Resolving and Dreaming

This article was written by Shea Ann DeJarnette, 4-H Youth Development Extension Agent for Robeson County.  The article was published in the Robesonian and can be located on the Cooperative Extension Web  Site.

"Did you know almost half of Americans make a New Years Resolution each year?  Of that only half (or a quarter of all Americans) actually stick with the resolution to fulfill it.  If we apply those statistics to Robeson County residents, that would mean of the approximately 135,500 people living here about 67,750 will make a New Year’s resolution this year.  Of those 33,875 residents will fulfill that resolution.

According to the University of Scraton, which has done a study on the top New Year’s resolutions (yes, there is a study on everything now), the number one resolution has to do with loosing weight.  I am sure this is no shocker to anyone.  As a matter of fact, of the top ten resolutions four of them have to do with becoming healthier.  Of course, there are things like falling in love, being organized, and having more fun on the list but it was number eight that caught my eye.  Number eight said “Help others in their dreams.”  Why did it catch my eye?  For two reasons: the first is that it is the only resolution that is not about yourself, it focuses on others; the second is that I am in the business of helping people imagine dreams and set goals to achieve those dreams.  My biggest frustration with that is by myself I can only reach so many and I am always looking for more volunteers to help make dreams come true.

What I mean by dreams is often focused on youth.  Specifically, in 4-H we work with youth between the ages of 5 – 19.  Currently, with more than 150 adult volunteers we have reached more than 6,000 youth in this county alone in 2012.  Imagine what we could do with more volunteers.  The really great thing about 4-H is although we work with youth, we help them determine their dreams and find ways to make them come true and its not just the youth who benefit.

Often our volunteers who go through trainings and have the opportunity to explore the world with our young people find themselves making new dreams and being able to achieve them.  For years, we have been saying 4-H is more than cows and cooking, maybe we should say 4-H is where your dreams become reality no matter what your age.

You could be a part of this dream making team too.  For your New Years resolution think about helping others in their dreams by becoming a 4-H volunteer.  To do that you can call 910-671-3276 or come by our office at 455 Caton Road, and speak with myself or another member of our 4-H staff.  We will offer you training and find a volunteer position that you feel comfortable in and will help you make dreams come true (you and the youth).

Can you imagine the impact in this county if a small number of the 33,875 folks who will fulfill their New Year’s resolutions choose to become volunteers?  It would be more than dreams that would be fulfilled.  As we say to our youth, the sky is the limit.  No matter what your resolution may (or may not) be from our family to yours, have a healthy, safe, and profitable New Year!

For more information, please contact Shea Ann DeJarnette, Extension 4-H Youth Development Agent with North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center, at 671-3276, by E-mail at Shea_Ann_DeJarnette@ncsu.edu or visit our website athttp://robeson.ces.ncsu.edu."

Blowing Up A New Adventure

Day two for 4-H Cloverbud Day Camp came filled with scientific anticipation and the hope that something would blow up.
  We started the day learning some principles of science.  Things like capillary refill and wicking as we magically moved colored water from one glass to another then used paper towels to make a new color of water.  It was really cool conducting a bunch of experiments at once.  We also learned about air pressure by using air to squish marshmallows flat (honest we did not touch them we used air to do it).  We also made our own lava lamp that we all got to shake up.  It was really awesome.
  After working in physical science we worked in plant science.  Each camper got a chance to make their own greenhouse and plant either vegetables or flowers.  In a week or so there should be sprouts  and our science project will prove a success.  While we were talking about the things that plants need we moved on to weather.  It gave us a chance to make a tornado in a jar.  Honest our very own swirling funnel cloud in a jar, how cool is that?
  Before lunch we had one more big experiment to do.  We finally got to see something blow up, or explode, or both, or neither, it was just really fun!  With Miss Shea Ann's help we used vinegar and baking soda (along with some food coloring and glitter) to make the most awesome and messy volcano ever!  She made it blow up lots of times, higher and higher.  IT was AWESOME!

  After lunch we worked to make bracelets out of popsicle sticks.  We boiled the sticks in water and learned about humidity and heat, how it can even bend wood.  Mrs. Janice came in to make tea and showed us how science is even in food.  It is pretty neat how science is everywhere.
  Then it was time to work with Mrs. Tamika.  She showed us that being active can be fun and be healthy for us.  We all got a chance to play with hula hoops and work off some energy while havign fun.  After working with Mrs. Tamika and making our snacks Mrs. Jessica and Miss Shea Ann had one more surprise for us.

  We got the chance to use shower rings and curl lots of our favorite colors of ribbon on them.  After we got done with the curly Q's they played music for us and we danced around the room swinging our ribbons to the beat of the music.  We had the most fun ever!
  Tomorrow we are going to travel to outer space!  We can't wait to take a giant leap for cloverbud kind.

A New Day A New Creation

  The last week of Summer Fun belongs to our youngest ones.  Not that I am trying to go Suessian on you but rhyming sort of comes naturally after spending the day with our 5-8 year old Cloverbuds.  We changed things up a little this year.  Each day has a theme for this camp and our first day was one that lead to creativity, Arts and Crafts day.
  Thanks to the help of 4-H Volunteer Jessica Drake this week we have a whole host of things going on that will make our youngest members, happy.  We started the day getting to know each other and playing a few games.  Then we got ready to have some fun, and perhaps make a mess. Our first project took a little patience and one we would work on all day.  We painted the backgrounds of a canvas in a single color.  This would serve as our backdrop to our nature prints.  We'll explain as we go forward.
  While we were being patient waiting for that to dry (and after cleaning ourselves up) we moved on to reusing items.  In this case we reused socks to make socktopuses.  While we were stuffing our socks we learned all about octopuses and the eight legs that they have.  Ours are a much cuddlier version of the creatures that also have eight legs, google eyes and lots of character.
  Before lunch we made one more really cool thing.  We turned the usual into the unusual.  By using really big paperclips and ribbon we made our own personalize bookmarks.  We just picked the different ribbon or ribbons we wanted then looped it through one end so it would stay tied.  Now we have our own personalized bookmark that we made ourselves.
  Mrs Margaret came and made us an awesome lunch!  She said she would come back all week just to cook for us and she makes really yummy food.
  After lunch we had a little more work to do while our works of art finished drying.  We had the chance to take plastic pony beads and make big and little sun catchers   I know it sounds sort of fishy and fishing line is used to hang these one of a kind pieces but this was cool.  We took our favorite colors an put them in aluminum pans of different sizes.  We made sure there was only a single layer of beads in each of our trays then Miss Shea Ann and Mrs. Jessica baked them in the oven.  The beads melted (we got to go check it out) when it came out the plastic discs popped right out and we had a really cool multi-colored sun catcher to take home with us.
  When we got done with that fun we split into two groups.  Miss Shea Ann and our teen volunteer Chris Bullard took some of us outside with our boards and we collected flowers, leaves, twigs, etc outside and got ready to get creative.  Miss Shea Ann sprayed our canvas with adhesive spray and we played our items creatively on our canvas.  Then we pick gold or silver spray paint.  She spray painted our entire canvas (sticks, leaves, flowers, and all) and left it outside in the sun to dry.
  The group inside got the chance to work with Mrs. Jessica on two items.  Our first was a wood cut out that had its own markers.  We each got to pick one and color it in to take home.  When we got done with that we had the chance to make button bracelets with ribbon and buttons.  It was a really cool project that a lot of us wore home to show our parents.
  When we got done with each of our leaders we switched places and got to do the other stuff.  Then it was time for Mrs. Tamika.  She works for the Expanded Foods and Nutrition Education Program or EFNEP.  She is going to come in all week and talk with us about different healthy foods we can eat and teach us how to make our own snacks.  Today we made apple carousels with apples, animal crackers and peanut butter.  They were really awesome, and tasted good too.
  Tomorrow is Science Day.  We think we might get to make something explode!  How much fun would that be?

If you Liked Mini-Society You Will Love This!

  We are so excited to make this announcement!  Robeson County 4-H will be starting an entrepreneurial specialty club.  If you have a child who is interested in money and is resourceful this will be the club for them.  The organizational meeting for this new club (which will be named at that time) is September 17th.  The club plans to meet the first Monday of each month at the Cooperative Extension office starting at 5:30 pm.  If you have a child interested in being a part of this club please contact a member of the Robeson County 4-H Staff at (910) 671-3276 or email Shea Ann DeJarnette at Shea_Ann_DeJarnette@ncsu.edu.

The Bottom Line Equals?

  It is our last day of Mini-Society and today is the big day.  Today we use all the skills and activities we have worked on to make our last day of business the ultimate success.  With all the money we earn today we will be able to bid on big items at our last auction of the day.
  We started our day by learning about a recycling project.  In business it is important to be environmental conscious   We would like to use products that can be reused or do not leave an impact on our environment   Sometimes it is as simple as just finding a creative way to reuse the products and an audience that would like to recycle.  As part of this lesson we used old greetings cards and cut the photos and the images in them to make place-mats.  Our collage place-mats were to represent us with the images we had in front of us.  They were very personal, very cool, and environmentally friendly.

  After getting ready to open our stores we took a brief break for a special lunch of Mr. Bobby's fried chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes.  It was so good!
  Then it was time to get down to business.  We opened our stores and had end of week sales.  We offered incentives  bartered, and did everything we could to get as much cash for the big finale.  After we closed up shop it was time for the big auction.  We had items like water bottles, sports balls, and other great things to bid on.  It was awesome!

They Nailed This One

  We hammered home a new point today as part of day four of Mini-Society.  One of the goals of Mini-Society is to introduce youth to careers.  Today they were introduced to woodworking or carpentry, birds or ornithology, and art.  Although not careers you might traditionally think about, they are all very important, and it is important to introduce youth to nontraditional careers.  You never know when it might spark something in them to identify a niche and create a job or a business that meets the needs of the world.  Today, thanks to our wonderful volunteer Bobby Rogers our youth had bird houses to paint and express themselves on, and they were able to take them home.  They learned about the construction of these houses, the difference between bird feeders and bird houses, and how to protect their art work in the great out of doors.
  After working hard on the bird houses it was time to get paid, and go shopping.  Today the shops were a little more tailored to meet the needs of the clientele.  At one shop, nails could be done, and there were snacks galore being sold.  At Mrs. Aggie's store they learned that they could buy the same items much cheaper at other stores, and learned how to bargain for a better deal.  During the auction the youth had to decide if they were going to save their money for what they really wanted being auctioned on Friday or if they would buy lots of cheaper stuff today.  For some of them the cash was burning a hole in their pocket.  Others did not have a problem sitting on a wad of cash and planning on how to gain more the next day for the big auction items.
  Stay tuned for more information on how the auction battle turns out tomorrow.

Absolutely Open for Business

  Day three of 4-H Mini-Society day camp started with a trip outside of our society.  We loaded up and headed to Fayetteville to Absolute Fitness.  It is a small personal training business that was started by Brad Austin.  Coach Austin gave our youth a tour of his facility and then spoke with them about what it takes to start a small business.  He is a graduate of University of North Carolina at Pembroke majoring in Physical Fitness and also has a certificate from the small business center at UNCP.  He spoke with the youth about business plans, financial matters, and how important education is.  They spoke about marketing and advertising and the best ways to promote a business in today's technology driven world.
  After the spoken motivational session he gave them a workout, literally.  Everyone got up and stretched, jumped and ran relays.  He put everyone through their paces before giving them a break and fixing them protein shakes.  Then before leaving they hit the cardio machines and gave him a big hug.
  After working up an appetite it was time to head to lunch.  A brief stop at Golden Corral allowed all of our campers the chance to eat up and regain the calories they had so diligently worked off that morning.  As a special treat we headed to fascinate you.  At this hands on children's museum for youth between the ages of 3-12 our Mini-Society day campers had the chance to run a post office, work in a grocery store, vote, hold court, be an anchor person, dress up as a fire fighter, work for the power company and even handle live snakes.
  It was a day of excitement and entertainment.  Tomorrow we will return to our society and work on developing our businesses, that is if we aren't too sore from the workout.

Shopping Around

  The first thing we heard this morning was, "when can we open our stores?"  Believe it or not that is music to our ears.  Tuesday marked day two of 4-H Mini-Society.  One of the highlights for our 4-H day campers is opening their stores, but there were a few more skills they needed to learn before that could happen.  After reviewing terms from the day before, it was time to get down to business.
  Today they learned about how to write a check, fill out a job application, and interviewing skills.  Each camper took a shot at interviewing for their dream job and critiqued each other on topics from handshakes to volume while answering questions.  The jobs the applied for ranged from dentist, to vet, and even town manager.  After applying for jobs it was time to set up for the big event of the day, the official opening of stores.
  After lunch it was time to sell items, make deals, and learn the meaning of a bargain.  The youth found out that items at Mrs. Aggies store might not be the best deal in the Cash Society and went looking for things that were cheaper to get the biggest bang for their buck.  They learned about making deals for what they wanted and how to save money for the big auction items.  It is the beginning of business, and trust me there was nothing usual about the business they were conducting.
  Tomorrow it will be time for a field trip and the opportunity to meet someone who has started their own business, and check out their business first hand.

Welcome to Cash Society

  Today marks the first day of one of our favorite 4-H day camps, Mini-Society.  Mini- Society allows youth to create their own country, learn about government, making laws, banking and business.  Today is the day when the day campers learn to lay the ground work for great things to happen in the week coming up.
  First off was coming up with a name of their town, or society.  Each youth had the opportunity to make a drawing with a title.  Each drawing was placed on the board for consideration and the entire group voted.  Each person has two votes to cast so hopefully we do not end up with a tie of each person voting for their own effort.  Of all the choices placed before them, Cash Society, which was created by Jordan was the name chosen for their town.
  Next they needed to create their flag.  Everyone worked hard to come up with something that they thought would represent their society to outsiders and explain what they do.  After many colorful entries, and a democratic vote (with everyone being able to cast two votes), a flag designed by Tierra was chosen.  Of course Cash Society would also need the one thing that the name promotes, cash.  Once again all the day campers hunkered down and designed the Cash Society cash.  Once again Jordan had the winning design of the cash that will be oh so important this week.
  After designing it was time to get down to business.  First and foremost the campers had to decide how much cash would be distributed each day.  Each camper will receive 900 Big City Bucks for showing up each day.  Also they determined that the people who designed the money, flag, and created the society name would receive 1,000 Big City Bucks.  Of course having a town means there are jobs that must be filled.  Two of the most important deal with money and government.  Seth was elected President of the County Council, which is the governmental agency that will oversee cash society.  He will be paide 1,000 Big City Bucks for his role.  Brionna was hired as the banker.  It will be her job to make sure everyone gets paid each day.  For her add effort she will receive 800 Big City Bucks.  Celia and Macy will help as bank tellers, and will received 500 Big City Bucks for their hard work.  Gavin, Tierra, Jordan and Shelby are all money counters and will receive 300 Big City Bucks for their efforts.  In a society where they can print and cut money as they need it and not worry about inflation, you can imagine how important money cutters can be.
  After lunch it was time to get down to business, literally.  The members of Cash Society broke into groups and created the advertising for their businesses.  Each of them picked a business name, hours, and told us what they would be selling.  After their hard work it was time to let them spend some money at Mrs. Aggie's Mini Society store.  Prices might be slightly different from what they were expecting, with prices ranging form 300 big city bucks on up.
  After a breif review of the day and the concepts it was time to head home.  Stay tuned for more fun as we open all of the cash society businesses tomorrow, and we see how well our campers budget and handle savings.

Shooting at Something Bigger

  Shooting for a small target is usually the goal of the members of the Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports Club.    The idea being the smaller the target that they hit the better their aim is.  However today they took aim at two really big targets as part of their August club meeting.  The first target is the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair where they are defending their best overall educational booth title.  I was not privileged to their top secret plans for their fair booth this year, but there was a tight huddle along with drawings and measurements going on.  I also noticed that everyone had different assignments for their role as part of the fair booth, so all I can say is these guys are taking this seriously, its no shot in the dark (sorry I could not resist).  

   The second target was making an impression on the community around them with a different type of ammunition.  Under the guidance of Club co-leader Peggy Monk, the group put together "Thanks a Whole Late" bags.  The bags were meant to say thank you to the Kiwanis who have support our 4-H citizenship program.  In the bags were coffee cups, instant latte packets, coffee flavored candy and other sundries that they might find useful.  The bags will be delivered as part of an annual event for the group with a special amount of care putting them together from this specialty club, and extreme thanks for the impact they made within our community.  

Doing More than Just Talking About It

 

  It's hard to believe today was our last day of 4-H Bio-tech Day Camp.  Unlike previous last days we did something a little different this year.  Our youth traveled to Cumberland County and worked on their multi-tasking abilities as they helped make lunch, worked on a community service project and  shot their own videos.
  As we rotated groups different youth would head to the kitchen to help prepare our lunch for not just ourselves but also our special guests.  Our youth prepared freshly baked cookies and got ready to serve our guests who would be coming from different counties.
  While that was going on another group was working on fleece blankets.  Working in teams they used fleece to make blankets that had hand knotted fringe.  The blankets will be given to military youth whose parents are deployed as part of Operation Military Kids.  Its a great program that lets kids reach out and support kids whose parents are serving our country.
  If our youth weren't busy doing that they were busy making videos about their trips and travels this week.  Our groups split up into groups representing Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Each group talked about what they did, their favorite parts of the trip and what they learned.
  We played the videos at the luncheon for our special guests.  Our guests included parents, representatives of County Government, the County Extension Director, Lisa Childers, and many more.  We had a good time at lunch and enjoyed not only the video but a photo slide show of our exploits.  As part of lunch Angela Shaver recognized youth who have parents who are deployed and honored them with a fleece blanket and hero packs.
  After lunch we loaded up and headed to Fort Bragg.  After we made it through the checkpoints we headed to Tolsen Youth Center on post.  There were met a mother and her two children.  Their father (the mother's husband) had been deployed (on and off over the years) for a total of about 5 years.  Our youth offered them their choice of blankets, letting them know how much they appreciate the sacrfice they are making as a family while their father protects us all.  It was a tearful moment for the mother and very touching for our youth.  Everyone spent some time together playing, and enjoying just being kids, before we loaded back up and headed back to the Cumberland County Extension Office.  After saying goodbye to our new friends we loaded up and headed back to good old Robeson County.
  We had a great week, learned lots of new things, and best of all had fun discovering the science in us.  Stay tuned for next year when we offer the fifth edition of this ever popular day camp program.

Just Clayin' Around

  The first Thursday of the month?  That means its time for the All Around All Stars 4-H Arts and Crafts Club to meet, and meet they did.  This is a club on a mission, a mission for a fair booth.  With the theme of "4-H Join the Revolution of Responsibility" this club is crafting an awesome booth.  Not only that but they took the opportunity at this club meeting to start clayin' around to have some entries for the youth home exhibit section at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair.
  Using a special air dry clay members worked on making a bowl.  Once dry (they are letting them dry not just overnight but for an entire month) they will paint them and get them ready to enter in the fair for competition.  This is the first time in more than a decade that a club has taken on a home exhibits project angle for the fair and we are so excited.
  The All Around All Stars will meet again next month and continue working on their fair projects.  If you would like more information about this club please contact the Robeson County 4-H office at (910) 671-3276.

The Buzz is all About Science

  We were buzzing with excitement on day four of 4-H Biotech day camp.  We started by stopping at ComTech.  There we met with Dr. Len Holmes an associate professor in Biochemistry, Bioprocessing, Fermentation, and Technology.  He introduced us to members of the Robeson County Bee Keepers Association; Dr. Reginald Oxendine and Dennis Clark told us all about bees.  They told us that there are laid back bees and aggressive bees.  They showed us how to find and mark the queen bee.  They also told us the difference between queen bees, drones and worker bees.  Mr. Clark told us that the honey you buy in the store isn't really honey, and we should buy local honey from bee keepers becuase it is actually good for us and will help us with allergies, and is a natural sweetener.
  From there we went to the dining hall at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP) for lunch.  We had a choice of a variety of items and we really enjoyed eating lunch in an official college environment with other college students.
From there we took a brief walk to building of physical sciences.  We had the opportunity to meet the head of the Chemistry and Physics, Dr. Sivanadane Mandjiny.  He welcomed the 4-H members and encouraged them to continue to be excited about science.  Many of the campers thought he was one of the coolest people they had ever met.  After the introductions we split into two groups to work in the labs.  One group learned about extracting DNA from a strawberry while the other learned about cells in plants and got to see cutting edge research as its happening.  Each group then switched so they both had the chance to do the experiments. Shanna Harrelson showed the youth the multi-million dollars of equipment that they use for research and teaching in the department.  Many of the machines she was able to equate to real life scenarios which made the youth realize how much science is involved in our everyday lives.

  After that we hit the Native American Museum housed on campus.  There the youth saw examples of Native American art, learned more about the history of the Lumbee tribe, and had the chance to see how science is involved in art and nature.  It was just a hop. skip, and jump to the next stop on our tour the Mary Livermore Library.  Although many youth did not see the need in a college library becuase they did not think they would ever need books they quickly learned books are just one of the services offered at this library.  Here students have access to written works that have not been converted to digital media, as well as mirofiche and microfilm resources.  they also have the opportunity to use a computer network that gives them access to software that they would not be able to afford but need for specific classes.  Another thing you might not think of but we found out they have, are IPads available for check out.  Imagine that.
  We left the UNCP campus just before a storm hit and all made it safely back to the office for parents to pick up our campers.  So what is in store for our last day?  Something I garuntee you that will bring forth something you don't think about when talking science.  Let's just say we are expecting an emotional day.    

There was No Monkey Business Today

  In case you were wondering there is no bull about that title, however there might be a little bison.  On day three of 4-H Bio-tech day camp we focused on animal science with a hint of environmental conservation as we all traveled to Asheboro to the North Carolina Zoo.  It was a gorgeous day to start with as we avoided the big heat wave we had been having.  After entering the zoo we decided to hit the tram and travel to Africa and work our way back.
  We started by visiting the Ostriches and learning about the natural environment around them.  We also saw Gorillas, Baboons, Rhinos and much more.  Before hitting the tram to get us to lunch we checked out the helicopter, a tool that is necessary in Africa to study animals in their natural habitat, give them aid, and bring us more information about wild animals so that we can do everything we can as humans to protect them from becoming extinct.  Did you know that there are actually more than 17,000 species of animals that are listed as endangered or critically endangered?  That is out of more than a millions species that are reported to exist.  Zoos play a very important role in providing shelter and breeding sanctuaries for animals that are endangered.  Although many of the animals that we visit at the zoo are not on the endangered list, many of them would not be able to survive in the wild, and by being a part of the zoo researchers can study them, care for them and find way to help animals in the wild to ensure they do not become extinct.
  To make sure we made it to the lunch meeting spot on time we got on one of the North Carolina Zoo's special zebra buses.  These buses are powered by used cooking oil that has been refined into a bio fuel.  It serves two purposes not only are they recycling by doing this but they are also keeping what could be harmful materials out of the environment which means a better carbon footprint for plants and animals in the future.  Recycling is very important to the zoo and they are making a community wide effort to spread the word about its importance.  We stopped at the junction for a hamburger or hot dog lunch, and a bit of a seat before we headed on.

  Our next stop was North America with a goal of seeing all 1,100 animals at the zoo along with the 40,000 different types of plants.  The kids were buzzing about our first stop at the Honey Bee Garden.  Sponsored by the North Carolina Bee Keepers Association (a group that we are very familiar with in Cooperative Extension) showed us how to find a queen and the importance of bees in our society today.  Our nest stop was the Sonora Desert.  Of course you see all sorts of things in the dessert, like tutles, snakes, and aparently Ocelots which had everyone oohhhing and ahhhing.  After the desert it was time to hike on to see the red wolves, grizzly bears, and head to the Praire Outpost whic is the highest part of the zoo.  From there we saw Bison and Elk before checking out the otters playing with each other streamside.  We made a quick trip back towards the North American Plaza so we could make it home in time to see our parents.  Overall we had a lot of fun and saw things we could not see anywhere else.
  Stay tuned tomorrow as we get ready to blow things wide open with an introduction to the world of college science.