Adventure Guides

YMCA Adventure Guides is a program offered in YMCAs across the country designed to strengthen the relationship between a parent and a child. Included here is detailed description of the program purpose and elements.

Why YMCA Adventure Guides Exists
During their elementary school years, children learn rapidly, becoming much more aware of the world around them. They begin to see things differently and ask questions about who they are, where they came from, and why things are as they are. During this time, children tend to see their parents as guides, teachers, and heroes. They start to understand that parents protect and nurture them. Ideally, during this period, we learn how to talk with our children more than at them. A strong relationship is based on our ability to ask open-ended questions that help our children think and move beyond simple yes or no responses. During these years, we strive to invite our children to accept challenges and opportunities, celebrate accomplishments, and face fears.

We have designed the YMCA Adventure Guides program to assist you and your child on your journey of discovery. While activities with the whole family are important, we see tremendous value in supporting and strengthening the ability of a parent and his or her child to communicate at an early age in ways that are caring, honest, respectful, and responsible. We seek to encourage you as a parent to “get to know your kid while your kid is still a kid.”

For these reasons, we have designed the program for one parent and one child to participate together for most activities. If this dynamic is not practical for your family or others in your group, be flexible and work with your YMCA leaders to develop a structure within the program that works for you.

What YMCA Adventure Guide Participants Do
Your local YMCA will assign you to a small group of parent–child pairs called a Circle who meet on a regular basis in each others’ homes, usually biweekly or monthly. Occasionally, several Circles come together to participate in larger activities such as campouts, parties, or parades. These outings are called Expeditions. The core of the YMCA Adventure Guides program is these Circle and Expedition meetings and adventures. Typical activities include ceremonies, games, crafts, songs, stories, skits, and outdoor pursuits such as camping, hiking, and swimming.

Determining the Membership of Circles
Circles are usually made up of 7 to 10 parent–child pairs. YMCAs use various methods for breaking new membership into Circles. Here are some possibilities:

By gender. Boys and girls develop differently during the early elementary years. Boys need time to be boys and girls need time to be girls. Experienced programs tout the success of gender-specific Circles. However, if a parent has more than one child, or the program is small and just starting out, it may be difficult to separate genders into separate Circles.

By neighborhood or other common bonds. Some members would prefer to be in a Circle with others from their neighborhood (or their place of work or worship). This keeps travel time to a minimum and often allows children to relate to friendships already established.

By meeting night. More often than not, parents who show interest in joining the program will also be involved in many other things. Because scheduling is a concern for them, they might prefer a Circle that meets on a given night of the week for the biweekly or monthly Circle meetings. At that point in the agenda when you are ready to break into Circles, a call-out process (depending on numbers in attendance) seems to work well. “All those who prefer a Monday night meeting come to this corner; all those who prefer a Tuesday night meeting come to the front of the stage,” and so on.

By ages. A fourth way of breaking into Circles is by age group—grouping children together by kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and so on. Single-age Circles allow activities to focus on age-appropriate needs and interests. Circles grow up together and share many passages. There is no competition among younger and older children. But if you use this method, be aware of two possible problems. One is the parent with two children of different ages in the program but who prefers one Circle. The second possible problem relates to Circle longevity. Normally, a parent and child’s involvement lasts three to four years. If all members of the Circle start while in kindergarten and stay in the program three or four years, this Circle will die out at the end of that time, unless it adds new members along the way.

YMCA Adventure Guides Compass Points
The program focus is the adventures of a parent and child and of their Circles and Expeditions. At the forefront of the program are the Compass Points, which give members a sense of direction and an inspiration for activities. These points are broad enough in scope to allow for variety and creativity in designing activities.

The four main direction points on the compass are the essential components of the program.

• The Family is True North—the focal point of the program.
• Nature and the camping experience are integral parts of the program.
• The spirit of the program is experienced through belonging to a small Community, called a Circle.
• Fun is the magic of the program.

The YMCA Core Values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility make up the other directional points. Along the journey, adults should model, teach, and demonstrate these values as well as give children many opportunities to practice and celebrate them. Adults should also point out and discuss with children any behavior that is inconsistent with these values. Initially, these four values provide guidance in helping children select activities, make decisions, and choose appropriate courses of action—both in the program and in their lives. As children grow, these values become their own internal compass.

The Compass Points allow you and your Circle members to personalize rituals, activities, and events. You can develop Compass Point activities relevant to your own town and your own common experiences. For example, a group in Texas may build a theme around Texas explorers and pioneers, while a group on the coast may use a scuba or water exploration theme. In each case family, fun, nature, and community might take on a slightly different meaning.

Who Participates in YMCA Adventure Guides?
We designed YMCA Adventure Guides for parents or other significant adults in children’s lives and their children ages five through nine. (Some YMCAs also have programs for children younger than five to give children an earlier start in the program.) An adult and child must attend program activities together as a pair. In YMCA Adventure Guides, the parent is the Guide, and the child is the Explorer. Typically, YMCA Adventure Guides programs appeal most to fathers and sons or fathers and daughters, although some YMCAs have had success with mother–son or mother–daughter programs.