Children
Lily Jones 00-00-0000
Serenity Jones 00-00-0000
Pagans recognize that life itself is a learning experience. Every person and situation presents us with the opportunity to learn and grow. As pagans, our spirituality is an integral part of all that we are. It is not a separate subject to be studied out of context with the rest of our lives. It is a vital part of our daily lives, our annual cycles, and our very beings.
As pagan parents, we are aware that our children are much more than their brains and physical bodies. As a result it is our responsibility to guide and safe-guard them on many levels. These are not merely our children. They are spiritual beings and as parents our role is to nurture and support them as they create their own lives. We have accepted the responsibility to nourish them as they embark upon a journey of spiritual and personal growth and teach them to live as followers of our Gods and the principles of our religion.
As parents, we are certainly concerned with our children’s potential academic and social success. More than that, we are aware that our children’s hearts and spirits are at stake. With the guidance of our Gods, and the availability of a wide range of home education resources, we can provide the best all-around education for our children at home. This is the choice we have made to preserve the innate wholeness and spark for life our children bring into this world.
We are including affidavits attesting to the sincerity of our beliefs and the dedication we have to our children’s education.
- (from our church’s minister-again contact info removed)
I have known this family for two years and I believe they possess the requisite skills to provide a quality home-schooling program for their daughters. As a former elementary school and middle school principal in the Fairfax County Public Schools I knew many families who chose to home school their children. Ms. Ludwick-Jones Jones and Mr. Jones are excellent parents and possess both the education and temperament to provide an appropriate learning environment for their children.
Many parents who home school chose to do so out of their religious convictions. Ms. Ludwick-Jones and Mr. Jones are committed to their faith tradition. As self avowed Pagans it is their belief that all aspects of nature are considered to be the source of universal consciousness and energy. I realize that in more conservative areas such as ours just the word Pagan elicits strong feelings, but I can assure you, as both a member of the clergy and as a former educator, that their personal beliefs will in no way be an obstacle to the well considered education of Lily and Serenity.
Thank you for the opportunity to voice support for this family.
Sincerely,
- From our family friends and fellow homeschoolers
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Dear Sirs and/or Madams,
This letter is in regards to the requirement for references in the matter of the homeschooling of Lily Vega Jones and Serenity Mara Jones by Alecia LudwickJones and Jeff Jones. We find The Jones’ to be quite sincere in their religious beliefs. They attend church on a regular basis and incorporate their beliefs in their teachings with the girls. We find the girls to be both engaging and engaged in everything around them. Lily and Serenity are polite, full of fun, and very bright individuals. We are very happy and proud to have them as our daughter’s friends and to call The Jones good friends of ours, as well.
Sincerely yours,
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Jeff and Alecia are competent to educate their children, Lily and Serenity, outside of the public school system. Alecia is home with the children daily and provides them with wholesome meals, physical education, social and play dates with other children, and educational curriculum in math, language, science, health, culture and technology. She blogs about her homeschooling experiences online and networks with other homeschooling parents so that she can stay updated with the latest course materials and creative ideas for providing the most contemporary form of education, close to that of the public school system. Alecia is intently driven to provide a holistic educational experience for her children that begins with family values. She aims to allow the girls to keep up with children their own age in the public school system but wants to keep them at home because of the values and belief system she and Jeff hold. Alecia and Jeff identify with Pagan and Earth Centered beliefs. They attend a Untarian Universalist church each Sunday where they have been recently picked to inherit and revamp the churches Earthways Pagan program. There Alecia is also involved as a teacher in the Religious Education program teaching ages 2-7. Church provides the Jones with ways to remain active and integrated within the local community, to contribute to it and receive support by it.
I have had much time to discuss with Alecia about her desire to homeschool, her reasoning to opt out of public education. She wants to exercise her right to provide education to her children and feels that she can give to Lily and Serenity a one of a kind education that cannot be exceeded by the public school system. I have observed her methods of teaching Lily and Serenity, as well as their completed curriculum. The girls are ahead of the level of expectation for their age in reading and writing and are learning to count, add, subtract. Alecia ensures that the children have a well rounded educational experience daily. The children have social dates often and at least an hour of physical education per day. Lily currently takes part in training to join a local youth Soccer league.
I am confident that Alecia and Jeff are well equipped, able and willing to endeavor in providing their children’s education within their home and their values successfully, in ways that will develop a confident and capable child with a deep sense of appreciation for and enjoyment of their upbringing.
Thank you for allowing me to voice my support for the Jones family.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Frye
Freakshow Minus Tent 
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