About Yavapai 4-H
What is a 4-H Club?
A 4-H Club is an organized group of at least five members from three different families who meets regularly with adult volunteers or staff for a long-term, progressive series of educational experiences.
Club Purpose:
The purpose of a 4-H club is to provide positive youth development opportunities to meet the needs of young people to experience belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity- the Essential Elements- and to foster educational opportunities tied to the Land Grant University knowledge base. Research has shown that there are eight critical elements of positive youth development settings that need to be in place to ensure positive outcomes for youth. These include:
- A positive relationship with a caring adult
- Safety- physical and emotional
- An inclusive environment
- Opportunities for mastery and skill building
- Opportunities for engagement in learning
- Opportunities for self-determination
- A sense of hope and belief in the future
- Opportunities to value and practice service to others
Structure of a 4-H Club
- Conducts a minimum of 6 regular club meetings per year.
- Selects youth officers or youth leaders to provide leadership to the club.
- Meets in any location-a home, community center, library, public housing site, school, after school program, and/or many other places.
- Is advised by adult staff or volunteers who been screened, certified and trained.
Educational and Youth Development Principles of a 4-H Club:
- Uses experiential learning- learning by doing- as a primary teaching approach.
- Must provide the Eight Critical Elements of positive 4-H youth Development
- Includes planned opportunities to learn and apply life skills such as leadership, citizenship, community service and public speaking.
- Provides individual project experiences to develop in-depth knowledge about science, engineering and technology; citizenship; and healthy living and other topics.
- Provides programs, curricula, and procedures that are based in research and are developmentally appropriate.
- Provides members and volunteers access to resources of land-grant universities and to county, state and national 4-H opportunities.
- Fosters youth-adult partnerships that encourage active involvement and participation by youth and adults.
- Offers projects in a wide range of subject matter areas relevant to the Land Grant University knowledge base to meet youth needs and interests.