County Activity Day-A Whole Lot of Talking

They came from far and near to participate in Robeson County 4-H County Activity Day this year. For those of you who don't know what a 4-H County Activity Day is, it is actually very simple. Two competitions are going on simultaneously; Public Speaking and Presentations. The difference between the two is that in Public Speaking a youth researches, writes, and delivers a five to seven minute speech on any topic they see fit (of course we prefer that it be 4-H appropriate). In Presentations the child uses posters (or a power point presentation) and props to demonstrate how to do something (anything from cooking to science), the youth picks the topic and creates their visual presentation.
This year the competition was fierce in both rooms, but when the dust settled and the judges had given their input a great group of youth will have the opportunity to move on to District Activity Day in Montgomery County, June 25.
In both competitions we started with the Cloverbuds, our 5-8 year olds. This is a non-competitive category with all the youth receiving a green ribbon. In presentations Adelmo Wortyko showed us "How to Transplant Plants" while his sister Regina showed us "How to Scrambled Eggs". Which according to our judges were very tasty. Christian Tice showed us "How to make Fruit Juice" that he makes every morning with his grandmother (it was so good that one of our judges has informed me that she is getting ready to purchase a juicer now), while Elijah Leach delivered a detailed speech on what he does everyday.
In our Junior 9-10 age division Makayla McRae spoke about Mother's Day to receive first place and Michiko Hill was a close second wither her speech on what the 4-H's mean.
In the 11-13 Junior age division Elizabeth Keenum spoke on "The Importance of a High School Education" to take first place while Camry Ocean was a close second with her speech on "The Dangers of Alcohol". Keorie McMillan and Dillon McCartney rounded out the category with speeches on "The Dangers of Smoking" and "4-H Camp". In presentations Megan Hurst took first place in Expressive Arts with her presentation on "Ballet", and Dillon McCartney took first in Environmental Sciences with his presentation on "How to Make a Grow Card".
The Senior division in Public Speaking was rough for the judges as they had to break a tie for first and second place. When it came down to it, Cierra Buckman took first with her speech on Citizenship while Aljaquan Nixon took second with his speech on fitness. In presentations, the team of Cierra and Bridget Buckman took first place in the dairy category with "How to Make a Cheesecake", while Mikayla Hecker took first place in Poultry Sciences for her science experiment involving roosters.
From the competition the following youth will have the opportunity to go forward to compete at District Activity Day; Michiko Hill, Makayla McRae, Elizabeth Keenum, Camry Ocean, Aljaquan Nixon, Megan Hurst, Dillon McCartney, Mikalya Hecker, and the team of Cierra and Bridget Buckman. Also earning the opportunity to go to District are Maurice Rogers and Rachel Jhala for winning in the performing arts competition known as 4-H Talent Showcase. At District Activity Day the youth will compete against other youth from 15 counties. The top winners in each age division will have the opportunity to go on to compete at Congress as part of the state presentations.
We must give a very special thanks to several people who helped make this day possible. First of all to United Way, which supports our program with funding which allows us to conduct activities like this. A huge thank you goes to our judges; Al Khan, Kelvin Barnes and Connie Locklear who judged the public speaking contest as well as, Margaret Crites, Joyce Russ, and Rod Jenkins who judged presentations. Our judges took several hours out of their day to take part in this event and offered wonderful comments to help our youth improve their performance at the District level. All the judges seemed to have a wonderful time and several asked to come back next year.
It is thanks to our volunteers, judges, club leaders, etc. that we had such a successful day. Without their help and participation we could not put such a tremendous event together and a mere thank you does not seem like enough. We hope that our youth's performance at District will show them how much their hard work was appreciated and we will make them proud as we go forward.

4-H is Family Time

4-H Family Night is such a blast! For the 7 families that signed up for this one they not only had fun they gained some creative tools for their homes to help with organization and time management.

As always we started at 6 p.m. with a family dinner. Fried chicken (fried by Bobby Rogers), mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls and cookies for desert was the star studded menu. However it was the family conversation that took place around the tables that was the most fun. We learned about each other and as Aggie says, "fellowshiped" sharing a few moments together before we got down to the activity at hand.

In an effort to make organization and time management fun, each family made a magnetic, organizational board from a cookie sheet. They decorated it with all sorts of things to allow it to reflect their family personality. At the end of the night they had all had a great time and were ready to go home and use their boards to help keep track of important items and dates, like upcoming 4-H events.

Stay tuned for our next 4-H Family Night which will take place in the fall.

Off to Our New Home

The chicks born in our 4-H office have received as much love and attention as if they were born in a classroom. As a matter of fact last night we had to take a break from our program so our youth could visit these adorable additions to our staff. However at this time we have had all the eggs hatch that are going to hatch. In the 4-H office that means we had a 70% hatch rate. Although we would love to keep these adorable, fluffy, little characters
in our office and raise them, we realize part of this project is letting them go at the end. Our livestock agent has found a good home for them, and they will be with other chicks from a backyard flock. In a few days they will out grow their box and want more room so this is for the best (plus they keep reminding me that they grow fast and won't be this adorable for long.)
The chicks that are hatched in the classrooms will also go to backyard flocks in the county and we are happy that our youth are learning about life cycles thanks to this project. Ms. Baxley from Fairmont Middle came by this week to talk about all the excitement they had doing the project as part of the after school curriculum. She said everyone came to see the chicks and it has been something the students are still talking about. We can't thank the teachers enough for taking the time to get training and implement this curriculum in their classrooms. All the teachers we have heard from said that they have enjoyed it and it has gotten their students excited about learning. We are so glad 4-H could be a part of that.
Stay tuned because this fall we will be doing something new and exciting involving embryology at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair...you won't want to miss it!

Getting Folksy with 4-H

If you have not run into a member of the St. Paul's 4-H Pony club this week you have not heard about their exciting meeting this past weekend. Instead of the traditional club meeting and working on the horse skeleton they got folksy about 4-H in a big way.
The club set up a booth at the annual North Carolina Folks Art Festival, in St. Paul's. About 17 members and parents turned out to man the booth during the day. They kids talked about 4-H and they gave out brochures and told anyone and everyone who would listen about all the fun they have in 4-H.
You can read more about this event in the Robesonian and St. Paul's Review newspapers. Libby Burney, the organizational club leader for the St. Paul's 4-H Pony Club said that they had a fantastic time and the kids played and learned while marketing our 4-H program. We are hoping that this was such fun that they will continue to support this great event in future years.
To learn more about the St. Paul's Pony club, or other 4-H clubs in Robeson County contact Aggie Rogers, 4-H Program Associate, at (910) 671-3276.

Good Morning World!

You know how it is getting up and going to school or work...some days it's just a drag. When embryology is going on in our 4-H office, coming to work is anything but a drag. Mainly because we are promised a surprise each and every morning. As a matter of fact some days it is hard to pull ourselves away from the incubator when the little guys are pecking their way out of their shells.
This morning was full of surprises. Penny, our 4-H Secretary, found our second chick had hatched last night before she left the building. We were especially excited that our first chick would have company in the brooder box during the night. When I came in this morning everything was very quiet so I thought maybe we had not had any hatches. Those chicks fooled me. When I looked in the incubator there were not one or two but eight baby chicks napping amongst the eggs in the incubator. I was so tickled you would have thought we gave birth to them ourselves back here in the 4-H office. They were promptly placed in the brooder box with the two arrivals from the day before and it looks like we could have 5 more hatch before the day is out.
Stay tuned to the 4-H egg hatching network as our eggs continue to crack and surprise us. Also feel free to come by and visit. These little guys love to chat and would love to see you.

They're Back!

I was working in the office and it sounded like the birds had gotten awfully close the the windows because they were chirping really loud. Then I thought twice and said check the incubator. It had only been an hour since I had noticed the slightly cracked egg with a beak pecking through. Sure enough right in the middle of the incubator was a chick, and it wasn't even the one I thought it would be. After rolling around in the incubator for awhile the little one was moved to the brooder box with fresh shavings, water, food and a light to keep him warm. A few hours later another chick hatched so we would have two in the brooder box tonight with possibly 5 more hatching by morning.

So far the schools are reporting a 60% hatch rate, which we hope will improve as we hear from more schools. Stay tuned for the updates on chick hatch the sequel right here on the 4-H blog.

Day of Caring is a 4-H Celebration

The United Way Day of Caring is always a great day in Robeson County to help people and highlight the incredible work that the 18 agencies do in this county. Robeson County 4-H is one of those agencies, and we love the Day of Caring for a variety of reasons.
The first reason is because we are generally in a position to show how our youth can help others. This year the members of the "Dirty Rascals"Junior Master Gardener 4-H Club traveled to Southeastern Hospice House to do a little landscaping. The youth, parents, and volunteers planted hostas, and flowers to brighten up the garden area. They had a lot of fun and hope to make this an annual project (no flower pun intended). Also in the works is a picnic table that has been ordered and some volunteers will put together for them (we will keep you up to date on that project).
The second reason we enjoy the day of caring is that we have the opportunity to set up a table at Jerry Johnson Chevrolet and market our program along with the other 17 United Way Agencies. It is amazing the services that are offered to the people of Robeson County and how United Way touches and enhances peoples lives through these agencies.
The third reason we enjoy the Day of Caring is because we always have the opportunity to get messy. This year we worked with almost 30 preschools (and some of the creative agency folks) to create 100 grow cards. Grow cards are made from recycled paper (newspaper, office paper, construction paper, etc,) that has been blended together with water. The recycled paper pulp is then placed into cookie cutters to shape them, and the water is pressed out over window screens. We then place flower seeds in the wet paper pulp and allow it to dry when it is done it looks like this.
That leads us to our fourth reason to love the Day of Caring this year. We made 100 grow cards that day which we will give as gifts to 100 supporters of 4-H. There is a significance to the 100 grow cards. This year is North Carolina 4-H's Centennial. That's right our organization is 100 years old, so to celebrate we made 100 cards which will be sent to 100 people who have helped us grow over the years. They will be able to plant the cards, and the seeds will sprout while the paper will acted as a mulch and eventually dissolve into the soil. It is a win win situation for everyone just like this project, the Day of Caring, and United Way!

Having Fun at the Fair Pays Off!

For one 4-H member coming to the fair and having fun working as a Junior fair board member has paid off. Cierra Buckman, Chairperson of the 2009 Junior fair board and 4-H County Council President received $1,500 in scholarships at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Board Meeting Tuesday night.
As Coble Wilson, Jr., President of the Robeson Fair Board, presented her a check he explain how proud the fair was to have such an exceptional youth represent our fair.
Cierra will receive $500 from the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair and $1,000 for the State Fair Association. She plans to use her scholarship money as she continues to pursue her studies at Francis Marion University in South Carolina. Cierra has served on the Junior fair board for two years now and became eligible for these scholarship thanks to her hard work, leadership abilities and dedication to the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair.

Getting Ready for the Fair

The sound of clucking, snorting, and even a moo or two could be heard thought the livestock building at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fairgrounds. No it isn't fair time but it is time for our 4-H youth to start getting ready for the 2009 Livestock shows.
Part of getting ready is learning how to properly take care of their animals and that is what Saturday was all about. On hand we had Some really beautiful chickens, a really sweet rabbit, and couple of cute little piggies (who have been nicknamed Boston & Butt). The loudest of all was Charlie Brown a large goat who seemed to think he is a horse. Although there was not a cow on site...there was some mooing and leading of heifers ring side (they said they were pretending to be heifers, please do not mistake this for an editorial comment).
Before we played with the animals we got down to business. A brief overview of project records, and bio security started the morning with lessons on how to show and what to wear in the ring following. After the business was out of the way it was time for what everyone wanted...to play with the animals (as we like to say in 4-H children learn best from the hands on approach...or they accidentally learn while playing-on purpose) and that is when we scattered
best for the pictures of the day. Tony and his son Anthony Bullard taught the youth about rabbits. They learned everything from how to pick them up from the neck to how to check for mites in their ears to freezing water bottles as an extra treat for them.
Benjamin Herndon and his father Michael came to teach the youth about poultry. For those who are scared of being pecked by chickens they met Tyler who was gentle and loved being rubbed. They learned about feed, how to show and how to make sure you have the best possible bird for competition.
Tiffanee Conrad-Acuna and Michelle Stumbo from Richmond County drove over to talk about goats. they even brought Tiff's goat Charlie Brown and let the kids learn how to trim hooves, walk him like they would in the show ring, and learn about de-worming. The youth had a great time with him and learned a whole bunch of what it take to show a goat n competition.
Tiff and Michelle also helped out Michelle Shooter, Robeson County's own Livestock Extension Agent, with the heifer workshop. Although our heifer was not able to attend due to sickness, Michelle and Michelle took turns being the heifer to show the youth what they need to do in the ring to be successful. With several youth showing heifers this year, it could be a great year for Robeson County to make it's appearance on the showmanship circuit. We will have to wait and see.
Michelle (Shooter) also brought her pigs Boston and Butt to the livestock building for the youth to see. The six week old piglets brought great enthusiasm from the crowd of kids as they laid there curled up together. Michelle explained that the pigs they would be getting would be larger and need a lot of work to get used to humans and to have them used to being in a show ring. Several youth contemplated showing pigs next year at the fair.
After all the hoopla and learning about the animals it was time to sit down to lunch as one of our 4-H volunteers brought his cooker out to grill hamburgers and hot dogs for this hungry crowd. The youth told their parents all they had learned and a few things they want to do next year and we had a great time. Next event in animal science will be the animal give out. We will keep you up to date as we continue with this project.

4-H 101

Everything you wanted to know about 4-H and then some was wrapped up in our 4-H 101 training. About 20 volunteers and parents turned out for this training opportunity. Each received a specially made notebook with instructions on everything from ARI (Application, resume, Interview) to web references. It was a great training with food, time to share ideas, and introductions to programs that everyone had heard of but might not have yet experienced.
The volunteers said the notebook would be a great resource for them as they moved forward in 4-H. We will also create a mail and e-mail list so that as updated material comes in we can get it to them to keep their notebooks as up to date as possible.
Our next volunteer training will center on curriculum and will be held September 29th and is open to anyone who would like more information about the researched based curriculum that 4H offers.