To reserve your tickets, visit https://events.anr.msu.edu/dayatthebreslin2022/. 

Receive the recognition you deserve while sharpening your communication and writing skills by participating in Michigan 4-H State Awards. A Michigan 4-H State Award is the highest honor bestowed on a Michigan 4-H member and is a great addition to your resume, job, school and scholarship applications. Learn more on how to apply today here:  https://www.canr.msu.edu/4_h_scholarships_and_recognition_program/4-h-awards-and-recognition-program/Youth-Recognition/ Deadline April 1, 2022.

Are you a young person ages 11-12? Apply for the Mark of Excellence Award. The essay theme is “Because of 4-H, I can…” Tell us how #MI4H has made an impact on your life for a chance to be recognized! extension.msu.edu/4HStateAwards

IT'S BACK! 4-H Exploration Days is Michigan 4-H's largest pre-college program and could be the highlight of your summer! The event is designed to help youth build the skills they need to successfully transition to college and to life as an adult. Michigan 4-H youth who participate have the opportunity to stay in MSU campus residence halls while attending sessions throughout their stay.

Dates: June 22 - 24, 2022

Theme: Explore your Spark

Registration fee: $220 for youth and $110 for adults. All participants will be required to pay a $50 deposit when registering. **NOTE: Eaton County 4-H has many scholarships to offset the remaining cost for this event. Available scholarships can be found at: https://www.canr.msu.edu/eaton/eaton_county_4_h/eaton_county_4_h_club_resources/scholarships

Registration will open in April and will be a first come, first serve basis and will be done in an online system this year. If you are interested in this event, please pay close attention to when registration is announced as this event can fill up fast and will have limited registration this year! More information, including schedule changes from prior years, can be viewed at: https://www.canr.msu.edu/4_h_exploration_days/

Are you fully enrolled in 4-H? Do you know someone who would like to join? All 4-H members must be fully enrolled by March 15 to be eligible to show at the 2022 Eaton County Fair as a 4-H member. Other 4-H experiences may have different enrollment deadlines.

Not sure if you are enrolled? You can easily check! Log into your 4-H Online account and look at each member row in the chart titled and look under the Program columns. The following options may appear:

Members should receive an email from the system as well once their profile has been approved. You can check your account by visiting https://

www.canr.msu.edu/resources/michigan_4_h_enrollment. If you have questions about your status listed in 4-H Online, please contact the office.

Eaton County 4-H Council has started a Facebook group to connect with YOU! Learn about upcoming programs, provide input and share feedback to help shape 4-H Council.

Chyanne Rea, 4-H Council adult President, would like to feature spotlights of volunteers and youth in the group. Please send her your photos (through her personal FB messenger) with a project (or multiple projects) and information about yourself! Please include your name, age, how many years you’ve been in 4-H, how many years you’ve shown this project and any other information you’d like. See her post in the group for more information.

You can join the Facebook group by going to: https://www.facebook.com/groups/258033019788487

April 25 at 6pm, PMR (masks required). Register for the Zoom option: https://msu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIqde6srjkuE9RBydywDmOyxu8hp9ejKHEs

All clubs should send a representative to this meeting. The Spring Leader Update Meeting will go over 4-H and fair updates and the 2022 Eaton County Fair. Please note: This meeting occurs after spring clean-up for the fair. Fair board will be assigning clubs spots for spring clean-up. Additional information will be shared at a later date.

All meetings will be in-person at the PMR (basement conference room at the Extension office building) and will offer a Zoom option to connect virtually to the meetings, unless otherwise indicated (subject to change with COVID-19 guidelines). If you would like a virtual connection option for these meetings, please use the Zoom registration link for each meeting to register. Once you are registered, you will receive an email with the connection information. If nobody is registered for the Zoom option by 5pm the day of the meeting, Zoom connection will not be set up.

Weather reminder: With the winter season, just a reminder that when Charlotte Public Schools are closed for weather-related reasons, countywide 4-H in-person meetings are also canceled. If this occurs, the board for the group meeting that day will determine whether to cancel the meeting altogether or move the meeting to Zoom and notification will be sent via 4-H Online to those enrolled in the project areas for the group and posted on the county Facebook page.

February 1 – April 30, we invite you to visit a local @JOANN store to create with your hands and give with your heart through a donation to @4-H. joann.com/4-H/ #JOANNhearts4H

Test your knowledge and comprehension of animal science and management in 10 different Market Livestock Categories.

Contestants have two options to qualify for the State Championship.

First Qualifier – March 5, 2022

Second Qualifier – March 12, 2022

Age divisions*:

-Novice (8-11 years)

-Junior (12-14 years)

-Senior (15-19 years)

-Adult (20+)

* Youth contestants must be 8, but not yet 19, before January 1, 2022.

Register at: https://www.canr.msu.edu/events/2022-skillathon-qualifier-march-5_12-2022

Love games? Love prizes? Love money? If so, join the 4-H Love Your Money GooseChase game taking place February 14-February 21, 2022. This app-based scavenger hunt is geared towards youth 13 and up, though younger youth can play with an older sibling or parent/guardian. Complete missions around money management and have the chance to win prizes! Join the fun at: https://events.anr.msu.edu/4HMoneyGooseChase/

I amar prestar aen…the world is changed. I smell it in the air…and with any luck, it will taste pretty darn good in your stomach too! Assemble your fellowship, practice your Entish, and start thinking about taters as 4-H in the Kitchen guides you on a journey through none other than Middle Earth! 4-H in the Kitchen is pleased to announce their next workshop, 4-H in the Kitchen: Second Breakfast Edition, where participants will be able to learn how to craft a pair of scrumptious dishes that are straight out of the mind of JRR Tolkien and Peter Jackson. Both dishes will have the capacity to be made gluten free and one will be vegetarian.

The workshop will be held virtually February 26^th and March 12^th, 2022 from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

Registration is now active!

Jarls come and Jarls go…but the good cook stays for a lifetime! Well, let’s see just how good a cook we all are! Join us for a special Spring break experience as 4-H in the Kitchen dives into the hardy and wild lands of Skyrim in the ever popular Elder Scrolls video game franchise! Over the course of four days, participants will learn the finer points of spicecraft, learning how to craft three special blends of spices and then learn how to cook a special dish that highlights one of their spice blends. Participants will also have the chance to take part in a weeklong virtual GooseChase Scavenger hunt devoted to the history of spices. Complete the missions for the chance to win a sweet prize!

Because some of the spices required may be a little difficult to find at your local grocery store, participants will receive a list of required spices immediately after they register. This will give participants ample time to obtain them online.

Join us March 28 thru March 31, 2022 so that we can find out if…Skryim Belongs to the Nords!

4-H Capitol Experience is an annual four-day conference that focuses on civic engagement and public policy. Up to 100 teens from around the state converge on Lansing, Michigan to experience state government in action and learn how they can influence policy issues.

Participants interact with legislators, state agency staff, lobbyists and other resource people to learn how policy is made. They will also learn about public access to information, campaign financing, ethics/conflicts of interest, government accountability to the public and lobbying disclosure.

The 2022 4-H Capitol Experience will take place March 20-23, in Okemos and downtown Lansing. Registration is available at ww.canr.msu.edu/4_h_

The registration cost of the event is $20. Eaton County 4-H offers scholarships that can cover this cost, please contact 4-H staff prior to registering.

Learn about setting financial goals, saving, budgeting, banking basics, credit and much more through lessons, activities, and games each Thursday from February 24th through April 28th from 6:15 PM to 7:15 PM EST

For youth ages 12-19 years old

Registration link: https://events.anr.msu.edu/4HFinFit22/

Attend one session or attend them all.

All 4-H Financial Fitness and Fun live sessions will be on Zoom and are available on the MSU Extension 4-H Youth Money Management website. Be one of the first 100 youth to attend all 10 sessions either live on Zoom or complete the Nearpod lesson on the website and be eligible for a $50 savings incentive!

February 24 - Do You Have a Plan? Money Goals

March 3 - Paying for Post-secondary Education

March 10 - Keeping Yourself Out of Debt

March 17 - Credit Craze: Managing Credit Wisely

March 24 - Grow Your Money: Investing and Risk

March 31 - Budgeting: Understanding Income and Expenses

April 7- They Took What? Your First Paycheck and Taxes

April 14 - Avoiding Money Mishaps

April 21 - Pay Yourself First: Start a Saving Habit

April 28 - Banking Basics

All sessions will be on Zoom and using Nearpod. Access to a tablet or computer with internet access will be needed. Zoom links will be sent out after registration.

Nearly half of Americans (49 percent) who have received more than 10 hours of financial education report spending less than they earn, compared with 36 percent of those people who received less than 10 hours of financial education.  The goal of 4-H financial education is to improve these outcomes by helping youth understand and develop the skills they will need to be financially smart adults.

This program is made possible by a grant from the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

For more information about Financial Fitness and Fun please contact Janice Zerbe at rajzerj@msu.edu or (269)-657-8213.

Money, money, money! In honor of Financial Awareness Month held each April, Michigan State University Extension 4-H is sponsoring the 2022 Cash Composition Contest. Youth residing in Michigan, age 9-12, have a chance to win $100 by writing a 300 word (or less) essay on the importance of saving. Contest registration and essay submission must be completed by April 11. Contest details can be found: https://www.canr.msu.edu/4-h-money-smarts/money-smart-kids-contest

Youth 13-19 years olds, do you want to learn how to harness the power of time to make your money grow AND have an opportunity to win $100 in cash? In this fourth annual Show Your Money Smarts Contest, Michigan youth age 13-19 will compete in an on-line quiz challenge taking place the entire month of April. Contest registration must be completed by April 28, 2022 with the online quiz completed by April 30th. Contest details can be found: https://www.canr.msu.edu/4-h-money-smarts/show-your-money-smarts-contest

To help prepare youth for this contest, we are holding two webinars and have a self-guided learning experience.

March 24 at 6:15pm: https://www.canr.msu.edu/events/youth-money-3-24

April 13 at 4:30pm: https://www.canr.msu.edu/events/youth-money-4-13

Self-guided learning: https://www.canr.msu.edu/courses/grow-your-money

Save the date: Join Michigan 4-H and the MSU Department of Animal Science for a new program this spring – Animal Science Career Quest March 18-20, 2022! Taking place on MSU’s main campus in East Lansing, youth will learn about all the opportunities an animal science education can bring them. Animal Science Career Quest is open to youth ages 12-19 (as of January 1, 2022) and 4-H volunteers; space will be limited. Keep an eye on the event webpage for updates: https://www.canr.msu.edu/events/animal-science-career-quest. Registration will open late February. For questions, please contact Melissa Elischer at elischer@msu.edu.

Michigan 4-H Youth Development programs clubs provide a safe setting for youth to practice decision-making supported by caring adults. When youth are empowered to make decisions for themselves, youth develop skills in leadership, planning, teamwork, facilitation, conflict resolution, problem solving and much more.

It may be difficult for adults to resist the temptation to decide what’s best for youth and do all of the planning for them. However, in order to fully engage youth with adults in a decision-making partnership, youth and adults must share an equal voice in the planning and an equal share of the responsibilities in implementing programs. Consider these tips on facilitating discussions with youth in ways that will maximize youth voice.

Taking time to establish group-generated ground rules for participation in group discussions can help provide an environment in which youth feel comfortable speaking their mind. Ground rules work best when they are created and agreed upon by the group members and displayed prominently throughout the meeting. Things youth might want to include in ground rules include, “be acknowledged before speaking; give everyone a chance to voice their opinion; everyone’s ideas are important” and many other ideas as generated by youth.

Ten seconds of silence can seem like an eternity in a group discussion. Occasionally, when a question or new idea is presented to youth, adults are tempted to jump in and offer their ideas in order to break the awkward silence. Implement a rule in mixed groups of youth and adults that adults must wait ten seconds before sharing their ideas, providing youth with an opportunity to share their ideas first.

This is a brainstorming technique that provides participants with sticky notes to capture their ideas in writing. This facilitation technique allows youth (and adults) an opportunity to collect their thoughts and express them in writing, rather than thinking quickly on the spot and sharing their ideas aloud. Once participants have written each idea on a separate sticky note, they bring them to a designated space on the wall. Ask an older youth or two to categorize similar ideas together, and then vote to narrow down the suggestions.

This is a fun way of narrowing down a list of options and making a decision. This method might be used to narrow down a list created by brainstorming using a method such as a sticky wall. After a list of ideas has been generated, record the ideas on newsprint. Then, provide youth with stickers to indicate their vote. If there are lots of ideas, provide youth with multiple stickers to indicate the number of times they are able to vote. Have youth affix their sticker(s) close to the ideas that they like the best and have an older youth tally the results. A simple variation allows youth to affix more than one sticker on their favorite ideas, for example, if they are given three stickers, they can put all three on one idea that they really like, one on three separate ideas that they like equally, two on one idea and one on another, etc. This method of voting can increase the energy level of the group by getting youth out of their seats and empowers youth to vote for the ideas that mean the most to them.

Although empowering youth to make their own decisions might extend the time it takes to accomplish goals, the benefits to youth are remarkable and far out-weigh the added time involved. Youth that make decisions for their clubs are much more engaged in club activities, feel personally responsible for the success of the program and develop important life skills in the process.

Adapted from "Beyond Brainstorming!" by Jackie Martin. For more information and additional resources, visit: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/beyond_brainstorming.

Are you planning to exhibit a beef or dairy steer at the 2022 Eaton County Fair? Don't miss the tag-in period that occurs during the month of February!

Tag-in information for 2022 is available at: http://eatoncountyfair.com/pageserver/tag-in

Roger Harris and Clarence Humphrey, swine superintendents, are hosting a meeting for all swine leaders on Monday, February 28, at 7pm at Kardel Hall. Any group that exhibits at the fair with swine should have a representative attend this meeting (if you are the only person in your group with swine, please plan to attend).

Sheep tag in will be held at the Sheep Barn at the Eaton County Fairgrounds on April 24, 2022, 1pm-4pm. Tag in information is available at: http://eatoncountyfair.com/pageserver/tag-in