This circle aims to empower girls to listen to their inner wisdom, understand their bodies' natural cycles, and honour their true, unique selves. It can be tough growing up amidst a culture that broadcasts unhealthy messages to girls and women. Kathy and Raina will mentor the girls in this circle to nurture their own inner compasses, so that they can navigate the world with confidence.
The overarching themes of this five week circle will be:
Heart Coherency - Communicating with the world and each other from our hearts. Listening to and honouring our feelings. Connecting with our senses.
Rose Plant Medicine - Connecting with the essence of Rose through artistic activities, drum journeys and medicine making. Exploring why Rose is associated with the divine feminine.
Topics will include:
Consent - how to truly listen to ourselves and others, why this is so important
Sisterhood - supporting ourselves and each other as girls and women
Body Image - all bodies are beautiful and unique, seeing our own beauty
Self Care - the importance of feeling good in our bodies and caring for all aspects of ourselves
Anatomy - girls’ bodies and the importance of having empowering labels for our body parts
Menstruation - what is is, why/how does it happen. Getting to explore menstrual products
Fertility - what does it mean to be fertile and when does this happen throughout our cycles
Whatever the girls are curious about - girls can put anonymous questions into a bowl for the mentors to answer
The first circle will be on Mother’s Day, May 12. We are inviting all moms to join us that afternoon for our entire circle. We plan to do some activities all together that day so that our whole group, mothers and daughters, can connect with one another. The moms will get to have their own circle with Raina that afternoon too, while Kathy and the girls do other activities.
We are also inviting all the moms to attend our closing circle on June 9th, for the last half of the circle.
Each circle will include organic, nourishing food, as well as high quality craft and medicine making materials.
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We will explore fun and creative activities, such as;
art, music, drum journeys, theatre, plant sits, cooking/baking, medicine making and more!
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The girls will get to participate in 15 hours of circle time, guided by two experienced mentors.
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Moms will get to participate in 4.5 hours of circle time.
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Parents will be provided with weekly write ups about what we covered in each circle as well as invitations for you to go deeper with your daughters at home, to help integrate their circle experience into their daily lives.
Five Sundays
May 12 - June 9
1:30 - 4:30pm
Financial contribution: $280
Mentors
Kathy experiences joy through helping young people connect with, and appreciate, their unique selves. She has co-facilitated girls' circles over the past three years, while partaking in the Journey of Young Women mentorship training. Kathy brings a variety of experience to the circle incuding; music, baking, fibre arts, and a deep passion for connecting with nature, moon cycles, and the wisdom of the feminine body. Kathy also works with youth at Little Oasis, as a facilitator in the Equine Assisted Learning program.
Raina loves supporting girls to have confidence in themselves and feel excited about their menarche rite of passage. She has led numerous girls’ circles over the past 12 years, including programs such as the Girls Empowerment Movement (GEM) and Young Women Rise at the Nelson Women’s Centre, Healthy Relationships and Health & Sexuality Education in schools, and she is a co-founder and current mentor at Maiden Star. Raina is a BC Certified Teacher.
Appreciation
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*Kathy and Raina have co-facilitated one five week girl circle together. They really enjoy working together and sharing in the circle experience. The testimonials below are from other circles they have co-facilitated with other mentors in the past:
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"I loved it and I learned a lot. There were lots of crafts, and it felt nice doing that with other girls. It helped me learn what to do if I had cramps, and what to expect, and what was normal. I’m glad that my mom could do it with me, because at the end we had a ceremony. It was really nice spending time with my mom. It felt really special. It made me be excited for my period!"
~Participant Girl, age 11
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"My daughter made lasting friendships with the girls in the group, plus she developed a more profound connection with me as her mother. Just two months after taking the program, my daughter received her first moon. Because she attended Maidenstar, she was able to embrace her period with grace and an ease of acceptance. She felt interconnected not just with me, but to all the women in her Life! It was a special bonding time for us, and now when she bleeds, she includes me in the experience." ~ Participant Mother
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"My daughters, ages 13 and 9, love being in Girl Circle with Kathy as a mentor and guide. They both appreciate her way of sharing and teaching about all that we go through as girls becoming young women. Her approach is natural, gentle and present. Through Kathy’s guidance, my girls have learned that acceptance, self-love, and honouring their bodies as sacred are important aspects of growing into themselves. As a mentor, she naturally models being comfortable in who she is, and being true to her authentic self. My girls are confident. They are connected to their own spirits, and they honour our Mother Earth. Kathy has been an integral part of them cultivating this connection with the earth, in their community and within themselves." ~Marie Sutherland
Mothers and daughters sharing their girl circle experience