First meeting was amazing. Opening get to know you game was entertaining. Student officers did a great job with the meeting and newly elected positions. Mom hang out room was full of laughter. Free-swap tables were overflowing with pots and pans, clothes, books and misc. toys and treasures for the kids. We will be following up soon with a little synopsis of what took place during the meeting and what will be coming up.
Next meeting: Tuesday, October 18, 3:30 p.m to about 5
Our First 4H Meeting is this Tuesday, September 27, from 3:30 p.m. to about 5:00 p.m. at First Assembly of God, Port Jervis, NY (use back driveway entrance, follow signs)
If you are coming for the first time, there is no cost. Please note: We are a Christian Group!!! See our Statement of Faith.
If you are re-registering, please bring your $7 for one child or $14 for two or more for your yearly County 4H fee. Reminder, we are requesting a suggested donation of $25 for the host church “thank you” for the year, per family.
Snacks to share are always appreciated.
There may be periodic fees collected for a specific craft or project, we may do a fundraiser to help with these fees as well. These, of course, will be optional.
Why not come and check out the Saints!!!
(Free-Swap Table will be available. If you bring it and it isn’t taken you MUST take it home. We have no storage. Suggested items – clothes, homeschool books, toys, houseware items, coupons)
4H is what you make of it. It can be as laid back or complex as you want it to be.
There are 4H animal clubs (horse, sheep, goats, rabbits…) and then there is the “Saints”.
Basically on Tuesdays, the students (3rd grade and up) will have a business meeting in which the officers, which were just elected in the previous spring, will run the meeting. The students learn parliamentary procedure and terms like “making a motion”, “motion on the floor”, voting, elections, making speeches… Everything a student would need to be able to follow congress on CSpan and have a clue, go to a town board meeting and be able to follow along, or participate in a business meeting at a company some day.
Every meeting also has a social aspect to it. It may be a group game, or fun event (come dressed as your favorite book character), crazy hair day, holiday parties & FOOD. There is sometimes a craft or project – last year we made blue bird houses, we also did a gardening project. At our Christmas party we made socks into snowmen. Last few Christmas parties we had ginger bread building contests. We have done mason jar lamps, fabric covered binders, bulletin boards, rockets kits, tile mosaics…
We do a bunch of community service projects usually with area churches. The host church has a senior citizen holiday luncheon and the kids serve the elderly. We have helped with a soup and sandwich luncheon at another church on election day. We have wrapped Christmas presents for the Easter Seals program. Raking and yard work at the host church helps bless them for letting us use their facility.
There are also county wide projects such as field gleaming, field trips and group outings.
Students also do public presentation speeches with a County Judge and receive ribbons and awards, plus an opportunity to move on to County and State competition based on age levels.
Some students enter craft projects and animal reports in the County Fair independently. Once you pay your 4H dues, you can join several clubs. You can be a part of a horse club for that aspect. One mom joined a dog obedience group. We have had a lego sub-club for a season.
4H is as diverse as homeschooling is. Not everyone homeschools the same way, not everyone does 4H the same. Students in the past have gone to County Fair and entered over 30 projects, advanced to NY State Fair and won there too. There are monetary awards and ribbons. Students have received $30 to $60 in prizes in the past. Some have done action booths or entertainment at both County and State Fairs. You get out of it what you put in.
There is no limit to lessons, projects, reports, and prizes you can do and earn with the 4H program.
Our first event is today: Field trip/Picnic and Hike – 3:30 p.m. High Point State Park
Our first Business Meeting will be: September 27, 3:30 p.m. First Assembly of God, Port Jervis, NY
County 4H fees of $7 per child or $14 for 2 or more. Registration forms are on this site under “Organizations” then “Orange County 4H” on the right hand column.
We may not be having an Activity Day every Friday or every other Friday for now, but there are still a few other events that LEAP has organized, like 4H club. Please click the following link to see what events there are an how you can be a part of them:
For information on 4H, use the “site index” and go to “F” for Four H. (Note several of the pages need to be updated, but they are still useful.)
In a nut shell, we aren’t a horse club, rabbit club or any type of animal club. We are a Student Government, Community Service, Public Speaking, Arts and Crafts type of club.
Some pages around the site are still being updated. Please note that we are meeting for our first Activity Day on Friday, September 9th and if you are interested in joining, we can meet with you before then for an interview.
FAQ link was just updates, schedule and tentative calendar are all newly updated.
