Program registration underway through Sept 25
(ROCKWALL, TX – August 12, 2015) For all the dads out there who a part of this fast-paced era full of new and developing technology, finding true quality time to spend with the kids that doesn’t involve a movie or video game can be quite the challenge.
But here’s the good news: with the JER Chilton YMCA’s Adventure Guide program, fathers and their kids can enjoy all kinds of wonderfully exciting adventures together in the great outdoors, away from the television screen.
Designed to strengthen the relationship and bond between dads and their children between the grades of K-4, the Adventure Guide program features all kinds of super fun activities for dads and their children, including Zip-lining, fishing, campouts, archery, hiking, canoeing and horseback riding.
For Jacob Linscott, head navigator of the program, and his sons Connor (10) and Sean (8), Adventure Guides has meant getting to spend that very important quality time together and strengthening that bond between a father and his sons.
“I like Adventure Guides a lot because I get to spend a lot of time with my dad,” said Connor, who graduated from the program last year. Sean will undergo his fourth year in the program this Fall.
The program brought about a complete and almost immediate personality change in Connor. Before Adventure Guides, Connor was never too keen on outdoor activities such as camping, but instantly became hooked after his first Adventure Guides camping trip with his dad.
“He was doing things at the kindergarten age that the second and third graders were too freaked out to do,” Jacob said, including a stomach-dropping free fall swing from “The Screamer” and zip-lining at high speeds up at Sky Ranch in Van, TX.
Jacob said the best part about the program aside from the quality time with the kids is that it gets kids away from television and electronics and keeps them active outdoors.
“It’s outside of a normal environment, which is the biggest thing because you’re not sitting there watching TV or playing video games,” Jacob said. “It’s something very different.”
According to Tracy Linscott, Adventure Guides coordinator and mother to Connor and Sean, the program also has a host of different special events and activities scheduled on a monthly and annual basis, such as the father-son indoor skydiving event at iFLY Dallas and overnight stays at the Fort Worth Zoo and Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas.
“I’m always trying to find that really cool thing that they haven’t done and always trying to add a new twist on it so it doesn’t end up being the same activities year in and year out,” Tracy said.
The program’s annual Father-Daughter Banquet and Dance at Southfork Ranch has always been a huge event encompassing a night of exciting dining and dancing. Other monthly Adventure Guides events include:
Pumpkin Carving – Great time for dads and their children to show their creativity making Halloween pumpkins.
Turkey Shoot – Test your skills on the BB gun shooting range by taking aim at paper turkey targets.
Rocket Day – Build and shoot rockets together on this incredible day. Watch as dads and their children “light up” watching their rocket shoot for the stars.
Pinewood Derby Day – Let the good times roll as dads and their children race their derby cars to the finish line. Derby Day is fun for the whole family with prizes for the fastest and best decorated cars.
Adventure Guides will hold its annual Induction Ceremony – a formal around the council fire inducting new dads and their children into the program – on Saturday, Sept. 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the JER Chilton YMCA. The new inductees will receive a vest, compass, starter patch and get to choose a name for their Adventure Guide group.
Those interested in registering for the program may contact Tracy Linscott at 214-450-5914. Registration ends on September 25, and registration forms can be found online at http://www.ymcadallas.org/locations/jerchiltonymca/adventure_guides/.
By Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News staff writer and reporter.
To share your good news and events, email editor@BlueRibbonNews.com.
Please click here to LIKE our Facebook page, so we can reach more people with good news like this!
Adventure Guides brings dads and kids together – outdoors added by Editor on
View all posts by Editor →