Keeping Cool with Summer Fun

Extension has partnered with the Robesonian to publish a news article each week. This week I had the opportunity to write about something timely. What could be more timely than our Summer Camp opportunities and what they mean to youth? Below is the article that was printed in Wednesday's Robesonian. You may click here to go to the online version of the story or read below.
" Have you ever felt like you are stepping into an oven when you walk outside? With days that reach into the triple digits, I find myself reflecting on my youth when I thought things were cooler. However, after a recent discussion with friends, I have found things probably weren’t cooler; I was having so much fun outside I really didn’t feel the heat. That leads me to think about how I spent my summers as a child.
My main activity that I looked forward to from year to year was summer camp. Now many of you who know me may not believe this, but my parents sent me to overnight camp with the nuns, for a month at a time. It was the most fun I could imagine. There I learned about arts and crafts (something we never did at home), became an archery instructor, learned to swim, and actually became a life guard. As a matter of fact, as I reflect on my time at camp, I can’t help smiling thinking of the fun I had as a camper and the hard work I put in to work my way up to Head Counselor for three years. At camp, I learned skills such as swimming, building a campfire, and cooking outside, but that was the small part. The big lesson was gaining self-esteem and confidence, learning to make decisions, and taking on responsibility. It was the place that taught me work can be fun and can be fulfilling and everyday is an education.
You can imagine my pleasure when I found out as part of my position with 4-H that I have the opportunity to introduce almost 80 youth a year to the fun of overnight summer camp. We don’t go for a month, just a week to Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Educational Center in Reidsville, N.C. There in the foothills it is a little cooler and the planned water activities in the pool and lake help keep things cool as well. Our youth have the opportunity to do traditional camp activities such as horseback riding, canoeing, swimming, and archery. They also have the opportunity to do some newer things such as rock wall climbing, ropes courses, and GIS navigation. There is so much fun packed into each day our youth are exhausted when their heads hit the bunk and they sleep well in their cabins before getting up early the next morning to do it all again. The funniest part of all is on Sunday before they leave and find out there are no cell phones, video games, or T.V.; you would think the world ended. On Friday, when we return they are crying and wondering how they will live without their new friends and their new fun activities and not a single one of them complains about the heat.
If you would like to help your child make cool memories and forget the heat this summer, there is still time. We leave July 24 and will return July 29 for our week long overnight 4-H camp. The cost for the week, which includes transportation, all meals, a store card, T-shirt, and accommodations, is just $300. We still have a few slots left. If overnight camp is not quite your thing, we also offer several week long day camp programs.
For more information about our camps, please contact Shea Ann DeJarnette, Extension 4-H agent with North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center, at 671-3276 or by E-mail at Shea_Ann_DeJarnette@ncsu.edu. You can find a copy of our Summer Fun Programs online at http://robeson.ces.ncsu.edu. If you just want to enjoy the fun of summer camp, you can enjoy it with us through our blog at www.robeson4-H.blogspot.com."

Up to Bat for Team 4-H

The following message was sent by National 4-H and we wanted to share it with you. Please be advised to play you must be 18 years old or over. "Want the chance to win tickets to the 2011 Major League Baseball World Series and help 4-H win $25,000? You have a chance to do both just by visiting the State Farm Go To Bat website!

For the second year in a row, State Farm has selected National 4-H Council as one of the organizations to be a part of their Go To Bat program with Major League Baseball (MLB). The promotion started July 11th and will continue through the rest of the regular MLB season (September 28). Follow the instructions on the Go To Bat site which include playing a virtual home run derby and for every home run you hit, it counts as a point (entry) for you and 4-H. The charity (team) with the best collective batting average wins a weekly prize of $18,000 for the charity. Additionally, if your team wins, you are entered into a weekly drawing to win a trip for two to the 2011 MLB World Series. The charity with the highest cumulative score at the conclusion of the 10-week program will receive a grand prize of $25,000.

To sign up and play for 4-H:

• Go to the State Farm Go To Bat website
• Choose the” Health and Human Services” category and pick "National 4-H Council" as your charity
• Play the Go To Bat online game and earn points by hitting home runs
• Return to the site to play up to 3 times each day

We know this program works, Council's own Aggie Stephenson was one of last year's lucky winners! Aggie received a trip to the World Series and National 4-H Council received $20,600 because she was playing for our team. Once you have signed up to play, be sure to check out the video on the “About the Program” tab that features Aggie going to bat for 4-H!"

Three Forks. One Mouth and No Cell Phone?????

Sitting down in any formal setting can be nerve wracking and when you are trying to make a good impression but not sure what utensil to eat with what do you do? Pick up your cell phone and call a friend for help? Send a text message or a quick plea for advice to Facebook friends? Having a quick shot of self confidence can help you land that perfect job, or college placement. That is exactly what Christy Strickland, Family Consumer Science (FCS) Extension Agent and Shea Ann DeJarnette, 4-H Youth Development Extension Agent with the Robeson County Center of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service tried to do for almost 40 youth and adults taking part in the Upward Bound Program (UBP) at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP) tonight.
Youth learned the basics of handshakes and introductions, on-line and cell phone manners, the art of the conversation, and how to set a table. With each lesson came time for hands on practice and critique. The most important lesson to learn from the night was that etiquette is not about drinking hot tea and keeping a pinkie finger in the air while you do it. Etiquette is about following a certain standard to make sure everyone feels comfortable and has a good time. After the hands on practice we got a chance to put our new found talents to work. Veronica Powell, the Upward Bound Coordinator (and 4-H volunteer) had a spread of snack and dessert foods ready for the youth to put on plates as well as beverages. In turn they had to figure out how to balance the plates, cups, eat and be able to shake hands and carry on a conversation without sitting down. It is something you don't think about until you end up trying to balance it all. Before we left one of the students presented the workshop leaders with UBP t-shirts that they will proudly wear (especially since they are 4-H green). We are looking forward to working with Upward Bound students again in the future.

Robeson County 4-H Jumps High at State 4-H Horse Show

Robeson County made the trip to the big horse show this year for the first time in more than a decade. Boy oh boy did our members make a show! The State 4-H Horse Show takes place in Raleigh at the Horse complex. On Wednesday Megan Butler, of the St. Paul's 4-H Pony Club, took the trip and competed in several events. This is the first state show for Megan and for the St. Paul's 4-H Pony Club. She had more than 23 competitors in her division. Megan competed in Junior Barrel Race, Junior Texas Barrels, Flag Race, Pole Bending, Stake Race. All of these are speed competitions. In the flag competition Megan placed 10th which is a wonderful accomplishment.
On Sunday Chasity McClay, who is also a member of the St. Paul's 4-H pony club competed in Dressage on Sunday morning. In Chasity's first time in the ring at the state show she competed in USDF Intro A and B. Both categories are part of dressage. Dressage is a competitive path and destination training category that is seen in amateur competitions and now in the Olympics. Chasity placed first in Intro A and sixth in Intro B. Incredible accomplishments in a division that had almost 25 competitors.
Although Megan and Chasity were the only Robeson County 4-H members competing on Horse back at the show they were not our only competitive entries. We had eight entries in the State 4-H Horse Expressive Arts Contest. First time cloverbuds, Alicia Monroe and Paiton Twigg, both of the St. Paul's 4-H Pony Club, competed in the Photo contest in the cloverbud division. The cloverbud division is for 5- 8 year olds and is not a competitive division. Each contest receives score sheets with comments to help them improve and very nice medals for their work. Alicia's photo was of a horse rearing back with an interesting light perspective. Paiton shot a photo of Horses cantering in a pen. They look like they are having a little fun and she captured a moment forever that is not normally seen.
Competition was stiff in the junior division. Robeson County had five competitors in the photo contest. For Dakota Strickland of the Horsin' Around 4-H Club and Christian Tice of the St. Paul's 4-H Pony Club this was their first time in real competition having turned nine this year. Megan Butler is a return competitor to the photo competition and was one of our two competing on horseback this year. Megan is a member of the St. Paul's 4-H Pony club and submitted a photo this year that plays with light and invokes a mood of a young horse walking in a field. Brianna Cryer, of the St. Paul's 4-H Pony Club, submitted a wonderful photo this year. Her photo tells a story of a young foal feeding. It is a rare moment that we often only see in photos. Chasity McClay of the St. Paul's 4-H Pony club also submitted a photo for this year's contest. Her photo of a horse rolling in the dirt captures a moment in time. In her photo the horse almost looks like he is taking a nap. Dakota had several photos to choose from and chose one that has four horses grazing on hay under a shelter. The horses are on a farm and seem very happy to have that hay to munch on. Christian turned in a close up that looks like a fantastic portrait of a horse's head for the photo contest.
In the Senior division we had one 4-H member who submitted two entries. Megan Hurst with the Horsin' Around 4-H Horse Club submitted entries in both the photo and painting categories. Megan's photo entry was one of a horse looking fashionable, with a hat on it's head. Her water color of a horses head allowed her to place 7th in that competition bringing home a purple ribbon.
Congratulations to all of our participants and especially to Megan and Chasity, their parents and Libby Burney for all of their hard work getting ready for this competition and traveling back and forth to Raleigh for the State 4-H Horse Show.

Hitting the Target

The following report was submitted by the Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports Club concerning their July monthly meeting.

"Our recent club meeting was hot and humid yet very productive. In between trips to the tent for shade and a cold drink of water Dillon and Jedidiah got plenty of range time to practice breath control, sight alignment and sight picture. The hard work started
to pay off as Dillon's shot group began to tighten up and Jedidiah posted his first ever bulls eye.

Mark August 6th on your calendar as the date for our next meeting. This meeting is mandatory for all club members as we will be discussing our booth for the upcoming fair, working on project records and planning our community service project.

See you at the range."

Report Submitted by Larry Russ, Organizational Leader for the Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports Club.

We Have Some Drama Amongst Us!

Did you see the Robesonian yesterday? One of our 4-H members was prominently shown in an article about a local play getting ready to happen at our library branches around the county. Megan Hurst who is a member of the Horsin' Around 4-H Club and Dirty Rascals Junior Master Gardener 4-H Club has a staring role in the production. Please feel free to click this link to read all about it. Her club leaders say they expect it will be a fantastic fantasy production that will be enjoyed by youth of all ages. If you would like to see the play check with your local library branch for show times next week. In the meantime let's wish Megan and all her co-stars luck by saying, "break a leg!"

Crocidile Tears!

You would think on the last day of 4-H animal science day camp we were asking our youth to shed crocodile tears. Nothing could be further from the truth, however they were shedding crocodile sweat as they got up close and personal with these reptiles at Alligator Adventures in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The trip to our southern neighbor let us learn the difference between crocs and alligators, visit the largest croc in the US, and see rare snakes, birds and other wildlife. The star of the show, or the tour I should say, may have been the albino alligators. Once our day campers figured out that they were real they were amazed by their coloring and size. Of course it did not take long to see something swimming with the gators in their pool. The park is home to not only cute turtles, but Galapagos Tortoises and other larger shelled creatures. Being a wildlife park we also got to see lemurs, possums and a tiger. Our youth also travelled into the bat cave to see these winged creatures fly and hang upside down. It took a minute for them to realize that the bats could not get to them, as they swooped around in their cave. Probably the two most talked about things were the live feeding of the reptiles (did you know that alligators can jump?) and the educational show that took place right before we left. Everyone had a chance to touch an Alligator and thought it was really neat.

After a quick trip down the street for lunch at Golden Corral we headed back towards the border with a brief stop at the ever famous South of the Border to see Reptile Lagoon. The attraction, which opened in April in the old indoor golf building offers visitors a chance to see crocs and alligators of different nationalities up close and personal. Our youth also got to see more snakes and turtles and tortoises as they moved around in their man made habitats.

With a full day of travelling and educational fun behind us we headed back to the 4-H office to fill out post-tests (did you know a cow only has one stomach?...it has four chambers in it but only one stomach) and evaluations. Our youth hugged traded digits and made plans to talk again soon as we rounded out a week of animal science fun.