Blowing Up A New Adventure

Day two for 4-H Cloverbud Day Camp came filled with scientific anticipation and the hope that something would blow up.
  We started the day learning some principles of science.  Things like capillary refill and wicking as we magically moved colored water from one glass to another then used paper towels to make a new color of water.  It was really cool conducting a bunch of experiments at once.  We also learned about air pressure by using air to squish marshmallows flat (honest we did not touch them we used air to do it).  We also made our own lava lamp that we all got to shake up.  It was really awesome.
  After working in physical science we worked in plant science.  Each camper got a chance to make their own greenhouse and plant either vegetables or flowers.  In a week or so there should be sprouts  and our science project will prove a success.  While we were talking about the things that plants need we moved on to weather.  It gave us a chance to make a tornado in a jar.  Honest our very own swirling funnel cloud in a jar, how cool is that?
  Before lunch we had one more big experiment to do.  We finally got to see something blow up, or explode, or both, or neither, it was just really fun!  With Miss Shea Ann's help we used vinegar and baking soda (along with some food coloring and glitter) to make the most awesome and messy volcano ever!  She made it blow up lots of times, higher and higher.  IT was AWESOME!

  After lunch we worked to make bracelets out of popsicle sticks.  We boiled the sticks in water and learned about humidity and heat, how it can even bend wood.  Mrs. Janice came in to make tea and showed us how science is even in food.  It is pretty neat how science is everywhere.
  Then it was time to work with Mrs. Tamika.  She showed us that being active can be fun and be healthy for us.  We all got a chance to play with hula hoops and work off some energy while havign fun.  After working with Mrs. Tamika and making our snacks Mrs. Jessica and Miss Shea Ann had one more surprise for us.

  We got the chance to use shower rings and curl lots of our favorite colors of ribbon on them.  After we got done with the curly Q's they played music for us and we danced around the room swinging our ribbons to the beat of the music.  We had the most fun ever!
  Tomorrow we are going to travel to outer space!  We can't wait to take a giant leap for cloverbud kind.

A New Day A New Creation

  The last week of Summer Fun belongs to our youngest ones.  Not that I am trying to go Suessian on you but rhyming sort of comes naturally after spending the day with our 5-8 year old Cloverbuds.  We changed things up a little this year.  Each day has a theme for this camp and our first day was one that lead to creativity, Arts and Crafts day.
  Thanks to the help of 4-H Volunteer Jessica Drake this week we have a whole host of things going on that will make our youngest members, happy.  We started the day getting to know each other and playing a few games.  Then we got ready to have some fun, and perhaps make a mess. Our first project took a little patience and one we would work on all day.  We painted the backgrounds of a canvas in a single color.  This would serve as our backdrop to our nature prints.  We'll explain as we go forward.
  While we were being patient waiting for that to dry (and after cleaning ourselves up) we moved on to reusing items.  In this case we reused socks to make socktopuses.  While we were stuffing our socks we learned all about octopuses and the eight legs that they have.  Ours are a much cuddlier version of the creatures that also have eight legs, google eyes and lots of character.
  Before lunch we made one more really cool thing.  We turned the usual into the unusual.  By using really big paperclips and ribbon we made our own personalize bookmarks.  We just picked the different ribbon or ribbons we wanted then looped it through one end so it would stay tied.  Now we have our own personalized bookmark that we made ourselves.
  Mrs Margaret came and made us an awesome lunch!  She said she would come back all week just to cook for us and she makes really yummy food.
  After lunch we had a little more work to do while our works of art finished drying.  We had the chance to take plastic pony beads and make big and little sun catchers   I know it sounds sort of fishy and fishing line is used to hang these one of a kind pieces but this was cool.  We took our favorite colors an put them in aluminum pans of different sizes.  We made sure there was only a single layer of beads in each of our trays then Miss Shea Ann and Mrs. Jessica baked them in the oven.  The beads melted (we got to go check it out) when it came out the plastic discs popped right out and we had a really cool multi-colored sun catcher to take home with us.
  When we got done with that fun we split into two groups.  Miss Shea Ann and our teen volunteer Chris Bullard took some of us outside with our boards and we collected flowers, leaves, twigs, etc outside and got ready to get creative.  Miss Shea Ann sprayed our canvas with adhesive spray and we played our items creatively on our canvas.  Then we pick gold or silver spray paint.  She spray painted our entire canvas (sticks, leaves, flowers, and all) and left it outside in the sun to dry.
  The group inside got the chance to work with Mrs. Jessica on two items.  Our first was a wood cut out that had its own markers.  We each got to pick one and color it in to take home.  When we got done with that we had the chance to make button bracelets with ribbon and buttons.  It was a really cool project that a lot of us wore home to show our parents.
  When we got done with each of our leaders we switched places and got to do the other stuff.  Then it was time for Mrs. Tamika.  She works for the Expanded Foods and Nutrition Education Program or EFNEP.  She is going to come in all week and talk with us about different healthy foods we can eat and teach us how to make our own snacks.  Today we made apple carousels with apples, animal crackers and peanut butter.  They were really awesome, and tasted good too.
  Tomorrow is Science Day.  We think we might get to make something explode!  How much fun would that be?

If you Liked Mini-Society You Will Love This!

  We are so excited to make this announcement!  Robeson County 4-H will be starting an entrepreneurial specialty club.  If you have a child who is interested in money and is resourceful this will be the club for them.  The organizational meeting for this new club (which will be named at that time) is September 17th.  The club plans to meet the first Monday of each month at the Cooperative Extension office starting at 5:30 pm.  If you have a child interested in being a part of this club please contact a member of the Robeson County 4-H Staff at (910) 671-3276 or email Shea Ann DeJarnette at Shea_Ann_DeJarnette@ncsu.edu.

The Bottom Line Equals?

  It is our last day of Mini-Society and today is the big day.  Today we use all the skills and activities we have worked on to make our last day of business the ultimate success.  With all the money we earn today we will be able to bid on big items at our last auction of the day.
  We started our day by learning about a recycling project.  In business it is important to be environmental conscious   We would like to use products that can be reused or do not leave an impact on our environment   Sometimes it is as simple as just finding a creative way to reuse the products and an audience that would like to recycle.  As part of this lesson we used old greetings cards and cut the photos and the images in them to make place-mats.  Our collage place-mats were to represent us with the images we had in front of us.  They were very personal, very cool, and environmentally friendly.

  After getting ready to open our stores we took a brief break for a special lunch of Mr. Bobby's fried chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes.  It was so good!
  Then it was time to get down to business.  We opened our stores and had end of week sales.  We offered incentives  bartered, and did everything we could to get as much cash for the big finale.  After we closed up shop it was time for the big auction.  We had items like water bottles, sports balls, and other great things to bid on.  It was awesome!

They Nailed This One

  We hammered home a new point today as part of day four of Mini-Society.  One of the goals of Mini-Society is to introduce youth to careers.  Today they were introduced to woodworking or carpentry, birds or ornithology, and art.  Although not careers you might traditionally think about, they are all very important, and it is important to introduce youth to nontraditional careers.  You never know when it might spark something in them to identify a niche and create a job or a business that meets the needs of the world.  Today, thanks to our wonderful volunteer Bobby Rogers our youth had bird houses to paint and express themselves on, and they were able to take them home.  They learned about the construction of these houses, the difference between bird feeders and bird houses, and how to protect their art work in the great out of doors.
  After working hard on the bird houses it was time to get paid, and go shopping.  Today the shops were a little more tailored to meet the needs of the clientele.  At one shop, nails could be done, and there were snacks galore being sold.  At Mrs. Aggie's store they learned that they could buy the same items much cheaper at other stores, and learned how to bargain for a better deal.  During the auction the youth had to decide if they were going to save their money for what they really wanted being auctioned on Friday or if they would buy lots of cheaper stuff today.  For some of them the cash was burning a hole in their pocket.  Others did not have a problem sitting on a wad of cash and planning on how to gain more the next day for the big auction items.
  Stay tuned for more information on how the auction battle turns out tomorrow.

Absolutely Open for Business

  Day three of 4-H Mini-Society day camp started with a trip outside of our society.  We loaded up and headed to Fayetteville to Absolute Fitness.  It is a small personal training business that was started by Brad Austin.  Coach Austin gave our youth a tour of his facility and then spoke with them about what it takes to start a small business.  He is a graduate of University of North Carolina at Pembroke majoring in Physical Fitness and also has a certificate from the small business center at UNCP.  He spoke with the youth about business plans, financial matters, and how important education is.  They spoke about marketing and advertising and the best ways to promote a business in today's technology driven world.
  After the spoken motivational session he gave them a workout, literally.  Everyone got up and stretched, jumped and ran relays.  He put everyone through their paces before giving them a break and fixing them protein shakes.  Then before leaving they hit the cardio machines and gave him a big hug.
  After working up an appetite it was time to head to lunch.  A brief stop at Golden Corral allowed all of our campers the chance to eat up and regain the calories they had so diligently worked off that morning.  As a special treat we headed to fascinate you.  At this hands on children's museum for youth between the ages of 3-12 our Mini-Society day campers had the chance to run a post office, work in a grocery store, vote, hold court, be an anchor person, dress up as a fire fighter, work for the power company and even handle live snakes.
  It was a day of excitement and entertainment.  Tomorrow we will return to our society and work on developing our businesses, that is if we aren't too sore from the workout.

Shopping Around

  The first thing we heard this morning was, "when can we open our stores?"  Believe it or not that is music to our ears.  Tuesday marked day two of 4-H Mini-Society.  One of the highlights for our 4-H day campers is opening their stores, but there were a few more skills they needed to learn before that could happen.  After reviewing terms from the day before, it was time to get down to business.
  Today they learned about how to write a check, fill out a job application, and interviewing skills.  Each camper took a shot at interviewing for their dream job and critiqued each other on topics from handshakes to volume while answering questions.  The jobs the applied for ranged from dentist, to vet, and even town manager.  After applying for jobs it was time to set up for the big event of the day, the official opening of stores.
  After lunch it was time to sell items, make deals, and learn the meaning of a bargain.  The youth found out that items at Mrs. Aggies store might not be the best deal in the Cash Society and went looking for things that were cheaper to get the biggest bang for their buck.  They learned about making deals for what they wanted and how to save money for the big auction items.  It is the beginning of business, and trust me there was nothing usual about the business they were conducting.
  Tomorrow it will be time for a field trip and the opportunity to meet someone who has started their own business, and check out their business first hand.