July 6, 2011
B7
Once upon a time: A 4-H experience
Misunderstood Continued from B6
4-H member to learn. It’s important for the members to exhibit good sportsmanship. 4-H members are responsible and hardworking. 4-H instills strength, independence, and confidence in youth. One of the ways these skills are built is through 4-H projects. These projects range from cows and chickens to shooting sports, small engines, creative arts, clowning, cooking, sewing, natural resources, and more. The 4-H member picks whichever project or projects interest them. The projects are designed to be completed independently with little help from others. This process of completing Project Judging builds confidence especially when it is repeated over the years. However sometimes things don’t go as well as the 4-H member hoped. This presents them with an opportunity to grow and realize that just because they didn’t win it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be proud of what they accomplished. 4-H members can learn as much from losing as they can from winning and they develop the strength to keep moving toward their goals. Another way 4-H instills independence and confidence is through international hosting and traveling opportunities with the 4-H International Program. A 4-H family can host a foreign exchange student or 4-H members can travel to Japan, Australia, Costa Rica, Norway, Finland, or Argentina. 4-H members are driven and determined when it comes to competition and goal setting. They like to win and they have a drive that is not usually seen in schools. 4-H gives its members choices. Each member chooses what project they want to do and because they want to do it they have the drive and determination to do it well! While many people still hear 4-H and think cows and chickens, more and more people are realizing that 4-H members are really young leaders. Young leaders who are confident talking to people; who have learned to be responsible for themselves, their animals, and other people; and who have learned to set goals and achieve them. They are respectful of other people and other ideas. The leadership skills of 4-H members set them apart from the crowd. The 4-H Pledge sums up the 4-H philosophy: I pledge my Head to clearer thinking, my Heart to greater loyalty, my Hands to larger service, and my Health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world. 4-H: It’s not just cows and chickens, it’s young leaders.
Northeast Suburban Life
By Avery Slusher | 4-H member
Avery Slusher and Sapphire
Once upon a time, a 9-yearold girl was so excited to be an actual 4-H member. As a Cloverbud, she hadn’t been able to show an animal at the fair. She had chickens and really wanted to show them. Now she could! She studied everything she needed to know about chickens and practiced showmanship with her favorite chicken, Sapphire. Then the fair was finally here! She brought her chicken to the poultry barn and made her comfortable with hay, water, food, and Sapphire’s favorite treats. She put a picture of her holding
Sapphire on the cage so Sapphire wouldn’t miss her. The next morning, it was her turn to compete in the Poultry Show! She was nervous, but couldn’t wait to show everything that she’d learned, especially because she was a city girl and not everyone expected her to be able to know these things. But she loved animals, knew how to care for them. As she was waiting for her class, all of a sudden, “Spwack!” She looked down and saw that Sapphire had just pooped on her jeans! A super big poop! She realized that her chicken must be just as nervous as she was. She whispered, “Don’t be scared. I’m with you,” into Sap-
phire’s ear. Her mom giggled and helped her hose it off and it wasn’t a moment too soon. It was her turn to show. She was ready and Sapphire was too! She followed the judge’s directions and answered all of his questions perfectly. The judge announced, “Reserve goes to …” her! He called her name! Then the fair queen handed her a huge trophy and red ribbon. The little girl walked out of the ring with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen! It was something she would never forget. But, do you want to know the best part of this memory story? I’m the little girl and this best 4-H memory ever is mine!
Children learn to balance budgets, meet responsibilities
In Hamilton County 4-H, Cincinnati kids learn important life skills, like how to manage their finances, make a budget, balance a checkbook, and be a smart consumer. In 4-H clubs, youth have the opportunity to take four different ageappropriate personal finance projects. Youth learn about making a budget, record keeping, goal setting, communicating about money, credit, banking, advertising, and becoming a smart con-
sumer. They are able to demonstrate this knowledge at their 4-H club meetings and every summer at the fair. At the 4-H Community Fair, each youth who takes the same project competes against the others to see who did the best job. 4-H also goes into schools to do group money management programs for an entire grade level or for an individual classroom. For older youth, our most popular program is called Real
Money, Real World. It is an active, hands-on experience that gives young people the opportunity to make lifestyle and budget choices similar to those they will make as adults. The highlight of the program is a simulation, where students assume the role of a 25-year-old adult who must support a family. They have a job, a monthly salary, and the number of children they are raising. Students learn to subtract savings, taxes, and health insurance
amounts from their income. The amount of money left over is what they have to spend during the simulation activity. At the simulation, students must visit stations representing real-life businesses. Throughout the activity, students keep track of their finances and attempt to complete the simulation with a positive balance. For younger youth, our most popular program is called Making Cents of It. In this program, students
The Cincinnati Herald is proud to be a sponsor of the Hamilton County 4H Community Fair!
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learn how to recognize and count cash and coins, as well as how to make change. They also learn the history of money, the difference between wants and needs, and how to make a financial goal and save for it. Money management has never been a more important skill for people of all ages than it is today. For more information about 4-H money management programs, please contact Betsy DeMatteo at dematteo.15@osu.edu.