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Creating Holiday Gifts Together

photo of DIY gifts in mason jars for the holidays

A variety of yummy treats in jars to give as gifts for the holidays.

The Holidays hold some of my fondest memories! Our family would often make special presents for friends and family members. We made things like cookies, candies, breads, and soups that could be shared with others. This can be a fun tradition for your family or 4-H Group to create together!

These gifts usually are not super expensive but can let everyone know you are thinking about them. A lot of times we would make a treat and deliver it along with a container of pre-made mix they could use later to make another serving. That way they know what they are getting and are more likely to make another batch. If this sounds like a fun tradition you may want to incorporate it but remember to be safe while making these special treats. You don’t want to prepare these delights and cause someone to have an allergic reaction or become sick from eating them.

 If you like crafting you can decorate bags, jars, spoons, clean ornaments, mugs etc. A bow, ribbon, piece of fabric, dried flowers, sprigs of fresh flowers, holly or pine can make beautiful packages. Remember a little decoration can go a long way and make your gift giving more economical and festive.

Some of our Extension Colleagues from Kentucky KY1 and KY2, Maine, North Dakota and Iowa have some great recipes to share for gifts in a jar, on a spoon or in a mug. Many of these already have premade tags you can download and attach to the item. It also has the individual recipes you can follow and use to make your own special gifts. If you want to make a chocolate cocoa bomb, Maine had the cocoa mix recipe you can use with your molded chocolate! These are definitely yummy treats your friends and family will enjoy!


4-H offers a wide range of volunteer opportunities to fit your interests, skills, and schedule. For more information about Volunteering with 4-H, or to sign up to help youth develop their life skills, please contact your local UF IFAS County Extension Office or visit Florida 4-H Website

November Celebrates the Military Family and You Can Too

Banner saying Military Families Thank you for your sacrifice and courage

We love our Military Families!

November is a month many of us celebrate our families and have traditions we enjoy annually. November is also designated as the National Military Family Appreciation Month. For our military families it is a time when the country recognizes the nearly 5.2 million service members and their families. UF/IFAS Extension and 4-H are proud to be a part of the military family working with youth centers across the nation to have some consistency for military kids. 4-H works will military programs worldwide to support our military youth at bases and in local communities. We recognize that our military youth must cope with many circumstances while their parent or sibling is working often away from home. Causing a hole created by the absences during many life events. Military life imposes unique demands on the family, from a change in family structure to the stress of someone missing from events, to the worries of a family member being hurt while working.

Since many of us have a little extra time during the holidays there are several things you can do to show your support of our military members and their families. We as non military families celebrate with each other at family/friend gatherings etc. and sometimes forget that our military friends are away from home and missing these traditions. We can help celebrate, recognize, acknowledge, and show gratitude for those sacrifices our military family’s make so each of us can enjoy freedom by sharing our love.
You can do simple things to demonstrate your appreciation and gratitude for their sacrifice, resiliency, and courage.

Show your support by:

American Flags along a curb

Celebrate our Freedom and express your appreciation to military families!

  • Expressing Gratitude and appreciation: You can take a moment to thank military families for their sacrifices and service to the nation. You can send cards, write letters, if you do not know anyone here is a local organization that can help get them to the troops. December 1 is the deadline for Holiday themed cards to go out.  You can give shout outs on social media using the hashtag  #MilitaryFamilyAppreciation
  • Sending care packages to veterans and military families overseas or donate to to Military Support Organizations.
  • Giving the gift of time by: visiting a local veteran, spending time with a military family, or volunteering at a veterans organization (contact your local VFW, American Legion, VA hospital or veteran’s shelter).
  • If you know a military family, open your doors to share the holidays with you by offering help with tasks like childcare, home maintenance, or meal preparation.
  • You can also show your support by participating in community events and initiatives that celebrate and support military families in your area.


    I hope you will join Florida 4-H #Florida4H and our Nation #MilitaryFamilyAppreciation to celebrate Military Family Month, by doing simple things to demonstrate your appreciation and gratitude to our military members and their families! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Calling all aspiring young chefs and inquisitive foodies! New Florida 4-H Food Challenge Virtual Club Coming to You in Your Own Home!

Calling all aspiring young chefs and inquisitive foodies! New Florida 4-H Food Challenge Virtual Club Coming to You in Your Own Home!

Advertisement for virtual 4-H Food Challenge Club

First meeting is Sept 26th at 5:30 EST

I am so thrilled to let you know about a new endeavor with Florida 4-H. We are trying a virtual Food Challenge cooking club this year. This is so exciting for me because some of my fondest memories are cooking with my grandmother and Mom. I got to learn how to prepare foods and be creative as I was growing up pulling on their apron strings. I also enjoyed teaching and sharing these skills with my own children. What makes this even better is now I get to share and learn with all of you who join our program.

Mother and Daughter working together preparing a marinade

Paula and Madelyn Cooking together

By joining the new Virtual 4-H Food Challenge Club, you will embark on a fun, yet challenging, food-focused adventure right from the comfort of your kitchen! The club adventure will provide a fun atmosphere for you and your children to have a family time experience building lasting memories together. With the help from Florida 4-H Youth Development Faculty, you will get to unleash your culinary creativity and try delicious recipes while learning kitchen skills from safety, nutrition, and other food related life skills. Families will learn about competitive events related to foods like the Florida Food Challenge Competition. Families will also have the opportunity to make friends with fellow 4-H members across the state.

The virtual club is open to youth members ages 8-18 and will meet once a month starting in September. The club will meet via ZOOM on the following Tuesdays: September 26th, October 24th, November 28th, December 19th, and January 23rd from 5:30 – 6:30 PM ET. We request that adult supervision is present with the youth during the meeting and home practice sessions. The participants will be asked to gather a list of supplies for each monthly meeting as we focus on a new skill for each meeting.  

Grandmother and two girls working together

Paula’s family working with herbs to prepare a dish.

During this course we will help families enjoy preparing food, provide you with opportunities to problem solve together and work as a family team as practice preparation for the Florida 4-H Food Challenge! If you join us, your family will learn how to prepare and create yummy dishes with a predetermined set of ingredients. By the end of the program, your family should have some new recipes for your cooking toolbox, learned essential cooking skills and created wonderful memories from your time together. Do not miss this flavorful opportunity – sign up now via Florida 4-H Online  and get cooking with 4-H! If you are not a member of a current 4-H Club there is a $20 membership fee associated with this club. If you are unable to join our virtual club, contact your local UF/IFAS Extension office to see if there is an active Food Challenge group that you can join. If not, work with your 4-H or FCS Agent(s) to identify two caring adults who could fill this role. 

Enroll, Grab your ingredients, and get ready to join us via Zoom on September 26th@ 5:30 EST

How to Be An Effective Positive Youth Development Coach

What does it mean to be a coach?  When you hear the word coach, do you picture someone with a whistle on a sports field?  Most of us are probably familiar with sports coaching.  However, the concept of coaching has grown to include life and professional coaching as well!  This expansion of coaching has established that it is a skill that has applications across a broad array of life situations.

If you google professional coaching, you will find a plethora of books available on the topic.  Writer Julie Starr has identified several fundamental coaching skills: building rapport, listening, asking good questions, and giving constructive feedback (Starr, 2021). Those skills sound like the characteristics agents hope to find in a 4-H volunteer!

How Is Coaching Different From Mentoring?

How does coaching differ from mentoring? Zust (2017) contrasted coaching versus mentoring in the business setting, explaining that coaching is a partnership between the coach and the person receiving coaching. The coach helps an individual or team reach or grow toward their potential. Just as a sports coach has a season, a coach in the business setting helps the person or team to reach a goal.  How does coaching translate to the 4-H setting?  In 4-H, youth may want to complete a project or compete in an event. As a volunteer, you can help coach them through a successful experience! In contrast,  Zust (2017) characterizes mentoring as a longer term, developmental process that may not be focused on one particular event or project.   In an earlier blog post, I addressed types of mentoring and mentoring practices.

As a volunteer, you may recognize that the 4-H agent you work with has been coaching you! As a 4-H club volunteer, you also have the opportunity to coach the youth enrolled in the 4-H program.  In this blog post, you will learn about coaching techniques and how to be a more effective coach to the youth in your clubs.  What does it mean to be effective as a coach? In the context of youth development, coaching effectiveness can be defined as the integrated application of “professional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal knowledge to improve youth competence, confidence, connection and character” (Vella et al, 2011).

Tips for coaching.

4-H coaches help youth achieve their goals.

Getting in the Zone (of Proximal Development)

To better understand how to effectively implement coaching with youth, we will consider the following learning concepts: the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and “scaffolding” (Vinson and Parker, 2019).  Vygotsky (1978) defined ZPD as the “distance between actual developmental level as determined by independent problem-solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.”  When I read Vygotsky’s definition of ZPD, I immediately think, “That’s 4-H!”   Youth are able to develop and improve skills, ultimately achieving more with the support of caring adults.  In 4-H, we also encourage youth to apply what they have learned through teaching others.  Several coaching behaviors suggested by Vygotsky include “questioning, demonstrating and introducing the beginnings of task solution” (Vinson and Parker, 2019). These behaviors are ways to use scaffolding as a technique in youth development.

How to Incorporate Scaffolding into Your Coaching Toolkit

Scaffolding is a learning process that can be used as a technique in effective coaching.  This technique can help youth build on existing knowledge they have previously acquired.  The process works similarly for skill-building and “Scaffolding practices provide the opportunity for children to reach higher-level skills by building on and extending their existing skills” (Mincemoyer, 2016).  Three examples of scaffolding strategies that can be used to coach 4-H youth include:

  1. Modeling and demonstrating: Adult volunteers can demonstrate the skill or ask a youth to demonstrate.
  2. Incorporating reflection into the club meeting: Build in time for youth to explain to you and their peers what they learned during a club activity.
  3. Using documentation: Illustrated talks and project books are forms of documentation.  Youth may document their learning with photographs, written descriptions, and even video. This documentation becomes a foundation to build on moving forward as more skills are developed.

(Adapted from Mincemoyer, 2016).

In closing, you may already be engaging in effective coaching strategies as a 4-H volunteer without knowing that was what you were doing!  If coaching is a new concept for you, this blog post should serve as a starting point for further development in your volunteer experience. Your 4-H agent can be an excellent knowledge resource as well as serving in a coaching role for you.

For more information about positive youth development (PYD) strategies or to learn more about becoming a 4-H volunteer, reach out to your local Extension office.

Youth cooking with adult coaches guiding them.

Youth engage in a mock Cooking Challenge with coach support.

Resources for Further Reading

Mincemoyer, C. (2016). “Scaffolding Approaches and Practices.” Penn State Extension. Pennsylvania State University. http://bkc-od-media.vmhost.psu.edu/documents/HO_MIL_GI_Scaffolding.pdf

Starr, J. (2021). The Coaching Manual. 5th edition. Pearson Business.

Vella, Stewart & Oades, Lindsay & Crowe, Trevor. (2011). The Role of the Coach in Facilitating Positive Youth Development: Moving from Theory to Practice. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. 23. 33-48. 10.1080/10413200.2010.511423.

Vinson, D. and Parker, A. (2019) Vygotsky and Sports Coaching: Non-linear practice in youth and adult settings. Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education, 10 (1). pp. 91-106. doi:10.1080/25742981.2018.1555003  ORCID: 0000-0001-6842-3067

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard: Harvard University Press.

Zust, C. (2017).  “Know the Difference Between Coaching and Mentoring.” Kent State University. https://www.kent.edu/yourtrainingpartner/know-difference-between-coaching-and-mentoring

 

 

Teens As Teachers: Using The Peer Teaching Model in 4-H

Teens As Teachers: Using The Peer Teaching Model in 4-H

A volunteer is helping a child with a hammering craft project.

We know that younger youth look up to older youth and like to model their behaviors. We see it in siblings all the time, absorbing behaviors of their older brothers or sisters like sponges.  Often times, younger youth find the attention and encouragement of older youth more relatable due to the closeness in age. Peer teaching fosters a more engaging and even symbiotic learning experience as this gives teens the opportunity to share and reinforce their own knowledge. In addition, by pairing the two age groups together in a learning environment, a sense of comradery can develop, creating a greater sense of belonging within the 4-H community. In this post, we will define peer teaching, share a few examples of how to utilize your teens as teachers and provide tips for getting peer teaching started in your clubs and other 4-H events and activities successfully.

A quote that states, "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." by Benjamin Franklin.

WHAT IS PEER TEACHING?

What do we mean by peer teaching exactly? It is the process of youth learning together and from each other through engaging, hands-on activities. In 4-H, we have the wonderful ability to utilize teens as volunteers and positive role models for our younger youth in our positive youth development programs. Empowering our teens as teachers for our younger members allows life skills to develop among our youth being instructed and also the instructors. The teen instructors are teaching specific topics to their peers at the same time they are strengthening their own leadership, communication, and social skills.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF PEER TEACHING?

As stated previously, one of the greatest outcomes is that the teacher and the student both gain knowledge and skills. It creates a mutually beneficial environment in which all youth can achieve personal growth and development if implemented and managed correctly. In addition, there are many other benefits of peer teaching such as:

  • Peers being taught may form a quicker and better connection with teens due to communication, technology and other trends.
  • An increase in peer confidence as they may feel more comfortable in asking questions, discussing topics with others closer to their age.
  • Greater creativity as teens may have more innovative or modern ideas to bring to the activities.
  • An increase in volunteers as teens have the ability to recruit more teens easier than typical adult volunteers.
  • An increase in retention of youth as peers stay in the program and become the next generation of teen volunteers/teachers.

WHAT DOES PEER TEACHING LOOK LIKE IN 4-H?

Below are just a few programs for teens to practice the method of peer teaching in their 4-H county:

  • New Members – When new youth join 4-H, it can be overwhelming at times to learn some of the 4-H activities, customs, and such. This would be a great opportunity for peer teaching. Have teens assigned to new members that join in order to teach them the 4-H pledge, motto, club expectations, member names, etc. This creates a greater sense of belonging and fosters a supportive environment within the club for new members to engage more quickly and successfully.
  • Cloverbud Club Meetings – Utilizing your teen members in club meetings involving Cloverbuds (members ages 5-7) is a great way to incorporate peer teaching in your 4-H program. Younger members thrive off of creativity and enthusiasm which teens often portray easily. Teens can funnel this energy into teaching lessons to Cloverbuds that are engaging and interactive in a simplistic way.
  • Summer Day Camps – 4-H programs often times need additional volunteers during the summer to assist with the volume of programming and youth participants. Therefore, summer is a great time to recruit teens to become peer teachers. Having teens as peer teachers helps with supervision and instruction while at the same time, allows them to stay involved in 4-H, continue to apply their life skills learned, and help the program teach life skills to other youth in the community.

TIPS TO GET PEER TEACHING STARTED IN YOUR 4-H COUNTY

What does it take to get peer teaching started in your 4-H county? Time and patience to start with. Teaching with teens is an ongoing task and will take a little effort on your part. Below are a few tips to get you started on having teens peer teach in your county:

  • Identify programming that would benefit by peer teaching.
  • Recruit quality teen teachers.
  • Train and support teens as peer teachers.
  • Assign teens appropriate roles in the peer teacher process.
  • Model appropriate teaching methods in 4-H programs.
  • Shadow teens in the role as peer teachers to provide support and guidance.
  • Evaluate, provide feedback, and continue professional development for continued success.

Remember, peer teaching is a great way to utilize teen members in your 4-H programs. Younger youth need as many positive role models as possible in their lives. By having teen teachers take the lead in instruction in your 4-H programs, you are fostering an environment of learning, inclusivity, empowerment, and leadership.

To learn more about 4-H opportunities where teens can take the lead as teachers for their peers, please contact your local UF IFAS County Extension Office, or visit http://florida4h.org.

ADDITIONAL SOURCES:

Burse, G., Crocker, E. T., Jordan, J., McKinney, M., & Murphy, L. (2021). Teens as Teachers 4-H Project: Curriculum and Resources. UF/IFAS Extension, University of Florida. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/4H432

Eckhoff, A., & Swistock, B. (2011). Staffing with Teenagers and Teens as Cross-Age Teachers. Rutgers Cooperative Extension.

5 Ways to Be a Great Mentor to 4-H Youth

5 Ways to Be a Great Mentor to 4-H Youth

4-H functions most effectively as a youth-adult partnership that fosters positive youth development. Youth-adult partnerships can take several forms. One form is a mentoring relationship between a caring adult volunteer and a 4-H youth.

Mentoring is a relationship-based process that occurs over time.  The mentoring process can be formal or informal.  This blog post will explore what it means to be a mentor and the importance of mentoring roles in youth development.  The person being mentored may be referred to as a protégé or as a mentee. Mentoring is not a one-way relationship. The relationship can fulfill professional and socioemotional needs for both mentor and protégé  (Inzer & Crawford, 2005).

Formal mentoring tends to occur within an organizational structure.  A senior member of an organization or an adult may be assigned to serve in a mentoring role to a new member or to a youth.  Informal mentoring relationships are voluntarily formed between two people who choose each other (Inzer & Crawford, 2005). A third, hybrid approach known as youth-initiated mentoring (YIM) is also an option as a model and may be optimal for building mentor relationships in 4-H programs (van Dam L. B., 2021).

List of mentoring roles.

Mentors play one or more of these five roles for mentees.

5 Roles of the Mentor

The following mentoring roles can be accomplished within a formal or informal mentor relationship:

  1. Goal Setter: Help identify and prioritize the goals of the person you are mentoring.
  2. Adviser: Provide advice and guidance, often based on life experience and organizational knowledge.
  3. Cheerleader: Encourage positive actions and celebrate success.
  4. Growth Cultivator: Suggest activities that will help the person grow.
  5. Role Model: Serve as a model of potential success and provide real-life examples of how to surmount obstacles.

Goal Setter: The mentor as goal setter helps the youth to identify potential goals to set. Mentors can also play an important role in teaching youth how to balance and prioritize goals.  For example, Susy may want to win a blue ribbon at the livestock show.  At the same time, Susy is also trying to maintain a 4.0-grade average and work part-time.  Susy’s mentor can help her to set realistic goals that help her to develop time management skills.

Adviser: It can be helpful for youth to learn from the experiences of others.  For example, Michael wants to become state 4-H president.  He has connected with adult volunteer Cory, who was state president when he was a 4-H youth.  Cory serves as a sounding board and often shares how he learned from mistakes and was able to build on his successes to achieve his leadership goal.

Cheerleader: The cheerleader role may seem simple but also the most important.   Celebrating youth successes – whether large or small – can make a big difference in a child’s life. Marking success with recognition and encouragement helps to reinforce positive behavior and helps to build a foundation for continued achievement.  For example, Anna has been working on her aim during archer

y club practice.  She wants to compete in an upcoming match.   You observe her stance and coach her to adjust her posture.  Anna is now able to hit the center target three out of four times.  You praise her improvement and celebrate the achievement with her, sharing an exuberant high five.

Growth Cultivator:  4-H professionals and volunteers often refer to growing leaders and “making the best better” – the growth cultivator does these things. As a growth cultivator, a mentor helps to point youth in the direction of the next and most appropriate challenge that will help foster positive development.  For example, Nathan has prepared a strong project board display for the county fair.  You suggest he use that project board to develop an illustrated talk for district showcase.

Role Model: Serving as a role model for youth may seem like a full-time job!  However, the key part of being a role model is honesty.  Role models do not have to be perfect, but modeling honesty and how to be accountable when mistakes are made are critical elements of being a good role model.  For example, you are usually early to club activities, greeting everyone with a smile and a personal acknowledgment when they come through the door.  On the way to a district council meeting, you encounter heavy traffic and run late.  When you arrive, your club youth members are already there and a 4-H agent has started the meeting.  At the break, you shrug off your poor mood and tell your youth, “I didn’t leave early enough to allow for rush hour traffic.  That is on me.  I appreciate how you were all here on time and were able to participate in the meeting before I arrived.”

3 Key Elements of Effective Mentoring

A robust, growing body of research on youth mentoring suggests that a hybrid model of targeted mentoring and relational bond mentoring may produce the best outcomes for youth development (Christensen, 2020).  Targeted mentoring involves a relationship focusing on a specific outcome or behavior – such as academic or career mentoring.   Relational bond mentoring focuses on developing rapport and may present a more holistic approach. 4-H is built on a developmental model that uses this hybrid approach. Youth-adult relationships may initially form to reach specific goals – such as completing a project. Over time, as the youth becomes more involved with the program, relational bonds may develop.  Research by Raposa et al (2019) suggests that effective youth mentoring involves an “interconnected set of three processes (i.e., social-emotional, cognitive, and identity formation processes) through which the establishment of close, caring relationships with non-parental adults are expected to promote positive developmental trajectories” (Raposa, 2019). Effective youth mentoring is likely to incorporate all three of these elements: social-emotional, cognitive, and identity formation processes.

How Does Youth-Initiated Mentoring (YIM) Work?

4-H can have an important role in providing a structured, safe environment where youth choose and develop mentoring relationships. One way to establish these type of mentoring relationships is youth-initiated mentoring (YIM). YIM is a hybrid approach in which youths and their families are helped to identify and recruit caring adult mentors from within their existing social networks (van Dam L. R., 2021).

The 4-H youth-adult partnership model provides a structure for helping youth to identify, recruit, and maintain connections with caring adults (van Dam L. B., 2021). The key elements in YIM are youth agency and choice in establishing and maintaining relationships.

4-H serves as mentor leading youth in poultry science.

Club leader teaches poultry anatomy to youth.

Which Type of Mentor Role Fits?

The mentor role that best fits you and your mentee may incorporate one or more of the five mentor roles. It is likely that at some point during a long-term mentoring relationship a mentor will have played all of the five roles in supporting their mentor.

Become a Mentor with 4-H!

As a 4-H volunteer, you will opportunities to serve as a mentor to youth looking to form relationships with caring adults.  To learn more about how to get involved, reach out to your local UF/IFAS County Extension office.

References:

  • Christensen, K. H. (2020). Non-Specific versus Targeted Approaches to Youth Mentoring: A Follow-up Meta-analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 959–972.
  • Inzer, L., & Crawford, C. (2005). A Review of Formal and Informal Mentoring: Processes, Problems, and Design. Journal of Leadership Education, 33-50.
  • Raposa, E. R. (2019). The Effects of Youth Mentoring Programs: A Meta-analysis of Outcome Studies. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 423–443.
  • van Dam, L. B. (2021). Youth Initiated Mentoring: A Meta-analytic Study of a Hybrid Approach to Youth Mentoring. J Youth Adolescence, 219–230.
  • van Dam, L. R. (2021). Youth-Initiated Mentoring as a Scalable Approach to Addressing Mental Health Problems During the COVID-19 Crisis. JAMA Psychiatry, 818.