February 8, 2020
Our Winterlude theme this year was looking at different directions in life, and was led by Patrick Wilmot, the Child and Youth Healthy Living Coordinator at Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health.
Of course we began with some basic ice breakers – such as throwing a ball to someone to get their name … but there was more than one ball and we had to catch/throw without losing a beat … or a name!
After more games and a time for stories, it was on to the major activity: working a medicine wheel in four directions. The rules? Each team was given a teaching. Then, members of the team had to get on planks and coordinate their movements to get to the centre of the circle, and pass on their teaching to others .. without falling off the planks! Of course, we did but that re-set the game. Everyone had to go back to the beginning and start over.
Sharing circles gave teams the opportunity to share their challenges or on what made them so successful. Learning to work as a team, helping others and experiencing challenges (not all planks were the same) made this a fun activity and easy to tie in to being a Christian and how we are to be there for one another.
Then it was time to invent a game – a Q&A game that Patrick will develop and use in his work at Wabano- an Indigenous kerplunk porcupine game. Hopefully, he’ll be able to bring it the next time he’s with us.
After food, a blurb from Claire about Gracefield-summer camps-CY2020, closing worship and clean-up, it was time for home. Youth were discussing some of the topics and issues with their youth leaders on their way back home!
Thanks to all who made it a success – to Patrick for leading us, to Knox (Ottawa) for hosting us, to Joan, Meg, and Maureen for their leadership, to Claire for telling us more about Gracefield’s programs and to all the youth who made this a fun time for all!
[metaslider id=172]