Volunteer Extension Cord (VEC) is a way to advise you about Texas 4-H Volunteer Development. This newsletter is e-mailed to County Extension Agents, Texas 4-H Faculty, District Extension Administrators, and Regional Program Directors. In addition 4-H volunteers who are active in VLAT or their District Adult Leaders Association (and we have your e-mail address) will receive VEC. To add an e-mail address to our list, send a message to texasvolunteer@tamu.edu and type subscribe followed by your name, county, district and e-mail address.
We are always looking for news items, county and regional highlights, recognition of volunteers and other information related to volunteer development. Please send information to the following e-mail texasvolunteer@tamu.edu
In This Issue:
1. Texas 4-H Center Fun Awaits You!
2. National 4-H Congress
3. 2005 Texas 4-H Photography Contest
4. Opportunity for Expansion - Afterschool
5. Clover Kids - Non-competitive Enforcement
6. Texas 4-H Japanese Exchange Program
7. Clover Kids resource site
8. Parliamentary Procedure Training Resources
9. Volunteer Involvement in 4-H
10. Texas 4-H Goes Greece
11. Why Do We Volunteer?
12. 4-H in a Greek Way
13. Texas 4-H Clover (Opportunities Handbook)
14. 4-H Technology Team
1. Texas 4-H Center Fun Awaits You!
Camping opportunities await you in 2005 at the Texas 4-H Center. We have programs for the young and the young-at-heart. Check our schedule and head out to Brownwood to relax, be revived and to meet new friends or spend time with old acquaintances.
Specialty camps are offered to older youth. SpecTra ‘05, Spectacular Training in Spectacular Tradition allows youth to choose from one of eight educational sessions where they receive approximately 20 hours of intense instruction. The instruction is designed to enhance and expand the scope of 4-H projects, to explore career opportunities and to experience the project on a whole new level. During the day, the eight groups work independently with hands-on skills building workshops, field trips and tours of local businesses and some groups complete projects while at camp. In the evening, youth participate in team building exercises; the final Gala which allows participants to experience a formal event and reflect on the week’s activities. The sessions include Agriculture & Natural Resources (with a Veterinary Medicine focus), Creative Leadership, Golf & Turf Management, Horticulture/Floriculture, Photo Communications, Recreation Leadership, Field & Stream and new this year, Culinary Arts. SpecTra dates are July 25-30, registration information is available on the 4-H Center website.
Two sessions of Adventure Trek will be offered in 2005. These camping opportunities allow youth to experience the outdoors in it’s fullest sense. This is your hard-core camping! Adventure Camp I will feature an aquatics emphasis. Participants will camp at the Texas 4-H Center and will participate in canoeing, sailing, kayaking and all things aquatic! Adventure Camp II is a trip and travel program where participants start at the 4-H Center for basic training and then load up and travel to another destination for camping and canoeing on the Colorado River. Again, overnight accommodations mean tent camping. For both of these programs, camping supplies are provided through the generosity of the Texas Extension Education Association.
2. NATIONAL 4-H CONGRESS
National 4-H Congress is the flagship event for leadership and community service learning for 4-H members between the ages of 14 to 18 from across the United States. Over 1,300 youth from forty-eight states and two providence's participate in the five day event held the weekend after Thanksgivings in Atlanta, GA. During the five day event, 4-H members will participate in educational programs and cultural events in Atlanta. They will hear from individuals such as media mogul Ted Turner, Miss America 2000 Heather French, and Paralympic Gold Medalist and author Scot Hollonbeck. In addition more than 20 educational programs will feature topics that range from conflict mediation and effective youth leadership skills to biotechnology in agricultural and global environmental policies.
Texas Information: Thirty youth will be selected to participate in the 2004 National 4-H Congress to be held in Atlanta, Georgia. The program will touch on youth issues, leadership, appreciating diversity and community service learning. Cost estimates for 2004 are approximately $1200.00 per delegate, this might fluctuate depending on airline prices. Every effort will be made to lower the final costs, which will be determined at a later date.
Applications will be emailed to all county Extension offices and posted on the web in mid-February.
3. 2005 TEXAS 4-H PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST
The Texas 4-H photography project is a growing project throughout all areas of our state. The 2005 photography contest reflects the increasing usage of digital cameras through this project. The rules have undergone major revisions to expand the divisions and classes including story boards and special effect divisions. The rules are currently available on the Texas 4-H Photography website, along with some great resources for our photography project members. The web address is: http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/photography. The deadline for submitting photographs for the contest is April 15, 2005.
4. Opportunity for Expansion: Afterschool
Afterschool programs have been around a long time, but Texas 4-H has not taken full advantage of the opportunities that abound in partnering with afterschool programs. Texas 4-H addressed the need for reaching afterschool audiences in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Now, the issue of afterschool care has become a pressing national issue, primarily because of the need for safe places for children when their parents are working and the need for structured activities that will help with the child’s development.
Texas 4-H is addressing the needs of afterschool. The Texas 4-H Afterschool Focus Group was established in 2002 to review the old Texas 4-H Afterschool Curriculum and determine what the needs were. As a result, a new curriculum has been developed. YEA 4-H! is an afterschool learning experience that exposes youth to the many projects that 4-H has to offer. This new curriculum targets K-2 age youth and is designed to support and enhance their school curriculum.
YEA 4-H! has 23 subject matter tabs, each with a minimum of 5 lessons. Some examples of the subject matter tabs include: 4-H, Texas History, Clothing & Textiles, Agriculture, Horticulture, Character Education, Leadership, Personal Development, Meteorology, and much more. The lessons have activity sheets, games, and hands-on projects to enhance the learning experience. Also included in the curriculum are community service ideas, parent newsletters in English and Spanish, and evaluation instruments.
This 1,100 + page curriculum is available in CD and each County will receive one complimentary copy by February 2005. The CD will also be available to order in February 2005 from the TCE Extension Resource Center at a cost of $50.00.
How can 4-H volunteers, teen leaders and agents get involved with YEA 4-H? Afterschool programs are looking for things to enhance their curriculum. Agents can train volunteers and teen leaders to utilize the YEA 4-H! curriculum and partner with local afterschool programs. YEAH 4-H! could be a track in the afterschool program. 4-H clubs can be established in these settings, providing opportunities for leadership development, citizenship, and exploration of the many 4-H projects.
Agents can also train afterschool staff to implement the YEAH 4-H! Curriculum. This, in turn, expands the 4-H volunteer base and possibly can lead to the establishment of 4-H clubs.
4-H Afterschool has resources that will help agents and volunteers in training afterschool staff, establishing 4-H clubs in afterschool settings and sample activities. These resources can be printed from the 4-H Afterschool website or ordered from National 4-H Council. To print these resources, go to: http://www.4hafterschool.org/resources.htm
YEAH 4-H! Curriculum is in development for 3-5 grade level and there are plans to do a 6-8 grade level also. An exhibit on YEAH 4-H! is available for check-out from the State 4-H Office and brochures are also available. Counties can contact Dr. Jeff Howard @ jhoward@ag.tamu.edu or Cheryl Newberry @ c-newberry@tamu.edu to reserve the exhibit and request brochures.
5. 4-H CLOVER KIDS - NON-COMPETITIVE ENFORCEMENT
The following are highlights of a letter from Dr. Martha Couch, Associate Director, 4-H and Youth and Mr. Kyle Smith, Associate Director for County Programs.
The Texas 4-H Clover Kids program was begun in the mid-1980's as an opportunity to conduct youth programming for the kindergarten through second grade age groups. This program continues to be a strong and viable part of Texas AgriLife Extension Service, including over 100,000 youth in 2003-2004.
The intent of the program always has been, and will continue to be, non-competitive. The enclosed paper gives an overview of the youth development research which continues to show that competition in the 5 to 7 year old age group is not developmentally appropriate.
Despite the very well documented reports of the many ills of competition too early, we still see programs outside of our Agency introduce competition at an early age. As the land-grant university, we are responsible for teaching and emphasizing the current base of research. So with that noted, even if other youth programs choose to offer competition for K-2, the majority of youth development research does not support this, so Texas 4-H will not. Although not a change in procedures, as these guidelines have always been expected, several events during the past two years have caused the need to reiterate the following:
- Extension faculty that offer Clover Kids programs are expected to limit project offerings to those which are developmentally appropriate and the child can reasonably complete with limited interaction from adults.
- Extension faculty are not to sign validation forms for youth who will not fall within 4-H age guidelines on August 31 of the current year.
- Extension faculty are not to sign any documents, including entry cards and entry materials, indicating that children in the Clover Kids age group are eligible for competition.
- Extension faculty are expected to work with county show boards and other youth boards who require 4-H membership, to understand that Extension faculty will not be able to certify youth less than 8 years of age and in the 3 grade as rd
eligible to compete, as it is not developmentally appropriate.
In addition a supplemental piece is attached to this newsletter for your review.
6. Texas 4-H Japanese Exchange Program
Bring home the world! Please assist in promoting this great opportunity in your community. Placing just one Japanese youth with a host family in your area can benefit an entire 4-H club and affect a whole community. Hosting someone from another country has proven to be a great way to get publicity for the 4-H program. Use the attached document to provide information to any prospective host families.
Hosting - Texas families have the opportunity to host a Japanese youth (ages 12-18) for one month or adult chaperone for 2 weeks during a summer home stay program. The Japanese youth must be placed with a host family with a child of the same age and gender. Adult chaperones are available to be placed with families with younger children, singles or older couples. This is an excellent opportunity to expose one's family to the Japanese culture and share about life here in the United States.
USA to Japan - Texas youth (ages 14 - 18) have the opportunity to spend one month in Japan learning about Japanese culture through a one-month home stay experience. This year, the program will run from July 13 - Aug 11, 2005.
Application deadline is February 15, 2005. Contact coordinator Gina McCormick at ginamac1@airmail.net.
High School Exchange - opportunities to host a high school exchange student from Japan or the former Soviet States for a school year. This is a new program. If there are any interested families, they should contact Gina
McCormick at ginamac1@airmail.net.
7. Clover Kids Resource Site
Are you a club manager or volunteer leader of a clover kids club? Go to the following link for additional resources: www.cloverbudconnections.osu.edu
8. Parliamentary Procedure
What to find some great resources on teaching parliamentary procedure? Need a fun new way to train club officers? Go to the following web sites and check them out: http://192.17.100.4/Portals/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=65 http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/who/
9. Volunteer Involvement in 4-H
One of the fastest growing groups of volunteers is of Hispanic ethnicity. They are a huge untapped resource for the Texas 4-H Program. See the article attached to this newsletter highlighting how to attract new volunteers to your club or county program.
10. Texas 4-H Goes Greece
This is a new and unique opportunity for Texas 4 H members to experience world citizenship. In 2005, we will offer an international exchange with the American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Greece and Texas 4 H.
The exchange delegation will include four or five high school students (Sophomores or Juniors this current school year) and one or two group leaders from each country. The participants must agree to participate in the entire exchange. That includes meeting with the Greek delegation in Houston on March 4 6 and traveling to Greece late June and early July. [Tentative dates June 21 July 7]. Attached are the objectives and a tentative agenda.
The cost will be subject to the availability of scholarship funds. We are hoping to offer the program with a $500.00 participant fee plus spending money. The application, including the independent study proposal, is due to Dan James by February 14, 2005. The participation fee is due upon notification of being selected.
Learn more about this newer international 4-H opportunity at the Texas 4-H International website at http://dallas.tamu.edu/4H/international/index.html
11. Why Do We Volunteer?
Have you thought about what motivates each of us to volunteer? This article summary gives you some insight to the why and how people are volunteering.
12 4-H in a Greek Way
Questions were asked last month at the Volunteer Leaders Association of Texas meeting about the new concept of a Greek 4-H Club or Group. Thanks to Brenda Bodiford-Waldrip in Collin County for supplying the following links:
http://www.georgia4h.org/public/edops/sigmalambdachi/
http://knox.tennessee.edu/4h_slc2001.htm
13. Texas 4-H Clover
The Texas 4-H and Youth Development Program is pleased to announce the release of the 2004-2005 Texas 4-H Clover. This publication is being released later in the year with several additions including Biz Ideas in the project section. Counties received a limited number of print copies, but the document can also be purchased online for $2.50 at http://tcebookstore.org/
14. 4-H Technology Team
The current Texas 4-H Technology Team was formed in the Fall of 2004 and well underway for developing some outstanding opportunities for our youth both in technology and other 4-H project areas. Part of the success of this team will the recruitment of new members and adding to the knowledge base of our team. Therefore, we are extending an invitation for both YOUTH and VOLUNTEERS to join the technology project team for the 2005 year.
Selection of members is based upon:
*Members experiences in technology and their desire to learn more about technology and computers,
*A 4-H members ability to commit 2 years to the project team, and
*A person that wants to have FUN!!!
The application is attached and due March 15, 2005.
Angela B. Burkham
Extension Program Specialist
4-H Volunteer Development
ab-burkham@tamu.edu
17360 Coit Road
Dallas, Texas 75252
972.952.9229
Fax 972.952.9632
Cell 940.391.9416
"4-H is a community of young people across America
who are learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills"
Texas A&M System -