YMCA Adventure Guides: Rituals and Ceremonies
Part of the magic associated with the YMCA Adventure Guides program comes from rituals and ceremonies. You and your Circle members can easily immerse yourselves in the program based on the expertise and routines of those who have gone before you
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Leader Lines
The Navigator has an opportunity to add great value to the Circle experience through the “Leader Line” segment of the Circle. Careful planning makes all the difference in the world in keeping this segment interesting to parents and children alike.
Leader Lines should strike a balance between “talking at” and “talking with” the Circle. They can model the importance of thinking about what we are going to do and then reflecting on what we have done.
Leader Lines are best when they encourage us to ponder and consider important issues of life. They do not necessarily “answer the question” and in fact can be very powerful by not answering the question but instead letting each parent and child wrestle with a thought and come to their own answer—which might not be until during the car ride home.
Here is an example of a Leader Line. For more Leader Lines, those that tie into the seven aims of the YMCA Adventure Guides program, check out the member manual, Friends Forever.
To Love the Sacred Circle of My Family
| • | Flowers are good examples of families. They are alike, yet different. How are your family members similar to each other? How are they different from each other? Are all members of your family beautiful like flowers? Can something good be said about each of them? | |
| • | What traditions do your family share each year? What things do you do together to help you feel connected? |
During a Circle meeting, the Navigator might use discussions in place of a game, a story, or field reports. Circle discussions add fun and variety to your meetings and promote companionship between parent and child. Here is an example of a discussion starter. For more ideas, check out the member manual, Friends Forever.
Parent–child conversation
Ask parent and child pairs to sit together where they can talk without other pairs hearing too easily. Remind them that it’s okay if they don’t want to answer one of the questions. Then ask each to think for a minute, then tell the other, “One of the times I remember being with you, just the two of us, that I enjoyed a lot was . . . What I especially liked about it was . . .” (Give them a couple of minutes to talk about it and remember other times.)
Here are other topics or questions for parent–child conversations:
| • | What is one thing that worries you? | |
| • | What do you like most about your school [or job]? What do you like least? | |
| • | Of all the people you know, who makes you laugh the most? What seems funny? | |
| • | Of all the things that have happened to you in the past weeks, which made you feel happiest? Why? Saddest? Why? | |
| • | If you had to change places with each other, including your age, job, and responsibilities, what is one thing each of you think you’d like about being in the other’s situation? What is one thing you would dislike? |