When my family and I went to the local fair one of the boys I knew showed us around all the 4H exhibits. He showed us the animals him and his brothers raised and talked about how much fun he had this year raising his animal. It got me a little interested in it. It sounds like a fun way for me to learn how to care for and raise animals. I think caring for animals would be a great skill for me to learn. Participating in 4H maay be a great way for me to occupy my time and learn to manage the money I will need for my animal.
Do you or any of your children participate in 4H? I would love to hear more about. Are there certain elements that are better than others? Is there something simple I can start out with to kind of get the feel for it and learn the ropes? I'd love to know how any of you like 4H and what you like about it. I'm just curious as to if it is something that is beneficial.
I have had two children in 4H; my daughter did cake decorating and horse every year, learned project skills, made life long friends and contributed to her club, county and community through meaningful service projects. My son is in the 4H shooting sports program and takes rifle, pistol, shotgun, muzzleloader, and archery. He's not only learned to care for, operate and be successful with each of these, but he's made friends, had great fun, set and achieved goals, learned to plan, write a project portfolio, and had meaningful fun service projects. He's very shy, but the club duties have helped him immensely with that.
ReplyDeleteI would advise you to go to the County Extension office and speak personally with the 4H Youth Specialist about the project possibilities and clubs. You will need to belong to a club; I advise finding one that has some seasoned 4H members and families as they are invaluable in navigating through the first year. Some clubs have a focus, such as livestock, cats, dogs, etc. That puts you in an environment that is helpful also, but even if your club isn't oriented to your specific project, you will have project meetings and leaders (adults). Your family all ready has a dog you could use for obedience, conformation and agility classes; chickens; garden; sewing, are all possibilities.
It's a wonderful experience and I hope you pursue it!