Children's Altars

[Lilu]

What are your thoughts on constructing a special altar for your children? What age do you think is a good age to do so? What do you put on it? etc etc

Lilu

[Lilu]

*bump* :D

[Arduinna]

What kind of alter are you refering to? The kids having their own alter? I think kids should have an age appropriate alter (no athames for little kids obviously) when they ask for one.

Or did you mean a different kind of alter? Like one the parents set up relating to the kids in some way? I'm not sure ?

:D

[Lilu]

Hi Arduinna!

*smacks forehead* I suppose that could have been clearer.

Actually either topic is appropriate. I was reading Starhawk's 'Circle Round' and she had a section on it that I'm going post some ideas up here.

But my thoughts were brainstorming ideas for kids to put on their personal altars, or what people think is appropriate for different ages, if they have family altars or not, that sort of stuff.

Just wondering how you all involve kids and altars.

Lilu

[Arduinna]

Cool, I just wanted to clarify what you wanted:D

I have Circle Round too, I love that book. We all love the stories in there. HAve you read the adoption story? It is so beautiful. I read it to my husband (who is an adoptee) and we both cried.
Amazing.

[Hope]

We started getting the kids involved with "alters" by making the dining room table an "alter" so for each holiday, we have the same decorations for 4-5 weeks. Of course by holidays I mean the 4 high holidays and the 4 secondary holidays (not the christ driven versions). Anyway we would do a "tablecloth" of a certain color and tie that to the story ie: encouraging the sun, or candles, or bowl of stones, you get the idea. the children are in charge of the table and making sure things are put out right.
Family and neighbors don't even know why, AND have said "Ohhh that looks so nice I'm going to put candles and stones, or basket of fruit etc." and they don't even know why it spoke to them.

Good Luck!

blessings
hope

[Mariposa De La Luna]

That is really cool Hope! I've been thinking of what we could do for the changing seasons.

I guess this may be a little OT but I have heard that you can let your kids choose thier representations of the elements or the God & Goddess from like thier stuffed animals, barbies or other action figures, if they want to hold circle. So you can do the same with an alter I suppose.

My son is 13 months and loves Bear in the Big Blue house so I'm seriously thinking of using that for family circle. The little costars can represent the elements and then there's Luna and Ray, or maybe the Bear, for the God and Goddess.

[bloodstone20]

I would sugjest buying then a cotten cloth in their favorite color, then asking them to go find a "cool stick" that is not to big for a wand, a leaf that looks nice for earth, a cup of their choosing for water, and a some "nice little red berries" for fire. Thell them that this is their altar, were they can ask the God and Goddess(or whatever they beileve in) for help, and to help things with magick. Once this sinks in, tell them what each thing means. let them experiment for a little while, then rest for the day. Then teach them little things to do before they pray, like asking the elements to gaurd them or something, or little, little devotions. Like "Earth, Air, Fire, Water, come now please" little. Then teach them as you see fit. It'll start to get quite fun. :).

[Lilu]

Great ideas everyone!!! Keep 'em coming!

Hope I liked the idea of the dining table, and will have to do that when we have kids, I think it must be nice especially since you can do (if you choose to) an offering right then and there! Right now we have a tiny table in our kitchen for just the two of us, and it's filled up with plant, cookie jar, candle and odds and ends. We mainly eat at the coffee table in the livingroom! haha (But then, we don't have kids at the moment).

My thoughts would be to continue with how I always do a seasonal altar. We don't have any problem with having to be in the closet or anything for inlaws, so an altar in the open is fine. At the moment I have it set up as a healing altar as I'm the only one who really uses it, and am trying to work out how to celebrate seasons exactly FOR ME on my path at the moment.

SAHM and bloodstone, you both had great ideas too! I had a little traveling altar set up once. And for fire I used a little pewter dragon one of my friends had given me years ago because I associate dragons with fire. I loved it! I had a shell for water, feather for air, and a crystal for earth. It really worked! I also had a pinecone for the God, and I think a satin flower or something for the Goddess (mind is a little fuzzy at the moment).

Arduinna, I haven't read all of 'Circle Round' yet, and have mainly flipped through the Sabbat sections for now, so haven't come across the adoption story yet, but all of the stories in these books are moving so I am sure it's beautiful!

BB
Lilu

[Dria El]

I have this article on my website and thought it pertained to this discussion. Enjoy!

A Child's Altar

By: DragonFire

This is a great way to let your child express him/herself and learn about the Craft. For safety's sake I strongly discourage candles and sharp objects. Begin with simple things- feathers, crystals, a wand, any special God(ess) figurines, etc. It's also an excellent spot for any special gifts your child finds on walks through Gaia's paradise.

Let your child(ren) decorate the altar for special occasions such as the Sabbats. Make sure your child(ren) also help with decorating and upkeeping your family's main altar. The Goddess loves children and their laughter.

Teach your child(ren) simple prayers (devotions) that they can say in front of their altar before bed and upon waking such as:


BEDTIME PRAYER
Gentle Goddess and peaceful God
Thankyou for helping me today
Watch over me as I sleep
And send your love my way
Keep me safe through the night
So I may rest peacefully
And be ready to learn and play tomorrow.
Blessed Be.

MORNING PRAYER
Goddess and God I greet you this morning
Fill me with your wisdom, love and laughter
So that I may learn and grow in your way.
Blessed Be!

[lieve heks]

what a great idea for a thread. My kids make every surface in the house into an alter "mum look at thuis magic leaf/feather/stone, don't throw it away" they have there own way of "wishing" with the things they bring in. I don't think that my kids are ready for ritual. At mabon we're getting gourds in the house.
sorry, this did'nt really answer any questions did it?

[Dria El]

It's ok... it added ideas. :)

[Laiste]

I'm so happy to see this post. The ideas are wonderful!!:D My son is 8 now and we have been doing meditation exercises with the help of a book I found Earthlight, New meditations for chidren by Garth. It is filled with wonderful guided meditations. My son is not too aware of my Paganism. But, he notices and respects my alter. He asks questions about it and about my Tarot cards. I lightly explain what they are but mostly what they mean to me. He has a collection of stones and I would like to add others things and set up a small alter in his room. After reading all these ideas I'm so motivated now. Thanks!!

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

My son and I are going to set up his alter tomorrow night with the full moon! :D

[Laiste]

Originally posted by Dagda Moon~Lily
My son and I are going to set up his alter tomorrow night with the full moon! :D

Great idea...


One question though...I'm worried about sharing/teaching my beliefs to my son. Reason being that I don't want him to tell certain people about it, like my family, his teacher/classmates and his cub scout troop. I have no problem being out of the broom closet. I can handle the questions and negativity that unfortunatly come with being out. I'm not sure how he would respond to it though. How do all of you handle this issue concerning your children?

[Myst]

ooOOo :)

When we have Circle there are invariably friends there with children. The youngest run around and through the circle, the older ask questions and are invited to help (calling quarters, inviting deities, so on). I love the idea of having more then one altar in the home - I used to have two myself but currently I'm thinking of having more. Perhaps one for magickal work, one for love, one for career, and so on. Great stuff :)

[Dria El]

In a nutshell, I use non-denominational terms (which are usually ones younger kids can understand better anyways).

:)

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

Originally posted by Laiste

How do all of you handle this issue concerning your children?

I just tell him that what happens at home, stays at home. That the ritual is private....between us and Spirit. I've also told him that some people just don't understand it or appreciate it as much as we do. I'm very open and honest with my nine year old. I've told him a little about wiccan "History"....the burning times, but they don't do that anymore. I've told him some people don't like it (wicca/ns), are scared of it/them even. He understands pretty well. He knows who he can talk to and who he should probably not say anything to; to use discretion. I'm pretty open about it. I wear my pentacle pendant proudly, every where I go. Sometimes he'll ask my why I didn't say anything about my beliefs to someone who was inquiring.....I just tell him that I wasn't comfortable having the conversation with that person. So, he's just following my example for the most part. He's very observant! I've also told him that he might get picked on and teased....maybe even in fights, if he just sang it from the mountain top so to speak. So, if he's unsure who he can tell....then I tell him it's best to stick with Family and Family friends.

I hope that helped! :D

[Laiste]

Dagda,

Sure did help! wasn't sure if keeping it secret was a good idea at first, but, there really is no other choice at his age. He is eight and so full of questions. He wants to know why we don't go to a church "like everyone else". I tell him you can pray anywhere, not just in a church.

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

There is a non-denominational church I take him to once in a VERY blue moon. It was the church my Parents attended sporadically when I was a child. Great people, great minister. I want to give him the choice. But he can't do that if he can't get out there and experience other religions, so once in a while, I'll take him to church. I want him to see that I am willing to do that for him. I let him go to a Church Camp this summer with his cousin. He seems ....very comfortable with everything so far. If he asks a question, I answer it to the best of my ability.

[Faery-Wings]

I thought I would bump this up. I have been thinking a lot about creating an altar with my kids. We have a simple one on my kitchen island, but I have done most of the work on that. Not that it has been much work, just a few simple things; a water fountain, some incense, candles, rocks. I am thinking that it would be fun to do, help them connect with the Elements and be a great way to talk about the Goddess and the God.

Have any of you made an altar with your kids?

What did you use? And where do you keep it?

BB

Chris

[MammaStar]

I saw that when I was at your house!!!! Heh, but I didnt' realize it was an altar! :eek:

I just thought it was a pretty place for your fountain. :lol:

I don't really have one set for my son. I don't think he's ready yet. He's still kind of confused on a lot of things right now. He's 10 and I have been introducing him more and more to my Path, but I'm not "pushing" if you know what I mean. ;)

[Faery-Wings]

Originally posted by LdyStarlite
I saw that when I was at your house!!!! Heh, but I didnt' realize it was an altar! :eek:

I just thought it was a pretty place for your fountain. :lol:

I don't really have one set for my son. I don't think he's ready yet. He's still kind of confused on a lot of things right now. He's 10 and I have been introducing him more and more to my Path, but I'm not "pushing" if you know what I mean. ;)

Heh heh, see this is good- no one knows and the stuff is right in their faces. I usually have flowers or fruits or crystals in front too, depending on the Sabbats/season. This is where I usually do all of my candle spells and such too.

Good point about the age. Right now, my kids , well, my son, is very interested in mythical things and collects dragons and gargoyles. Imaginary ones and statues. :) They both have a growing crystal collection of them. They love crystals and every time I take them into a Pagan type store, the owners end up letting the kids pick out one. So they have a decent collection going LOL On his desk we have the statues and crystals set up, so I guess it is a small start. I haven't gone into too much depth with the God/dess, so they have nothing representative of Them. I guess as they get older, we'll just keep adding to it.

Chris

[Faery-Wings]

*bumping to add to WtchyCowgirl's thread*

[Witchy Cowgirl]

Thanks Chryssi! This is the first I've got to add here.

Originally posted by Laiste

I tell him you can pray anywhere, not just in a church.

I think this is one of the most important things that have been said. No matter what path you follow you should be able to pray anywhere - not just in front of your Altar. I think this should be taught first. Kids gotta know that there is always someone there to turn to, no matter where they are or what situtation they might find themselves in. Your Higher Power is there for you everywhere!
Of course having an Altar in the home encourages prayer and that is important. Prayer should be encouraged. So which comes first the Altar or Prayer?