 Welcome
to the Northwoods Federation
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What is YMCA 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. (FAQ)
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Program Registration
In order to participate in Adventure
Guides trips and activities, you
must first be registered with the
YMCA. Please complete and return
your Program Registration Packet with payment
prior to registering for your Expedition’s
trips.
Program Registration
Packets and payments are due
by October 31, 2008. A $20 late fee
will be assessed to all registrations
for returning families after this
date. The program registration fee
is $10/family for those
that are full members of the YMCA and $50/family
for those that are not members.
(download
program registration packet here).
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If you are a full
member of the YMCA:
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- Submit your Program Registration Packet,
photos, and payment to the Welcome
Center desk
- Once your Program Registration Packet
is submitted and your payment
has been processed, you may
begin registering for Adventure Guides
trips and programs through
our online registration system
- If you are not a full member of the YMCA:
- Submit your Program Registration Packet, photos, and payment
to the Welcome Center desk
- Credit card payments are
not accepted at the time of
dropping off your Program Registration Packet to the Welcome Center
desk (checks are accepted).
Information contained in your
Program Registration Packet must be
entered into our system prior
to accepting credit card payments
(typically within 24-48 hours
after the Program Registration Packet
is received). Once this information
has been entered, credit card
payments may be made in person
or over the phone with our
Welcome Center staff
- Once payment is received
and processed, the Welcome
Center staff will mail to
you a program member card
(typically within 2-4 days
after Program Registration Packet
and payment is received).
This card includes your program
member number that will allow
you to access the online registration
system so you may begin registering
for Adventure Guides trips
and programs
You can join Adventure Guides
anytime during the year…minimum
age for your son/daughter must
be 5 years old and many remain
in the program throughout Middle
School years.
Each Expedition has their own
unique set of Adventure Weekend
trips planned for the Fall, Winter
and Spring. Plus in addition a
fun one-night “Shorthouse” overnight
in a museum, aquarium or zoo.
Everyone in Adventure Guides is
assigned into their unique Expedition
and Circle and will attend their
group’s unique trips. Please
be sure to register for your correct
Expedition’s trips. For “New
members to Adventure Guides” if
you have not yet been placed or
requested to be in a specific
Expedition or Circle, we will
contact you after you complete
the above Registraton Packet.
Be sure to check off “New
member” on your Program Registration Packet so we will know to contact
you with your assigned Expedition
and Circle.
Upcoming Trips
and Events
American Expedition (a Parent-Daughter Expedition)
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American Expedition’s Winter 2008 Adventure Weekend:
Camp Fairview Lake (website)
- Join us for this Parent/Daughter camping trip at Camp Fairview
Lake in the Poconos near the Delaware Water Gap. Friday, FEBRUARY
6 to Sunday, FEBRUARY 8, 2009.
- Trip Fee: $ (T.B.A) per person, registration & payment by 1/5/09.
- Additional $20.00 per person for registration & payments received
after 1/5.
- Register online (available
online when ready to accept reservations)
- A weekend of Parent-Daughter fun!
- Winter Activities include: Rock Wall, Hiking, Ice Skating, Sledding, Archery, camp fire, arts & crafts and other winter activities available.
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Museum Shorthouse 1-Night
Combined Overnight 2009:
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Challenger Expedition (a Parent-Daughter Expedition) |
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Challenger Expedition's
Fall 2008 Adventure Weekend:
CAMP FAIRVIEW LAKE (website)
- Join us for this Parent/Daughter camping
trip at Camp Fairview Lake in the Poconos near
the Delaware Water Gap. Friday, OCTOBER 10 to
Sunday, OCTOBER 12, 2008.
- Trip Fee: $85.00 per
person, registration & payment by
10/6/08.
- Additional $20.00 per person for registration & payments
received after 10/6.
- Register
online (available online when ready
to accept reservations).
- A weekend of Parent-Daughter fun!
- Hiking, canoeing, archery, camp fire,
arts & crafts and other activities
available.
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Museum Shorthouse 1-Night
Combined Overnight 2009:
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Corps of Discovery Expedition (a Parent-Daughter
Expedition) |
Corps of Discovery Expedition’s
Winter 2009 Adventure Weekend
Camp Fairview Lake (website)
- Join us for this Parent/Daughter camping trip
at Camp Fairview Lake in the Poconos near the
Delaware Water Gap. Friday, FEBRUARY 6 to Sunday,
FEBRUARY 8, 2009.
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- Trip Fee: $ (T.B.A) per
person, registration & payment by 1/5/09.
- Additional $20.00 per person for registration & payments
received after 1/5.
- Register
online (available online when ready
to accept reservations)
- A weekend of Parent-Daughter fun!
- Winter Activities include: Rock Wall,
Hiking, Ice Skating, Sledding, Archery,
camp fire, arts & crafts and other winter
activities available.
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Museum Shorthouse 1-Night
Combined Overnight 2009:
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Daniel Boone Expedition (a Parent-Son Expedition) |
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Museum Shorthouse 1-Night
Combined Overnight 2009:
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Safari Expedition (a Parent-Son Expedition) |
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Safari Expedition’s
Winter 2009 Adventure Weekend
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- Join us for this Parent/Son camping trip at
Camp Speers-Eljabar in the Poconos near the
Dingmans Ferry, PA. Friday, JANUARY 30 to Sunday,
FEBRUARY 1, 2009.
- Trip Fee: $ (T.B.A.) per person, registration & payment
by 12/28/08.
- Additional $20.00 per person for registration & payments
received after 12/28.
- Register
online (available online when ready
to accept reservations).
- A weekend of Parent-Son fun!
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Museum Shorthouse 1-Night
Combined Overnight 2009:
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Northwoods Federation – Combined
SHORTHOUSE Overnight:
The Battleship New Jersey (website) - Open to all members of Upper Main Line YMCA’s Adventure Guide program in all 5 of our Expeditions (American, Challenger, Corps of Discovery, Daniel Boone & Safari Expeditions). So if you have both Sons & Daughters in AG they can go on this same event with you at the same time. Join us for this exciting shorthouse (1-night overnight) event. Saturday, February 28, 2009.
- Trip Fee: $ 55.00 per person, registration & payment by 1/19/09.
- Additional $20.00 per person for registration & payments received after
1/19.
- Cancellations & Refunds after 1/19 will only receive half their fee returned.
- LIMITED Enrollment,
Only 140 spots available. First-Come, First-Serve.
This will sell out quickly, so register for this trip right away!
- Register online (available
online when ready to accept reservations)
- Spend a night on the legendary Battleship New Jersey.
- Learn your way around the nation’s most decorated battleship by participating
in a scavenger hunt.
- Enter the ship’s legendary 16-inch gun turrets.
- Visit the Combat Engagement Center, and participate in a simulated launch
of a Tomahawk missile.
- See the Captain’s and Admiral’s cabins and the Officer’s
Wardroom while you climb up and down the ship’s original ladders and companionways.
- Learn about the history and the role this vessel played in WWII, Korea,
Vietnam and the Persian Gulf.
- Stow your gear in a locker – the same lockers that held
sailor’s personal belongings when at sea.
- Sleep in bunks- just like enlisted sailors.
- “Chow down” in the Crew’s Mess, even purchase personalized “Dog Tag”!
- Evening dinner and Sunday morning meal included.
- Download Rules, Itinerary,
Directions & Parking Pass for Garage (Garage
fee not included, but Parking Pass needs to be displayed on dashboard).
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Why does YMCA Adventure Guides exist?
Who participates in YMCA Adventure Guides? What do YMCA Adventure Guide participants do? What is the YMCA Adventure Guides theme? Northwoods Federation Overview Spirit & Symbol Program
Links
Where to Purchase your Vests
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- Why does YMCA Adventure Guides exist?
- 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.
YMCA of the USA has designed the YMCA Adventure Guides program
to assist parents and their children on a 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 parents 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 certain families, be flexible
and work with them to develop a structure within the program
that accommodates their needs. — TOP
- 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 5 through
9. (Some YMCAs also have programs for children
younger than 5.) An adult and child must attend program activities together.
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. — TOP
- What do YMCA Adventure Guide participants do?
- The YMCA groups parent-child pairs into "Circles" that
meet on a regular basis in each others? homes, usually 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.
— TOP
- What is the YMCA Adventure Guides theme?
- The Y-Adventure Guide Program has been developed
around an adventure theme. Like the epic voyage of
Lewis and Clark, program participants will enjoy
an adventure. Parent and Children will experience
new activities including events like roller-skating,
bowling, horseback riding, archery, canoeing, hiking
and more. With their circles they will experience
teamwork and adventure through campout activities,
soccer, hockey and circle meetings.
At the forefront of the program are the compass points. The compass
points lend an inspiration for activities and also provide a framework
from which to build an adventure theme. The compass points outline
the program’s focus on strengthening parent-child relationships
through small Circle communities while participating in activities
that help meet the program’s objectives. The four main directional
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, the 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
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. — TOP
- Northwoods Federation
- The NORTHWOODS FEDERATION administers YMCA Adventure Guides programs
on behalf of the Upper Main Line YMCA. The Northwoods Federation
consists of five Expeditions: three Parent/Daughter Expeditions
(Corps of Discovery, Challenger, and American) and two Parent/Son
Expeditions (Daniel Boone and Safari). The townships and surrounding
areas within our Federation are Radnor, Newtown, Tredyffrin, Lower
Merion, Easttown, Goshen, Willistown and parts of several other
villages. Members may live in any town, village or unincorporated
area. The Federation provides centralized program coordination
and event planning for its member Nations. The Federation helps
each Nation deliver a robust set of parent-child activities. — TOP
- Northwoods Federation: Spirit & Symbol
- The Northwoods Federation is named after the preserved woodland on
the property of the Upper Main Line YMCA. The name also is linked
to the great swath of boreal forest that extends over the northeast
United States and Canada. It was from the Great North Woods that
many of the famous frontier explorers, such as Lewis & Clark
and Daniel Boone, began their great treks into the wilderness.
The spirit of the Northwoods Federation is symbolized by the moose,
the largest animal found in the Great North Woods of North America.
The world’s largest deer was named by the Algonquins, Native
Americans who lived throughout the northeast regions of the United
States and Canada. The Algonquins called this strange looking creature
mooswa, meaning "twig-eater". A full grown moose can weigh
up to 1,800 pounds and stand 7 feet tall at the shoulder. They can
run 35 miles per hour, can easily swim 10 miles, and can dive underwater.
Despite their size and strength, moose tend to act very kindly toward
their environment and is often referred to as the guardian of the Great
North Woods. It is in this spirit that the Northwoods Federation chose
the moose as its symbol.
Visitors can see the Northwoods Federation Moose in the Adventure
Guides room (Room 1) of the Upper Main Line YMCA’s Mansion.
If you are a participant of the Adventure Guides program, please
submit your idea for a name for our Moose to brian.raicich@umly.org.
— TOP
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- Program Links:
- National YMCA Adventure Guides Web Site: http://www.ymca.net/adventureguides — TOP
- Vests
- The Adventure Guide program encourages all members (both Parents/Guides
and Child/Explorers) to wear their Vests at all Adventure Guide
events. Custom patches are given out at each event attended and
special award patches can also be won. Over time the vest becomes
a living history of all the special places and events you and
your child have experienced. You & your child will treasure
these special vests and remember all the fun memories and special
one-on-one time you experienced together.
- The PatchStore- Cloth & Felt vests…embroidery
of AG names for additional fee.
http://www.thepatchstore.com/ Contact: Greg Jordan & Brian Jemmi
- CowCatcher Leatherworks- Suede vests...very
nice & offers additional leather fringe kits which the kids really like…looks
great with pony beads on the fringe. http://cowcatcher.us/
- Standing Bears Trading Post- Suede vests
http://www.sbearstradingpost.com/Yguides_AdventureGuides.html — TOP
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