Summertime Activities for Activity Day Girls

The last few years, we've had a terrible time holding activity days in the summer.  The attendance is often terrible.  Our stake leaders suggested fewer activities, but doing fieldtrips to draw more participation.  We did this activity on a Saturday morning right after the fathers & sons got home from the annual Father/Sons (11am), so lots of people were in town.  Also the girls were so happy to go in the mountains since their Dads and brothers got to.

It was our best activity ever and had great attendance.

(this could be a father/daugher or mother/daughter or it could be used for the "plan an activity" goal if the girls plan out the details like who to invite, when, where, lesson, etc)  We met at my house with four leaders and about 12 girls (and two babies) and had a lesson on appreciating Heavenly Father's creations.  Each girl brought a potluck trail mix ingredient and we mixed it in a giant bowl and put it in ziplocs.  We left about 30 minutes after gathering and drove 30 minutes to the trailhead.  We were on the trail about an hour  to an hour and a half.  Our hike was super short (.3 miles) to a waterfall.  The older girls wished they could have hiked farther, but had fun playing in the water.  I thought this was a good starter hike for 8 year old girls.  Overall it was a 3 hour activity.  We are going to a free art museum with a children's exhibit in July (Developing Talents) and doing water games in August (we'll probably do a My Gospel Standards lesson with that one) and then back to a regular schedule when school starts.  Oh, and you can find the required church permission slips for field trips on LDS.org.  Be sure to bring a first-aid kit, benadryl, sunblock, and extra water etc just in case!