As her mother you will remain her main source of information and guidance and this relationship is invaluable.  A Celebration Day for Girls will build on the understanding each girl may already have and includes activities designed to strengthen an open connection between mother and daughter.  The benefit of celebrating in a group is the experience that each girl and her mother bring to the day and as well as the unfolding group experience.  The freedom of discussing periods with their peers helps to normalise them for girls, and hearing a variety of women’s stories adds to the richness of their understanding.  The celebratory aspect of the Day helps confirm for each girl that her experience of menarche is both entirely normal and one that is shared with all women, but equally, uniquely special.  Many girls who have experienced a Celebration Day for Girls go on to share their experience of menarche with their friends and have gained insight into ways they can best support their peers.  All in all A Celebration Day paves the way for a rich, positive and connected ongoing experience.

Yes!  Of course!  She is very welcome. Every girl is individual and comes to menarche according to her own body’s timing.  In the past we have had some girls who have started their periods and many who haven’t. While she has experienced her menarche, your daughter may now have some new questions about puberty and menstruation and will benefit from the multi-faceted approach of the Celebration Day. She may also like to share something of her experience with the other girls. Having said that it’s important to note that we have utmost respect for each girl’s privacy and at no time do we ask they share any of their personal experiences. Nonetheless your daughter’s presence at the Celebration Day, as well as being of great value to her, may well be a resource to the other girls in the group who haven’t yet begun their periods.

Because of the reluctance in schools and in our culture generally to talk openly and soulfully about menarche and menstruation, at the Celebration Day for Girls we aim to provide a rich, creative and fun, as well as an informed day that supports a healthy, curious and open approach to this important and, for many decades of a woman’s life, pervasive feminine experience.

Most definitely.  An important, and perhaps unspoken, part of the Celebration Day for Girls is that mothers have the opportunity to re-dream a little of their own menarche and menstrual story as they gather with their daughters to celebrate.  Many of us, partly because of cultural silences and even hostility to women’s bodies, along with inherited physical traits, have experienced a painful time with our periods, both emotionally and physically.

In the mother’s session, before the Celebration Day, you will have an opportunity to express some of your own feelings about your experience of menstruation.  Women have often found this sharing to be revelatory and insightful, both their own and that of other women, and offers a path to a fresh new relationship with their menstrual cycle and female body.

Dr. Christiane Northrup, in her book Mother-Daughter Wisdom, says, “The mother-daughter relationship is the foundation of every woman’s health.  It has more clout biologically, emotionally and psychologically than any other relationship in a woman’s life.” If you have had a difficult time with your periods you may not want to scare your daughter with graphic descriptions and the key to your support for her at this time is genuine communication and connection. You can share with her some of your experience in an age appropriate way as well as talk with her about how you want it to be for her. Allow ample time to hear her questions, ideas and concerns. The Celebration Day for Girls will gently and smoothly support this communication between you.

The Celebration Day for Girls creates a space where girls can feel good about their journey toward inhabiting a woman’s body. As your daughter sits with friends and a skilled facilitator she will imbibe a sense that she can experience menstruation each month in a positive and conscious way, and that, if she has discomfort or other menstrual problems, she can get the support she needs.

The Celebration Day for Girls facilitators have each undergone their own personal journeys with menstruation and have dedicated themselves to the rich practice of menstrual cycle awareness. Through this process they have become passionate educators in this field.

There is no need to prepare her or say very much. You could lean on the title of the day and say, ‘it’s a special day for celebrating being a girl’. You could say, ‘it’s about puberty and growing up’. Or you could say, ‘it’s a fun and beautiful day, filled with lots of activities and you’ll find it really interesting’. For some girls knowing this much is exciting and they can’t wait, and others may feel embarrassed at the thought of anyone talking about periods. We are familiar with and respect all the feelings that may arise for girls and find that, without exception, within a short time they are relaxed and enjoying the day’s activities and conversations.

If your daughter has any anxiety about the day you can reassure her that at no time will she be asked to share anything about her personal experiences and changes.

Not at all, this is a perfect opportunity for her to come along and find out more. A Celebration Day for Girls is designed to meet the needs of all girls regardless of their prior knowledge and understanding of the reproductive workings of their body.  Information is delivered in a clear but gentle manner, and a sense of respect and wonder is engendered in how our bodies work and mature.  A range of materials and activities are used to engage girls and create a comfortable, interactive, and fun day.  An aim of the Day is to normalise menarche and menstruation for girls, and celebrate it in a way that encourages an ongoing positive relationship with their reproductive health.

Facilitators are well trained and provide relevant, factual information and girls can ask questions in a relaxed, supportive environment. There is also an opportunity for girls to write down anonymous ‘curly’ or ‘embarrassing’ questions.

During the Celebration Day we incorporate many different activities and conversations in order to honour a variety of learning styles, all of which weave into the themes for the day. These include: art and craft, mothers telling stories about their growing up experiences, fun activities and stories from a variety of cultures, conversational cards processes, sharing and building on our knowledge and understanding of puberty and the menstrual cycle in creative and affirmative ways, exploring practicalities of managing menstruation at school, at home and when we’re away from home, simple celebratory rituals and much, much more!

We don’t want to give too many more details about the day to help preserve an element of surprise for girls, however if you would like to know more specifics please feel free to contact us, either the facilitator closest to you or via our general contact details.

As the experiences of puberty and menstruation are not only physical, but also emotional, social, cultural, and for many, spiritual, we have a wide variety of conversations during the Celebration Day which weave in and out of the Day’s activities. These include:

• Seasons and cycles of life
• Exploring stories and practices from different times and cultures for a healthy dose of cultural relativism
• Practical ways to manage menstruation at school, at home and elsewhere
• The physiology and biochemistry of the menstrual cycle, hormones, menstrual blood (how much, what is it? And so on)
• Pads and tampons, commercial and reusable cloth and cups
• Puberty, body changes and emotions
• How girls feel about starting to menstruate
• Mother’s menarche stories
• Girls and women supporting each other.
• And more, depending on girls’ questions, concerns and curiosity.

No. While mothers clearly have a key role for their daughters during puberty and as they begin to menstruate it is not always possible for them to accompany their daughter to A Celebration Day for Girls. In this case a grandmother, aunt, close family friend or carer can step in and share the Celebration Day with their special girl.

We honour the special role fathers have in their daughter’s life and the importance of their support during puberty and adolescence and A Celebration Day for Girls is a female only event. If you are a father raising your daughter on your own you may like to speak with your daughter about who she would like to have accompany her, or speak with a female relative or friend who can then invite your girl to A Celebration Day for Girls. Either way this will be a special event for her and she can tell you all about it when she comes home (or not).

You may like to have a look through the resources for materials that will support you and your daughter at this time.

For some girls it is difficult to imagine what could be fun about celebrating puberty and menstruation and for others the idea is exciting and intriguing. In our experience all girls of this age group have a fun day, with this firm foundation spreading benefits well into their future. We have found that even the most reluctant girls relax and settle within a short time and all leave with a new confidence and comfort with themselves and their changing bodies, and a great mutually-supportive ‘womanly’ bond with their mother or female carer.

Many mothers present the Celebration Day for Girls as a non-negotiable event and others prefer to ask their daughter if she wants to attend. In other situations the Celebration Day is a class curriculum event. Whatever your situation you are welcome to talk this through with your facilitator.

“My daughter was full of enthusiasm and confidence the evening after the workshop and was desperate to remember and tell every little detail that she had experienced  … a great change from the apprehensive daughter I dropped off in the morning.”   Ingrid

The Celebration Day for Girls is generally 10 am to 4pm, with morning tea and lunch breaks. These times may vary if an earlier or later start suits a particular group better. The first sessions of the Day – 10-11.30 and 12-1.15 – are for girls only and mothers join in at 1.15 for the remainder of the Day.

The two-hour mother’s session prior to the Celebration Day is scheduled somewhere between 2 weeks and one day before the Day, depending on when is most convenient for the group and facilitator.

Yes, absolutely. Facilitators hold ‘private’ Celebration Days for class and friendship groups and ‘public’ Celebration Days, which are open to girls from different schools and localities. For a class group the Celebration Day can be a wonderful shared experience as they begin to traverse this special time of life together. The Celebration Day can strengthen the bond between girls who already know each other, and is a unique opportunity for them to explore these topics in a fun and safely held way. Often we have girls’ female teachers join us for the afternoon session with mothers and daughters.

From experience ‘public’ Celebration Days often do have girls who know each other or are related, however this isn’t necessary and our facilitators are skilled at creating a warm, safe and connected group for the Day. In this case girls are frequently excited about sharing their experience of the Day with their sisters, friends and schoolmates, as well as vowing to stay in touch with their new friends from the Celebration Day.

The cost of the Celebration Day for Girls may vary a little depending on how many girls are in a group, whether the facilitator can drive or needs to fly to run your Day and what currency you will be paying in. Having said that we are keen for this programme to be affordable for families, and concessions are available for those that need them. You can look up Celebration Days on the Calendar and contact facilitators in your area to get a more precise idea of the fee.

While some form of ‘health and human development’ curriculum is available in most schools and is likely to cover the rudiments of reproduction and the menstrual cycle this is a far cry from the intent and content of A Celebration Day for Girls.

A Celebration Day for Girls can add many unique and special elements even if your daughter has already had numerous school sessions on puberty. These include: the opportunity for relaxed and spacious conversation and questions, a whole girls-only day, a sense of the wonder, beauty and interconnectedness of nature in contrast to a mechanical ‘plumbing’ approach, conversation and connection between girls and girls and their mothers and, not least, fun and celebration!

Absolutely right. The exact timing of your daughter’s menarche is unknown, unless it has already happened of course. During A Celebration Day for Girls we are celebrating being a girl, being female, and the wonders of our bodies. For many girls the Day acts as an awakening to a new awareness of the importance of, and pride in, these changes and her emerging womanly body.

The Celebration is also a beautiful bonding for mothers and daughters around their own shared and age specific experiences. At the end of the Day participants may express what the celebration has been for them in slightly different ways, however everyone is clearly nourished, warmed and energised by the experience.