Jen's 4H Jots

CONGRATULATIONS!  What a great time this weekend.  The following 4-Hers participated in the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo Consumer Decision Making Contest on Saturday, February 6th:
* Silver Saddle 4-H Club: Cole B, Roper W
* Argyle 4-H Club: Mattie M, Lauren K, Shelby K
* Northwest 4-H Club: Jessica P
* Trophy Club 4-H Club: Elizabeth M, Conner M, Christian M

The circus is in town and it is going to be a three ring circus.  I hope each of you have reserved October 10th on your calendar for 4-H.  This will be our 3rd Annual Denton County 4-H College.  In addition to project changing experiences we will also be hosting "one day 4-H."

Attached you will find the 2009-2010 Denton County 4-H Calendar.  As always keep an eye out on Club Manager Update, 4-H Forecast and Jen's Jots for date changes.


2009 Calendar.pdf

Does worrying about how to pay for 4-H contests keep you from participating?  GO4-H had such success with fundraising last year they have decided to open up their program to the entire county.  Please review the attachment for details on how your family can enroll.

Leadership - Fundraising.pdf

We have another great year of projects planned.  We encourage all of our families to research each project and as a family choose which projects they wish to participate in.  Community Service should be a part of every 4-H project, but not every promoted project will meet each families goals.  4-Hers should work as individuals, as a club and with the county to support our community.

2009 Community Service Projects.pdf

The 4-H Conference Center will be holding the Texas 4-H Junior Leadership Retreat November 6-8, 2009 at Lake Brownwood! This workshop will focus on basics such as communication skills, leadership, team building, new 4-H projects, community service, types of recreation, managing groups and more.

It is the goal of the workshop to empower youth with the skills they need to become leaders in their community clubs and county programs. Texas 4-H Council members will provide leadership for this retreat, mentoring to the younger 4-H members to help them develop their leadership skills. Participants must be under 14 years of age.

DAYCAMP for Kids 8 yrs and UP!

Learn about nature and have fun! Topics planned are:

• a presentation by the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center on birds of prey and bird rescue;
• the technology used in wildlife study and photography;
• a presentation on mammals and wild animal rescue by the 911 Wildlife organization;
• a presentation on interaction with reptiles;
• a microscope station exploring pond water;
• bird identification by song, beaks, silhouettes and markings;
  
• state animals of texas;
• a station teaching how to identify poisonous or dangerous plants.

GoldenDay_nature.pdf

Science With Attitude (SWAt) is a new approach by Denton County AgriLife Extension to reach school children. A team consisting of a Denton County Master Gardener and honored Friend of 4-H, Jenny Estes, an Elm Fork Chapter Master Naturalist, Cheryl Kesterson and a Denton County 4-H Leader, Susan Kilpatrick has collaborated with curriculum directors from Denton ISD to create a three-day intensive teacher training course on outdoor learning centers and horticulture. The class was taught by Master Volunteers and assisted by a few Denton County 4-H youth that have many years experience in the Horticulture project area; 2006 Junior Master Gardener of the Year, Shelby, Lauren and Kaitlyn Kilpatrick. Topics included native plants, worm composting, plant propagation, vegetable gardening, and creating outdoor learning habitats. Much of the class is hands-on. For example the first day is spent doing Junior Master Gardener activities so that the teachers have the opportunity to experience 30 activities that they can easily implement in their classroom. The Junior Master Gardener® (JMG) curriculum is tied to the TEKS and is multi-disciplinary. During the second day, the teachers actually built a raised bed, a compost pile, and designed container gardens. On the third day, the teachers had a "scavenger hunt" at four Outdoor Learning Centers (OLC) at local elementary schools to see first hand what works and what doesn't work in an OLC. 

A new contest will be introduced at this year's State 4-H Roundup.  Keep reading to learn more about the 4-H Food Challenge

The Southern Region Teen Leadership Conference is a first-of-its-kind, multi-state 4-H conference created to bring together 4-H teens and adults to empower and inspire them to make a positive change across the southern region through youth-adult partnerships.  The 4th annual conference will be held on October 8-11, 2009 at the Clyde York 4-H Center in Crossville, TN.