Scoutin' the summer

Girl Scouts day camp coordinator Natalie Roberson beamed at the success of this summer's Girl Scouts day camp.

"Everything's going wonderfully, and I'm happy at the turnout," she said.

The camp began Monday and has attracted nearly 100 Girl Scouts to its various activities.

First-year Girl Scout Ayra Cirilo, 11, said she's having fun at the camp.

"I like going swimming and learning new songs," she said. "I like meeting new friends."

Community Service Director Rheta Duncan said that the girls' variety of activities provides them with an opportunity to learn.

"We want to make sure the kids learn something," she said. "For example, we have ‘Zumba' this year, and the kids have fun and get to exercise."

The activities also allow the girls to learn a wide variety of skills as they gain useful knowledge.

"I like everything about the camp," Isabel Coudding, 6, said. "They teach us how to swim in the deep. We learn new cheers, and we learn about ‘Indian Heritage' and make what Indians make."

Cheryl Crist, director of education and outreach at the Trans-Pecos American Indian Association, said the "Indian Heritage" program focuses on the daily life of Indian children.

"We grind corn and we bring herbs. We show them dried foods, and they make corn bundles with seeds in them," she said. "We give them corn, bean and squash seeds to plant. So if Odessa sees strange plants growing, it was us."

Crist also said the children were very inquisitive.

"They ask us a lot of questions and we listen to stories from the grandfathers on tape," she said.

Co-chair of education and outreach Dela Currier said they've been teaching the children what uses and tools the Indians made of the buffalo.

"We taught them that Indians used every bit of a buffalo," she said. "The hides were used as clothes, bladders were used as canteens and the sinews were used as thread.

"The children were very intrigued by all this," she said.

WHAT'D THEY DO?

>> Computers, Crafts, "Snakes" with Nathan Pettigrew of Odessa College, "Critters" with Ronald Schulze of the Petroleum Museum, "Indian Heritage" with Cheryl Crist and Dela Currier of the Trans-Pecos American Indian Association, Swimming, Zumba class, "Junior Garden Masters."