In honor of our county fair officially starting today, I thought I would reshare this from a social media post I made a couple of years ago with a few additions.
We are a third-generation 4-H family, so 4-H is something our family has done for a long time. When a family participates in an organization for that long it must be good!
We do 4-H because of the relationships our kids have developed with people of all ages, people that care about them and want them to succeed not only in the show ring but outside of it too.
We do 4-H because you won’t find better kids to be role models. I love watching the kids interact with the younger members and allow them to “help” do chores or get livestock ready.
We do 4-H for the opportunities to learn from each other. It is fun to watch the kids all teach each other how to show a species that is new to them.
We do 4-H to meet new people. Lane made a friend at the fair and was so happy to learn that he was homeschooled too – they met because they were both showing sheep. Those connections are important. Update – these kids were running around together by 9:30 this morning so they are still friends!
We do 4-H because we can do it as a family. I have been involved with 4-H most of my life and I still learn something new right alongside the kids because of a 4-H project every single year.
We do 4-H because there is a project for every kid, no matter what they are interested in or they can enroll in self-determined and make it a project. Our kids have shown almost every animal, taken legos, computer science, welding, photos, clothing, geology, wildlife posters, cooking, etc.
We do 4-H because we see a lot of value in the skills our family has gained over the years such as public speaking, completing a project, working through frustrations, how too correctly run a meeting, caring for animals, responsibility, interacting with the public, presentation & photography skills, how to win & lose gracefully, caring for your larger community, mentoring others, starting a business with livestock or selling eggs, you can work hard & have fun, and so many other positive lessons & skills.
4-H has been a big part of our lives for a long time and we can’t imagine it any other way.
If you are looking for a positive, family-friendly program to join or support, I encourage you to look into your local 4-H organization to find a club that is a good fit for your family.
Foods results
