One of the things that we added to our homeschooling last year was 4-H. My Mom was shocked when I told her that we were going to sign up for 4-H, thinking that it was just for people with farm animals. While there are, indeed, a lot of farm animals, there are probably more children in our county who don’t have any animal projects than those who do.
Since it was our first year of 4-H, each of my boys just signed up for a couple of projects. I have to admit that we also then put off doing them. We were just a little confused about how to know what to do. After a sit down with one of my friends who is very involved with 4-H, we finally understood and were ready to work. Unfortunately, life stepped in (with the death of my Grandma and my Mom’s heart surgery), and we put it off way too long.
We did get projects turned in though, and the boys did really well. It was a huge boost to their confidence, and they got extra excited as we visited the county fair and they got to see all of the projects that were displayed.
Because of their excitement (and mine!), I have specifically blocked off time in our school year to work on 4-H projects. Not only will they be able to pick some of their projects, but we will also do some that I think would just work especially well for school (such as for both of the boys to do a health project).
I’m very excited to add 4-H projects to our curriculum this year! If you’ve never looked into 4-H before, I highly recommend it (Even if you just decided to buy the materials and do the projects without entering them into your county fair)! Do your children participate in 4-H? If so, what have been some of their favorite projects?
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I can’t wait until my girls are old enough to do 4-H!! We have a few years to wait though. In our area, there’s a program for little kids (I think it’s called cloverbuds?) but we haven’t found out the details on what it is yet.
Kimberly´s last [type] ..11 in 2011- Day 5
I’ll have to look that up. I think if I remember correctly, there wasn’t one close to us.
Jenny´s last [type] ..Happy New Year
We tried doing 4H back in Maryland through a new homeschool group. Sadly, most of us had no clue or guidance and the kids were not so motivated to self lead. So, it only lasted a few months with few of the participants doing anything.
I have considered just getting some of their materials to use in our studies. With all the boys active in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, we have plenty of activity in our lives.
4H is amazing! I am a sophmore in high school and have been in it for 6 years. I can’t say enough, go for it! I have served on the executive board, the council, and in office at our club and as an Ambassador for years. There are so many wonderful learning activities in 4H, right now in our county we are working on getting an Alpaca program started even! And it is so much more than animals, so much more! Once you start getting more involved in 4H and once your kiddos are old enough to start serving on board and attending out of county events (state fair, YELLOW, BLU, and CFW and Leadership Retreats) you will start to realize how much work goes into it from adult volunteers and how many problems are actually happening that are looking for solutions in, but you’ll love 4H by then, so you’ll probably stress yourself out trying to help figure them out yourself, like myself! When I think of some of my favorite memories, many of them are in 4H – all of my best friends are in 4H, and 4H has just really helped me explore my interests more!
Reyna´s last [type] ..Important update – Newsletter Subscribers
My daughter did 4-H for years. There were so many opportunities for projects as well as leadership roles. I think it is a great resource for homeschoolers!
I loved our 4-H years. I had cement cakes from state fair in my closet for years! Thanks for hosting, Angie.
evann´s last [type] ..Joyeux anniversaire- Jeanne d’Arc
We thought about joining 4-H this year but it conflicted with our drama classes. We do have chickens and thought it would be a great way to bring the two together and our 4-H has a thriving archery group. Maybe next year.
Blessings
Diane
Diane´s last [type] ..Using What They Love
We do 4H as well and find it works REALLY WELL with homeschool families! Enjoy!
Dawn @ Guiding Light´s last [type] ..Tot School- FINALLY! 1-10-11
I really want to do this….am thinking chickens. Or rabbits. We’ll see. There always seems to be a life issue.