Fabulous 4-H

     A few months back we let Silas join our local 4-H club. It has been wonderful for him! I'd always thought this club was just for children who wanted to show their farm animals at the fair. I discovered that simply wasn't true. You name it, and they probably have it. A child has pick of many topics to explore: photography, forestry, sewing, oral presentations, shooting, cooking, gardening, debate, pet care, bicycle safety, modeling, raising livestock...there are literally hundreds of things included. Silas has done fish identification, bait casting, oral presentations, and is about to begin growing his own pumpkins and watermelons. He's only been in this club for a few months!
     He loves working hard so that he can earn his ribbons. Until you're nine, you only get a participation ribbon. After that, a child can actually place in competitions. Silas hasn't been bothered by it though. He works just as hard as his older club members. I would even venture to say he is more dedicated than some. This club is all about helping and teaching kids to be hardworking, respectful, and responsible adults when they grow up. I believe that this is a solid program, and I highly recommend it. It is not time consuming, and children can prepare and practice everything from home. There is one meeting per month and there are usually a few hours set aside every now and then for the club members to come and present their stuff that they have studied, practiced, or put together.
     Recently, Silas prepared and presented an oral presentation that he had put together on the water cycle. He developed a huge interest in this topic during one of our homeschool units that we were studying. Considering that he is only six years old, and that this was his first presentation, I feel like he did a great job. Shortly afterwards, he was asked to give his presentation again at our county's Cattleman Association dinner/meeting. In the video you can tell that he is extremely nervous (though he handled dropping his visuals well), but he did great. He only forgot to present a couple of...um...minor details. You can hear his grandma and baby sister in the background, but I think you can still hear him....

Oh, and check out that eye contact!