Robeson County 4-H

It seems like we just started having fun this summer, and now it is time to head back to school. So what better way to kick off the school year than with a back to school bash the 4-H way? Our cloverbuds started off by making their own treasure boxes using pasta to create texture and then spray painted their boxes to make it a really cool and unique design. The juniors were busy with their own creative design at the time as they got pillow cases ready to tie-dye. They each used their own twists and turns to create patterns and then got colorful with the dye to express themselves in a unique way. While the paint and dye started drying it was off to the next project. The cloverbuds worked on decorating their very own flower pot pencil holders and creating their own flower pens to stick in it to help brighten their day. The juniors brightened their day by making sun catchers to hang in their rooms, lockers or wherever else they might brighten their days. After a quick snack it was time t...

It was our last day of Cloverbud Day Camp and did we ever cook up some food, toys and fun! We started the day with a new team game that went over really well...well okay the balloons went over our heads (as planned) really well. To help celebrate our last day Mrs. Janice made smoothies and we had an unofficial smoothie mustache contest. It was really neat and the smoothies, according to Jayce were, "really nasty but good!" We drank up all the smoothie mixture and then headed into our groups with Mrs. Christy and Mrs. Janice. We decorated our recycled cans from Thursday and decided how we were going to use them. With Mrs. Janice we made our own tortilla chips from whole wheat tortillas and Mrs. Janice's homemade seasoning. We also baked our chocolate chip cookies that we made the dough for on Wednesday. It has been in a freezer in a log and all we had to do is slice off a cookie. It was fun. After lunch we had a very special visitor. Miss Michelle from Richmond County cam...

As soon as we started the day all the cloverbuds knew they were going to get the chance to play in dirt (for those serious gardeners I should say soil...but dirt translates so much better to 5-8 year olds) and most were excited about this opportunity. Of course there was lots of fun to happen before we got down to shoveling dirt . We started the morning by splitting into groups to play lots of games that get us moving. They are all fun games we can play at home and will keep in motion and away from televisions and computers. We got to dance to High School Musical Music on a dance mat. We hopped around on our hopscotch rug. Then we fell all over ourselves to play twister, and had all sorts of fun rolling the fitness dice and following the instructions. It was all a sample of different ways to be entertained and maintain movement in our lives and help build the foundation for a healthier lifestyle. After our morning snack we split into groups to work with Mrs. Christy and Mrs. Janice. We...

If Wednesday had a theme it would be recycling day. Almost all of our activities centered around using, reusing, reducing and of course having a bunch of fun . We started our day in the normal way with our games that encouraged teamwork and sportsmanship. We revived the game of Hot Potato and had a blast passing the ball and finding new ways to work together and not against each other to win. After our rousing games and morning snack we split up and worked with Mrs. Christy and Mrs. Janice. Mrs. Janice showed us how to make chocolate chip cookie dough (with and without eggs for those that have allergies) and a healthy wiggly jiggly jello snack. We worked on cookie sheet memo boards with Mrs. Christy. Each memo board shows each campers personality and creativity. It will also allow magnetic reminders, pin up notes and all sorts of other things for parents to help communicate with us. Lunch time was as active as always and then we settled down to story time with Mrs. Tanya. She read us a...

If you ask the cloverbuds it was a day of games, food, crafts and fun. If you look harder you might find that they had a day of learning how to work together as a team , communication and group dynamics, all disguised as fun hands on learning opportunities. We started the day with some team working games that included team relay with balloons and a creative passing game that let the youth do a little problem solving. There was a lot of fun, tons of laughs, and a few worn out giggles as we went through the really fun process. After morning snack we got to visit with Mrs. Christy and Mrs. Janice. We recycled old Cd's into personalized photo frames and made a healthy snack of banana popsicles. Actually the snack, which was lots of fun to make, involved bananas on a stick with strawberry banana yogurt and then sprinkled with chocolate chips, sprinkles, coconut or whatever we wanted to put on them. After lunch we had story time, and are learning all about chicken little. After that we s...

The first day of Cloverbud day camp is a treat every year and needless to say this year is no different. For those of you not familiar with the 4-H lingo, Cloverbuds are our 5 to 8 year old youth. In the 4-H world they get a chance to see and experience a lot of what our older youth do but not in a competitive role. Often the cloverbuds try it out and receive ribbons, and ideas on how to improve and by the time they are juniors (ages 9-13). However Cloverbud day camp is a little different because this is often the first introduction these youth have to 4-H and the experience that can lie ahead. The cloverbud day camp has a set schedule each day. The difference for them is that different volunteers come in to visit and we do all sorts of fun hands on projects everyday. Today being the first day we started with the normal get to know you games, making our rules and consequences, and just trying to figure out where we all fit in. We are also lucky that we have two teen leaders helping thi...

It might have been our last day for 4-H Biotech camp but it was a doosy. Today we travelled to Fort Fisher Aquarium to learn about the biology of crabs, and other marine animals. Of course it didn't hurt that we got to get wet too. The morning started with salt water crabbing, at the Fort Fisher Aquarium . Our staff leaders gave us instructions on equipment and helped us split up into pairs, before our hike toward the ocean. We stopped at a little inlet and baited our safety pin hooks with little fish and cast it near us in the water. As something nibbled on our fish we tried to scoop it up in our nets. We had several crabs caught by our wiley crab catchers. After catching the crabs we examined them and learned weather or not they were male or female and why. We saw one that only had one claw and learned that crabs have a defense mechanism that allows them to drop a leg or claw if something has hold of it so they can get away. Their leg or claw will grow back over time and they can...

Who do you call when there is a crime? In the future it might be someone from our team 4-H. That's right today our youth got a chance to take everything they have learned so far this week and apply it to their very own crime scene . Their conclusions were very interesting. We started the day working on exercises that made them think about the details and working on their logical and critical thinking skills. We also shared examples of how science can be used in fun ways to prove or disprove everyday myths, solve crimes, and enhance our lives. Then Corporal Mark Graham with the Robeson County Sheriff's office stopped by and let our youth swarm his patrol car. They were full of questions, wanted to see his handcuffs, try on his traffic vest and uniform hat and wanted to know what all the switches in his car did. It was almost like touring a James Bond car for them. Lt. Bruce Meares with the Sheriff's office stopped by with two of his colleagues, Forest Obershea and Brandon...

Today we switched campuses and learned even more while attending Robeson Community College. Their Biotech interns worked with our youth to expand our learning base and help clarify some of the other learning from our first two days this week. Our youth descended on the classrooms and were quickly divided into two groups. During the morning they had the chance to do some really cool experiments. One had to do with the spread of a virus. They were each given a test tube filled with a liquid. They used pipettes to share a few drops of their liquid with three other youth at random in the classroom. They tracked their sharing patterns on a piece of paper and then their student interns placed a few drops of a solution in each of their test tubes. The ones that turned purple had a "virus" the ones that did not change were considered clean. They were able to track who started the virus and how it spread around the room. The results were interesting and caused a lot of hand washing du...

Day two of Biotech day camp found us in Raleigh again . This time we started on N.C. State's centennial Campus. There we took a tour of the Golden Leaf Biotech center and had a hands on opportunity that colored us purple. We started by splitting into two groups of 15. The first group hit the tour trail while the rest got a chance to change their appearance and their minds about science. Our youth had the opportunity to tour the building and see where research and real life come together. Our tour showed us how they do research on DNA and cells to create medicines and find useful links between the research and businesses. After learning about clean rooms and super clean rooms, centrifuges, and how they get into cells without destroying what they need it was time for a little experimenting. 4-H took over one of the really neat classroom and learned how to gown up for our experiment, which we understand is one of the first things the college students learn. we started with our heads, ...

Did you know a college education can including learning how to make milk and ice cream? As our biotech day campers found out today there is a sweet side to a college education at North Carolina State University and it involves science. Three counties have joined together for this unique first time opportunity. The 4-H Biotech Day Camp explores the present and future of careers in the up and coming biotech industry and the role science may play in their futures. Hoke, Bladen and Robeson County 4-H programs are joining together for this wonderful summer opportunity for youth between the ages of 9-13. For those of you wondering what biotech is, it is it stands for biotechnology. Biotechnology encompasses a wide range of sciences including biology, chemistry, genetic engineering, microbiology, molecular biology, embryology, information technology, and much more. As part of this day camp we will explore the ways biotechnology and science impacts our lives from everything from cell structur...

I admit we got home yesterday afternoon and somewhere in there I took a long nap until this morning, which is why our last camp post for 2009 is delayed. We started our last morning packing and cleaning up cabins. After our our egg and cheese biscuit breakfast we headed into the rec hall for awards. Counselors gave everyone in the cabin awards based on their work and personality during the week. We had the jeopardy award for those who asked the most questions, an adventurer awards for the most adventurous ones in the cabin, funny bone awards for the group jokesters, and even a hairspray award for those who used the most hairspray during the week. After that we were treated to a slide show of our adventures during the week. Then we said our good-byes and thank yous and headed to buses. There were a few tears shed as all of our stuff was loaded onto the buses. May of us did not want to say good-bye. Others made plans to go back next year. Then we travelled back to Robeson County and gr...