Thriving Forward

In this blog post series, we discussed how collaborating with out-of-school-time education programs can help 4-H programs reach more youth. We’ve shared ideas for how 4-H staff can go about establishing effective and supportive working relationships with community partners. For community partners, one major…

Introduction 4-H has a long history of using competition as a method of providing feedback on skill mastery and continued task improvement. Preparing young people to show their animals, photographs, rockets and other 4-H projects at county fairs is a critical step in helping them grow. 4-H adult…

IntroductionWe all have feelings. And they matter. Feelings help us learn about ourselves and others. Despite their benefit, many of us have a hard time identifying feelings. In his book, Permission To Feel, Dr. Marc Brackett encourages us to lean in to our feelings. By doing so, we can lead more healthy and…

Introduction In our previous post, we discussed the importance of assessing staff capacity. Assessing the after school staff’s capacity is an important consideration when discussing a partnership. Also, understanding your 4-H staff’s capacity can also help ensure that your partnership will have the…

Introduction Partnerships between 4-H and expanded learning sites are a great way to provide high quality programming to youth. When 4-H partners with expanded learning programs (e.g. schools, Boys and Girls clubs, YMCAs), youth who may not otherwise participate in 4-H are able to have high quality…