WE ARE 80 DAYS AWAY FROM SPRING BIG FUN IN D1!

Time to start planning and prepping!

We have released the guide https://d14-h.tamu.edu/files/2020/01/Spring-Roundup-Guide-2020.1.pdf

If you have questions about the schedule, contest rules & guidelines, or contest resources, information can be found in this guide!

There are also many resources to be used from the Explore Guides to help agents and leaders prepare your teams/individuals for their contests!https://texas4-h.tamu.edu/resources/

We cant wait to see YOU April 16-18! The prizes and awards are going to be BIGGER and BETTER than ever!

-Bailee

Photography: One of our fastest growing projects and a project easy enough that everyone can do and make it their own.

Unlike most of our 4-H’ers, I have yet to master the perfect “selfie” or the “artsy” food pic. These resources below got me up to speed and would be great to get your local photography project up to speed as well!

• Photography Videos: (videos are at the bottom of the page): https://extension.umn.edu/projects-and-more/4-h-photography-project these videos break down the parts of taking a good, quality picture. They are done by students and are pretty informative.
• Photography Lesson Plans: https://4h.tennessee.edu/Pages/projects/photo.aspx put together by Tennessee. Handy information to have to add to this project
• Texas 4-H Photography Explore Guide: http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/Explore_Photography.pdf breaks down the parts of this project into 6 weeks’ worth of lessons.

IDEA: why not host a monthly photography contest in your own county? KEEP IT SIMPLE. Ask 4-Hers to submit 1 photo every month. Have a different community member to select a photo each month, give a prize to that 4-Her and display the picture in your office!

 

Photography Contests:

State 4-H Photography Contest (for seniors) April 15

Capital Farm Credit Agriculture Photography Contest June 18

District 1 4-H Photography Contest July 21

 

-Bailee

It’s a new year! Which hopefully means…..NEW 4-H MEMBERS!

It’s a well known fact that we all LOVE when new 4-H members join our 4-H Clubs, but are we taking the right steps to make sure we properly welcome new members?

This link provides a check sheet on ways to make sure your 4-H club is being inclusive and welcoming to new members https://texas4-h.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/NewMemberChecklist.pdf 

Club Managers and Club Officers should review this check list to make sure you are prepared for when new members come to your club! We want their first club meeting to be a POSITIVE experience.

Here are a couple of fun activities/games to play that will help you get to know your new members and make them feel included. https://texas4-h.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/GroupJuggle.pdf

https://texas4-h.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/HatTrick.pdf

Remember “An involved 4-H’er is a happy 4-Her. A happy 4-H’er is a lifetime 4-H’er.”

 

-Bailee

This weeks post is perfect for project leaders & agents! STEM is one of our fastest growing projects and seems to always be a hit with youth of all ages.  If you were lucky enough to attend 4-H Summit in Brownwood, this will look very familiar. One of my favorite sessions from the Summit was Justin Saenz’s session on Halloween STEM Experiments. If I remember correctly, Justin used these experiments as part of a monthly STEM night program. These specific experiments were part of his Halloween themed night. You could rename and them and add a totally new theme!

He shared the following EASY STEM activities and resources:

Creepy Erupting Bubbles (I call them Brain Bubbles)

• 9oz punch cup
• Dry Ice
• Bubble mixture (2 Tablespoon Dawn Soap with 4 oz water [add glycerin for stronger bubbles])

Experiment Directions:

Fill the 9oz cup half way with warm water, add “some” Bubble mixture and small piece of dry ice. Small bubbles will start to erupt from the top, **If you wear cotton mittens, you can hold the bubbles

Dry Ice Crystal Ball Bubble

• 9oz punch cup
• Dry Ice
• Cloth string
• Bubble mixture (2 Tablespoon Dawn Soap with 4 oz water [add glycerin for stronger bubbles])

Experiment Directions:

Fill cup half way with warm water and small piece of Dry Ice. Take the Cloth String and dip in Bubble solution. Glide string over the opening of the cup to form a bubble. Allow time for the bubble to fill and it will eventually ‘pop’ **If you wear cotton mittens, you can hold the bubbles

Boo Bubbles

• Water bottle (I had 8oz bottle in my office)
• Aquarium tubing
• Dry Ice
• Bubble  Mixture

Experiment Directions:

Prep Water bottle: Using the pointed end of scissors in a twisting motion, create a hole in the lid of the bottle and stick a piece of Aquarium tubing 8” to 10”

Fill water bottle half way with warm water and add a small piece of Dry Ice. Screw lid on with Aquarium tubing. Dip the end of the aquarium tubing into the Bubble Solution. A bubble will start to form from the trapped CO2 gas. **If you wear cotton mittens, you can hold the bubbles

 

If you would like to purchase the professional kits they are from Steve Spangler Science:

• The Ultimate Dry Ice Science Kit $119.99 https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/store/the-ultimate-dry-ice-science-kit.html
• Halloween Science Party $109.99 https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/store/halloween-science-party.html

The kits are okay, most of what is in them can be easily recreated/purchased. I personally like the Slime kit from Steve Spangler, just for the ease of having only two ingredients.

https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/store/atomic-shaker-slime.html

Other Kid Friendly Science Experiments (Facebook Video)

https://www.facebook.com/justin.saenz/posts/10220563938278394

 

-Bailee

As we approach the new year (WoooHoo 2020!), I’ve decided to try a new approach to this blog. I am going to use this blog as a tool to post a “4-H Resource of the Week.” With the many moving parts and opportunities that are encompassed by 4-H, we can never have too many resources, right?

Resources will mainly be directed towards agents, leaders, volunteers, or 4-H parents! This week’s resource is mainly directed toward agents!

As we all know, here in D1 our spring tends to focus on a large variety of projects. Projects = Project Leaders & Volunteers. We can NEVER have enough of those! Sometimes the struggle is we don’t know who to ask, or who is interested in what, or we just don’t ask at all!

This is a perfect time of year to try and build your volunteer base up for the spring! One way to do that could be sending out a survey similar to this    https://texas4-h.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/Sample-Lettter-Survey-to-Parents.pdf 

Don’t limit yourself to just 4-H parents, send it to grandparents, 4-H alumni, community leaders, etc. Why not post it to your social media? Just remember, for safety purposes all volunteers will need to go through the screening process on 4-H Connect before they begin working with our youth!

 

-Bailee