Robeson County 4-H

   We woke up this morning, packed our stuff.  Checked our spaces twice (becuase sometimes you miss things).  Then we carried our stuff up to our transportation location and headed to breakfast.  Sausage biscuits and fresh fruit for our last meal at camp.  The last meal didn't dampen the noise level in the dinning hall.  Our campers are still happy to be together.   After breakfast we went into the rec hall and sit by groups.  After the lost and found show (and claiming of items we had left around the camp) it was time to get down to business.  Our groups were called up and our counselors gave each of us a personalized award.  Some got awards like super camper, others got the Riddler award for asking the most questions.  Our youth got awards that showed their kind spirits, generosity, supportiveness, and knowledge.  Could not have been more proud.   We had a quick slide show of photos from the week and then it was tim...

   It's hard to believe this is our last full day at camp.  It feels like we just got here.  So we will need to pack it all in today.  Of course our day started with the cabin cleaning (winner takes all today) and then we were off to breakfast.  Today we had After flag raising it was time to hit the camp and do everything we hadn't done today.  Everyone had a little pool time, and even had more water time on the lake canoeing.  Some of our campers had a chance to pick up fishing poles and see what they could find in the lake (to our knowledge no one pulled up the bulldozer that was lost in the lake when they built it).  Some of our campers were getting creative at the Arts and Crafts Shelter.  Our Earth and Sun campers climbed up the hill to the high ropes course and challenged themselves and supported their peers while they climbed, jumped, swung, and zipped their way through this course.  I must say as daunting as it is for our yo...

 We woke up this morning and it was WEDNESDAY already!  Where has the time gone?  We have had so much fun and there is so much to do.  So our campers got up and really worked hard cleaning to try to obtain the elusive golden faucet award.  Once things were cleaned they headed to breakfast to fill up for what would be an exciting day.  This morning for breakfast our campers had French toast sticks and a choice of fresh fruits, cereal, and other fun stuff. After flag raising it was time to spread out and get the day's activities going.  Our younger campers make up the Head, Heart, Hands, groups.  Our older youth are in the Earth, Sun, Adventurer, and Trekker groups.  Being this is Wednesday our Trekkers are packing up this morning for their trip to canoe in a river and do real rock wall climbing so they will be headed out on an adventure.  These older campers will return on Thursday afternoon and we can't wait to hear all about their fun. ...

 After the adventures of day one we slept so well that day two started bright and early.  Most of our campers are energetic about morning cabin clean up.  Got to win the golden faucet.  Breakfast was mini bagels, eggs. bacon, cereal, and of course the fresh fruit bar.  It seems like sleeping even worked up an appetite for these campers.   Morning activities started in the pool, at the beaver station, on the climbing wall, and at horses.  What fun it was to try to climb to the top of the wall and be lowered back down.  It let the group work as a group to encourage and spot each other on the wall.  Every step closer to the top was also a great way to increase self confidence and there was a lot of decision making going on as you planned each pull and step on the way up.   Horse back riding started with some safety lessons and grooming the horses.  Brushing them is a great way to get to know a horse and learn about some of their more s...

 Our first official day of camp was AWESOME!  Our campers got up this morning and ate breakfast and cleaned their cabins.  According to our cabin inspection officers they did a really good job cleaning.  They also did a really good job eating.  Breakfast was pancakes, turkey sausage, and the always available fresh fruit bar.  That is where they can get grapes, bananas, apples, etc. every morning to add to their filling breakfast.  We need them well fed because they will burn it off with the day the camp staff has planned for them. Activities today included games, archery, arts and crafts, and rock wall climbing.  Different age groups sometimes do different things.  For example our older youth (Trekkers and Adventurers) will spend more time on ropes courses and in the lake the first couple of days, while our younger youth have fun with some of the more traditional activities.  For example the Trekkers spent the morning on the lake learnin...

   It's overnight camp week!  We couldn't be more excited about it.  We started this morning by meeting all our campers and their families at our office.  We must give special thanks to our 4-H Volunteer Tanya Underwood and Family Consumer Science Agent, Jessie Jones for their help with our check-in and paperwork this morning.  We checked in, had a brief meeting and headed out to our buses for the three hour ride to Betsy Jeff Penn 4-H Educational Center in Reidsville, NC.   Ms. Miranda and our Leader in Training (LIT) Kennedi were in charge on one bus and Mr. Scott and LIT Tomas were in charge of the other bus.  Our 4-H Agent, Ms. Shea Ann lead the way.  We did make a brief stop for a mask break and lunch.  Golden Coral in Asheboro was so kind as to work with us on  box lunches for our campers.  We had chicken tenders and fries, chocolate chip cookies, tea and lemonade.  We could not have asked for a better box lunch....

  NC State community: As you are enjoying the remainder of your summer and gearing up for the fall semester, I hope you will find the time to tune in and cheer for our outstanding NC State student-athletes and alumni who are competing in the 2020 Olympic Games. We have a record-setting 12 Olympians affiliated with NC State who will be competing in Tokyo over the next two weeks. NC State’s representatives competing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are: Lucas Kozeniesky (USA, shooting); Gabriele Cunningham (USA, women’s track and field); Anton Ipsen (Denmark, men’s swimming); Alexander Norgaard (Denmark, men’s swimming); Andreas Vazaios (Greece, men’s swimming); Simonas Bilis (Lithuania, men’s swimming); Tatyana Forbes (Mexico, women’s softball); Nyls Korstanje (Netherlands, men’s swimming); Kacper Stokowski (Poland, men’s swimming); Andrea Podmanikova (Slovakia, women’s swimming); Sophie Hansson (Sweden, women’s swimming); and Noe Ponti (Switzerland, men’s swimming). In addition, NC ...

  Thanks for joining us for North Carolina 4-H Congress 2021!  Throughout our week together we have: Participated in great workshops led by our fellow 4-H’ers; Recognized the great work and significant accomplishments of our fellow 4-H'ers; Heard from an awesome set of State 4-H Officer candidates and participated in the Electoral Process electing our 2021-2022 State 4-H Council Officers; Danced to our favorite songs with a 4-H virtual dance;  Celebrated our 2020-2021  State and District Officers and installed our 2021-2022 State and District Officers; and Learned from and engaged with our friends from across the state.  While this was not the traditional Congress, I hope you will agree it was a great Congress and a fun time together.  This was all possible thanks to the hard work and support of so many people, especially your 2020-2021 State 4-H Council Officers.  This team stepped up, said yes, supported this event, and made it one to remember. Don’t...

  Thanks for joining us for Congress Day #2.  Today we used our hands for larger service, had the chance to recognize some of our 4-H friends, and heard from our State 4-H Officer candidates! Later tonight we will visit campaign rooms and have fun at a virtual 4-H dance!  A few reminders to help us wrap up today and set the stage for tomorrow. * Be sure to use #NC4HCongress in your social media posts! * Tomorrow workshops begin at 1:30 pm.  It is very important you join these workshops on time.  Once the workshops begin, the sessions will be locked, so being on time ensures you are able to join the session you would like to attend. All of the workshops will be great!  * If you plan to join the Many Voices Many Stories: The Cherokee workshop, we have created a passport to complement your workshop experience. You can download and print the passport at this link: Many Voices Many Stories Passport. For the best result, print it double-sided and select the optio...

 Our last day of 4-H Animal Science Day Camp has the potential to get us all wet.  However our youth were a little too smart for that.  Our day started with a trip to Ripley's Aquarium in Myrtle Beach.  This is always a fun trip for our youth becuase they have a great variety of Marine Life.      Our youth had the chance to see all types of different fish from around the world.  There are piranhas from South America, clown fish from the salt reef, and tiger fish.  Some of the fish they got to see are very dangerous while others are not the prettiest but have important jobs.   Probably one of our favorite attractions wsa the shark tank.  Being able to go through a tube that allows sharks to swim around you is amazing.  It is kind of fun to try to figure out the types of sharks like hammer heads, saw tooth, and even none shark creatures are in the tank like huge sea turtles.   This year Ripley's has a special Penguin habitat...

   Nicole Kidman was once quoted as saying, "I love acting but taking the kids to the zoo is a lot more fun!"  We couldn't agree more.  That is why today we loaded up the vans early and headed to the NC Zoo in Asheboro .  We have to admit the excitement level was high as we had talked about the animals they wanted to see which included the elephants, gorillas, and puffins...not to mention a few other animals that don't actually live at our zoo.   Once we walked in we saw a crocodile and learned about the conservation efforts of the zoo.  We walked on to see the seals, puffins, and of course the Polar Bear.  The majority of the animals were cooperative however there were a few that were not on display like the otters.  Although a favorite we learned today that otters and giraffes could be susceptible to COVID.  It was something most of us had not thought of.   In several of the habitats today we got to see the zoo staff working with ...

   We are at the half way point and it is amazing how fast they come out of their shells (the campers not the animals)...today they walked in and gave me a list of what they liked and learned at the Sea Turtle Rescue.  What they soaked in during the time we were there was amazing.  After processing yesterday we prepared for today. Then we headed to our vans to hit the open road and learn about some birds of prey.   Part of our COVID protocols has us stopping part way through each road trip for a mask break.  While we are taking a mask break it seems to be a good time for a snack and water or juice break.  Sometimes the locations of where we stop can be as interesting as where we are going.  Today we stopped around the corner from the Columbus County Extension Office at a fitness park.  There was a great shelter so we could get out of the sun and enjoy some time outside and just breathe before putting our masks back on, jumping in the van, and...

                                       You might say day two of our first face to face camp was hybrid.  Scratching your head?  Our campers did too, but only for a brief moment.  You see we broke out the VR Goggles and the Clorox wipes (sanitation is key in our post COVID world) and we introduced them to all sorts of interactive video learning.  This morning our campers visited a hog farm, swam in the ocean with hammerhead sharks, and may have ridden a roller coaster with dinosaurs.     By 10:30 we were on the road again headed out to learn all about Sea turtles.  We landed in Surf City at the Karen Beasley Turtle Rescue and Rehab Center .  It was a complete tour learning about the five types of sea turtles (that's really all there are) in the world.  We learned about the center's history, and how there many many many volunteers help prote...