Developing Employable Life Skills through 4-H
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Cloverbuds Paxton Anderson, Peighton Dawson, Fallan Frey-Haluska, Emory Eggeltson, BrookLynn Hudon, Chloe Sohn, Rainie Skoyen, and Kash Rutledge take a break after participating in a workshop in which they learned about healthy eating and the importance of exercising.
Blaine County 4-H has been busy with activities all month. Anyone willing to ask for input from the two MSU-Blaine County Extension Agents would hear that 4-H is always busy. With Livestock Judging and Teen Leader Academies behind them, a Tack Workshop is scheduled for February 20 and a Record Book Workshop is set for February 25. Other events on the horizon include constructing display boxes for the Seed Show and performing some fundraising to refurbish the Livestock Show Ring at the Blaine County Fairgrounds.
On February 10, Ag/4-H Agent Juli Snedigar conducted a practice session of livestock judging where members reviewed animal parts and terminologies, identified favorable traits, and learned the value of giving reasons for their placings. According to Snedigar, this project teaches 4-H members to select and evaluate livestock, give oral reasons, and place classes of livestock-all important life skills.
"Evaluation of livestock is an exciting critical thinking experience. The ultimate goal is to compare your perception of an animal against the ideal and then to be able to defend that rating," Snedigar explained.
Sunday, February 13, saw a group gather prior to the Super Bowl to engage with a Virtual Leadership Academy presented by the Montana 4-H Ambassador Officer team. Trent Noel, FCS/4-H Agent, explained that Leadership Academy is a network of Montana 4-H members interested in exploring and developing their own leadership skills while serving their county 4-H programs.
Airing from 2:30-3:45 p.m., Sunday's workshop, Ages and Stages for Mentors was the second in a four part series. Serving as leaders, older members learned strategies for engagement, motivation, and leveraging learning styles when mentoring others. Future programs are scheduled for March 13: Successful Service Learning and April 10: Lead with a Purpose.
Slated for 2:00 p.m. on February 20 at the Commercial Building on the Blaine County Fairgrounds, the upcoming Tack Workshop will be facilitated by Snedigar and Horse Project Leaders: Clinton Hansen, Marija Hansen, and Traci Bowles-with the added expertise of Maureen Schmitt. Those 4-H members in attendance will learn not only how to fall but also how to inspect their equipment for usability as well as safety.
Then, on February 21, the Cloverbuds will meet at 3:30 in the Triple E Room. That will be followed by a Record Book Workshop to which all members are invited on February 25-same time, same place.
"Once a month, we hold record book workshops to give 4-H members the time to get caught up on their record keeping. The Record Book is a place to set goals, complete activities, and convey project learning," Snedigar stated.
Display boxes for the Educational Display Department at the Seed Show will be a focus in March. With their creativity, 4-H members hope to match their previous success. Last year, North Chinook Booster 4-H Club was declared the Overall Sweepstakes Winner, while Valley Clovers won first place in the Youth Category and Big Flat 4-H took second in the same competition with their educational displays.
"Beyond that, we'll be rolling out fundraisers so that we can plant grass and install shade structures in the area where we show animals at the fair," Snedigar said. "The Fair Board gave us their approval, so we'll make that space more show-friendly."
Noel stated that he would like to get the Shooting Sports Project meeting once a month. Assisting the youth, Noel is certified in archery and Eric Billmayer is certified in shot gun. When weather permits, Shooting Sports Leader Dale Williams takes those enrolled in this project to the shooting range; otherwise, they use the basement beneath the Courthouse Annex for practicing with air rifle and archery. As one of the more popular non-animal projects, eight members are currently enrolled in Shooting Sports.
Other popular non-livestock projects are baking, gardening, photography, and woodworking. In the livestock project category, swine, breeding beef, and horse are the most popular with Blaine County youth.
Anyone interested in the 4-H programs or who have questions about 4-H is encouraged to contact either Noel or Snedigar at the Blaine County Extension office by calling (406) 357-3200.
