kirstenhill Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I think this is going to be a bit of a rant/complaint session...but maybe someone will have a good constructive idea for me... :laugh: We're doing 4-H this year for the first time and it hasn't been quite like what I thought it might be like. The kids basically sit in a meeting and listen for an hour once a month. There is a business portion of the meeting mostly about activities that we can't attend for various reasons (too far away, happen on nights we have other commitments, not for our age kids), and then one or two kids give a presentation on a topic or hobby. That part is kind of interesting, but not interactive. Then they eat a snack and go home. Our 4-H doesn't have "project" groups -- we're basically on our own as it gets closer to fair time to help the kids get a project ready for the fair. I am excited about that aspect, though I have no idea how to know what to have the kids do, as they haven't given anyone any "directions" on what to do with fair projects. When we signed up, I thought the kids would actually be "doing something" at the meeting, not just sitting for an hour and listening. I enjoyed being in girl scouts as a kid, and we actually "did something" in our meetings -- made crafts, worked on badges, did service projects, did activities together. I wouldn't have a problem per se with doing the scouting thing, I don't like that it would involve joining TWO organizations in order for all my kids to be involved and having TWO sets of meetings, social events, camps, etc, etc to deal with. There don't seem to be any coed scouting organizations active in my area. Our life seems very full already, and two separate scouting organizations to accommodate my girl and my boys would be too much. I think what i am looking for is some kind of co-ed club/group/organization where the kids can get together and actually learn how to do something new or do an activity together or work on a project during the group meeting. And the aspect of having a goal to work toward (the equivalent of badges in scouting or fair projects in 4-H) seems like a pretty crucial element. There needs to be some end goal of sorts or no one would really want to continue just for a club's sake. I don't want something as purely educational as homeschool co-ops seem to be (at least around here...), but not just a fluffy "fun" club either. I know, I know...It's probably a pipe dream. :lol: I guess it feels better just to write it out and dream. :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMWB Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I hear you - we did 4-H one year - we did stuff at our meetings, I was the leader. I am going to go out on a limb and suggest that you start your own 'project group' as part of the club or do your own club, whatever best suits your situation. 4-H has a ton of guides on how to do different projects, some are really pretty good and I have used them for other homeschool groups. Are they interested in photography, arts, robotics, sailing, animals of all shapes and sizes, sewing, really just about anything - there is probably a guide for it that your extension office can help you find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirstenhill Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 Do most 4-H clubs "do stuff" at their meetings? After I complained to DH about how relatively non-interactive the meetings are...he told me that his 4-H meetings as a kid were exactly that way!!! So I thought that perhaps maybe that is the standard proceedure. The only reason I knew about the idea of project groups at all is seeing them mentioned on here, so I don't actually really know how those work either. I feel really clueless about the whole thing. We joined a club about 20 minutes away from our house in another county, because there was only 1 general club in our own county any closer, and the meeting conflicted with something else in our schedule. The 20 minutes away meeting is not such a big deal, but it didn't occur to me at the time that all the "extra" stuff outside of meetings would be at least that far away or further because it was a different county's 4-H. The county has a ton of county-wide activities, but it happens we live 50 minutes away from this county's office where some of these activities are held. I am intrigued by the idea of starting my own club and doing it the way I "think it should be done", but I feel like I would be the world's most clueless 4-H leader since I can hardly figure out what is going on just as a parent in the club we are in with fair projects, etc. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Our monthly meetings were pretty much just business meetings, only about an hour long. Both groups we belonged to (one in San Jose, one in San Diego) had many projects to choose from, each with its own meetings. We never had problems participating in more than one project, because most didn't meet weekly or on the same days. The main difference between the two was that although the San Diego club participated in the fair (and it was a huge fair--the Del Mar Fair), not everything was about the fair, whereas in San Jose it was all about the fair, and when the fair went away, so did the club. You should start your own club. I'm sure there is plenty of material to help you figure out what to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Our local 4-H has sort of a combination of that. My two oldest belong to a fiber club (knitting, crocheting, spinning) and their meetings are doing projects, learning a new technique, and occasional field trips. The oldest also goes to the junior leadership meetings. Those are business meetings, with community service days built in throughout the year. Agree with the others that a solution is to form your own group. If you're looking for an alternative, a friend and I led a Keepers of the Faith/Contenders of the Faith organization (see http://www.keepersofthefaith.com) in our homeschool group one year. There's a handbook packed with topics that you can work toward badges. We chose two new topics each month and found people with expertise in those areas to teach/lead projects about them that were part of the badge requirements. It was a lot of fun for us, but the friend moved and we discontinued it. My kids still do some of the projects in the handbooks for fun. Erica in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 diy.org Consider starting a Makers group if there isn't already one in your area! By the way, I am a Girl Scout leader, been leading a multi-age troop for my 2 girls for almost 6 years now. I love it and I'm proud to say I've run an active troop that is well-liked by the girls and parents involved. But the organization as a whole can be difficult to work with and throws many obstacles in the way of leaders who want to do traditional scouting. And my girls DO traditional scouting and love our troop, but they also love, love, LOVE DIY.org and we're just in on the launch of a local club. Even if you don't have a club, DIY.org is a great source of inspiration for scout-minded kids and a way for them to connect with others online in a very positive environment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirstenhill Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 diy.org Consider starting a Makers group if there isn't already one in your area! By the way, I am a Girl Scout leader, been leading a multi-age troop for my 2 girls for almost 6 years now. I love it and I'm proud to say I've run an active troop that is well-liked by the girls and parents involved. But the organization as a whole can be difficult to work with and throws many obstacles in the way of leaders who want to do traditional scouting. And my girls DO traditional scouting and love our troop, but they also love, love, LOVE DIY.org and we're just in on the launch of a local club. Even if you don't have a club, DIY.org is a great source of inspiration for scout-minded kids and a way for them to connect with others online in a very positive environment. The Maker Clubs look awesome!!! Pretty much exactly what I had in mind. There aren't any in my entire state yet, but if I am going to put the work into starting something I think this would be it! I showed my kids the website, and they are super pumped...even though DH arrived home with DS's birthday donuts, they kept looking at it for a long time instead of eating the donuts...LOL. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 This is our first year in 4-H as well. For my family, I think we wouldn't feel so lost if we had some guidance of what we're supposed to be doing on our own. Projects are very rarely mentioned during the business meetings. I have absolutely no idea what is expected for a project. Any time I've tried to ask, the other parents just wave their hand and say, "Oh, Cloverbuds can do whatever they want." Yes, I know that my son can pick anything for his project, but once he picks something, what does he do? What does he need to have to bring to the fair? Is there some sort of "4-H Projects for Newbies" packet/webpage that we missed? We got the "Exploring the Treasures of 4-H" book and have started working through it, but it's not really helping to answer our questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirstenhill Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 This is our first year in 4-H as well. For my family, I think we wouldn't feel so lost if we had some guidance of what we're supposed to be doing on our own. Projects are very rarely mentioned during the business meetings. I have absolutely no idea what is expected for a project. Any time I've tried to ask, the other parents just wave their hand and say, "Oh, Cloverbuds can do whatever they want." Yes, I know that my son can pick anything for his project, but once he picks something, what does he do? What does he need to have to bring to the fair? Is there some sort of "4-H Projects for Newbies" packet/webpage that we missed? We got the "Exploring the Treasures of 4-H" book and have started working through it, but it's not really helping to answer our questions.I agree...I need "4-h Projects for dummies" or something. ;-). It helps just slightly that my DH did 4-h for a couple years as a kid...but he was about DD's age or a bit older when he did it so his memories are somewhat vague. We'll still finish out our year with 4-h and do fair projects, but I think we will turn our focus to a Maker Club for next school year (though we will definitely try and get a small start with that this summer while the weather is nice and we can do outside activities). I think if our current 4-h club was right in our part of the city I might try and work within that...but starting project groups within the big 20-minutes-away group would be a giant stress with none of the kids living in our immediate area. Starting one of these Maker Clubs is probably a bit easier than starting a new 4-h club since it is more free form and we can set up the expectation right from the start that we will try new activities or skills together at the meetings...as well kids as working stuff on their own outside of meetings too of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 hacker guilds have a kid's program. It used to be called Hacker Scouts until the BSA raised a fuss. I think it's opportunity hacked or something like that. I didn't have my DD do it this year because while she's STEM focused, she's not engineering focused, but it looks like a lot of fun for kids, and it seemed fairly easy to set up-the group here was new this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Roots & Shoots? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 DIY is very new, so not many Maker clubs. The good news is, if you start your own, there is virtually no red tape or paperwork unlike just about any other organization. It's very informal - just get kids/families together to do cool stuff with the site as a platform. I have about half my GS troop on the site now. My youngest (along with some other DIYers) had the opportunity to be interviewed by Google Developers Live because of coding projects she posted on the site. It's like social networking for future artists, engineers, craftsmen, and leaders. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilliums Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 You might be able to start a makers club as a 4H sub group. I'd ask the person who oversees 4H clubs at your local county extension. The people here are making an effort to include more science and technology in 4H and they also seek out grants and funding for clubs. We have several mindstorm kits for our 4H robotics club (which I started, totally clueless!) thanks to their generosity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 4-H clubs are all different. Either look for a different 4-H club or start one yourself. Our 4-H club does hold project meetings twice per month. So far this year we've done a business meeting with a boat project, a one-meeting felted snowman project, 4-5 Asian-cooking meetings, and 3 sewing meetings. We have another sewing meeting before the Textile Show, and then we'll be working on a turned lamp (woodworking)/electricity/lampshade project for a few months, before ending the year with a gardening project and the fair. Kids are free to do other projects on the side, or work on our main projects from home. At those meetings we've also prepared for the Food Show, Public Speaking Contest, and County Presentation Day. It is certainly appropriate to have an occasional guest-speaker, or have kids practice their presentation skills in front of their club-mates, but that shouldn't be the whole program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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