Youth in 4-H animal programs learn how to care for, train and handle animals, from chickens and rabbits to sheep and steers. Children also learn how to give a public presentation at a young age in 4-H, providing valuable life skills.
Enrollment for the 4-H Program opens Thursday, October 1.
The 4-H program teaches real world skills to children and teens. Clubs and other regular programs teach skills like sewing, gardening, leather stamping, carpentry, cooking and other assorted useful skills. Animal programs teach children the responsibility of caring for another living being. This might be an animal that has to live in the country, like a goat, lamb or hog, or an animal that can happily dwell in the city, like a rabbit or dog.
The 4 H’s stand for head, heart, hands and health. Programs focus on teamwork, responsibility, decision making, planning, leadership, and more. The youth in the program learn these skills through planning their year, taking on leadership roles in their clubs, raising and training animals, and more.
Youth in 4-H also give public presentations. They learn how to give speeches, using props and PowerPoints or nothing at all, and compete at the local, regional and state level. The clubs also help in the community through a variety of community service projects.
The goal of New York State 4-H clubs is to connect youth to hands-on learning opportunities that help them grow into competent, caring, contributing members of society.
Each club and animal project has a time commitment, varying from once a month to five times a year, depending on the program. Some animal projects have knowledge contests, like horse bowl or dairy bowl, where the 4-H’er doesn’t need an animal. Instead, they meet regularly to learn animal trivia and compete.
To learn more about 4-H or enroll, visit https://chautauqua.cce.cornell.edu/4-h-youth/4-h-enrollment
Enrollment costs $30 per child with a $90 limit per family.
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