by Marcus Boston Jr. | Sep 27, 2013
Leon County 4-H youth displaying ribbons at North Florida Fair
The arrival of the fall love bugs, the leaves changing colors and falling to the ground, and the sounds of bands rehearsing and cheerleaders chanting can only mean one thing in North Florida……no it’s not time to shop for Christmas gifts…even though it’s just around the corner, but instead, it means it’s almost FAIR TIME! Fair time is not only viewed as the first official 4-H program kickoff event where most of the club participants can play a part, but it’s also a time where youth take pride in showing off the work they have completed in their clubs.
The fair is a venue for 4-H youth to put their 4-H work on display and in many cases receive premium money based on the quality of their entries. The fair also provides opportunities for competitive events to take place and for some youth to showcase their animals they have worked with and cared for during the past year.
Can a youth’s participation in the fair help to development them into a responsible adult? The answer is yes! The 4-H program seeks to be inclusive to all youth by using a variety of vehicles to teach youth life skills in traditional and non-traditional settings. The vehicles used with fairs could be exhibits, animals, competitions, booths, and the list goes on and on. A recent article in The Journal of Extension by Oregon State professionals found that “having fun” and“ spending time with friends” and “teamwork” were the highest rated motivators for participation in the fair. 
The study also revealed that participation in fairs through 4-H had a significant positive effect on participants levels of caring, contribution, and character. These characteristics are also part of the Essential Elements of 4-H that youth experience by being in an active 4-H program throughout the year. Those elements are Belonging, Independence, Generosity, and Mastery.
These results support the conclusion that participation in county 4-H fairs do contribute to the positive development of youth. Research shows that people as a whole learn more when they are having fun and the activities and events at fairs or no exception. By setting “fair” goals that are not tied to premium money but instead to the warm fuzzies felt by youth when they feel they have contributed to a worthwhile event is the right recipe that’s sure to earn them a blue ribbon for life. So, make plans to utilize the events in your local or regional fairs to help teach your youth life skills. If you choose project entries, and need additional help getting those submitted, please contact your local 4-H agent and request a copy of the Document entitled “Getting 4-H Exhibits Ready For The Fair”.
More information on this study can be obtained by visiting the Journal of Extension at www.joe.org and viewing volume 45, number 6.(Arnold, Meinhold, Skubinna, and Asthton)
by Heather Kent | Sep 18, 2013
LEGOLAND is sponsoring the 1st Annual 4-H Day at LEGOLAND on Saturday, September 28th– just in time for 4-H Club Kickoffs! Florida 4-H Families will be able to purchase tickets to LEGOLAND theme park for $30.00 each (regular price is $75.00). In addition, $5.00 from every ticket sold will go to the Florida 4-H Foundation to support 4-H Clubs and Educational Events.
Order up to 20 tickets in one transaction at: https://secure4.gatewayticketing.com/LegolandFlorida/shop/ViewItems.aspx?CG=4h&C=4h . Tickets are good for both youth and adults. For an additional $15.00/person, you can upgrade your ticket at the gate to include access to the water park. Upon arrival, youth can sign up for free robotics workshops to learn about WeDo, Mindstorms, and the new EV3 robotics kits.
LEGOLAND is a theme park with rides, a water park, educational exhibits, Florida Department of Agriculture Greenhouse, Botanical Gardens and much more. To learn more about LEGOLAND, visit their website at: http://florida.legoland.com/. For questions, please contact Annie Muscato, afmuscato@ufl.edu or Heather Kent hckent@ufl.edu.
by Heather Kent | Sep 17, 2013
Last night, Dr. Paula Davis taught us how we can make a difference by empowering youth to plan and lead effective club meetings. We even practiced parliamentary procedure by making trail mix. Whitney Cherry explained proper 4-H emblem usage and how to secure permission to use the 4-H name and emblem for your club.
All of the games and reference materials are available from our website at: https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/4hn/category/volunteer-training/make-a-difference-mondays/. The door prize winner for August was Edward Owen from Walton County. He won a 4-H Club Kit, containing everything you need to run a club meeting. September winners will be announced next week.
Due to feedback from volunteers like you, we have adjusted our training schedule so that the next session, October 21st, will be on Risk Management. 4-H Specialist Dr. Dale Pracht will be sharing valuable best practices for creating safe and secure environments for 4-H club meetings and events. Please invite any 4-H teens, parents or volunteers that you feel would benefit from this session!
When volunteers share their skills and expertise with youth during 4-H club meetings, youth learn valuable life and leadership skills.
Volunteers like you help 4-H make a difference in over 300,000 Florida 4-H youth each year!
by Whitney Cherry | Sep 16, 2013
Our first session of Make a Difference Mondays was a huge success, and we are very excited to see each of you tonight for round two. If you were not able to join us last month, you are still welcome to attend tonight. We would love to have you!
The session will be offered at your local UF/IFAS Extension Office, or you can join us online from home at 6:00 PM CDT/7:00 PM EDT. Don’t forget to sign in, so we can enter you in the drawing for tonight’s door prizes. Additionally, each time you attend a session of Make a Difference Mondays and sign the sign in sheet (there is one available for online participants as well) your name will be entered in the grand prize drawings to be held in April.
Thank you all again for helping us to “Make the Best Better”!
For more information on how to join the conference online visit: https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/4hn/make-a-difference-mondays/
by Whitney Cherry | Jul 8, 2013
The National Association of Extension 4-H Agents has awarded the 4-H agents in the Northwest Extension District of Florida their national award for Excellence in 4-H Volunteerism. This award is given to the agent or group of agents who show(s) an unequaled dedication to providing quality volunteer development programs. In our district, each county provides local volunteer training and development, but we also work as a district to bring you opportunities like our district-wide volunteer leader forum at 4-H Camp Timpoochee and district-wide shooting sports volunteer trainings in each discipline each year.
While the agents are to be congratulated for working hard and receiving this award, many thanks go to our wonderful volunteers throughout the district who support 4-H programming in Florida. Every club leader, project leader, camp volunteer, fair judge, and so on, is in part responsible for the success of Florida 4-H. We are so grateful for your unwavering dedication to 4-H Youth Development. Furthermore, we invite you to continue to help us “Make the Best Better” through our Make a Difference Monday’s volunteer training series. The series will begin August 19, 2013 and will run the third Monday of every month through April 2014. Your local extension office will be able to provide you with further details including topics for each session in the series.
by John Wells | Jul 1, 2011
Allison Meharg
Livestock/4-H Extension Agent
Escambia County Extension Office
3740 Stefani Rd
Cantonment, FL 32533
allisonm@ufl.edu
(850) 475-5230 ex. 102
iPads. While that may seem like the most common word today, five years ago it didn’t even exist. The world has really changed dramatically and 4-H is changing with it in order serve every child. iPads are an important piece of technology that we can use to reach youth in our counties. Along with being extremely portable and versatile, they open a new world to kids that they can really touch and see.
Apple’s iPad has lots of uses within the education field, especially 4-H. Our ability o be creative and not constrained in program development allows agents the opportunity to take full advantage of many features that a traditional classroom would not. Apps are the main source of educational material and total in the hundreds of thousands to choose from. One in particular that students may already be familiar with is the various Stargazer apps. These apps allow the user to aim the device (iPad, iPhone, Driod) at the sky and identify constellations. The technology could be used in a youth astronomy program or twilight activity. Even on a cloudy night, youth can still see the constellations and identify the different parts of the sky. Apps also include recipe books, NASA educational information, drawing, and video software. Youth have thousands of options to choose from in order incorporate iPads into 4-H programs.
A second use for the iPads is with all our local county council and teen leader groups. We struggle sometimes with converting student minutes into a workable format or keeping track of all the business information conducted in their meetings. The iPads put everything at the member’s fingertips. They can keep minutes, take photos or videos, use to show information through a projector, as well as simply keeping roll on Excel. While it’s not the answer to every problem, an iPad does provide a compact source of information for our youth to utilize.
Tablets are a source of technology that allows the user to create their own path. iPads are a user driven device and can used in a variety of ways within our traditional programs. It is up to each agent or volunteer to determine the best program benefit from an iPad. With such a new technology thousands of uses are still to be discovered, but the available apps and features on the tablet open a new world of possibilities for our 4-H programs.
