Buttoning it All Up

Its hard to believe that today is the last day of our wonderful Farm to Fork 4-H day camp.  As we wrap up the week we have a few more activities to finish up on and things to remember.  We started the day with a round up of the things we had learned the day before and Mrs. Christy and Mrs. Janice reminded us of all the fun we have had.  Then Mrs. Christy worked with us on etiquette.  Etiquette is just a fancy word for minding your manners and making people feel comfortable.  As part of our etiquette lesson Mrs. Christy taught us how to set a table, and about the top ten rude manners to avoid.  We also got to take home an etiquette handbook that Miss Shea Ann and Mrs. Christy made.  

  After a brief snack, it was time for Mrs. Tahnea to come in and work with us on team building again.  We learned about the different things we like and how to work with others.  After a few games we were tired and ready to sit back down at the table to get creative with Mrs. Chrsity.  We did a recycling craft where we used buttons to decorate frames.  Each of our frames had a photo of us from the week.  We had a lot of fun learning about recycling, up cycling, and having a gift we can take home and remember our Farm to Fork camp always.
   When we were done working on our craft it was time for lunch.  We had a new dish, taco rice.  We had two kinds of rice to try, white rice and brown rice and then added whatever taco toppings on top that we liked.  There was a choice of ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, and other fresh veggies.  we had fresh watermelon for dessert.
  After lunch it was time for entertainment.  Mrs. Janice's daughter Ally, gave us a demonstration of gymnastics.  She has been competing as a gymnast for many years and has practiced hard at this.  She let us know that if we work hard at something we enjoy we can become very good at it too.  After Ally was done it was time for a little work.  Miss Shea Ann worked with us on evaluations so we could let her know what we liked and learned as part of the camp.  When we got done we had a chance to finish our picture frames or work on our rug looms for a few minutes before our next activity.  
  Mrs. Tamika came in and worked with us as part of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Program.  Today we learned about dried fruits and made our own trail mix which was pretty darn good.  One of our favorite treats came after our lessons and before we went home.  Mrs. Janice and Miss Shea Ann made homemade ice cream for us.  They made peach, with the peaches we bought this week and it was pretty peachy.  The vanilla didn't quite freeze but it was really good as a milkshake.  
  After all this activity we played games until our parents came and got us to go home.  Its hard believe that all the fun is already over.  Our next day camp will be the week of July 30, as we get ready for Biotech, the quad experiment.  

Nothing But the Whole Grain

  There are days where I love working in our office.  Days like today when it smells like a bakery and it turns out to be educational are the best!  Today was our fourth and next to last day of 4-H Farm to Fork summer day camp.  We had a lot to cover and dove right in during the morning session reviewing the things we had learned the day before.  Our groups split into two and half worked with Mrs. Christy on their t-shirt rugs, while Mrs. Janice worked with the other half on making wheat flour and they would make the beginning of their whole wheat dough for bread.  As the dough was riding from the first group the groups switched places and started all over again.
  Lunch was another chance to make your own.  Today was make your own veggie pizza.  We used flat bread for crust, homemade pizza sauce, green peppers, red peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, and lots of cheese.  each youth made their own masterpiece and I did not see any left over when they got done.

After lunch our youth separated out their loaves and let the wheat bread rise in pans.  As they worked with Mrs. Tamika on EFNEP programming and making their own yogurt parfait, Mrs. Janice put the bread in the oven.  Oh my the smell was incredible.
  After our snack we had the opportunity to work on our looms or play some team games as we waited for our parents to arrive.  Almost every last one of them commented on the wonderful smells we had made today!
  Stay tuned for more healthy fun tomorrow!

So Fresh

Day number 3 of Farm to Fork 4-H Day Camp was just peachy.  Our day campers hit the Downtown Farmer's Market to work on a scavenger hunt.  The hunt included finding the largest fruit, largest vegetable, learning about new items and meeting the farmers who grow the food we eat.  As a prize for finishing their scavenger hunt each youth got a water bottle, filled with ice water to drink on the trip and to take home with them.
  After a successful trip it was time to go back to the office where the campers made their own lunch.  Using fresh chicken and cornflakes the youth made baked chicken nuggets, using fresh potatoes from the farmers market the youth made french fries, and shucked corn for fresh corn on the cob.  Lunch was the bomb and healthy to boot.
  When lunch was over it was time to get to work.  The group split into two with part of the group working with Mrs. Janice to make peach jam (with peaches that we purchased the day before) and the rest of the group working with Mrs. Christy on their hula hoop rugs.  After an hour or so they switched and everyone got a chance to make peach jam and work on their rugs.  We each got to take a jar of fresh peach jam home with us.  What a sweet treat.
  Mrs Tamika joined us for a lesson on healthy eating and we made fruit kabobs with ginormous marshmallows to anchor the fruit.  It was a fantastic day of local foods, healthy eating and fun!
We can't wait to see what new adventurous things are in store for us tomorrow.  Stay tuned as we relay all our fun!

Literally a Field Trip

  

Day two of 4-H Farm to Fork Day Camp was exciting because we were going someplace new, often called a field trip.  In the case of this camp I can honestly say it was a trip to the fields, the agricultural fields where our campers got a first hand look at where their food really comes from (because I can't tell you how many literally believe it grows on grocery store shelves).  

  First stop of the day was Geraldine's Peaches and Produce Roadside Market.  There our day campers got to go on a tour and see how peaches and other produce grow and even pick some.  For many this was their first time eating a peach picked right from a tree.  They also learned about the different varieties of peaches.  Many of the youth were excited to learn about doughnut peaches for the first time.  It was really neat to see them push the pits out and know that because these peaches are lower in acid, they are just a bit sweeter than other peaches grown at the orchard.  

  After having a great time at the orchard the group made a pit stop at the Extension Office for lunch.  Today was make your own wrap day.  Using a whole wheat wrap they used fresh produce to make ham or turkey wraps.

  When lunch was over it was time to hit the Hatcher Family Farms to learn about raising poultry.  There the campers got to hold chicks, learned about everything from egg to processing birds for sale.  They even had the opportunity to grade eggs for sale, and hold chicks (not at the same time however).  

  Everyone made it back to the office just in time for the afternoon EFNEP lesson with Mrs Tamika.  Today was about whole grains and one of our favorite whole grains, popcorn.  The youth got to enjoy a healthy popcorn snack made in an air popper with different topping put on it.  It was like a gigantic experiment in flavor.  

  Tomorrow we will have another field trip to the Downtown Farmer's market in Lumberton, and I bet we hunt down something special while we're there.

Farm to Fork Where Our Food Comes From

  Let's officially cut into 4-H Summer Fun with our Farm to Fork day camp.  This camp is all about letting our youth see where their food comes from and teaching them how to prepare healthy meals.  So there is not doubt that it will be a lot of fun.
  For our first day we started with some getting to know you exercises, led by Mrs. Tahnea.  She worked with us on team building.  Then it was time for Mrs. Tamika to join us.  Mrs. Tamika is the 4-H Expanded Foods and Nutrition Program Assistant.  She is going to work with us all week to teach us about the proper foods to eat, exercise and we will make our own snacks.  Today we made apple carousels with apples, peanut butter and animal crackers.  It was a great healthy snack.
  After a morning of hands on fun we settled into a healthy lunch and then split into two groups.  Half went with Mrs. Janice to learn about canning tomatoes, while the rest went with Mrs. Christy to do a neat recycling project.  Using hula hoops and old t-shirts we each made a loom.  Using old t-shirt strips we made yarn and started weaving to make a rug.  This is more than a craft project it is an handy recycling and up cycling project.  After an afternoon of fun it was time to head home.
Stay tuned for more updates and photos as our week progresses.  Tomorrow we will head out into the field, so parents please remember to dress us with closed toed and heeled shoes tomorrow.

We're Going Viral

  Robeson County 4-H is going viral.  You might have thought we were already there, but you know as the net expands so can we.  As part of a new volunteer training program the 4 County 4-H Volunteer Revolution we have been working with our volunteers to use the net to find credible sources to expand the hands on learning opportunities for our members.  So in an effort to help, Robeson County 4-H is now on Pinterest!
  For those of you who have not heard of Pinterest, it is a virtual bulletin board system that lets you pin things from all over the Internet, on boards that you make.  You can have as many boards as you like and organize them in a variety of ways.  You can also repin items that others have pinned.  You may follow people with similar likes, and you may be followed.  Although you can "like" and item and make comments, it is not as much a social networking site as it is an idea networking site.  You can however link facebook and twitter accounts to it and find out which friends and followers have pages you might like to follow.
  Although Pinterest is a free service, it does require an invitation from a member.  If you would like to follow Robeson County 4-H's Pinterest page, please e-mail me (Shea_Ann_DeJarnette@ncsu.edu) and I will be happy to send you an invitation.  If you would like to know more about our Pinterest page and other idea networking ideas, please feel free to attend our next 4 County 4-H Volunteer Revolution training, which will be held at the Hoke County Extension Center, August 21, at 6:30pm.  To register for the training please call our 4-H office at (910) 671-3276.
Happy Pinning!