ex-husband was, in fact, a volunteer fire fighter, so we talked a lot about fire and its influence in our lives. He had particular concerns from his background and helped me thin out my book collection to feel more comfortable. (Most firefighters will tell you that books are an excellent home for smoldering embers to restart a fire.)

What does this mean for you as a parent?

First, look to your child’s sun sign. Is your child a fire sign (like me)? Teach your child to tend and be safe with fire. This can start with something as simple as turning off the stove if it is untended. (Or as my youngest fire sign did, always, blow out untended candles.) Next, check your child’s moon sign, where your child embraces personal satisfaction? I have a child with an Aquarius moon (air) who plays music and communicates well with others.

Start with what you know

Earth: teach them to garden. In small spaces, get your child a chia pet and help them take care of it. To improve the science/biology aspect, have your child keep a log of what is happening – how often you water the plant, how much light, any changes. If your small house plant or seeds are not successful, then that offers your child an opportunity to create a hypothesis and try again. If you have more space, do more. We have a small city lot, and we are starting herbs for the summer. You can also recycle, for instance, you can take used water bottles, put some dirt in them, and plant some easy starting seeds, like marigolds or sunflowers. Then you can set them on a shelf in sunlight, or create a hanging set of these planters using some string and hang them in the window to get a good start without, again, taking a lot of space in your home. Water: Wu Wei. This comes in a tremendous list of options. Wu Wei is effortless action. You know when you ask that Cancer friend a direct question and it takes 10 minutes to get a direct answer — the Cancer is doing one of many things: the Cancer is waiting for the best answer to appear, or the Cancer could be waiting for you to provide the preferred answer. So, first thing to be aware of, is offer your water sign some water. Find ways to let your water sign swim.

A great science project for a water sign is “oobleck” to learn how water can transform and flow. If you do not know about oobleck, it is a really inexpensive project and helps children learn about how a solution can change forms. You can also encourage them to cook or to bake. You could make probiotic foods during this time also supporting gut health, or bread. There’s nothing like the smell of homemade bread and, as my youngest called it, “creating a magic potion.” Air: Air signs need a way to communicate. They need to express themselves. It might be with art (painting, music, chalk), an air sign might really enjoy looking to the sky and studying the stars during this time. There is always lots to see in our stars. I work with NASA as one of its many teacher/coaches in a part-time position and cannot recommend these sites enough to expand

your child’s understanding of the sky. Cultivate your child’s talents to tell stories. Fire: Okay, let’s be honest here: I have a fire sun and fire moon. I can tell multiple stories of nearly burning our house down as a child. My children told many bedtimes stories around bonfires and fell asleep at more bonfires than they can count while their mother enjoyed the beauty of fire. I do not recommend teaching your child to build and control fire in an apartment. It is not necessary, but you can teach your child about fire safety in other ways. If you are in an apartment, you can teach your child to build a stable fire without lighting it. You can also show your child videos of fire safety and reasons why fire safety is necessary. Yvonne, my mother who is also a fire sign, got quite a kick out of turkey fryer explosion video.

Bringing it all Together

You can put these ideas together in multiple ways. If you wish to garden, have your fire sign child pick plants that appeal to them. They can still learn about gardening with plants that they like in particular. Or have a water sign child learn about constellations in the sky that have interesting stories and art supporting the stories of the constellations.

Getting Physical

All children should move as they grow, even if it is to teach them to breathe deeply while walking, to inhale in slowly,

hold, and exhale longer so they can expel any toxins from their lungs. We love yoga and you can tailor yoga to your child’s interests so that they find poses that work for them. Teach your child to meditate so that when stress comes, your child can find ways to calm the self and handle stress better. We also love self-defense and there are ways to find a spiritual practice within the martial arts. There are many children who cannot sit still for long and make sure you manage your expectations with a child’s age; for instance, you cannot expect a child to sit still any longer than their age = minutes until their pre-frontal cortex starts to mature at about the age of 15. Do not teach your child to hate meditation by expecting them to sit for 30 minutes or more. Tailor your expectations to your child’s needs, not what some guru suggests you “should” do with your children.  

You an study with the School using our online courses and tailor your learning to teach your child. Remember you are your child’s first teacher. Please post your comments below of activities you have enjoyed while you are at home with your children.