Published: April 29, 2008 05:07 pm            

Jody Terry: Spring is in the 4-H air

Spring is in the air and 4-H is in bloom. I hardly know where to begin! In March, we walked in the Human Race sponsored by the Volunteer Center.

The day was beautiful and the mood was right to enjoy good fellowship and think about all the worthy causes that were being supported by our walk.

Each year this event brings a little more awareness to the many needs in Randolph County.

Some of our 4-H’ers with the Country Kids Livestock Club visited with patients at the Randolph Cancer Center on April 1. We were there to drop off our donation of head coverings collected by 4-H families at Honors Night in February.

It was a wonderful experience to see some of the brave faces of community members living with cancer alongside young people so eager to show their support.

On behalf of Randolph County 4-H, I would like to thank everyone who gave to this effort as well as the gracious staff at the Randolph Cancer Center for what they do every day to help fight the good fight in battling cancer.

Keep your fingers crossed for our 4-Hers competing at the Dairy Quiz Bowl and Skillathon in Statesville. I look forward to hearing great things from this competition, as our youth have tirelessly practiced to make ready for the contest. One statewide contest is held each year.

Teams compete with each other to give oral answers to questions posed by a contest moderator. Teams receive credit for correct answers and in some cases, a penalty for not answering. A written exam is also part of the senior division contest at the state level.

Youth between the ages of 9 and 19 are eligible to participate with contests available for junior and senior divisions. Results were not in at the time of this article submission.

Our 4-H members are working on several different projects this month. The 4-H Entertains/Fashion Revue is scheduled for May 22 at North Asheboro Middle School.

That means folks are tuning up instruments and shining their dancing shoes to prepare for a great time competing in the talent portion of the show. I can’t wait to see (and hear) all the wonderful acts.

And then there are those young people busily sewing and some even designing their garment for fashion revue. Some truly beautiful pieces are submitted every year with a very creative flare.

In keeping with the N.C. 4-H theme of expressive arts, Randolph County 4-H continues our initiative to promote the arts while being civic minded. With that in mind, all 4-H families as well as the entire community are invited to bring arts and craft supplies to our offices before May 30.

We will have boxes set out at 4-H Entertains/Fashion Revue to promote donating. These items will be donated to Asheboro Day Care.

This center offers childcare services for babies through toddler age and we want to make sure these “new” budding artists have the tools to work with. Items such as crayons, child scissors, finger paints, construction paper, art paper and craft supplies are suggested.

With all of this going on we are also holding “help”sessions for youth needing a little extra practice for Randolph County Presentation Day scheduled for June7.

This is definitely one of my favorite events for young people to participate in. After picking a topic of interest, each child will then develop a presentation with research-based information as well as some type of visual aide. This is an excellent opportunity to work on public speaking techniques.

Topics can range from barbeque chicken cookery to the struggles of living with seizures. Public speaking is such an important skill for every child to develop.

The opportunity to grow and mature as an individual while working through that first scary experience of standing up in front of an audience and speaking is priceless.

Most if not all participants or family members come back and say that this experience is great preparation for school and/or church events or just building self-esteem.

If any of the items I have mentioned in this article sound like something you or a young person you know would be interested in, contact our office to learn more.

We always look forward to hearing from the community about ways you want to learn and grow with 4-H.



Jody Terry is the 4-H program assistant for Randolph County 4-H, part of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service in Asheboro. She can be reached at (336) 318-6013.

        

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