What is The Heroines Club
The Heroines Club represents a joyful and powerful way for mothers and daughters to connect. It is both a book and an actual club that I am starting in Anchorage in January.
The Book
Heroines Club, written by Melia Keeton-Digby, is a ‘How To’ book on bringing mothers and daughters into dialog around important life topics through the exploration of historical female role-models in a circle setting. I bought the book when my daughter was four, with a dream of one day organizing a mother/daughter circle using its contents.
The Circle
Heroines Club can be a year-long program but I like the idea of meeting twice a month and making it into six. I plan to lead the first several gatherings but would love for other mothers when they feel comfortable to lead or co-lead a circle.
This gathering isn’t your typical meetup, it's full of thoughtfulness and beauty. Here is the sequence of each gathering, which is offered as a suggestion in the book and one that we can follow unless we think of something we like more.
If you’ve never sat in circle, you’ll be surprised how wonderful it feels. I’m very excited to do this with my daughter as I know the personal impact of meeting with the same group of people over an extended period of time. It’s a wonderful way to find connection and belonging.
Below is a list of the Heroine, topics and activities that we will be exploring together.
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Topic
We will be exploring the importance of our dreams and how to nurture them and allow them to grow. Discerning how we want to feel is a wonderful starting point.Heroine: Amelia Earhart
We will learn about Amelia's life and the courage she displayed in following her dreams and reaching for the sky.Group Activity
Create Dream Boards -
Topic
Expressing our feelings will be the focus of our discussion and integrated activity in circle this month. We want our daughters to know that they are still wholly loved and accepted when emotional storms rise and to give them tools and strategies to comfort and express themselves in healthy ways.Heroine: Frida Kahlo
We will explore Frida's complex, fascinating and inspiring life and examine how she used art to express her inner landscape.Activity
Create a Self-Portrait of Feelings and Expressions and a Laughter Parade. -
Topic
Let us, love, accept, honor, and celebrate our bodies! This month, we will build confidence and appreciation for what our bodies can do, rather than just how they look. We explore the importance of caring for our bodies and developing a loving relationship with them.
Heroine: Angela Isadora Duncan
Angela was a trailblazing dancer and instructor whose emphasis on freer forms of movement was a precursor to modern dance techniques. She danced in a way that was natural, expressive, and spontaneous and her dream was to influence young children to express themselves and cultivate healthy relationships with their bodies through dance.Activity
"The Skin I'm In," Meditation, A Baby Praise Circle, and Body-Love Dancing. -
Topic
We will explore gender stereotypes so that our daughters can make decisions on how to look, act, and live based on their thought and feelings, rather than on societal expectations. Our goal is to help out daughters develop their critical intelligence concerning culturally inherited stereotypes, to let them know that they have our full support and that they can be exactly who they want to be.Heroine: Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Jackie Joyner-Kersee overcame discrimination, poverty, and disease to become one the greatest athletes of all time. She challenged gender stereotypes and pursued her passion for sports in full force.Activity
See It To Be It and Thinking Outside the Box -
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Topic
We will explore what it means to have unconditional love. Exploring and thinking of any conditions we might inadvertently place on our relationships with our daughters and ourselves.Heroine: Mary Stevenson Cassatt
Mary Stevenson Cassatt was a painter and printmaker, and the first American Impressionist artist. Mary is an inspiration to girls and women today because of her stalwart dedication to her vision for her life and her art, even in the face of harsh judgment and ridicule. Her artwork showcased the bond between mothers and children.Activity
Creating A Mother-Daughter Journal -
Topic:
We will explore the idea of following your intuition and how it can help keep our daughters safer and support them in making decisions that are in alignment with their highest good.Heroine: Jane Morris-Goodall
Jane was a world-famous scientist and outspoken animal rights champion who followed her intuition through tangled vines to climb trees and sit for hours, quietly waiting and watching wild chimpanzees.Group Activity:
Doodle Art and Finding the Stuff Animal -
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