by Jena Gilmore | Mar 27, 2020
4-H is known for creating safe and inclusive environments. Many may argue this could be incredibly difficult now in the wake of the Coronavirus sweeping Florida, however, where some may see resistance, 4-H shows our resiliency. Across Florida, 4-H Agents have been brainstorming a multitude of ways to continue serving their clientele and practicing what we pledge by…
”My Head to clearer thinking, my Heart to greater loyalty, my Hands to larger service and my Health to better living, for my Club, my Community, my Country, and my World.
Within the Northwest District, there are currently many alternative programs to engage our 4-H members and volunteers during this time of “social distancing.” Interactive meetings, webinars, and interviews are provided through online streaming platforms that allow members to call in or connect via their smartphones, tablets and computers. Other alternatives include utilizing Youtube Channels or Facebook to stream recorded videos of activities for youth and adults. Consider exploring some of our many options below and join us on our new virtual adventure in experiential learning 4-H style!
Virtual Opportunities for Youth
Embryology, which is typically delivered as a school enrichment program, can now be viewed live on some county 4-H websites and Facebook pages. Agents and 4-H volunteers are also offering virtual livestock judging options so judging teams can continue to build their knowledge base for competitions along with Virtual Farm Tours in some areas. Other counties are banding together to deliver daily activities for youth via recorded series posted on their Facebook pages that highlight different themed days of the week.
- Escambia County 4-H Virtual Embryology Experience
- Register via their Eventbrite for full access to videos, webinars and resources
- 4-H Life Skills Masters Daily Series via Holmes & Walton 4-H County Facebook Pages
- Daily themes with activities include: Make It Mondays, Tasty Tuesdays, Water Wednesdays, Tackle It Thursdays & Fitness Fridays
- Washington County 4-H Project Showcase via Flipgrid
- Compete within your 4-H Showcase project area virtually with Mrs. Julie
- Jackson County Virtual Poultry Judging
- Jackson County Agriculture Virtual Day Camps
- This series is posted on their Facebook page and can be reviewed even after the event!
- Freezer & Fridge hacks with Calhoun County 4-H
- Learn tricks and tips of preserving all those extra groceries during your COVID-19 prep
- Liberty County 4-H detEGGtives investigate the 21-day countdown to Hatching with my Peeps
- Wakulla County 4-H shares Facebook Live daily updates and content from across Florida 4-H
- Leon County 4-H takes you on a virtual farm tour!
- Leon County 4-H Virtual Showcase
- Compete virtually and potentially win cash prizes for your clubs along with individual prizes and recognition…WIN:WIN!
Virtual Opportunities for Volunteers
Volunteer based programming has shifted to virtual as well! Currently, each month a webinar is hosted which highlights different topic areas related to delivering a well balanced 4-H program to your club members. Topics so far have included Preparing for County Showcase (aka County Events), Professional 4-H Portfolio Tips, and 4-H Project and Record Book Tips. You can register for the Virtual Volunteer Leadership Academy through our Eventbrite link and receive calendar invitations, reminders, and links so you can tune in LIVE or watch the recorded sessions later. Our team also provides you with all the resources discussed in each section. Registration is required and can be found at http://bit.ly/4HVVLA
4-H Virtual Volunteer Leadership Academy
- April- Awards & Recognition
- September*- Judging Contests
- October*- Preparing for Exhibits & Shows
*Fall session registration will be available July 1, 2020.
Subscribe to our NW District YouTube Channel for recorded sessions
If you would like to learn more about the 4-H opportunities available in your county, please contact your local UF IFAS County Extension Office, or visit http://florida4h.org. Now is a great time to join the 4-H family!
by Niki Crawson | Dec 6, 2019
Each third Thursday of the month starting in January 2020, we will be offering the 4-H Virtual Volunteer Leadership Academy at 11:30 AM Central. Join us as we share a different topic each month that will give our volunteers more knowledge and tools that will help positively impact the youth in our communities as well as the opportunity to network with other volunteers in the 4-H community! As an added bonus, volunteers will also have the opportunity to earn a digital badge to display on their social media.
Registration Information
Registration is required and can be found at http://bit.ly/4HVVLA Once registered, you can join each session live through Zoom. In addition, if you are unable to connect live, all monthly webinars will be available to you on demand as they are recorded. Register early – seats are limited to the first 100 registrants. As a registered participant, you will have access to all of the sessions available. You will also be able to view them as often as you like. Missed a session? No problem! You will receive a courtesy email letting you know how to access the missed session on demand.
4-H Virtual Volunteer Leadership Academy
- January- Preparing for County Events Showcase
- February- Professional Portfolio Tips
- March- Projects & Record-keeping
- April- Awards & Recognition
- September*- Judging Contests
- October*- Preparing for Exhibits & Shows
*Fall session registration will be available July 1, 2020.
Webinar Viewing Information
Join each live session simply with one click from your phone, tablet or computer, using the Zoom app. Once you have registered, you will receive email communication regarding the Zoom session links, dates and times.
So, go ahead, register now! Secure your seat for the 4-H Virtual Volunteer Leadership Academy! Not a current 4-H volunteer? Not a problem! Join the 4-H family today – the process to become a volunteer is relatively simple: visit http://florida4h.org to apply online or stop in to your local UF IFAS County Extension Office and meet your 4-H Extension Agent for assistance. #4HVVLA
by Julie Pigott Dillard | Oct 3, 2017
Youth should run the business portion, which should be only 1/4 of the meeting time
The very word meeting makes me sigh and roll my eyes. I’ve been to so many that are a waste of time and energy and, let’s face it, boring! Are they ever really productive? Can’t they (please) be more interesting?
Meeting is just another word for get-together, assembly, encounter, engagement, rally or reunion. When 4-H Clubs follow the club meeting model, meetings can actually be fun! The 4-H Club meeting has three distinct parts: business, recreation and educational program. Business should take up 25% of the agenda, the educational program 50% and recreation 25% of your meeting time. The order of your 4-H Club meeting isn’t set in stone; club officers and leaders can be creative in how they set up the agenda for each club meeting.
Dysfunction #1 – Adults Lead the Business Meeting
There’s no way around it; 4-H Clubs have business that needs to be dealt with including roll call, secretary and treasurer reports, committee reports, old and new business and announcements. It’s tempting for club leaders to take over and do this part of the meeting, but our youth learn nothing from this! Some of the most useful skills youth develop come from getting ready for the actual meeting and leading their peers in an organized setting, and as an adult, it’s really cool to see youth get things done efficiently. It’s also important to remember that business doesn’t have to be conducted at every 4-H Club meeting.
Dysfunction #2 – Skimping on the Educational Program
For clubs with younger youth, you can have them lead the pledges.
I’ve seen 4-H Club meetings that were literally 15 minutes long and consisted of only running through a business meeting. It made me cringe, and I know that 4-H parents were thinking the same thing as me… “Did I really leave my house for this?” “I could be sitting at my house in my PJ’s.” “I have three loads of laundry I should be folding.” “Is this all? It took me more time to drive here!” The educational program is the most important part of our 4-H Club meetings! After all, 4-H is in the business of providing high-quality educational experiences for its members, and those experiences can be pretty easy to pull together. Here are a few examples:
- 4-H Club members share what they’re doing with their projects.
- Invite a guest speaker.
- Take a short field trip.
- Show a video.
- Practice for judging contests or do a skill-a-thon.
- Create a fair project.
- Work on a community service project.
Dysfunction #3 – Forgetting the Fun
My co-worker, John Lilly, has a tag line on his email signature – Jefferson County 4-H is the place where there’s fun in learning and learning in fun! I firmly believe that the club that plays together stays together. Why? Because kids are going to want to come back, volunteers are going to stay engaged and most importantly, the parents will bring their kids back. Recreation helps kids make new friends and learn important social skills. Whether it’s through songs, ice-breakers, games, team-building activities or food, don’t forget to inject fun into 4-H meetings.
As a club member, leader or parent, you can help your 4-H Club avoid these three dysfunctions. Good 4-H Club meetings help youth make new friends, develop social skills, increase confidence and leadership and make decisions. To learn more about 4-H Club meetings, visit the florida4h.org and explore our Volunteer Training Series. The information here is great for club leaders but also for youth leaders and parents.
by Heather Kent | Jun 15, 2017
4-H Judging Contests, like horticulture identification, teach essential life skills for work and personal success.
Horticulture is one of our state’s leading industries, and for decades, the 4-H Horticulture ID contest has helped youth learn about this industry and demonstrate mastery of horticultural identification skills. Even if a youth does not pursue a career in the horticultural industry, learning the material for this contest can benefit them in other ways. To learn more about how judging teams teach workforce skills, check out this previous blogpost.
This year, the State 4-H Horticulture Judging Contest received an extreme makeover, to expand the program to even more youth. The state contest was held this past Saturday, June 10th at the Hillsborough County Extension Office in Tampa, FL (previously, the contest was held in Gainesville during 4-H University and was only open to 4-H seniors). For the first time ever, the contest is now open to youth between the ages of 8 and 18 (juniors, intermediates, and seniors). Study materials were adapted and revised to be age appropriate, and a webinar for coaches was offered. The webinar was archived and can still be viewed by anyone interest in coaching a team.
There are five parts to the contest:
- Woody Ornamentals identification
- Flowers and Foliage identification
- Fruits and Nut identification
- Vegetable identification
- Judging classes (youth look at a group of four fruits, plants, vegetables or nuts and rank them from best quality to poorest quality).
The contest is organized by a group of University of Florida Extension Specialists and volunteers. In addition to the resources online, youth can contact their local Master Gardener Program through their local UF IFAS County Extension Office for support. Many master gardener volunteers are willing to help teach plant identification, and may be willing to serve as a coach for your club. In fact, Master Gardeners can earn bonus points towards their state contest for helping 4-H clubs and teams prepare!
If this program interests you, sign up for 4-H! 4-H is open to youth ages 5-18. Adults can join 4-H as volunteers. Florida 4-H offers a variety of volunteer roles to fit your specific interests, skills and schedule. For more info, visit http://florida4h.org or contact your local UF IFAS County Extension Office.
Helpful Links:
by Heather Kent | Mar 20, 2015
Florida 4-H Recognition Model
Recognition is a basic human need and can help build positive self esteem if handled in the right way and is an important part of the Florida 4-H Program. Whitney Cherry and Karen Miliffe shared tips for club leaders on showing recognition in 4-H clubs during the March Make a Difference Monday session earlier this month. If you missed it, you can view the recorded session at http://florida4h.org/madmondays.
Recognition is more meaningful when it occurs soon after it is earned and is related to a specific task. It can take multiple forms– appropriate recognition varies depending on age, past experience, family lifestyle, community and cultural heritage. Recognition motivates people to excel and take risks and in 4-H, it is the acknowledgement and affirmation of personal growth of an individual or group (such as a club). Awards are simply the things we give people or groups to symbolize our recognition of their accomplishments or effort.
The Florida 4-H Recognition Model includes five types of accomplishments or goals. The five types of accomplishments that 4-H measurers for recognition are:
- Participation in educational experiences (certificates, t-shirts, participation ribbons). The requirements for recognition for participation in a 4-H event are well publicized and easy to achieve. These types of recognition can be earned many times and are usually not expensive, but valued.
- Progress toward self-set goals. It is important for youth to learn to set goals and work towards them. 4-H project books are one way that we provide feedback on self-set goals. The club annual program is a tool for setting the collective goals of the club. As volunteers, we can assist youth with this by reviewing their goals frequently during the 4-H year, identifying what they have accomplished so far and helping them determine their next steps toward a goal.
- Achieving standards of excellence. In 4-H standards are used in two ways:
- Standards are established by subject matter and youth development specialists to provide a basis for young people to plan and work toward their goals
- Professional staff and /or volunteers and young people work together to establish standards– such as dress code at 4-H University, expectations of 4-Hers in club meetings, desired behavior at 4-H events/ camp
- Excelling in peer competition (judging contests, speaking contests, exhibits, animal exhibits and shows, portfolios, project book contests). Competition has long been a component in the 4-H program. 4-H strives to make competition an educational process and an opportunity to teach youth life skills. Peer competition is competing against one another’s peers. Numerous competition exist form the local club level, county, district, state, regional and national. 4-H also provides opportunities for clubs to compete against other clubs with the Club Standards of Excellence and Community Pride programs. Keep in mind that competition is not suitable for all ages (members 5-7 years old) and competition rules and procedures should be clear.
- Excelling in cooperation within a group (team or club awards or media recognition for service projects). From the beginning 4-H has encouraged young people to work together to learn. Cooperation engages young people in group experiences that are interdependent– face-to-face interactions, individual and group responsibility, group skills development. Cooperation involves everyone in the group and uses mutually agreed upon goals.
Recognition is a significant incentive to further learning. When properly used, it inspires young people to belong. Through caring adults and peers, in an inclusive and safe environment, recognition helps meets the needs of young people. Youth become and stay active in 4-H because they benefit. 4-H provides many opportunities for volunteers to make a difference in the lives of young people. If every young person could step into 4-H, imagine all the resourceful problem solvers, skilled workers, and capable leaders they’d become. That future is in our reach if we all lend our time and talents to guide the young people who will create it. Make the investment of a lifetime- become a 4-H volunteer, and inspire the next generation!
4-H is known for creating safe and inclusive environments. Many may argue this could be incredibly difficult now in the wake of the Coronavirus sweeping Florida, however, where some may see resistance, 4-H shows our resiliency. Across Florida, 4-H Agents have been brainstorming a multitude of ways to continue serving their clientele and practicing what we pledge by…
