FAMILY GUIDES

The Family Guides program provides opportunities for families to engage in activities that promote nature, family, fun, and community.

Program Overview

Family Guides is for everyone! Our program and events are open for anyone in the community to join, including:

• Mom + Dad + Child(ren)
• Mom + Child(ren)
• Dad + Child(ren)
• Caregiver/Guardian + Child(ren)

This program:

• Fosters companionship and understanding and sets a foundation for positive, lifelong relationships between parent/guardian and child.
• Builds a sense of self-esteem and personal worth.
• Expands awareness of spirit, mind, and body.
• Provides the framework to meet a mutual need of spending enjoyable, constructive, and quality time together.
• Enhances the quality of family time.
• Emphasizes the vital role that parents/guardians play in the growth and development of children.
• Offers an important and unique opportunity to develop and enjoy volunteer leadership skills.

Foundation & Values:

The Compass provides direction for the Friends Forever program.

• The Family is True North – the focal point of the program
• Nature and the camping experience are an integral part of the program teaching respect for nature and oneself
• The spirit of the program is experienced through belonging to a small community of “circles”
• Fun is the magic of the program

The Y’s core values (Caring, Honesty, Respect, Responsibility) provide directions as parents’/caregivers’ guide children on their journey.  Along the way adults should model, teach and demonstrate these values as well as give children many opportunities to practice and celebrate them. 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.