Family Archives - The Sacred Hearth

Checking My Privilege

Morningbird Family

I was raised not to see color. I know people say this all the time but it’s true, and my mom will back me up on this. My step-dad is a black man and my sisters are all beautiful black women. My beautiful mother is white and so am I. We were all raised together; […]

Online Resources for Magickal Kids and Parents

Morningbird Family

Here is a collection of links to resources that I believe will be of interest to Parents who practice magick and/or adhere to an Earth-based, Pagan or Heathen spiritual philosophy. Please add your own recommendations using the comment button at the bottom. Arts & Crafts & Activities KiwiCo sends an age appropriate STEAM activity every month. […]

Little Rituals

Morningbird Devotions, Family, Kitchen Witch Corner, Ritual

Before I begin, I feel that perhaps some definitions are in order. When I refer to rituals, I refer to meaningful things done over and over. These are not necessarily ceremonies, they need not be flashy. Rituals can be as simple as a kiss before bedtime or picking up a coffee at your favorite shop […]

Storytelling In The Hallows

Morningbird Family, Ritual

What is The Hallows? It is that big collection of sacred days that happen at the end of October/ beginning of November. Also known as Samhain, Halloween, The Feast of the Dead. This is a liminal period. Just a few days ago the leaves started to turn and in just a few more the trees […]

Entertaining Toddlers Without Screens

Morningbird Family

Every mom needs 10-20 minutes without a toddler clinging to her leg; Whether it be to cook a meal, use the bathroom, or whatever. But plopping kiddo in front of the TV (as much as he loves Spider Man and His Amazing Friends and K’nect Party) is not the ideal solution. It doesn’t teach him […]

Stirring the Imagination

Morningbird Family

There is nothing so fascinating to me as a 3-year-old’s imagination. At any moment he can be an animal, a superhero, a car, a vacuum cleaner or a person he knows. (And if you call him by the wrong name, he will correct you.) He’s constantly doing something. Often something that involves sound effects. I […]

Breastfeeding Revisited

Morningbird Family

The last few years there has been somewhat of a local baby boom and I’ve found myself discussing breastfeeding with other people at great length. I breastfed both of my older children for the first few weeks and supplemented formula after I went back to work and school. I remember it being remarkably easy and, […]

Creating Family Traditions

Morningbird Family

One question I hear very often in Parenting groups is “How do I raise my child in our Pagan tradition. And I confess, this question confuses me. If you are a Pagan, and you follow a Pagan tradition, and you are raising children, you are automatically going to raise your kids in that tradition, right? […]

A Few of My Favorite (Baby) Things

Morningbird Family

A few weeks into this new mom all over again thing and I think I’m finally getting a handle on it. My first batch of kids are all teenagers now and while I thought I knew exactly what I was doing, turns out I don’t know much. Our first night home, about two in the […]

Breastfeeding Is Divine

Morningbird Devotions, Family

Breastfeeding is a subject I’ve become extremely passionate about over the past few years. I never thought I would, but there it is. I’m even considering joining a local breastfeeding awareness group that I recently discovered. Breastfeeding has become a sort of spiritual thing to me. I think it has to be, because it’s hard. […]