Mississippi 4-H School Enrichment Programs
A Guide For Educators

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This Is 4-H

Welcome to Mississippi 4-H, the youth component of the Mississippi State University Extension Service, with academic ties to Mississippi State University. 4-H helps youth develop life skills that will help them become productive, responsible adults. These life skills include positive self-concepts, effective interpersonal relationships, good decision-making, physical development, and practical skills for living.

In addition to camps, special-interest programs, project and community clubs, 4-H school enrichment is another way to teach life skills to youth. 4-H values its relationship with Mississippi’s schools and welcomes the opportunity to provide educationally sound, research-based, action-oriented curricula for use in school classrooms. This publication focuses on the 4-H partnership with schools.

4-H School Enrichment Projects

4-H school enrichment projects are cooperative efforts between the school and the 4-H program of the county Cooperative Extension Service. The county Extension 4-H youth agent, 4-H program assistant, or 4-H adult volunteer leader introduces and explains 4-H curricula to the classroom teacher. The classroom teacher teaches the 4-H curriculum to the students and enrolls students as 4-H members.

While the project (curriculum) is in progress, students are enrolled as 4-H members, and the teacher is involved as a 4-H volunteer. Students should be aware they are participating in a 4-H project when
4-H curricula are used. The State 4-H Department provides, free of charge, one teacher/leader guide and one student/member manual per project per classroom with exception of the 4-H Junior Master Gardner Program. Project material is available for purchase or may be borrowed from the county Extension office.

The 4-H Program

In addition to school enrichment curricula materials for ages 8 through 18, 4-H offers other educational programs that provide many opportunities for youth of all ages to learn and have fun. After participating in a 4-H school enrichment project, many youth become involved in a 4-H camp, club, or special-interest program. Your county Extension 4-H agent, program assistant, or volunteer leader welcomes any opportunity to discuss the 4-H program in your community (after you complete the 4-H school enrichment project). Often 5-to 7-year olds may participate in county-level activities and may be referred to as “Clover Buds” or “Cloverleaf” members.

4-H and the School

The partnership between 4-H and schools can extend beyond the specific school enrichment project selected for classroom use. Here are a few ideas for integrating 4-H school enrichment programs with the broader-based 4-H educational effort conducted throughout Mississippi:

Completion Certificate—Ask your 4-H contact about certificates for students who have successfully completed their 4-H school enrichment projects.

Bookmarks—Various school enrichment programs have specially designed bookmarks to distribute to students participating in school enrichment programs. These bookmarks are provided by your local 4-H contact.

Membership Card—Give your students membership cards, which are provided by your 4-H contact for students participating in the school enrichment programs.

4-H Presentation—Ask your 4-H agent, program assistant, or 4-H volunteer leader to come to your classroom and talk about 4-H in the community. He or she will share with you all the fun and educational activities youth and their families can do in 4-H.

Parental Contact—Share with your parents the pamphlets provided by your 4-H contact. Encourage parents to view completed 4-H projects in the classroom, and invite them to contact the county Extension office or state 4-H office if they would like to know more about membership in a 4-H club or group.

School Enrichment
Classroom Curricula

The 4-H school enrichment programs available statewide include Horse Book in a Bucket, 4-H Junior Master Gardener Program, Character Critters, Water Riches, A-Way with Waste, SERIES, Talking with TJ, and Avian Embryo. These programs are recommended for school classroom settings as a supplementary or curriculum enrichment experience for students. Brief overviews of what the programs offer, appropriate age/grade levels, and available resources are indicated. This listing does not preclude other 4-H projects that may apply to specific school settings, depending on the interests and needs of youth and available resources.

Thank You

4-H recognizes the central role the classroom teacher has in making 4-H school enrichment projects possible. We thank you for being part of the 4-H team!

Horse Book in a Bucket

Ages 6 to 8, Grades 1 to 3

This is a reading-based program to educate youth about agriculture and horses. The horse is a wonderful “magnet” for children to invite them to read books, learn about agriculture, learn about animal science, learn about horses, learn about horse nutrition and care, learn about human nutrition, and learn some of life’s lessons.

Resources:

• Lesson Plans
• Story Book
• Supplies used With Care of Horses
• Horse Information
• Student Membership Cards
• Student Completion Certificates

4-H Junior Master Gardener Program

Ages 5 to 10, Grades K-5

A national youth gardening curriculum that cultivates leadership, teamwork, and other life skills development through hands-on activities and projects. Youth will also learn about environmental awareness, nutritional habits, and horticulture.

Resources:

• Leaders/Teacher’s Guide
• Member Handbooks
• Student Membership Cards
• Student Completion Certificates

Character Critters

Ages 3 to 5, Grades Preschool - Kindergarten

Character Critters is a story and activity approach to teaching character to preschool and kindergarten children. The program teaches six concepts of character: responsibility, trustworthiness, respect, caring, fairness, and citizenship.

Resources:

• Poster Story Set and Implementation Guide
• Student Membership Cards
• Student Completion Certificates

Water Riches

Ages 8 to 10, Grades 3 to 5

Overview: Water Riches focuses on managing, preserving, and conserving our most precious natural resource – water. This 5-unit curriculum uses activities related to mathematics, science, language arts, creative arts, creative thinking, and social studies to look at the quantity and quality of our water.

Resources:

• Newspaper Manuals for Students/Members
• Leader/Teacher Guide
• Student Membership Cards
• Student Completion Certificates
• Videotapes

A-Way with Waste

Ages 5 to 18, Grades K to 12

Overview: A-Way with Waste provides interdisciplinary and action-oriented activities. It provides opportunities for students to participate in cooperative problem-solving and decision-making tasks that involve waste management, litter control, and science, technology, and society. Students will become more knowledgeable on how to promote awareness attitudes and actions to solve waste management problems at home, in school, and in the community.

Every public school in Mississippi had this 560-page curriculum presented to it by Mississippi Manufacturers Association and the Mississippi State University Extension Service. A copy is available in every county Extension office.

Resources:

• Curriculum Notebook
• Student Membership Cards
• Student Completion Certificates

SERIES

Ages 9 to 11, Grades 4 to 6

Overview: The Science Experiences and Resources for Informal Educational Settings increases the quantity and quality of science experiences available to youth in a way that develops a clear understanding of how science relates to their everyday lives. SERIES provides youth with an opportunity to do more, think more, and know more science. Interesting, accurate, and “hands-on sciencing” experiences focus on the eight units of “Recycle/Reuse,” “Chemicals Are Us,” “Beyond Duck and Cover” (about earthquakes), “It Came from Planted Earth” (about agriculture), “What’s Bugging You?” (about pests), “Snailing,” “Oakwood Lawns,” and “Ridges to Rivers.” Curriculum may be obtained by participating in a SERIES training workshop.

Resources:

• Manual for Students/Members
• Leader/Teacher Handbook
• Student Membership Cards
• Student Completion Certificates
  

Talking With TJ-Series I

Teamwork Skills

Ages 7 to 9, Grades 2 to 4

Overview: TJ is an exciting educational program focusing on teamwork skills of second through fourth graders. Children will learn important skills of planning, cooperating, and appreciating differences. They also will be encouraged through this program to work and play together in a more caring and cooperative way!

Resources:

• Leader/Teacher Guide
• Talking with TJ Comics for Students/Members
• Posters
• Student Membership Cards
• Student Completion Certificates
• Videotape

Talking with TJ-Series 2

Conflict Resolution

Ages 7 to 9, Grades 2 to 4

Overview: This conflict resolution series teaches kids to work out their problems without fighting. TJ talks about managing anger, respecting different points of view, and using friendly words rather than fighting words to communicate feelings and ideas – all ways of finding win-win solutions to everyday problems.

Resources:

• Leader/Teacher Guide
• Talking with TJ Member/Student Color Handouts
• Posters
• Student Membership Cards
• Student Completion Certificates
• Videotape

Avian Embryo

Ages 5 to 17, Grades K to 12

Overview: The egg is amazing and exciting! Incubating eggs and observing the emergence of chicks is a fascinating experience for a young person. In only 3 weeks, a small club of cells, with no characteristic features, change into an active, newly hatched chick. Students can study development of the chick embryo, record and interpret their observations, and brood chicks in the classroom. This study of transformation is interesting and provides an insight into how humans are formed.

Resources:

• Leader/Teacher Guide
• Student Membership Cards
• Student Completion Certificates
• Slide Set

4-H Traditions

In addition to educationally sound curricula and functional, experience-based teaching techniques,
4-H has a rich heritage with many time-honored traditions:

4-H Emblem: The green four-leaf clover has a white “H” on each leaf to represent one of the four H’s—Head, Heart, Hands, and Health.

4-H Colors: The white in the clover symbolizes purity. The green, nature’s most common color, represents life, growth, and youth.

4-H Motto: “To Make the Best Better” expresses the 4-H goal of continually improving individual efforts and the desire to grow together to build better clubs, schools, families, and communities.

4-H Pledge: I pledge: My Head to clearer thinking, My Heart to greater loyalty, My Hands to larger service, and My Health to better living, for My Club, My Community, My Country, and My World.

4-H Slogan: “Learn by Doing” is the 4-H member’s way of acquiring new skills and knowledge. Group experiences are the way youth gain social skills while interacting with others.

By Dr. Rae Wilkinson, State 4-H Curriculum Specialist, and distributed by the State 4-H Office. Adapted from North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service.

Mississippi State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or veteran status.

Publication 1981
Extension Service of Mississippi State University, cooperating with U.S. Department of Agriculture. Published in furtherance of Acts of Congress, May 8 and June 30, 1914. Joe H. McGilberry, Interim Director

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