Pony Club Jumps to New Heights

This is a first for Robeson County 4-H. Thanks to the St. Paul's Pony club and Libby Burney, their organizational volunteer leader, four members of the club have gone somewhere no other Robeson County 4-H club has gone before. This elite team of juniors competed in the South Central District Horse Bowl. It was a tough competition, with five teams from Moore County, a team from Union County and a team from Cabarrus county. Representing Robeson County were Brianna Cryer, Chasity McClay, Daniel Bourhenne, and Megan Butler who also served as the team captain.

For those of you who don't know the horse bowl is like a quiz bowl. Teams of four youth go head to head in the competition as horse specific questions are asked. Whoever buzzes in first gets to answer the question. At the end which ever team has the most correct answers win.

In the first time out our team was incredible. Although eliminated in the first round they only lost by a few questions. Word also has it that they were great sports and exemplified the 4-H spirit through the entire competition. Congratulations to our first horse bowl team! We can't wait to see what you do next year.

Rules are Meant to be Broken?

Our fourth session of Strengthening Families had us learning life lessons. For the youth it was all about figuring out that everyone has to follow rules and have responsibilities and when they don't follow the rules, or experiencing consequences. For the adults it was learning how to stay calm and respectful, and learning how to use appropriate penalties for appropriate problems.
As part of a game on rules and responsibilities the youth had the opportunity to earn drivers licenses and cars. Each one had to drive from station to station and drew a card. On the back it stated a rule and whether or not they had broken it. If they followed the rule, or lived up to their responsibility they continued in the game. If they broke the rule they lost one or two turns. At the end of the game we talked about what it felt like following rules and breaking rules and what they needed to do to make good choices.
During the family session the youth and parents talked about their family values. Together they made a family shield that illustrates their shared family values. The families worked together to cut out photos from a magazine and made a collage. During the family circle at the end of the night each family member stated one shared value they have and pointed it out on their family shield.
Our next "Strengthening Families" workshop will take place on Thursday, February 25. If you would like to know more about this program please contact Christy Strickland, Family and Consumer Science Agent at (910) 671-3276 or Christy_Strickland@ncsu.edu.

Dirty Rascals go Zen!

I love getting reports from our clubs on what they are doing because they are so creative. Our "Dirty Rascals" Jr. Master Gardener 4-H club meets on the third Thursday of each month. The group did a really cool project this month recycling old potatoes. The group created Bonsai potatoes. The club members learned about the needs of plants and how to care for their eyed up potatoes. As the potatoes grow they will continue to care for them, water them and trim them up so they look like bonsai plants.

The next "Dirty Rascals" Junior Master Gardeners 4-H club will meet at the 4-H office on March 19. The group will be getting ready for their big fundraiser, the Master Gardener Plant Sale. The youth will be selling herbs and other plants they have cultivated. The sale takes place in front of Cox furniture on April 24, 2010. Stay tuned for more information.

St. Paul's Night Out has a 4-H/Extension Feel to it.

St. Paul's has a monthly evening call St. Paul's Night Out. It is a community event that highlights arts, community talent, and opportunities in the St. Paul's area for youth, families and seniors.

As part of the February night Kerrie Roach, the Horticulture Extension Agent, was invited to answer gardening questions and give out soil sample boxes. As part of this Shea Ann DeJarnette, the 4-H Agent, went with Kerrie to offer a youth activity of making grass people. The activity teaches recycling, plant life cycles, and about the resources needed for a plant to grow (water, soil, and sun). We worked with more than 20 youth in creating grass people for them to take home and let them grow hair. The neat part about this project is that it can continue to be a hands on learning opportunity at home for months to come.

According to Paul Terry, who contacted Extension to be part of this event, the Chamber it is a great opportunity because local organizations came out, at no cost to the chamber, and were able to educate the public while they were also entertained. Local groups offered food to visitors and a local country band entertained visitors. If you have an opportunity check out the next night out which will happen on the Second Friday in March. Paul tells us it will be outside on the street and will be a great deal of fun.

Juggling Stress on all Levels

Our third Strengthening Families Session was full of surprises. After a fantastic spaghetti dinner (complete with yummy garlic bread) we split into our adult and youth groups. Christy and Janice worked with the adults on developing positive relationships with their children. They also talked about making a point system with their children so that they will do things that need to be done in return for rewards, such as having a friend over.
The youth talked about things that stress them out. They talked about stresses like bad grades, homework, friends that ignore them. Together they identified things that make them feel better and lesson the stresses that they face. Our youth identified things such as talking to friends, screaming into a pillow, sleeping, and praying as things that help them reduce the stresses in their day to day lives. At the end of the session we asked them to identify stressing situations in the next week and try to implement one of these stress reducers in helping them to deal with it.

During our family time the youth and adults learned about family meetings. Each received a copy of the ground rules for family meetings (things like respecting each others opinions) and started their own mini meeting with a round of compliments. Then the parents shared some of the items they worked on in the parent session with their children. After learning about finishing off meetings with a family activity the families received some ideas of how to do this and a deck of cards so they could play a game with each other. At the end of the family session we closed with our traditional circle while the youth and parents talked about privileges the children would like to earn and we all gave our pledges to each other.

We will meet for session four Thursday, February 18, at 6:00. For more information about this program or other parenting information please contact Christy Strickland, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent at (910) 671-3276 or Christy_Strickland@ncsu.edu.

Training our Trainers

Have I ever told you how much we love our volunteers? Our 4-H Volunteers are something special all the time, and on the nights that they are willing to come to a training, in the wet and cold and learn about a variety of stuff...well that just says so much about the quality of volunteers we have.
4-H 101 took place Tuesday evening and about 15 volunteers came out to be a part of this fantastic training. Each volunteer either received a notebook or updates for the notebook they received last year. We talked about the program year, opportunities available for our youth and club guidelines and deadlines.
One of the big things that dominated our conversation was EIN numbers for clubs and reporting income. Since our 2009 year ended on December 31 last year all tax reported concerning 4-H clubs must be filed before May 15 of this year. To file the proper form you can click here to go to the IRS website and fill out the form. Please make sure you have your EIN number and information concerning the account before you fill out your form. If there is a problem please let us know a.s.a.p. so we can fill out the proper forms and notify the state 4-H office before May 15.
Lastly we talked about our program calendar and being able to find it on the blog. As well as following us on Twitter for reminders and updates about programs and deadlines. Our next county volunteer training is scheduled for April 27, at 6:30 p.m. The deadline to call in and sign up for the training will be 5 p.m. April 20. We hope to see even more of our volunteers then.

Our 4-H Volunteers Lead the Way

What makes a group of 4-H adult volunteers pull out of the Robeson County Center of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service Parking lot at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning? The annual state 4-H Volunteer Leaders' Conference of course. This annual event is held each year the the RTP Sheraton in Raleigh. It is designed to allow volunteers from across the state to network, receive training, and give a pat on the back to those who have excelled in their volunteer roles over the last year. This year's theme "Go Green...We Did!" With several ideas center on recycled and reusable projects.
Our Robeson County representatives this year included; Katherine, Kenneth and Laura Bethea, Jane Hurst, Missy McLean, Marilyn Merritt, Aggie and Bobby Rogers, Larry Russ and Shea Ann DeJarnette. Aggie and Shea Ann travelled up to teach two different trainings. Aggie worked with volunteers to show them the importance and ease of doing a project and cumulative record book with their youth. Shea Ann partnered with Michelle Stumbo (4-H Agent in Richmond County) and Lauren Irby (4-H Agent in Chatham County) to provide a training on all aspects of putting together a livestock show.
Our volunteers took part in a variety of training workshops that will enhance the work they are doing here in the county. The workshops varied just like the interest of our volunteers and youth. Workshops attended included; club finances, parliamentary procedure, 4-H target shooting sports, electric workshop, livestock showing, leather craft, my personal spa, bug out, and snacks attack. From these various workshops the volunteers have brought back a wealth of knowledge and information to enhance their own skills and share with other leaders at an upcoming training.
After workshops the group conducted district business and state business during association business meetings. We also had a chance to recognize volunteers as part of the lunch awards banquet and dinner awards which included the instillation of officers. Each district has a responsibility each year. This year the South Central District was asked to create the "green" center pieces for the evening banquet. Each county was asked to create 5 and Aggie and Bobby Rogers took on this task. Bobby cut and with Aggie's help spray painted foam to create 5 original birthday cakes. The items used to decorate them were all reused items. After the banquet we spent time socializing and helping the association raise funds during their annual auction.
The next morning we awoke to a wonderful breakfast and guest speaker, Donna Ebron. She motivated each person in the room to look inside themselves and do what they do best. She encouraged our volunteers not to be discouraged if they did not see immediate changes in our youth because down the road they would find out what a positive impact they have had, sharing their passions with our young people.
If you would like more information on this event or future volunteer trainings please contact Shea Ann DeJarnette at (910) 671-3276 or Shea_Ann_DeJarnette@ncsu.edu.

Walking in their Shoes

Our second "Strengthening Families" program gave a little perspective to everyone in the family. As always we started the program eating dinner together (this week we had some of Christy's special recipe chili as prepared by Penny and grilled cheese sandwiches). After our brief meal we split up with adults in one room and youth in another.
During the youth session we talked about the pressures parents and caregivers must deal with as well as the pressures youth face. We played a game that made each youth think about why parents react the way they do (often times it is not because they want to be mean, it is because they care about what happens to their children). We also made special compliment cards for each youth to remind them how special they are as individuals and allow them to have something on rough days to look at and remind themselves of the good things about them.

The parents worked on I statements to help them identify things they would like to work on for themselves and their families. The I statements were taken home for them to place somewhere where everyone in the family could see them and work on them together.

During the family session each family made a tree. This was more than your typical family tree. It was a tree that showed family members, their characteristics, and strengths. It was an opportunity for each member of the family to show the important characteristics that they see in each other.

At the end of the session we came together as a group in our circle. At that time the parents/caregivers and youth both give positive aspects of the other and say their pledges. It was a wonderful evening for all.

Our First Meeting Is Memorable!

February traditionally marks our first 4-H County Council and 4-H Volunteer Leaders' Association meeting and this year was no different. This year our elected leaders got right down to business and you can tell this is going to be a year where things happen. To start with the officers decided to change how we do role call. Only chartered and new clubs will be on the list to be called. The winner will be determined by the percentage of members present for each club. This way clubs that only have five youth will still be able to compete against clubs that have 40 or more youth. This meeting the Future Leaders won with 100% of their current club members present. The club leader chose from an ice cream party, pizza party, skating party and bowling party as a prize. They chose a skating party that they will set the date for in the future.
In old business Ashley Sealey reported on the winners from youth achievement night. Libby Burney also received a certificate for her club to denote their club of the year award for 2009.
Our volunteers, in reviewing their bylaws noted some changes needed to be made. After drafting the language and presenting it to the group they decided to separate the Secretary/Treasurer position and add a Parliamentarian to the slate of officers.
Hazel Sumner, the Robeson County 4-H Volunteer Leaders' Association President worked diligently to get folks to volunteer for various committees during the evening. The group decided to create several committees. Joyce Peay and Kristen Sealey will co-chair the Scrapbook Committee. Libby Burney volunteered to chair a Volunteer Training Committee. Missy McLean is chairing the Banquet Committee which will oversee the details of our 4-H Volunteer Appreciation Banquet and our 4-H Youth Achievement Night. Nikki Edwards is chairing the Workshop Committee. We had several people to sign up to serve on many of these committees and we are very excited about what they have planned for the upcoming year.
Before the meeting ended a motion was made to take nominations from the floor for the new Parliamentarian position. Joyce Jones and Larry Russ were nominated from the floor to serve in these roles. After clubs cast ballots, and they were tabulated it was determined that Larry Russ will serve as our first Parliamentarian for the rest of the meetings this year.
Our next 4-H County Council and 4-H Volunteer Leaders' Association Meeting will take place April 12, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at our 4-H office. As special guests our 4-H Advisory Committee will meet just before that and attend this meeting to see our clubs in action.

Setting Really Good Family Goals

It was a goal of the 4-H and Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) staffs to organize a second incredible "Strengthening Families" program. Guess what? We did it again. We had our first program Thursday night and enjoyed five families getting to know each other.

Strengthening Families is a program that involves families with youth between the ages of 10 and 14. Each week we have a new theme, with lessons that build on each other. The first week has to do with setting goals. After eating together we split the adults and youth. Christy Strickland and Janice Fields, FCS Extension Agents, work with the adults while Shea Ann DeJarnette and Aggie Rogers with the 4-H Staff work with the youth. The adults go over multimedia lessons and activities and have the opportunity to share issues they are facing. The youth work on hands on lessons and learn how to communicate and help relate better to their parents. After sessions apart the families come together to work on activities that build on what they learned in their separate sessions. For example, the youth worked setting goals and learning what it takes to make those goals reality. As part of this they created a collage that shows their goals for their future professions, health, friends and family, and hobbies and leisure. After creating their collages, the parents had to figure out which on belonged to their child. After identifying the correct masterpiece, they began a conversation learning what it will take to help their child achieve their goals, and the youth asked their parents questions like; what were your goals when you were my age? It allowed them to learn more about each other.

This group will meet each week through March. As part of the program parents and youth will gain skills to deal with tough subjects like drugs, bullying, smoking and other risky behaviors. If you would like more information about this program, please contact Christy Strickland, Family Consumer Sciences Extension Agent at (910) 671-3276 or Christy_Strickland@ncsu.edu.