Robeson County 4-H

Could it really be?  Our last morning at BJP ? It has been a week of fun, learning, gaining responsibility (yes the campers set the table for meals, cleaned up after meals, and made their own beds...don't let them fool you) not to mention making lots of new friends.  We have gained skills, friends, and a lifetime of memories.  That is what makes today so difficult.  A week ago we had no idea we would have so much fun! So we are packed and loaded, cabins are cleaned and what is left?  Food of course.  We have to have our final breakfast of bacon egg and cheese biscuits.  Yum!  After breakfast it was time for awards and the fashion show.  The fashion show is not your typical event.  Counselors model what they find in each of the cabins and let those who left them behind claim their items.  We had a couple of folks who almost left several items behind. Our experience at Betsy Jeff Penn was not quite done.  Every camper receiv...

  Mother Nature gave us a great morning for our last full day at Betsy Jeff Penn 4-H Camp .  We are well into our routine of getting up and getting our cabins cleaned up but today is bitter sweet as it is the last day we will do it like this.  As always our breakfast was hot and filling (french toast sticks and sausage) and we talked about all our activities (including last night's talent show).  Before we knew it it was time to head out for a day full of fun.   The schedule today included ropes courses, rock wall, canoeing, swimming, and so much more.  It seems like we have had a chance to experience everything and a few more days we could become good at all of it, with the help of our counselors of course.   Before we knew it it was time for lunch and that gave us all a chance to talk about tonight's dance.  There was talk about clothes, who we would dance with, what kind of games they would have for those who don't dance...there was just ...

When we woke up this morning things were dry and the temperature had dropped slightly giving our campers a little more energy as they woke up and cleaned their cabins before breakfast.  We are definitely in the routine of what we need to do, so I think it may have slipped by that it is already Wednesday and we are more than halfway through our week of camp at Betsy Jeff Penn 4-H Center .  We've been so busy it snuck right up on us. After enjoying a breakfast that included waffles and  bacon it was time to hit the dusty trail and check out some more activities.  Our groups will hopefully get the chance to do some of their favorite things like canoeing, horseback riding, and archery at least once if not more than once. Our horseback riders got to get up on the horse and go for a trail ride today which they said was really good.  While our younger campers were enjoying the more traditional options such as canoeing, horseback riding, and archery our older camper...

  We woke up to a beautiful sunny day this morning to start our third day at Betsy Jeff Penn 4-H Center .  Our campers are getting used to the schedule of getting up and cleaning up their cabins for inspection.  Our campers had pancakes and sausage for breakfast, along with a selection of fresh fruit.  For those who like breakfast it was a great way to start the day.   Then it was time for our activities.  For our younger campers Canoeing, swimming, archery, horseback riding, and rock wall climbing was on the schedule.  For our middle school age campers it was a hike to the beaver dam and compass course thrown into the schedule.  Our older campers worked on team building and ground initiatives while spending a whole lot of time in the canoes today.   Lunch for our younger folks was the classic pizza along with a side of carrots and celery, and the older campers (they have two seatings of meals so the younger campers eat first then the ol...

It is officially our first full day of 4-H Camp at Betsy Jeff Penn and it was worth the anticipation.  We started the day the early getting up at 7 am.  For the younger campers they had time to get dressed and head to the dinning hall for breakfast.  For the older ones it mean cabin clean up, trying to prepare for cabin inspections, before heading to breakfast.  This morning's breakfast included biscuits, eggs, and bacon, which had everyone happy.  After breakfast and cleaning the cabins it was time for flag raising and then off to activities.   For our younger campers the day was filled with arts and crafts, pool time, horseback riding, archery, kick ball, and the boulder wall.  For our older youth who are adventurers and treckkers, the day was filled with canoeing, team building, orienteering, and much much more.  Now don't think that our campers were so busy that they didn't have time to make friends.  At every turn there was somethi...

If you were a 4-H camper today it probably seemed like an eternity to get from the Robeson County Cooperative Extension Center to Betsy Jeff Penn 4-H Camp for our very first day of camp .  In all reality it only took us three hours with a stop or two on the way. Our first stop was in Richmond County to pick up some 4-H campers then on to Asheboro where they have a Golden Coral and we took a moment to stop and eat lunch.  After or stomachs were full we got back on our bus and headed for camp. You could feel the excitement in the air as our campers moved into their cabins and made new friends immediately.  After getting settled in it was time to hit the field and play some games.  Rock, paper, scissors, tag is always a favorite and in big groups can cause a wee bit of confusion as we found out today.  The you got a chance to work on team building skills all while having fun. Our outdoor picnic was incredible.  We had hot dogs with all the trimmings, ba...

It came up so fast....but alas here it is our last day of 4-H Jr. Chef Academy.  Still lots to do on our last day so we jumped right in.   We started our day with a look back in history.  Ok we didn't go to far back to talk about the things we learned and liked over the last two days.  Then it was time to split into groups and get our stuff going.  In the kitchen we worked with Mrs. Janice on making our lunch, chicken nuggets and home fries (made from real chicken and real potatoes).  In the auditorium we learned about whole foods and the importance of eating things that aren't processed all the time. While working with our health department folks we got to play a game and then watch Colton as he made a smoothie.  It was made with yogurt, berries, milk, and ice.  It was some kind of good and good for us.  After we had snack and switched groups it was time for our Food Network Competition.  Miss Shea Ann made teams by drawing names ou...

  It was bright and early as we boarded our vans and headed to Clemmons, NC for day 4 of 4-H Jr. Chef Academy.  Today we were headed to a cookie factory.  Not just any cookie factory but the factory where they make Mrs. Hanes' Moravian Cookies .  The cookie recipe has been passed down for generations in the family and each and every cookie is still made by hand.  What made this tour even sweeter was that we got to sample each and every cookie flavor, 6 in all, along our tour.   Our first stop was to see the cookies being rolled our and cut.  In the back of the big room they also have the ovens where the cookies are baked.  It was really neat and we figured out these ladies have some serious arm muscles because they roll out lots of cookies each day.  At this stop we tasted their number one best seller, the ginger cookie. We then ventured back to where the cookie orders come in.  Our tour guide told us at Christmas time it is very ve...