KristenR Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 What's your experience with 4-H? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 (edited) Our local 4H we were members of did not allow club members under the age of 8? I do not know if this is national policy? We had a Cloverbud group for the young ones under age and it was more like childcare for homeschool moms who were leaders in the older group. But we loved the 4H experience! Edited July 27, 2012 by tex-mex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrid Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 PROS: In our experience, too many to list! CONS: Ummm......... it's hard to find white pants? :001_smile: (we do animal 4-H) astrid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 At that age she would have to do Cloverbuds since 4-H starts at 9 years old/3rd grade. (edited to add: I see someone said there's started at 7, so this may vary state to state). I run a Cloverbud club for my two younger kids. Other than my initial training and sending paperwork every so often I run it with very little interaction with the main office and I can do whatever I want within broad guidelines, so there may be a lot of variation between clubs. There also seems to be quite a bit of variation between states. I did a lot of searching for ideas (because I found our local information lame) and some states have excellent materials, others seem very limited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Here Cloverbuds participate in project areas alongside the older kids. They just aren't judged. At our recent county dog show we had 2 cloverbuds participate. They received ribbons, trophies nad prizes for participation. Our cloverbuds come to club meetings and participate in any club activities. No cons to 4H I can think of... except it can be time consuming and your kids might learn too much.:confused::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 We've only had positive experiences with 4-H and have been involved for more than 4 years. My kids showed in the fair for 2 years as Cloverbuds before they officially got to compete and be judged. It's good practice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jar7709 Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Here Cloverbuds participate in project areas alongside the older kids. They just aren't judged. At our recent county dog show we had 2 cloverbuds participate. They received ribbons, trophies nad prizes for participation. Our cloverbuds come to club meetings and participate in any club activities. No cons to 4H I can think of... except it can be time consuming and your kids might learn too much.:confused::lol: :iagree:Our county 4-H runs like this. Our club is going to be mixed cloverbud and primary this coming year, but rules vary state-to-state and even county-to-county. Our county is very flexible and has a lot of resources, but each club has a different focus and individuals make a difference, just like they do in scouts or any other group. The club we were in last year was great, but for a few reasons I don't need to go into, that individual club was not a super fit for my kids. So we're branching off and starting our own. :) I was in 4H for many years as a kid and it was great for me, and I am very pleased to see that since then it's become an even better program, keeping all the stuff I loved and adding even more options. No "cons" I can think of! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Amanda~ Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 I don't know, maybe it just depends on where you are, whos in charge, etc etc, but I have found it EXTREMELY difficult to find a group to join in on. You can't just "look and see" what there is, and then jump in. you have to have a specific idea/project in mind, and then see if a group is already doing that, and if not, then you are encouraged to start your own. Our first year was a flop, we joined the local homeschooling group, and it totally didn't get off the ground. Every meeting we went to, they said "Well, we probably will disband, but for now we'll...." and then they finally DID disband and dissolve into other groups. We are in it now, but because we found out about a specific group, the vet science group, and we are in on that. I've tried getting in on other animal groups, but they are all run by different people, and just hard to get a hold of someone to find out what to do!! I mean, I'm still a total newbie at it, I don't know up from down, but I think a lot of people in it are pros and just expect everyone else to know how things work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer3141 Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 The only con I can think of may be a con only for this particular area... We would LOVE to do animals with 4H but our fair lasts a full week and I don't really want to live at the fair, KWIM? And once your animals are entered, they must stay for the entire week. Uh, no. Our rabbits and ducks have access to an entire ACRE. I could no more stick them in a box for a week than I could put my dog in one. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in Florida Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Like most organizations the more you and your kids put into it the more you will get out of it. Some clubs are really active, some are boring. There are a huge variety of opportunities available. We participated for many years and loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilliums Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 The con is that you can end up getting over involved and become a leader of your own club! My kids belong to a general club where they can join in any project but they do not get a lot of guidance in how to do so. We ended up starting a Ribotics club also so kids will probably only be in thatnext year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 I think a lot of people in it are pros and just expect everyone else to know how things work. This was true for us too. Our first year or two was just working on the basics with the dogs and figuring out how everything worked. We had to ask a lot of questions and it took a while before we understood how everything works. Before we (and several other members) joined there was quite a lull in membership and the dog club wasn't really doing a lot. Now, sometimes, I feel like we are doing too much. Ds is club president and has been making a huge effort to clearly explain to new people just how everything works. They have a big advantage over the new people who joined when we did. One plus to not knowing how everything works is that you can start out slowly with participation and build from where you are until you become like us, 4H driven.:D We use a lot of 4H projects to complement our curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.