By MAGGIE MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
Over 130 local girls aged 8-11 gathered on Friday, Aug. 11 to participate in the Logandale Nevada Stake Activity Days Day Camp sponsored by the LDS church. The girls were treated to a day-long camp that consisted of six different lessons and activities on a rotation schedule.
Stake leadership has been holding this activity for several years, although typically later in the summer. But due to the earlier start to school this year, the date of the camp was moved up as well.
Girls and their leaders were each given a purple backpack to personalize and to hold all the projects that they would collect throughout the day. They were then divided into six groups and sent to various classrooms to begin the fun.
All of the stations, including lunch, decorations, and cleanup, were run by different ward primary and activity day leaders.
Topics included subjects of interest to young girls. They attended a class on proper health and nutrition that included instruction on proper diet and making good food choices. The girls also got to participate in active games that got them moving.
Another class discussed personal history. Church members believe that keeping a history of both their lives and that of ancestors is important. So each girl was given a notebook to begin a journal. Girls were also given a variety of scrapbook papers and embellishments so they each could decorate and put a personal touch on their creations.
The girls next moved on to a class on kindness and making friends. It touched on the importance of being a good friend and including others. To help the girls remember this, each was given string and beads to make friendship bracelets that they each proudly sported for the rest of the day.
The stake center where the activity was held also contains a fully operational family history library. One rotation took advantage of that facility by exploring how technology in the library could help them in a search to discover their ancestors.
Another rotation was a painting craft where girls got to paint a block of wood. Each then affixed a picture of an LDS temple to their block to display in their room.
The last workshop covered tips on budgeting and smart shopping that even young girls could do. They were encouraged to always save some money and make a plan for how to make the rest of their money stretch the farthest.
The day was a success and the girls all had a great time. Miyah Macias, 10, said, “I learned a lot about budgets and how you have to stay in them. I also learned about family history and that was really interesting.”
Parent volunteer Ashley Bowler came to enjoy the day with her daughter and her daughter’s friends. “It was really a lovely day,” Bowler said. “Everyone put together fun activities for the girls and I was impressed with how well-planned everything was.”
The event was organized by Stake Primary Counselor Karleena Landini, who was also pleased with how things went. Landini said, “We had a great variety of classes and activities so there was something for everyone and everyone seemed to have a great time.”
