Right now, there is a lot of uncertainty in the world due to COVID-19 and many of us may feel a bit isolated. While adults worry about healthcare, expenses, and job security, it is easy to overlook how our kids are feeling. With school being cancelled, adults may think kids are excited and happy but many of our youth are strongly invested in their education, enjoy learning, and miss the social interactions. Palm Beach County 4-H is actively working to ensure our 4-H members and youth from across the county have 4-H to count on. To accomplish this, every Monday through Friday at 10:30 a.m. we are posting “At Home with 4-H” videos of activities youth and families can do at home to engage, educate, and create a sense of normalcy. Kids and their families can tune in to learn and have fun with us. Our goal is for this series to be something kids look forward to watching and doing with each other and is a gratifying escape from all that is going on in the world.
We are posting the videos and corresponding recipes, activity sheets, or instructions to all our social media platforms including:
- Facebook: facebook.com/PBC4H
- Instagram: instagram.com/palmbeach4h
- Twitter: twitter.com/palmbeach4h
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC76sWWZM109A013ESKogPNw
Each of our videos purposefully integrate educational concepts so our youth are learning while enjoying the activity. After the last video of the week is posted on Friday, kids can find out what they have learned by taking our online challenge created with Kahoot. Week 1 was sponsored by the Walmart Foundation Grant and focused on nutritious, healthy recipes kids can make at home. The ingredients are inexpensive but engaging to make and eat. Week 2 focuses on STEM activities. Our viewers will learn about variables, scientific inquiry, and engineering as they build and create. It is our hope that we will receive feedback from youth on their experiences, what they created, what they changed, and activities they would to see from 4-H in the future.
We are also holding contests that are educational and motivating for youth to change up their routine and showcase their talents. Our first is a photography contest. We have asked youth from all over Palm Beach County to take a photograph that relates to an aspect of their personality. We then want them to submit that photograph with a maximum 1-page explanation of how that photography links to one of their personality traits. The photos will be judged against other entries within their 4-H age groups (cloverbuds: 5-7 years old, juniors: 8-10, intermediates: 11-13, and seniors: 14-18) and the best photo and explanation will be awarded $10. Entries can be submitted from now to April 13 at 4:00pm via fourh@pbcgov.org.
We invite you to join us At Home with 4-H and please share this with anyone you think may be interested. We would love to hear your feedback, suggestions, and recommendations. We hope this series bring our kids a little merriment, reminds them that good things are to come and that we are all in this together.
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