"Talented"

  Our annual 4-H Artastic Contest took place recently and the almost 40 entries were judged by three judges who all said that this was a talented group of young people.  They even made notes on many of their forms that they would like to display many of the items they judges in their homes.  That is the highest praise of all.
Each of the items were distributed by artist age, and then category.  When everything was entered and separated that means that there were 42 entries in three age divisions.  In some areas there was a lot of competition, in others maybe just one or two entries.
Jakaelin Hunt, who is a new member of the Dirty Rascals Jr. Master Gardener 4-H Club took home a blue ribbon in the (9-10 year old age division) for her sewing expertise on a tissue holder and her painting on a plate.
Shepard Page who is a new member of the Explore NC 4-H Club took home a few ribbons in the 11-13 year old age division including; 4th for his sewn bag, second for his ceramic shark, third for his Army Tank made from beads.
Brooke Canady who is a member of the Explore NC 4-H Club took home many ribbons for her talent.  Some of the items she entered included a sewn pillow case, ceramics, jewelry, fabric doll, cornhusk doll, leatherwork, grapevine wreath with a Halloween flair, paintings, photography, and multimedia craft.  Overall Brooke walked away with 13 first place ribbons and 3 second place ribbons.
Maggie Underwood, another member of the Dirty Rascals Jr. Master gardener 4-H Club was also a big winner.  She entered items such as a sewn pillow case, a ceramic penguin, a bead craft star, seed bead Christmas ornament, woodcraft bird feeder, pencil drawing and photography.  When it was all said and done she walked away with seven first places, 2 second places, and 2 third places.
Laci Rozier also with the Explore NC 4-H Contest, competed in the 11-13 age division also.  this year she took home a first place for her pillow case, fourth place for her sunflower plate, and fourth for her ribbon wreath.
Emma Nooe with the Explore NC 4-H Club also competed in the 11-13 age division.  Her entry for her red, white, and blue wreath ornament got her a third place ribbon.
Taylor Stone also with the Explore NC 4-H Club received fifth for her patriotic ornament.
Caris Lynch who was in the 11-13 ages divison received a third place for her acrylic Sunset painting.
Rounding out the group is Soraya Locklear who receivd first place for her Pastel, "The Night Flower."
All the entries will now be tagged and packed up to deliver to the Robeson County Fair so all of our participants will have the chance for another competition and to earn ribbons, prize money, and even fame.

Our New Leaders Are....

It was a quick but effective 4-H County Council and Volunteer Leaders' Association Election tonight.  Alex Evans, current 4-H County Council President lead the elections starting with our 4-H County Council officers.  There was a full slate and each club had the opportunity to cast their ballots.  In the end our 2018 officers will be;  Gia Williams of the Titans 4-H Club, President; Tristan Page, of the Explore NC 4-H Club as President-Elect; Laci Rozier of the Explore NC and Dirty Dozen Shooting Sports 4-H Club as Secretary-Treasurer; D. J. Brown-Rogers of the Titans 4-H Club will serve as the Reporter; and Trey Williams of the Titans 4-H Club serving as Sergeant at Arms.
The Volunteers had a more difficult time.  Only three positions had folks who stepped up to run so the needed to have nominations from the floor.  After phone calls and text messages the following slate of officers were presented:  Larry Russ of the Dirty Dozen Shooting Sports Club for President; Bonnie Canady of the Explore NC 4-H Club President-Elect; Joyce Peay of the Voices as Praise 4-H Club as Secretary; Gina Rozier as Treasurer; Lillian McNeill as Reporter; and Veronica Powell as Parliamentarian.  The volunteers moved to accept the slate of officers by acclamation and the group voted orally to accept the slate of officers as they stand.
Before the meeting was adjourned we discussed the upcoming State Council Conference and the new addition to our 4-H County Council and Volunteer Association meetings of an educational component that will serve as a meeting for our clubs.  The educational component will be lead by the officers.
After the end of the meeting the group sat and enjoyed wings and pizza, as well as each other company.
Congratulations to all our officers.

Getting a Head Start

 

   The link below is for the Growing Together newsletter.  It is a newsletter designed for parents of preschool age children and would apply to a young child working on behavior, and building relationships.  It includes games and activities.  We thought it might be a welcome tool for those who frequent this blog.
https://growingchild.com/growingtogether/7277ii/Sep17.pdf

Time Management is Critical

The following article was written by Wendy Maynor for the Robesonian, and may appear in other media.  It can also be found on the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center website.

With today’s busy lifestyles, time management is more important than ever. It seems as though parents and children have never been busier. It is vital for youth to learn time management as early as possible. As parents, we usually make appointments and schedule activities for our children, but as they get older, youth should be involved in managing their time and being held accountable. When children graduate and go off to college, parents are not there to help them manage their schedules. As a result, youth may have a difficult time transitioning, because they have never had the responsibility of managing their own time.

There are several ways we can help our children learn the importance of time management at an early age. When my children were younger, and in school, I put alarm clocks in their bedrooms. Of course, I would get up much earlier, but they woke up to the sound of an alarm on school days. It was their responsibility to get out of bed, turn off their alarm, and start their day. They had the option to wake up a little earlier, relax, drink their milk, and watch cartoons before breakfast, or they could sleep for a few extra minutes. We had a daily schedule, and they knew what time we had to leave the house in order to get to school on time, so they began to manage their time at an early age. Rushing around in the morning was never an option due to the negative affects it has on both children and parents. The earlier children learn how to prioritize and manage time, the easier it is for them when they get older. Time management becomes second nature and not a stressor.

Of course, children won’t manage time on their own, particularly when they’re young, unless they are taught. If we teach and coach children by giving them consistent opportunities to manage their own time, they will become responsible and more aware of the importance of time management. We all have to make choices, and all choices have consequences. You are responsible for the choices you make, so teaching accountability is also an important factor.

I know homework is the last thing children want to deal with after school, but it is beneficial to do homework as soon as they get home. Maybe have a healthy snack and something to drink before starting homework. By doing this we are teaching youth the importance of priority and time management. Once the work is done, there is plenty of time for play and family time, which is equally important. This also helps to develop effective study skills by studying a little bit every day. It actually helps with learning and retaining the information opposed to cramming. Learning to manage your time is critical to success in school and in business.

Avoid procrastination at all cost. Sometimes when we procrastinate, it causes stress, anxiety, and confusion, because we are trying to cram a lot into a small amount of time. Being proactive, not procrastinating, and planning your schedule according to priority helps you to manage your time. Time is something you can’t buy, save, or stop, so we need to learn how to manage it.

Another effective way for  children to learn essential  life skills is by joining the Robeson County 4-H Program. Youth have the opportunity to learn leadership skills, decision making, communication, public speaking, presentations, goal setting, planning, time management, teamwork, and other skill sets while having fun.

For more information, please contact Wendy Maynor, Extension 4-H Youth Development Program Associate with North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center, at 671-3276, by E-mail at Wendy_Maynor@ncsu.edu, or visit our website at http://robeson.ces.ncsu.edu/.

NC State University and N.C. A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity and prohibit discrimination and harassment regardless of age, color, disability, family and marital status, genetic information, national origin, political beliefs, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), gender identity, sexual orientation and veteran status. NC State, N.C. A&T, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.

Horse Program Update

Please check out the latest from the NC 4-H Horse Program.  This newsletter contains information about past and upcoming events.  If you like horses or are interested in the 4-H Horse program, please check it out1

What Color are You?

  Tonight was our third in a series of 4-H Adult Volunteer Trainings.  This is a multi county opportunity and we travelled to Fayetteville for a training on personalities.  With a group that is so comfortable with each other, and has such a range of personalities we knew tonight would be fun.
  Once at the Cumberland County Cooperative Extension office we enjoyed dinner of BBQ and fried chicken, along with all the fixings.  There were also some awesome desserts.  A special thank you to their staff for working with us and making us so comfortable.  We really appreciate all of their assistance.
  Our training tonight centered around the True Colors personality assessment.  This is a tool that classifies your personality based on your characterization of a series of words.  The words are broken into groupings and the tester determines which groupings are most like them and which are not.  Once finished the tester scores the tool which translates into four colors; Blue, Orange, Green, and Gold.  The person using the assessment will have a primary and secondary color based on the score.  Although these are general tools it gives the user a better understanding of their personalities and others.  With this understanding we hope that our volunteers can adjust their communication methods and understanding of others and their personalities to further impact our 4-H youth and families.
  Our volunteers started by working with others in their own color group.  They were given the task of organizing a youth achievement night.  We had a lot of blues and golds, two orange and no greens in our group tonight.  The results were interesting.  Our orange group had a very flexible plan and at the end everyone would have fun.  The blue group had a group discussion with lots of input and created a plan that was fair to everyone and let the participants know how appreciated they were.  The gold group didn't get to far.  They were so busy creating the structure that they had trouble getting to the planning of the event.
  After some discussion everyone was broken into four equal groups where they did the exercise again.  This time each group had a rather unique, and complete plan.  They all found it easier to work together in a group with folks of different personalities because each brought different perspectives, insights, and skills to the table.
  Hopefully by the end of the training our adults feel like they have the ability to work with a variety of personalities and have a better understanding of the different personalities they may encounter.  Our next training will take place October 30 in Hoke County.  For more informaiton about this series of trainings please contact Shea Ann DeJarnette at Shea_Ann_DeJarnette@ncsu.edu or (910) 671-3276.

Thank You

Our 4-H Summer Fun program is officially in the history pages, but I feel like there is something missing, hence this post.  Robeson County 4-H Summer Fun is a collection of day camps, and overnight opportunities for youth between the ages of 5-19.  Each week is a little different and involves a lot of planning, coordinating, and often last minute plan B's to make it all come together.  That being said it often takes lots of folks to make that happen, and all of their contributions need to be recognized.  First and foremost to our parents and families that register their youth for our programs, gift a week of camp to them, and make sure they get there and get picked up, thank you.  We appreciate that you trust us with your child.  We try to offer them an experience that will  entertain and hopefully expand their learning experiences and life experiences.  We know you have lots of choices out there and we want to say thank you for choosing and supporting our 4-H program.  We hope you also know that Summer Fun is just one part of our program.  We offer opportunities year round that your child is more than welcome to take part in.  We would be happy to expand this experience to year round.
To our N.C. Cooperative Extension Staff members in and outside of Robeson County...our hats off with thanks.  You take time out of your schedules to work with our 4-H members and get them excited about things we hope adults will care about.  We have found that often our children are the key to changing adult behaviors when it comes to new things.  It takes talented folks to engage youth and help them capture big ideas and y'all do it well everyday.  You also put up with a lot of extra noise with summer camp being held in the office each year.  Even though we try to keep the noise down, it's tough when you are having so much fun.  We know you appreciate the Quiet Game as much as we do, we just wish sometimes the campers could last a little longer.
Of course to our 4-H staff that dedicates themselves to educating youth in fun ways so they "accidentally" learn things a big pat on the back with your thank you.  Our ,Summer program is often thankless, with the hours, behavior management, stress of plans coming together.  However I would challenge this and also say it is the most rewarding because we see the smiles on the faces, get to see them learn, and get some feedback from parents on if we are hitting our mark, and they feel like they are getting a good value for their child.
I would be remiss if I did not say thank you to our interns this year.  Thanks to State Employees Credit Union and UNCP we had two summer interns.  Sarah and Paige did not know what to expect and often found themselves travelling to strange places or doing unusual things, and loving it.  When asked what they would tell folks Extension does they had the same problem we do in summing it up in one word.  Essentially we do a little of everything and we all have the best, and sometimes the hardest jobs.  We hope it was an experience they will look back on fondly, and maybe even come and visit us.
Last and certainly not least are our volunteers.  We have 4-H youth volunteers who have aged out of our Summer program but want to come back and help.  This opportunity often gives them a different perspective on programming and allows them to develop leadership skills as well as an appreciation for all the things that go on behind the scenes that the adults have to think about.  It also gives them the opportunity to learn and pass on some of the things they learned as part of the summer program.
 Our adult volunteers help in so many ways.  Some spend a week with us, helping us with programming and child supervision.  Some come in and help us cook lunch so our youth get a hot lunch everyday.  Others help us with recruiting campers, funding, making calls to make field trips happen.  Each and every action is not small but big, becuase without you we couldn't make this happen.
  For anyone who feels left out we hope you don't.  Each and every person who has touched the lives of our youth have enhanced them in some way shape our form.  Thank you does not seem like enough for the support you give our program and talents you share with our youth, and we hope that you will know how much we truly appreciate you, your talents, and time.  

Under the Sea

  It's the last day of 4-H Cloverbud day camp and we thought we would go for something a little different.  Today our theme is Under the Sea and all of our activities are water related without the water.  Almost crafty isn't it?
  We started our day with hanging out with our friends.  We played games, and colored.  Even found some new stuff today to play with.  It was pretty neat.  We even played our adults and beat some of them.
  After our learned and liked session we had to play the quiet game.  This is our very favorite game which everyone piles on the carpet, gets comfortable, and can not speak or move.  If you do speak or move, you are out.  Last one laying on the carpet wins.  It's a tough game that requires focus and any of our campers can win.
Our first under the sea activity was actually involving us making something you play with before getting into the sea, sand.  This wasn't any ordinary sand, it was moon sand.  We used flour and baby oil to make this really soft and pliable sand.  It was fun to play with and we had no idea we made a pretty big mess.  As we cleaned up our adults packed up our sand to take home.  Wait until we show our families when we get home.
  We did have a moment for a snack, and a rather appropriate one at that, goldfish.  We got a choice of three goldfish and we were quick to tell stories about each one that jumped into our mouths.
  Our next activity involved salt and glue.  Bet you thought we were going to say water, but this was one of many tricks up our sleeves.  We made our own puffy paint jellyfish creations.  We made the design of our jelly fish using glue.  Then salt was sprinkled on the glue and it got stuck there.  Then we used water colors to color our jelly fish.  The water paint spread across the salt and it was a really neat effect.  Some had striped jelly fish others made them look like stained glass.  Each and everyone of them was unique and represented the artist.
  With all of this work we had needed a moment for sustenance and took a break for lunch.  Today Ms. Margaret came back with Ms. Michelle and made us chicken nuggets and mac and cheese.  It was yummy.  Since it was our last day we had a special dessert, ice cream with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.  Everyone was excited about it.
 Our afternoon activities introduced us to the octopus and socktopus.  For those of you not familiar with the later it is like an octopus but made with a sock and stuffing.  Our campers made them and then gave them their own personality with google eyes and a mouth.
  Before we realized it Ms. T. was ready for us to finish up our last lesson.  This one was on dairy and we made our own astronaut pudding.  We mixed our pudding with our fingers in a baggie.  Then we cut off the corner of the bag when it was all mixed up and got to squish it into our mouth.  It was really good.  We played some review games with Ms. T. and then we got to see our germs.  We talked about germs but this activity let us see them and then go wash our hands to get them off.  It was really gross and neat all at the same time.
  By the time we got done it was time to pack up all our stuff and go home.  What a fun and wonderful week of camp.  We hope our cloverbuds will come back during the year, or just come back again next summer for 4-H Summer Fun.
That's a Summer Fun wrap folks.

Crafty Thursday

  We are on the downhill slide for our 4-H Cloverbud Day Camp so that means its time to ramp up the fun. Today our plan is to cut up a little, paint the world bright colors, and do some strange and wonderfully fun things to celebrate our Crafty Thursday.
  Our day started with puzzles, coloring, war, Tenzy, and much more as we talked with all of our new friends and got to know them even better. It wasn't long before we got to the business at hand arts and crafts!
  Our first project was to finish one we started on Wacky Science Wednesday, taking our chromatography coffee filters and turning them into butterflies.  All of the designs were one of a kind and unique.  With a mere pipe cleaner we were able to transform our science project into an art project making the most delicate and adorable decorations that flew right into our hearts.
  So another link that makes this day special is that 4-H does a special contest for 4-H members called Artastic.  This is a visual arts contest where 4-H members enter their items for competition and can win awards.  The staff then takes all the entries to the fair and enters them in the fair for us.  It's a really neat opportunity and lots of us said we would like to take part with all the stuff we did at 4-H day camp.

  Our next project was something we had never heard of but our adults seemed really excited about it, something called Shrinky Dinks.  We each got to color on a clear piece of plastic that had a hole in it.  They said it was going to be a key chain but it seemed really big.  When we got done, they put them in the oven and in no time the plastic started rolling up and over and looked really funny.  In just a few minutes it was flat again, but much much smaller and thicker.  It was really cool and just the right size for a key chain.
  After our snack we experimented with water colors.  We painted some really cool designs and learned how to share, make the colors brighter or softer, and made sure not to use too much water because it would make our paper really funny.
  It was no time before we finished our masterpieces and moved on to our fashion collection.  Each of us got a big bandanna and learned that it could be used as a handkerchief, as a headband, a sweat rag and more.  We used fabric markers to tell a story or make a design on this fabric.  We can't wait to show our parents.
  Before we knew it lunch was ready and we were hungry.  Ms. Margaret made lunch for us today and it was fantastic.  We had grilled cheese sandwiches, chips, and watermelon for desert.  It was so yummy and Ms. Margaret told us some silly and funny stories while we ate lunch.
  After lunch we headed outside for some water paint art.  The neat thing about this is each of us got a water gun and it was loaded with water colors.  We aimed at our paper and created unique designs.  We traded guns to add different colors and created what was call abstract art.  Didn't look like much to the campers, but it was fun.
  Once inside we learned about the ancient Japanese art form of paper folding, origami.  We learned how to make a dog with a few simple folds.  Our dogs were colorful, quiet, and won't eat much.  It was also fun to do.
  Before we knew it, it was time to work with Mrs T.  Today we expanded my plate and talked about proteins.  She showed us a lunchables hack which was soooooo awesome because we can do it at home.  We were able to make stacked sandwiches with ham and turkey and then we put them on a stick.  We decided any food on a stick is better.  We enjoyed eating our sandwiches and before we could finish swallowing it was already time to go.
One day left, and what in the world could they have in store for us?

Wacky Science Wednesday

For a group of Cloverbuds with this much personality you would think a day called Wacky Science Wednesday might be right up their alley, and as it turns out we blew it up when we stuck this name on our third day of 4-H Cloverbud Day Camp.
Our youth started out their day as usual, playing games, coloring, and catching up with their new friends.  Each morning they act like they haven't seen each other in ages as they catch up on what they did since they saw each other the afternoon before.  With youth who are so energetic and expressive its often funny to listen to them tell their stories, correct each other, and try their best to have adult like conversations.  It wasn't long before our youth hit the carpet and were regaling us with all that they had learned and liked the day before.  It is truly amazing all that they retain.
  Before they knew it we were committing science, but it may have seemed more like fun to them.  Our first activity is a two parter.  Today we learned about chromatography by having the campers draw a circle on a coffee filter with a marker.  Then they folded the coffee filter in a cone and dipped the point in water.  they got to watch the pigment from the color marker spread out as it wicked up to the edge of the coffee filter with the water.  We pulled them out and let them dry and will use them on Thursday for another project.
  We also got to make gas.  It sounded really fun.  Basically we hoped that a bag with alka seltzer and water would blow up and pop.  We did find the right combination to make one break but it was more like letting the air out of a balloon then a pop.  We also learned if we shook the bag it would speed up the reaction making it even more fun to watch.
  After a fantastic snack we wrote on paper with invisible ink (lemon juice) and we hope to be able to see our messages come to life behind a light later this week.  We also learned about the density of fluids keeping them from mixing.  We did several experiments that involved oil and water.  In one oil and water are in a soda bottle and we shook it up hard to see if it would mix or separate.  We will observe it for the rest of the week to see what happens.  We also got to drop colored drops of water on two types of oil, baby oil and vegetable oil.
Before it was all said and done we had to have at least one explosion before lunch.  Ms. Shea Ann put baking soda in a vase, added a little food coloring and then added vinegar.  The resulting explosion was AWESOME!  it was so cool that we did it over and over again changing the amount of baking soda, food coloring, and vinegar to see what gave us the best result.
After a fantabulous lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs, and french fries we took a little break and watched the rest of Beauty and the Beast while our adults got things ready for our afternoon session.
We were well rested so that we could observe our multiple projects.  Then we made something really cool, elephant toothpaste.  This was also a chemical reaction project that involved hydrogen peroxide, food coloring, soap, yeast, and water.  When mixed together it created this hughe slow foam that would shoot up into the air.  It was really cool.
  We were just getting into our groove when it was time for Mrs. T.  Today we reviewed our food groups and talked about fruits and veggies.  We got to make our own snack, fruit and veggie kabobs.  They were delicious and she tells us where she gets everything so we can pick up the items ourselves and make them at home.  Can't wait to share all this with our parents.
  Speaking of parents they arrived at the end of our day, and we were so sad to leave.  Tomorrow is Crafty Thursday and we know we will have another adventure in store for us.  Stay tuned.

Two for our Community Tuesday

  Citizen leaders are important in our community.  It is important that youth develop the compassion for the people and community in which they live.  Starting early and letting our youth develop this life skill is important to the future of our society.  That's why we thought we would do a whole day of community service projects, thus making this Two for Our Community Tuesday.
  Needless to our say our day started with getting settled in by coloring and playing games in the morning.  Our youth are learning new games and making friends and it's fun for them to ease into their day this way.  Of course then there is the what I learned and what I liked segment as we review the day before, and I can say this group learned a whole lot on Messy Monday and it had nothing to do with cleaning up.  We reviewed our upcoming day and broke into two groups for the activities.
  One group headed to the kitchen to make dog treats for K-9's at the Humane Society.  They learned how to measure, roll things out, and used a paw shaped cookie cutter to cut them.  As their treats were baking the campers made get well cards for folks going through chemo therapy.  They all said they hope that their card brings a smile and hopefully some healing to someone else.
  While one group was in the kitchen the other was in the auditorium working on some other projects.  Our campers got to play with their socks, ok maybe not their socks, but some brand new fuzzy socks and turned them into sock cupcakes.  To make these sock cupcakes a little sweeter they topped them off with a Dum Dum lollipop.  These sock cupcakes will go to nursing homes and patients in Hospice House as a gift from our youth to hopefully let them know that someone they haven't even met, cares about them.  After finishing making their cupcakes, our youth learned how to make a quick release paracord bracelet.  These will be sent to Operation Gratitude to be sent out with their care packages to soldiers, law enforcement, and first responders.  Of course they were so excited with their new skills and the colors of the paracord that they also made one for themselves to take home.
  After snack our groups switched places and got to try out what they hadn't done the first time.  When it was all said and done they had made more than 100 dog treats for the humane society, more than a dozen quick release paracord bracelets for Operation Gratitude, and we have 16 sock cupcakes getting ready to be donated.  How much more awesome can a group get?
  Thanks to Mrs. Wendy we had an awesome spaghetti lunch and had a moment to relax before heading back to all our fun.
  Our afternoon started with a project we didn't get to finish on Monday and fit into our community service day really well, vermicomposting.  Vermicomposting is the process of composting food waste by feeding it to worms and letting them eat, digest it, and make it into fertilizer.  We got to touch and help make the coconut brick into their new home and adding 40 red wigglers into the can of worms.  We also fed them salad from the day before...it was really awesome.  We can't wait to check on them tomorrow.
  Before we knew it it was time for Mrs. Tamika.  We played a game about grains and learned about the parts of a grain and then we got down to business.  We got to try the most awesome of parfaits.  This one had yogurt, Cheerios, granola, and blueberries.  It was the most yummiest of treats and not a single camper who tried it could just have one helping, everyone had to have two or more.
 As we were finishing our treat we realized it was time for our rides to come and get us.  Can't wait to get home and go to bed so we can come back for Wacky Science Wednesday tomorrow.

Messy Monday

Messy Monday seemed like the perfect theme to kick off our last summer camp of 2017, 4-H Cloverbud Day Camp.  For those of you wondering, in the world of 4-H we refer to our 5-8 year olds as our cloverbuds.  Most of their competitions are non competitive and we are working hard to nurture them as they grow into our program.

When our campers came in this morning it was a little quiet.  As they settled into coloring, playing games, and learning a new card game (War) they were checking everyone and everything out.  Trust me, nothing escaped their eyes.  Of course one of our first acts was to sit down and let our campers work out our rules and consequences.  I must say this group was much tougher then our staff and volunteers would have been, but we hope their consequences won't be needed this week as we concentrate on having fun.

Now, we thought the best way to have fun on Messy Monday would be to make the ever popular slime.  Each camper got to chose the color of their slime and all of them helped each other make the concoction of glue, baking soda, food coloring, and contact solution.  They were excited to find out they would get to take their slime home.

After a brief snack break it was time to get back at the mess and make our own paper, from recycled paper.  We used our shredder, hand blenders, and some cool screens to make our own paper pulp and shape it.  We hope that it will be dry enough tomorrow to add seeds and make it seed paper that we can give as gifts.  Our campers had to work in pairs to make their paper and they did an awesome job.  It was a little gross but a whole lot of fun according to our campers.  We hope that their paper will be dry enough by tomorrow afternoon for them to take it home.

After a tasty pizza lunch it was time to work with Mr Magic Mack.  Mr. Mack Johnson is the Horticulture Extension Agent at the Cooperative Extension office.  He talked to us about dirt and soil.  We also played a game that taught us the difference between sand, silt, and clay.  After settling back in we learned about pollinators and met Buzzly the Bumble bee who took us outside to help pollinate some of the plants.  We harvested carrots, and a dried up sunflower.  We found out that inside sunflowers are sunflower seeds and we harvested them and planted them to take home.  It was really cool.  We then worked on making a home for some of our pollinators.  Using Honeycomb cereal, we made bee hives, and thumbprint bees to live in our hives.  They were very colorful creations. 

Before we knew it our first day was winding down and Mrs. T had us winding up.  She got us physically active and then we talked about the difference between grains. proteins, vegetables, and fruits.  When we got done it was time for our afternoon snack.  Today it was a whole grain, popcorn.  It was yummy.  We had barely eaten our first bite when our parents came to get us.  It was hard to believe that our first day was already behind us.  We cant wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us.