4-H Summer Fun Day Camps

The following was written by Denese Prevatte for our website.

Looking for a great summer opportunity for your child? You’re in luck! Robeson County 4-H Summer Fun Camping opportunities are available for youth between the ages of 5 and 19. Registration is now open to the public and space is limited. Why not give your child the magical experience of 4-H camp? We offer a variety of opportunities for the first-time camper to the seasoned camper. Planning summer camp for the kids is an excellent way to plan some down time for you.

Membership in 4-H is not required. The camps are listed below, but you can download the Summer Fun Brochure. This brochure describes the summer programs available through Robeson County 4-H. You will find descriptions about the programs, the dates, and the costs.  There is a minimum number of children who must sign up for some programs as well as a maximum number on most programs.  We are able to provide these programs at a reasonable cost thanks to funding support from United Way of Robeson County.

Age       Date and Time                                      Title                                        Cost

9-18    June 9, 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.             Etiquette Mini Day Camp   $25

9-13    June 26 – 30, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.    Junior Chef Academy         $75

9-13    July 5 – 7, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.          Millstone Day Camp           $115

9-13    July 10 – 14, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.      Arts and Crafts Day Camp  $75

9-13    August 7 – 11, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.   Biotech Day Camp              $75

5-8      August 14 – 18, 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Cloverbud Day Camp          $40

To register, come by our office at 455 Caton Road, Lumberton, to complete the registration form, sign up for the programs you wish to participate in, and pay the fee (check or money order ONLY).  Registration will be handled on a first come, first served basis and will only be accepted upon receipt of fees.  Telephone, electronic, faxed, and mailed registration will not be accepted.  Registration will continue until the camps are filled.  Please contact the 4-H office at 910-671-3276 with any questions.  Individuals with disabilities and/or special needs interested in these programs should call so proper arrangements can be made.

Policies

• All fees are nonrefundable unless a camp is filled to capacity or cancelled. Necessary refunds will be made appropriately.
• Punctuality of all participants is expected, particularly on days where field trips are scheduled. The van will only wait 5 minutes past the scheduled departure time.  Punctuality of parents/adults/guardians picking up youth following programs is mandatory.  Youth must be picked up at the time the program ends.  If the 4-H staff members are required to care for your child more than 30 minutes beyond the indicated pick-up time, a fee of $15 per 30 minutes will be charged.
• Although many of our experiences seem like great family activities, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and siblings not registered for the program cannot travel or tour with us due to liability issues.

For more information, please contact Shea Ann DeJarnette, Extension 4-H Agent with North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center, at 671-3276.

North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability. In addition, the two Universities welcome all persons without regard to sexual orientation.

Is it Time for Camp Already?

Millstone 4-H Camp in Ellerbe is quickly becoming one of the favorite spots for many of our 4-H families.  Check out what they have going on in their Summer Spotlight.
If you would like more information about this camp or any of the others in the 4-H camping program please feel free to contact Shea Ann DeJarnette at Shea_Ann_DeJarnette@ncsu.edu or (910) 671-3276.  You can also check out our camp pages on line.

Cutting Up in the Name of Science

Making our community stronger through partnerships is part of what we do here at Cooperative Extension.  In 4-H it is fun to partner with other youth agencies to make the best better in our county.  So when CIS said they wanted to work with us on a STEM project, I could think of nothing better then 4-H Drone Discovery.  Thanks to United Way dollars were were able to purchase the curriculum and train these pioneers of drone aviation.  Although our plan was to kick this off in 2016, that pesky Hurricane Matthew got in the way of a really good plan.  Delayed, but not grounded we took off with the project today and we can't wait to see what is to come.
Teachers from four CIS after school programs (Parkton, Pembroke, Prospect, and Red Springs) came by on a teacher workday to get the training in for Drone Discoveries.  Each school got a kit, curriculum, and a google drive with extra resources.  During the training it is important for the teachers to test each activity and see what works, and won't work with their youth (and have a little fun while they are at it).
Drones are revolutionizing the way we work and play.  During the hurricane some of the most incredible video we have is from overhead drones at work, other times it was helpful to send drones in to see if anyone needed help or how far the flooding truly went.  Drones have everyday applications for farmers checking crops and have been helpful to our military when scoping out dangerous areas.  This project opens the door for youth to explore and expand the role of drones in our society and even come up with better engineering opportunities for these machines that have proven their worth and that they are not a fly by night fad,  We look forward to hearing from our teachers about their fun with this curriculum and how their youth enjoyed the aerodynamic and coding opportunities that this project allowed them to experience.

Looking for Young Leaders

This article was written by our own Shea Ann DeJarnette for the Robesonian and can also be located on our website.

Social media is a wonderful place for ideas, and thoughts, that may have never crossed your mind.  Recently, I read a post concerning the effects of the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.  Essentially, the post was about the effects on local businesses and residents who don’t have the disposable income right now, because they are dealing with the aftermath of the storm (damage to their home and belongings, construction, etc.). It also mentioned tourists are not stopping as much to shop, eat, and sleep because of the lack of hotel rooms.  I really hadn’t thought about that ripple effect caused by the hurricane until I read the post.

Something else we hadn’t thought about was locating our 4-H members, months after the storm, yet here we are doing just that.  One of our 4-H clubs that has been around for more than 20 years, Young Leaders, meets at Sandy Grove Baptist Church in Lumberton’s south side.  Most of the members in the club lived in the area affected by the flooding. The club has an alternate meeting location, but the issue is finding the members of the club.  We know some are with family and friends in the area; others have moved out of the county.  The problem is most of the contact information is no longer valid.  We want to make sure our members know their 4-H world is right here waiting on them.

So if you are a member, volunteer, or parent of the Young Leaders 4-H Club, there will be a meeting at the N.C. Cooperative Extension (Robeson County Center), 455 Caton Road (Highway 72 W), Lumberton, on Tuesday, February 28, at 6 p.m.  This is your chance to come in, get your paperwork filled out, and start making plans and goals for this year.  Without the members, this club wouldn’t exist.  So please, take a little bit of your time to come out and get your club started again.  We would hate for a hurricane to wipe out a club that has existed for so long.  Robeson County 4-H members, the power to stop the hurricane’s destruction lies within you.  Come on out and make the difference we know you can make.

If you are not a current member but would like to be, we encourage you to come out and see what it’s about.  In Robeson County, there are several clubs open to all youth between the ages of 5 and 18.  Some clubs focus on a topic such as animals, horses, and gardening; others are reflective of their community and work on more traditional 4-H projects such as public speaking, project record books, and leadership.  We want to remind our youth the sky is the limit with 4-H.  It’s time for our Young Leaders to step up and give the rest of the world an idea on how making a difference is done.

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 at http://robeson.ces.ncsu.edu/.  North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.  In addition, the two Universities welcome all persons without regard to sexual orientation.

Enriching Our Lives

  It might have had a Survivor theme, but this year's South East District Winter Enrichment was anything but every person for themselves.  This district wide event included 14-18 year olds from 16 Counties and took place in Johnston County at their incredible Extension Office.  We started that morning with the opportunity to take part in a variety of workshops that included; Internet Safety, Public Speaking and Presentations; STEM activities, Community Service Projects, and Shooting Sports.  Youth had the opportunity to pick which workshops they wanted to attend, and I must say I was thrilled with the adventurous spirit of our County Delegation as many of them tried their hand at shooting sports.
  Archery was the name of the game outside and for those who had never picked up a bow and arrow, they were shooting like pros at the end of their time outside.  Each workshop was jam packed full of information and the community service project is something our group brought back for their clubs.
  After a box lunch from Chick fil A everyone got the opportunity to learn or sing some camp songs.  District officer candidates introduced themselves and lead the often hilarious round of songs as we prepped for the afternoon team building.
  After breaking up into four groups it was time for the Survivor games.  Some were standbys that the 4-H members figured out quickly like how to pass a hula hoop around the circle when everyone's hands are joined, or how to lower a hula hoop to the ground using the pad of your index finger without tipping it off of anyone's finger.  Some activities were a little more difficult like being on an island that was slowly washing away...how small an area could your group stand on.  These folks got really creative with that.  After conducting business and a snack for the road it was time to head home.
  What a busy and enriching day was had by all.

All You Ever Wanted to Know

Our camping folks are on the ball.  This year they have started a camp newsletter that highlights all of our 4-H camps.  Wanting you to be in the know we thought we would share this newsletter with you.  Check out all the things that go on year round at these centers when we aren't camping there.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact Shea Ann DeJarnette at Shea_Ann_DeJarnette@ncsu.edu or (910) 671-3276.

Project Record Judging=Lobster

  Ever wonder what happens to your project record and portfolios after you turn them in to the 4-H office in January?  Well here is the behind the scenes, nitty gritty of the process.
  Each and every book is reviewed by your 4-H staff to make sure it is suitable to move forward for judging.  Not all books are, and those that aren't don't pass go and do not have the opportunity to receive money.  Those that are suitable get logged into a spreadsheet that has all the tracking information we need to follow it through the process.
  The 4-H staff coordinates with the 4-H staff in Bladen and Cumberland Counties and we have a record book judging day.  On that day volunteers and staff from each county come together to judge books.  The secret of this is that volunteers cannot judge any books from their own county.  So Robeson County Volunteers can judge Bladen and Cumberland, while Bladen County Volunteers can judge Cumberland and Robeson and Cumberland county volunteers can judge Bladen and Robeson.  What makes this day so much fun is reading what you, the 4-H member writes.  Our judges love your stories, funny anecdotes, and seeing what you have learned.  Each and every word is gone over by two judges before ribbons can be awarded.   You might wonder why our volunteers do this.  Well the truth is they do it out of the goodness of their heart, love of our 4-H members, and wanting you to get something out of this program.  A few find the free food (we feed them lunch) and enticing opportunity, and well there is one who is holding out for lobster...but that's a whole other story.
  Once all the judging has taken place and ribbons awarded the books go back to their counties and the agents get the first and second place books in each division into the state registration system and then physically deliver them up to the state 4-H office.  In April, volunteers from around the state will read all the award winning record books and portfolios to determine who is the best of the best.  Will it be someone from Robeson County?  We will have to wait and see.