Dear parents,
Welcome to Pagan Sun Day School. I hope you find within this series of books a
religious training system from which you and your child/ren will both
benefit. I have tried to make the
curriculum easy to understand for student and teacher alike. I feel that I have developed a comprehensive
and comprehensible course that will introduce children to the basic
concepts of Paganism that their parents hold so dear.
This series is not intended, however, to
serve as a Book of Shadows or ritual handbook for Pagan families. There are
currently several books available by very capable authors dealing with rituals
for families with young children. There are also books available for teenagers
that deal with magical practices, pantheons, etc. I suggest that the Pagan
family reads a combination of these books for information regarding ritual and
family magical practice. However, I can guarantee that you will not find
another resource that is comparable to the Pagan Sun Day School series
in dealing with educating young Pagans about the basics of the religion.
Pagan Sun Day School is not intended to be a
substitute for formal coven training.
The series ends at roughly the same time as graduation from high school. At this time, if the student wants to pursue
this path further, s/he may chose to seek coven membership in order to learn
the Mysteries of that tradition or to pursue further education on an adult
level. PSDS does not delve too
deeply into concepts that a child’s mind is not ready to understand. Neither
does PSDS demand that the lessons be followed exactly as they are
written, in the exact order that they are presented.
Instead, the curriculum is relatively
flexible, allowing for differences in each individual family’s style and
principles. The lessons begin at a very
simple level and gradually progress into more complicated ideas and
practices. The premise is to prepare
children to make their own decisions regarding Paganism when their times come. With this in mind, they will learn the basics
of ritual, magic, ethics, etc. They will
be presented with ideas regarding deities and pantheons, as well as the
elements, the Wheel of the Year, the Spiral of Life, Death, and Rebirth, and
more. In addition to their studies
within Paganism, they will also be introduced to other world religions in the
hopes of having a range of information on which to base their religious
decisions.
The series is divided into four books,
which, in turn, are divided into three grades (four, in the case of the high
school edition). They are designed so
that a family may start this education at any time during a child’s
development. Many of the lesson topics
are presented multiple times over the course of the thirteen years these books
span. This helps to reinforce certain
concepts while expanding on them year after year.
There are at least fifty lessons for
each grade level. If a grade has more
than fifty lessons, the remainder is considered extra. Use the fifty that you feel are most
appropriate to your child/family. This
will give you a few weeks away from Pagan Sun Day School each year. As an alternative to spending so much time
away from the lessons, you may wish to use all of them, or to repeat a lesson
or two. This is perfectly fine, as it
either reinforces areas of particular interest to the child or introduces them
to a greater number of concepts.
Each set of lessons is
grade-appropriate. This means that
Kindergarten lessons have been written with the average Kindergartner in
mind. The concepts are kept simple; the
time for each lesson is relatively brief; there is no writing or reading
involved for the child; there are more activities than lectures. As the years progress, so does the expected
level of comprehension. The lessons
become more challenging; the activities are more complicated; the ideas
presented are more complex. Throughout
the series, however, the focus is on activities and discussion, as opposed to
lecture.
Throughout the books, you will find
extra activities for you and your child/ren.
The end of most lessons will have “Supplemental Activities” that are
related specifically to the topic covered in those lessons. There will also be additional activities at the
end of each book that can be used at the parent’s discretion.
The order of the classes/assignments
is only suggested. Parents are given plenty of “wiggle room” to accommodate for
the particular needs and interests of their children. Most of the lessons are
organized within units that contain a particular theme – like “Deities” or
“Tools.” These lessons can be taught together in a sequence, as shown here, or
they can be separated to accommodate your family’s unique style or cycles. For
instance, you may prefer to teach lessons regarding Air (the element, its
tools, its Deities) in an Air sign, like Libra.
Of course, some units rather lend
themselves to being separated to fit certain cycles. The units covering “Moon
Phases” and “Holidays” are more or less dependent on their being taught at a
particular time of the month or year. It might be a little silly to teach them
all in a row, regardless of the point in the cycle where you are, because
children would have a difficult time relating to the ideas of Samhain at Summer
Solstice. (I know I would, too.)
At the end of each series, you will find
a certificate and the instructions for a small ceremony. This is included as a way for you to honor
and praise your child for completing the previous three years’ study. They have learned a lot over the course of
those three years and deserve to be recognized for their work.
It is my sincere hope that this series
is of value to you and your family. May
your children find love and happiness and enlightenment, no matter which path
they chose.
Blessings,
Laurelei Black
