Robeson County 4-H

  Day four of Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Camp and we can't believe how time has flown by.  This morning we were all dragging a little as the excitement, exercise and heat of the past days sort of kicked in.  However our breakfast with french toasts sticks certainly didn't hurt jump starting our day so that we could experience things we hadn't seen before.    After flag raising our inspectors went to the cabins to inspect for the cleanest cabin while our campers worked on their daily schedules.  There was creek stomping, fishing, arts and crafts and pool this morning.  Our campers had smiles wherever we went and were having fun, or making their own fund along the way.   Time seems to be going by faster each day.  Before they knew it, it was time for lunch.  Chicken sandwiches, fries, salad and more.  Each camper has a chance to be table waiter.  They set the table, sit at the head, bring in the food on platters (they eat family sty...

  It is hard to believe that when we woke up this morning it was already Tuesday and we were staring down our third day at BJP 4-H Camp.   It was a beautiful and cool morning as our campers got up and cleaned up cabins and headed to breakfast.  On the menu this morning were eggs and bagels, as well as a few other goodies.  Campers are settling in to the schedule but a little sleepy after having such a full day yesterday.    Before they knew it it was time to trek out on a new adventure with lots of great activities.  At the arts and crafts area our campers decided to do some painting.  Some painted with a realistic tone in mind while others worked with pour paint techniques to create a new type of modern painting.   At the same time we had campers having a ball in the pool and trying out the canoes.  Because everyone gets in the water everyday at camp.  There is just something really fun about that.  Other campers tried out...

It was a cool morning as our campers tried hard to stay in bed, on their first full day at Betsy Jeff Penn 4-H Camp.   However what they found, after getting up, and making their beds was that breakfast was waiting.  Who can resist pancakes and sausage for breakfast when the temperature outside is a mere 67 degrees?    After breakfast groups finished cleaning cabins and did their best to be prepared for cabin inspections.  This is a very serious matter at BJP.  After all the golden faucet, silver toilet seat, and bronze toothbrush are up for grabs.   Our campers are broken into groups by age.  Our youngest campers are the head, heart, hands, and health groups while the middle age campers are in Earth and Sun, and the oldest are in Adventurer and Trekker.  The younger campers split up among the activities and may have taken part in Archery, crafts, fishing, Horses, Creek Stomp, Kickball, Boulder wall, Canoeing, and a Beaver Hike.  Our...

  Yes, it is July.  Yes, it is Sunday.  However don't let those two facts let you jump to the conclusion that we didn't do anything in 4-H today.  As a matter of fact it was quite the opposite as today was the first day of 4-H week long overnight camp at Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Educational Center in Reidsville, NC.   It was an early morning of anticipation for our 4-Her's as they arrived at the office around 8:30 to get registered.  Although a little nervous at first, they hug in through the checking in and orientation process and finally, around 9:30 it was time to board the busses.  As we made sure we had everything, said goodbye to our loved ones and struck out on a new adventure on a really big bus.   So when we left the office we had Robeson and New Hanover Counties.  Our first stop was in Rockingham to pick up seven campers from Richmond County.  Now we had a good crowd to get to know as we travelled further up the road to Asheboro...

The following article was written by Shea Ann DeJarnette for local newspapers.  It can also be located on the NC Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center Web page. When I was young, summer didn’t mean vacation to me – it meant arguing with my parents for more time at home. In case you are wondering, I lost that argument every year. As soon as school was out my schedule was busy with swim lessons, tennis lessons, babysitting, and let’s not forget camp. My schedule was way more hectic in the summer, and I was sure my parents didn’t understand that this was my vacation time, time to relax, which to me meant vegging in the air conditioning, napping, and watching TV. What I know now that I didn’t know then is my parents were smarter than I gave them credit for. You see, there is this thing called the Summer Slide, an actual study that proves a two-to-three-month loss in reading and other knowledge skills with children who aren’t engaged in the summer. Many experts say readin...

  4-H Congress is hard to explain to those who haven't attended.  I ask my youth each year to give me their thoughts and usually I get words like fun, awesome, incredible.  However that doesn't quite explain the quintessential importance of this 4-H event.   To start with Congress is kicked off by 4-H State Presentations competition.  This take place in three buildings, and a courtyard, at NC State University (NCSU).  These are the youth who won first or second place in their subject category and age division.  This year we brought 6 youth to compete and they definitely left a mark.  Ava Monroe, a member of the Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club took gold in public speaking in the 8-10 age division.  Jada McKinnon, also with the Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club took third for her presentation in Careers and Entrepreneurship in the 11-13 age division.  Taylor Hunter, with the Young Leaders, took second in her first ever pre...

Its our last day of  of 4-H Jr. Chef Day Camp and the pressure is on.  Today we practice the skills we have learned under the watchful eye of our adults.  It is also our last day together with our BFF’s for a week and we want to leave a lasting impression.  So we needed to get at it.   We started by prepping the food.  We ground up 7 pounds of  sirloin and two pounds of bacon from the Surf and Turf Market that we visited yesterday.  With our ground beef looking perfect we jumped in to prep veggie skewers.  We made them with onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, and pineapple.  On top of that we will have fresh jalapeño pepper poppers and French fries to make for our lunch.    Once we formed the patties we took our creations to the grills.  We had three grills, three adults and two burgers per grill.  It was a flipping frenzy out there but we checked the temperature and finally moved our burgers/cheese burgers inside an...

 Time is winding down as we enter our fourth day of Jr. Chef Day Camp .  So it is time to buckle down and start cutting away at the fat and go straight to the meat of this program.  What better way to do that then to go to on a field trip to the meat market?   We jumped in the vans and headed to the Carolina Surf and Turf Market In Lumberton and met with the owner.  He was kind enough to talk to us about the different cuts of meats, his favorites, best sellers, and we even took a look at the seafood side of things.  Probably what was most important was learning how he got to where he is and why he opened his own business.  Where he went to find the expertise to start a business and that yes, our youth can do that to.  Now that is empowering.   After placing our meat order for lunch the next day we headed to Pinehurst for lunch.  One of the newest Pinehurst resort restaurants has an inedible outdoor kitchen and they even have their o...