FREE Tree Seedlings for Youth
Rockingham 4-H is fortunate enough to receive FREE hardwood tree seedlings for students through generous donors. If you are interested in getting them for your students see the information below and get your order in by Tuesday, January 26th! American Sycamore, Black Locust, Red Maple, and Gray Dogwood will be available.
Here are some picture updates on activities students participated in during the Mt View Elementary After-School 4-H Garden Club!
I’m excited to announce another NEW 4-H After-School Club this fall! At Keister Elementary School we will have a 4-H Jr Master Gardener Club every Wednesday starting in October. With the help of school staff and Master Gardener Adult volunteers the club will be supported. The club will target 3rd and 4th grade students. Below are some pictures of the school garden. More pictures and info to come once the club starts!
Just because school is out doesn’t mean the fun and education has to stop! On Monday & Tuesday Mountain View Elementary Summer School and Rockingham 4-H Education visited Riven Rock State Park to learn about water quality and the macroinvertebrate that lives in it. The water was a little cold at first but by the end the adults had trouble getting the kids to get out of the water because they were having so much fun.
Think this looks fun? Well it IS! Contact Rockingham 4-H Education to set up a visit to your local stream or river. We have all the supplies!
On June 2nd 4-H youth gathered together for the brand new Rocketry Workshop to teach youth about STEM while having fun building and launching their very own rockets! Participants also built a hovercraft out of recycled products and taste tested astronaut pudding, freeze dried ice cream, and the drink Tang.
With the help of a grant from MERCK, Rockingham 4-H and Mt View Elementary partnered to offer 5th grade students a weekly after-school 4-H club with a focus on butterflies and STEM. Members learned valuable leadership and public speaking skills through their 4-H meeting and project presentations. Projects included butterfly models made from recycled materials, landscape design, coding and creating their own butterfly video game through the Scratch program, and planting a butterfly garden at the school. At the end of the school year the club was invited to attend the Rockingham County School Board meeting to present their club projects and practice their public speaking by each club member individually speaking to board members.
Last year was the first year that I helped 3rd grade at Linville-Edom Elementary review their unit on soil for their SOL test. Needless to say the test scores showed that the kids were paying attention! This year I headed down to Linville Edom once again to teach students about soil, layers, types of soil, etc. We had a blast…literally! During our soil shake experiment we forgot to loosen the lid so the air pressure could escape so we had a soil milkshake all over the desk. I’m sure the kids will never forget! We also examined rocks, sand, silt, and clay soils with an experiment to see which soil had the quickest water runoff. A highlight of the lesson was going outside school grounds to collect several soil samples to look at. Lastly, we finished the unit off with reviewing decomposers, producers, and consumers by bringing in the worm bin!
April and May are busy days for myself but I enjoy them more than any other month because I get to be outside! Another reason I love spring so much is all the Farm to School Days I get to attend. Several schools in Rockingham County host a Farm to School Day for students to learn more about where their food comes from and general agriculture. Keister Elementary, Stone Spring Elementary, Lacey Spring Elementary, and Plains Elementary School are just a few to name.
