School Lunches on the Go

   The following was written by Joanna Rogers, 4-H EFNEP Program Assistant for the Robesonian.  It can also be found on the NC Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center website.

    With summer coming to an end and school starting soon, many of our children will be packing lunches to take to school. Some mornings are hectic, rushing to get ready and out the door on time. This leads to many families turning to prepackaged lunch items high in sodium and sugar. 

    In the 4-H Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), we teach our youth participants the importance of reading food nutrition labels. They learn how to read and understand each section on the labels and the importance of picking foods full of nutrients they need. According to “MyPlate” we need to eat the following amount of each food group daily:  2 cups of fruits, 2 ½ cups of vegetables, 5 ½ ounces of protein, 3 cups of dairy, and 6 ounces of grains. 

    Using MyPlate as a reference will help make sure your child is getting the recommended number of vegetables, fruits, protein, dairy, and grains in their lunch. First, create a go-to lunch planning guide. Use this an opportunity to talk about incorporating healthy options and how you can get the most out of your lunch. Creating lunch plans also gives you a sense of ease for children with food allergies. 

    Second, create weekly or monthly menus. This will help save money on unnecessary buys when grocery shopping. Also, look for which fruits and vegetables are in season; sometimes you can find in-season fruits and vegetables on sale. Designate an area in the cabinet for non-perishable lunch side options to be placed in a basket. In your refrigerator, make an area for all cold food options to be placed. I have personally found prepping certain items such as fruits, vegetables, and even some chips in storage bags can make a great grab-and-go option. Having these areas and items ready to go can help on those hectic mornings. 

    Last, let’s talk food safety. When it comes to packed lunches, remember to keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. An insulated lunch box is the best way to keep food safe. Freezer packs, or what most of us call ice packs, are a great way to keep cold foods cold, but did you know frozen plastic water bottles or frozen juice boxes can also be an option when you don’t have one? Cold foods should be held at 40°F and below. When foods reach 41-135°F, this is the temperature danger zone. Bacteria thrive in this range and double every 20 minutes. 

    Healthy eating habits help make for a healthy mind and body. Planning healthy meals together as a family will be educational and gives the family a chance to make changes together. Also, take the time to discuss options they may have at school. Making great nutrition choices now will make a big impact on their future. As a final special touch, add a personal note for them to read.

Wacky Wednesday Science Day

 We are hitting our stride and expanding our minds as part of wacky Wednesday Science Day as part of this week's 4-H Cloverbud Day Camp.  Our campers came in this morning to their 4-H water bottles and a stack of wacky science coloring sheets.  We took a breief moment after everyone arrived to get our cloud viewers and we went outside to see if we could spot any fluffy sky dwellers and spotted some stratus clouds out there.

  After coming back in we settled into our day's schedule.  We started off by getting the chance for some hands on fun with a variety of learning tools.  We had a couple of mice that helped teach coding.  A hand made lava lamp that allows you to learn about the density of liquids.  We had a robotic arm that allowed the youth to work on hand eye coordination.  We had a robot that wanted you to code it through a remoter control to get it through an obstacle course.  We had a plasma ball that helped them learn about strings of energy.  Let's not forget learning about circuits through the remote control snap circuit car.  Now that is fun.

Right before lunch we made our own solar oven.  Of course all scientific research requires that you test it.  So we put s'more ingredients in our ovens and placed them outside.  After lunch we went out and got our ovens and in case you can't tell we enjoyed the s'mores inside.

After lunch we worked on binary code necklaces.  We translated our initials into colored beads and wore them   They are really cool.  We also applied what we learned about circuits to create a human circuit.  Did you know your body can transmit energy.  We used a special tube that made noise and lit up when the circuit was complete.  It was so cool.

Ms. JoJo joined us this afternoon and we reviewed somethings for tomorrow.  Then she got us up and moving with some really cool kids exercise videos.  we raised the roof and swept out the smoke in some pretty awesome moves.

If you would like to see our day in photos check out this link.  Stay tuned for our fun food Thursday tomorrow.  We are so excited.

Welcome Home Dirty Rascals

 It is official!  We had our first Hybrid 4-H Club meeting tonight.  What does that mean?  It means that the members of the club that wanted to meet face to face, were able to gather at our office (following COVID procedures such as wearing a mask) and those who are not quite ready to meet face to face, met with everyone online.  It was the first time this has happened since we went all virtual in March of 2020.

  The club talked about changes that had happened since last year and discussed the upcoming fair.  Then it was time to dive into the evening's project.  The group is partnering with the Master gardeners to paint totem poles.  This is for an educational herbal medicine wheel that will be built at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fairgrounds.

  Also the club is sending positive thoughts and prayers to Club member Nolan who was bitten by a copperhead snake last night.  According to his mom he is in the hospital and doing well.

  The club may meet prior to their next meeting date to finish the totem poles for the Master Gardeners.  Club members stay tuned for meeting information.

The photos from this club meeting can be found here.  For questions about this or any of our 4-H Club opportunities please contact Wendy Maynor at wrmaynor@ncsu.edu.

Growing Great Food=Growing Great Kids

 

 Day two of 4-H Cloverbud Day camp and we saw some growth in our youngest 4-H members between yesterday and today.  After working on team building skills and getting to know each other today was a little easier as we settled into a familiar territory with familiar faces.

   Today we had some extra special help from one of our Master Gardeners, Shae Davis and a Jr. Master Gardener Kennedi Lyons as we dug into a day about gardening.  We started our day by learning the difference between soil and dirt.   Our cloverbuds are so smart that they used big words like soil has nutrients while dirt is stuff you track in on the floor.

  So we thought we would start with something we all love (and we were having for lunch) a hamburger.  Did you know you can grow all parts of a hamburger?  So we had our day campers draw a hamburger plant and stand up and present their thoughts on what a hamburger plant would look like.  All of them were different, fun, and invoked a great deal of imagination.  Kennedi drew her plant and showed them how a presentation is done and they all got up and spoke.  Job well done!

  Mrs.  Shae showed our young folks how to make cloud identifiers.  This is really cool becuase it has photos of clouds on it as well as their names.  When you go outside you hold it up and look through the center then identify the cloud you are seeing by the photos.  Cool huh?  Not a lot of clouds outside today but we are going to try them out the rest of the week to see what we can identify.

  Then we found out you can grow plants in something other than the ground or in pots.  Our 4-H members made plant people.  Essentially they are nylon knee highs that have grass seed (the hair) and soil.  The soil was shaped to form a head and a knot was tided in the stocking to hold everything in place.  Our campers glued eyes on their plant people and made facial features.  When it is all said and done their people will sit on top of a vase of water and will be able to wick the water up the tail to keep the soil moist and help the hair sprout.  Oh what fun it will be for them.

  Our next project was very similar.  We made a garden in a glove.  Our youth got a glove, 5 wet cotton balls, and five seeds of different sizes.  Their largest seed (the lima bean) was placed in the cotton ball and slid down to the thumb.  The smallest seed was lettuce and it was placed in a cotton ball in the pinky.  When the glove goes home parents can tape it in the window and when the seeds sprouts they can cut the tip of the glove off and plant the sprout in a pot and nurture it until it grows into food.  Oh what fun this will be.  Speaking of oh what fun...Kennedi finished off this activity by reading our cloverbuds a Dr. Seuss story all about seeds.  That seemed like quite the thing to do.

  One of the other things we talked about were pollinators.  Pollinators are so important in making plants grow.  We actually learned how pollinators use other senses to find pollen other than their eyesight.  We used straws and looked through them to see what it looks like to see things through a bee's eye and it is tough to see.  Put they have other senses they use to find pollen and get it back to their hives.  That is really neat.

  After lunch Ms. Joanna joined us.  We got animalistic with her after talking about grains.  We talked about grains this morning with our hamburger plants and how hamburger buns are made so this was an awesome follow-up for us.  Then we got a chance to use our new yoga mats and Mrs. JoJo let us pick our poses.  Oh we made up some fun stuff that made us exercise our abdominal muscles because we laughed so hard.

  Before the end of the day we also planted a sunflower seed for the sunflower contest that is being held at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair.  We are really excited that they have a contest that we can enter.  How much fun is that?

One last thing we said goodbye to Kalani today.  She was an intern that helped with Cloverbud camp.  She signed our coloring books for us.  Today was her last day at the office.  She goes back to college soon and we will miss her.

If you would like to check out all the fun we had please click this link to see our day in photos.  Stay tuned for tomorrow becuase our STEMS might get STEAMmy near the STREAM.

  

   

Educational 4-H Camp Programs in the Fall

 

Book your public school, private school, home school or church youth group experiential learning field trip at BJP now. Choose from three unique, hands-on learning programs for a 1, 2 or 3-day field trip. All programs are aligned with NC teaching standards. BJP follows COVID-19 protocols determined by NC State University based on current federal and state health guidelines. Protocols are subject to change based on current circumstances. Call the center at 336-349-9445 for the most up-to-date information on virus response and preparedness. Reserve your field trip by calling the center at 336-349-9445 Questions should be directed to the Education Director, Kyle Shillinglaw Email: kmshilli@ncsu.edu Phone: 336-349-9445 ext. 305 BJP is also accepting bookings for spring 2022 at this time SOARING THROUGH SPACES This program is great for building a team with your students and setting your classroom culture for the school year. Soaring Through Spaces is designed to help students in grades 5 through 12 experience and develop life skills. The program utilizes ground initiatives, team challenges, communication exercises, trust building activities, low and high ropes to give learners the opportunity to try new things in a supportive environment. Available in one, two or three day field trip formats. Click for details, sample schedules, and pricing info. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION This program introduces students to science concepts, taking advantage of the center's lakes, forests, streams and natural beauty. Classes are led by Penn's experienced program staff. The program strikes the perfect balance between the excitement and wonder of the camp experience and the studiousness of STEM exploration. Instructors make strong interpersonal connections with participants, bringing opportunities for social-emotional growth in addition to academic learning. Evening programs include a finale group campfire with singing, skits and stories. Available in one, two or three-day formats. Click for specific class offerings, sample schedules, and planning guides. PROJECT O.R.I.E.N.T PROJECT O.R.I.E.N.T is an environmental science program for middle school grades/ages that combines hands-on science learning with team building activities to deliver a unique and truly immersive experiential learning opportunity for students. After learning map and GPS skills, students launch into a camp-wide scavenger hunt to find caches hidden all over the lakes, forests and hills of BJP. Each cache contains specific instructions for a math, science or team-based challenge. Available in one, two or three-day formats. Click for cache descriptions, planning guides and sample schedules. Connect With Us On Social Media Facebook YouTube

Monday Funday with Teambuilding

 Today was our first day of 4-H Cloverbud Day Camp.  This is a fun camp designed especially for our 5-8 year olds.  It is meant to get them back into the swing of school.  We do that in a variety of ways like the hours of the camp are 8:30 am-3:30 pm.  We have a set schedule each day but each day is a theme day.  So for our first day we had teambuilding.  We thought this would be a great way to get to know each other, learn to follow directions, and starting working together for common goals using our communication skills and doing it in a fun way.

  New this year are our COVID guidelines.  For us that means making sure we have our own workspaces, being socially distanced, and wearing masks.  Although we do things together we also spend a great deal of our day working together apart from each other.  You will see what we are talking about.

  We started off finding our spaces, decorating our name tags, and coloring in our coloring books.  After everyone arrived and we felt comfortable we put up our crayons and took a moment to talk and make up our list of things we can do this week.  Those items included listening, walking, being quiet in the office, being nice/kind, and being respectful.  

After learning the mechanics of the office we played some games this morning.  We had a nerf ball that we passed around and it had questions on it we answered.  We also had to learn our left from our right to do it correctly.  We played a game called Tenzie.  It is a group game that we adapted to play at our stations and it was a lot of fun once we figured it out. 

We did take a snack/mask break outside today.  We weren't the only ones biting down.  While we toured the garden we saw bees, beetles, and wasps.  We also felt mosquitos.  They decided to feast on some of us.  We decided outside mask breaks might be too itchy to do.  (We will probably try again tomorrow).  

When we went back in we played would you rather.  That was a funny game for us to play.  We also played Jenga, pick up sticks, and dominos in a whole new way, one at a time as a group.  It was still fun and kept us safe.  We played some listening games today and one of our favorite games was to spin two dice one with activities the other with numbers.  So we did lots of toe touches, jumping jacks, arm twirls and deep knee bends today.  

After lunch it was time for Ms. Jo Jo.  She made us our own special workbook and put together a snack for us that we could take with us and eat on the go.  With the help of Germie we learned about washing our hands the proper way and kitchen safety.

It was a busy and fun day today and we can't wait to see what our Plant Tuesday has in store.  To glimpse at our adventures from today please click this link.

4-H top 4 for the week of August 9, 2021

 Welcome to August!  With Summer winding down (we are in our last week of 4-H Summer Fun) and school getting ready to gear up we thought it was time to update everything coming up for the end of summer and fall.

 

-Our first Face to Face club meeting is scheduled for this Tuesday at 5:30 pm.  It is for members of the Dirty Rascals 4-H Jr. Master Gardeners.  This will be a hybrid meeting and registration is required to attend the meeting either in person or virtually.  Registration deadline is today and can be found on the club and can be found on our app.  We will be following protocols for COVID as part of this meeting which means everyone meeting face to face will be required to wear masks and parents will need to answer COVID health screening questions prior to the meeting (either in person or electronically).  If you have any questions about this club meeting please contact Wendy Maynor at wrmaynor@ncsu.edu.

 

-Five County 4-H master Volunteer Training-this is for our 4-H Adult Volunteers and will take place in Cumberland County on August 16 at 6:30pm.  This will be a hybrid meeting so you can register for in person or virtual attendance.  Due to the increase in COVID numbers we will not be able to serve dinner and all in person attendees will need to wear a mask and answer the COVID Health Screening questions prior to entering the meeting.  In person attendance will be capped at 20 people.  Registration can be found on our 4-H app or you can register using this link:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/five-county-volunteer-revolution-training-tickets-161640455955  For more questions about this training please contact Shea Ann DeJarnette at sadejarn@ncsu.edu

 

-Dr. Kim Ingold 4-H Photography Contest-This statewide contest is open to 4-H Members (with an active registration in 4-H Online) ages 8-18.  The deadline to register and upload entries is noon on August 17.  This year's categories at 4-H in Action, Nature's Beauty, and My Best Friend.  For more information please check out blog at:  https://robeson4-h.blogspot.com/2021/08/state-photography-deadline-reminder.html  You can register from the app (look under programs) or using this google form link:  https://forms.gle/MfufskPh9eVQ6qgh6  For questions about this contest please contact Shea Ann DeJarnette at sadejarn@ncsu.edu

 

-Sew and So's 4-H SPIN Clubs!- This is a great opportunity for our 4-H members who want to learn to sew or want to practice their skills.  This club only meets for a total of 6 hours over the course of two days.  It is open to youth ages 9-18 and there are two sessions (beginners and intermediates).  Sewing machines will be provided and youth will get to complete a project as part of this club opportunity.  The club meeting dates are August 18-19 from 9-12 for beginners and 4:30-7:30 for our intermediates.  there are a limited amount of spaces.  You can register in the app (under programs) or by using this link for beginners:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sew-sos-4-h-sewing-spin-club-for-beginners-tickets-161012441547

This link for Intermediates:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sew-sos-4-h-sewing-spin-club-for-intermediates-tickets-161012525799

For more information about this club please check out our 4-H blog at:  https://robeson4-h.blogspot.com/2021/06/sew-sos-4-h-sewing-spin-club.html  or contact Wendy Maynor at wrmaynor@ncsu.edu.

 

That is all for today.  Hope the rest of your summer is wonderful and please let us know if you have any questions.

Wendy, Christy, and Shea Ann