Moon Cycle Circles
Created for friendship circles, school groups, and teams, this workshop provides an engaging and supportive introduction to puberty and menstruation. This workshop moves beyond textbook information about the menstrual cycle, inviting tweens into an embodied experience of empowerment, curiosity, and deep honoring of their bodies. Within a warm, supportive group, participants develop a shared language and begin to normalize this experience, feeling less alone and more connected to themselves and one another.
Format & Details
Two sessions, 120 minutes each (a one day workshop can be arranged)
Ages: 9–13
Group size: 5–12 participants
Cost: $120 per child; sibling discounts available
Zoom call for Caretakers
Special Organizer Discount: $60 registration offered to a parent or caregiver who helps initiate and aids in the “first steps” coordination of their child’s.
Optional Zoom Call
Caretakers, including dads, are invited to join a Zoom call that shares the workshop’s core teachings. This session provides clear, accessible language, practical tools, and dedicated time for questions.
Mothers in particular have described this call as personally impactful, often leaving with a renewed understanding of their own cycles and expressing surprise at not having learned this earlier in life. Nora Anderson will join the call to share her wisdom on the menstrual cycle, offering insight into both the physiology and the lived experience of the body.
Workshop Format
Session One – Understanding & Exploring
In this session, we explore how natural cycles, like the seasons and the moon, mirror the menstrual cycle. Participants learn what happens in the body at each stage, discover what to expect during puberty, and are given space to ask questions and share feelings about this transition. The session also includes decorating a toiletry bag and choosing menstrual pads to take home or keep in a backpack.
Session Two – Questions, Tools & Ceremony
This session revisits key ideas from the first gathering and creates space to answer questions, both anonymously submitted and those gathered from past participants. We explore different types of menstrual products and how to use them.
Our time together ends with a special Red Thread ceremony. Caretakers are invited to join in honoring this meaningful milestone, strengthening the connection shared between each child and an important adult in their life.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will:
Describe the phases of the menstrual cycle and body changes
Select and understand how to use menstrual products with confidence
Communicate questions or needs about their bodies with peers or adults
Feel less discomfort talking about menstruation
Support physical and mental well-being by aligning daily routines, nutrition, exercise, and rest with their body’s natural rhythms
Develop self-awareness and autonomy in caring for their body
Recognize early signs of health concerns and communicate effectively with healthcare providers
Note: This workshop is not sex education. The focus is on understanding menstruation and the menstrual cycle.
About the Instructor
Amy Rupp
Amy brings over twenty years of experience teaching and mentoring youth. She is a trained Red School Facilitator and Mama Rising Life Coach. She has seven years of public school teaching experience, nine years experience leading workshops, programs and camps with Nature Song, and has shared the curriculum she developed for the Moon Cycle workshop with over fifty girls. Her heart-centered, inclusive approach creates a space where girls feel seen, supported, and empowered.
Nora Anderson
Nora practiced as a registered nurse for nine years, working in emergency departments across the country and on the Family Birthing Services Unit at ANMC. For the past three years, she has been pursuing her passion to help guide women back to the power and wisdom of their female physiology by supporting their menstrual cycles and honoring their rites of passage. She also offers one-on-one coaching for those who feel called to explore this work more deeply.
Shifting the Narrative
Many of us were taught only the basics about our bodies, but we are now understand so much more about the female body, including hormones, the nervous system, energy, and overall wellness.
Learning about the menstruation cycles early, and noticing how our individual bodies respond to the changes throughout, is empowering and important. Tracking rhythms and paying attention to body cues lays the foundation for a lifetime of self-care and well-being. It also helps young people recognize early signs of issues that need attention and gives them confidence to communicate with healthcare providers.
While this workshop does not cover sex, children learn that the body releases an egg each month, and if it is not fertilized, the uterus naturally sheds its lining. Understanding this process helps young people see their bodies as remarkable systems and builds a foundation for future health literacy.
A Foundation for Understanding
This workshop introduces the phases of the menstrual cycle, using the seasons as a guide to explore the characteristics, moods, strengths, and challenges of each phase. The information shared draws from both scientific research and the work of educators and practitioners devoted to understanding and teaching the menstrual cycle.
This framework highlights the importance of becoming attuned to one’s own cycle and encourages participants to listen to and trust their bodies.
Resources for Parents and Educators
Articles & Guides
How Your Menstrual Cycle Works – Aviva Romm – A clear, approachable guide to supporting youth in understanding their cycles.
Cycle Awareness & Education
Red School – Menstrual Cycle Awareness – Articles, podcasts, and courses on understanding cycles, hormonal health, and body literacy.
Videos & Talks
The Power of the Period – Lucy Peach TED Talk – Explores the importance of menstrual literacy and understanding hormonal cycles.