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4-H Youth Program Offers Virtual Activities and Programs

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boy with iPadCalling all youth! UConn 4-H is excited to announce a suite of virtual activities and programs for youth. Our 4-H youth educators have shifted their programming online to help youth adapt to the current situation, and continue their involvement with 4-H.

  • The UConn 4-H Challenges are two separate contests – a food art challenge and an upcycle challenge. All entries are due by April 17th and can be submitted on social media using the contest hashtag or submitted on the contest website. Youth must be a 4-H member to participate, and can join online.
  • The 4-H Virtual Trivia Challenge is an eight-week competition for 4-H members using the online Quizziz platform. Each week, 4-H members will join others in their age group – novice, junior, or senior – to answer the questions. Youth can join online as an independent member if they are not already enrolled in 4-H. The scoreboard will be updated weekly on the website, and youth with the highest scores in each division at the end of the competition on May 27th will receive a prize. Youth must be a 4-H member to participate, and can join online.
  • The UConn 4-H Calendar Photography Contest is open to all 4-H members. Youth who are not enrolled in 4-H but want to participate can become an individual 4-H member by joining online. All photos entered in the contest must be related to the youth’s 4-H project and submitted by June 1st.
  • The 4-H Horse Judging and Hippology (horse science) programs are offering youth online resources to learn and practice their skills. Resources are available for all age groups – novice, junior, and senior. A 4-H horse activity book has activities for youth including puzzles, quizzes, and activities.

Parents and families with children out of school can use the other resources available from our UConn 4-H program to provide new educational activities for youth. Keep youth engaged and learning with new materials. We have resources for a variety of age groups.

UConn 4-H is the youth development program of UConn CAHNR Extension. 4-H is a community of over 6 million young people across America who are learning science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), leadership, citizenship, and life skills through their 4-H project work. 4-H provides youth with the opportunity to develop lifelong skills including civic engagement and healthy living.

UConn CAHNR Extension has more than 100 years’ experience strengthening communities in Connecticut and beyond. Extension programs address the full range of issues set forth in CAHNR’s strategic initiatives:

  • Ensuring a vibrant and sustainable agricultural industry and food supply
  • Enhancing health and well-being locally, nationally, and globally
  • Designing sustainable landscapes across urban-rural interfaces
  • Advancing adaptation and resilience in a changing climate.

Programs delivered by Extension reach individuals, communities, and businesses in each of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities.

4-H clover

Things to Do While School is Closed

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science Saturday kidsIt is time to get creative to find some constructive ways to fill our time. It won’t take long before the board games have been played, the favorite TV shows have been watched and everyone in the house is starting to get cabin fever. In an effort to help you stay focused on something other than COVID-19 and how you are getting bored, our UConn 4-H team is passing along a few sites where you can find hands-on, educational activities to keep your brains exercised.

Here are a few recommendations:

  • The website Mystery Science has made some of their most popular lessons available to everyone for free right now. I have used this site many times as part of my STEM programming and really enjoy some of the interesting topic areas they offer. Each lesson has a video and a hands-on activity. Check them out at: https://mysteryscience.com/school-closure-planning
  • 4-H STEM Lab has hands-on, fun learning activities on a host of topics that are easy to follow and for the most part can be done from anywhere. These activities are for many different ages. I have used some of them in my programming, usually to great delight and learning. https://4-h.org/parents/stem-agriculture/youth-stem-activities/
  • Washington State University 4-H has assembled a webpage with links to dozens of sites with activities and learning for kids of all ages. These activities are great for parents looking for ideas to keep kids engaged and learning while they are out of school. You can find the link at: https://extension.wsu.edu/king/learning-links-4-h-and-more/
  • Are you interested in computer science? Then you should check out https://code.org/. This site will connect you with a large variety of coding activities, lessons and courses that you can participate in free of charge. Whether it an Hour of Code activity or a multi lesson course, all you need is access to a computer and imagination.

Please let us know which sites you tried and what you enjoyed the most. Email any comments to Marc.Cournoyer@uconn.edu. If there is a great resource out there that I have not highlighted and you think others should know about it, please pass it along to me and I will be sure to share it with everyone else. Be safe, be healthy and stay curious during your time away from school.