I have been in the Stake Primary for a number of years now, but it wasn’t until the last year or so that we started holding Stake Activities for the Activity Day girls. We have one large activity and one smaller activity each year for girls ages 8-11. This was one of our larger, more planned out activities and I thought I would share it with you.
We did something different this time around and it was huge part of the success of this activity. What is that you ask? We involved the young women. The activity day girls will be moving on to the Young Women program at some point, many have sisters in the program now and look up to them. So we wanted to involve them in all the aspects of our activity.
(Some of the young women who helped at the check-in table)
Our two hour camp started by having the girls check in at the check-in table (see above picture). They got a name badge and a necklace pen (which we have them turn in at the end so they can be re-used at the next activity). After checking in, each girl was given a “get-to-know-you” activity sheet where she had to find other girls that met the requirements on the paper and have them sign it. (For example, “Find someone who has traveled out of the state/country”….or “Find someone who is an only child”….or “Find someone who has a birthday in the summer”, etc.) Leaders helped the girls get the activity started as some were rather shy. Once it got going, no one wanted to stop! This gave us a small window of time to check in all the girls and answer parents questions regarding pick up or otherwise.
(The girls completing their get-to-know-you cards)
After giving them a short time to mingle with each other, we divided the girls into two groups: ages 8 & 9 and ages 10 & 11. The younger girls went to a class that highlighted several topics. The young women taught the importance of good friends, modesty, good hygiene, manners, how to set a table, etc.
One of the leaders prepared a power point presentation to work through and they had a lot of discussion, games and they practiced how to set a table. Each girl got to take a rose home as a keepsake for their own dinner table.
(A closer up view of some of the handouts)
The older girls were then taken to a babysitting clinic where they were introduced to things they would need to know once they started babysitting. The girls were divided up into smaller groups where they rotated through stations prepared by the young women which included: CPR, how to make a bottle and snacks, easy games to play with children, how to make macaroni and cheese (they made this together in the kitchen), etc.
(CPR class)
Once the class rotations finished, we all met in the gym for a guest speaker who was asked to speak on the theme, “Because I am a child of God, I can do anything!” We selected a young woman from our Stake that exemplified our theme. She was called on a mission to Peru, came home on medical leave and went back out into the field serving in New Jersey. When she returned home she got a job teaching at the MTC. She now travels all over the world and has accomplished some amazing things and we wanted the girls to get-to-know her.
She was incredible and very engaging. She told the girls that as she thought about our theme, there were four areas that as a child of God that helped “anchor” her as a young girl. These three things helped her to do anything. They were faith (reading scriptures/prayers), friends – the importance of good friends and being a good friend and developing her talents.
Overall, it was a very simple, inexpensive but very wonderful activity! We love our Activity Day girls!
