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Photo 200/365

Both shots by Calvin—they will be his photography entries in 4H Youth Show on Sunday

4H Youth Show 2016

Before homeschooling I knew one thing about 4H: that it was a club for kids who raised adorable baby animals so that they could later sell them off for slaughter. It was indelibly linked in my mind to the story of Charlotte's Web and the fate that awaited poor Wilbur. I've never been a vegitarian, nor have I ever been deluded about where my food comes from, but I'm far too much of a softy to have ever met any of my meals in the spring of their lives.

None of that has really changed for me, my son is equally soft hearted, and we live in a suburban area that doesn't even allow the rearing of backyard chickens, and yet we have been 4H members for several years now because, as it turns out, 4H is about more—way more—than farming. We were introduced to the 4H program when we joined our homeschooling group. I turned in my paperwork and was handed a bonafide 4H membership card that entitled me to a discount at the local Tractor Supply Co. I was also handed an information sheet about all the activities the program had to offer, from summer craft camps to weekly archery classes, all with the main goal of helping kids grow to their full potential.

Each summer the 4H year culminates in a county-wide Youth Show where the animals so dutifully raised and, in some cases, trained, are shown and put up for auction. But the show isn't only for the farmers in the group. In addition to barns upon barns full of animals, there is a building dedicated solely to "still" projects, or projects other than animals that are presented for judging. These projects are meant to demonstrate any level of beginnership on up through mastery of any hobby or skill imaginable worked on over the previous year. Kids present finished projects to judges to earn grades of A, B, or C. Some projects will also be given a ranking of Honors, and from those Honors projects will be chosen a single Best in Show per category by age. It's a system that rewards individual effort as well as overall.

Calvin has presented projects in the Youth Show for three years now, but for those first three years he received only participation ribbons, as do all the youngest participants. This, then, was the first year he was old enough to be elligible for grading, and he took that challenge very seriously. When he registered to submit ten projects in six different project areas, I was concerned—about him completing them on time, about the quality of the finished work, about what he could possibly learn from so many different projects—but I was wrong to worry. I wasn't really surprised that he tackled some of the same projects (wildlife and wildflower info pages and photography) with the same skill and attention he'd afforded them in previous years, but I was completely blown away by his attention to detail in new project areas, like rock collecting, container plants, and especially sewing, which he had never before tackled in all his life.

Ten projects, ten A grades, eight Honors rankings, four Best in Shows, and lots and lots of fun.

4H Youth Show 2015

Our homeschooling group, the one we gather with once a week, sometimes more, to pool our energies and gather in enough numbers to take classes and go on field trips, is ostensibly a 4H club. I, ostensibly, am their 4H club leader. In our group that's not a big job. Most of our members don't even seem to know that they belong to a 4H club, so that makes my job easy. But over the two years I've had the job, I've slowly gotten to know the 4H machine better and better, and most of what I've learned is really great.

First, while most people when they hear 4H think cows, pigs, and sheep (oh my!), there's really a lot more to the group than that. 4H is really just a state run umbrella group for all kinds of clubs. As the parent group, 4H provides registration assistance, insurance, and even sometimes monetary support to the clubs that pay their nominal dues. So there are all kinds of clubs under the 4H umbrella, including dog training clubs or word working clubs in addition to the standard young farmer or horse clubs. There's our rather substantial homeschooling club, for instance, and at least one other club that resembles more a boy scout type assembly than a farm hand guild. It takes all kinds, and the varieties are far reaching.

Second, once you've paid your dues through your own parent club (for us that's our homeschooling group), you may participate in any other 4H club or activity for which you are otherwise elligible. The door is wide open! Come check it all out! Both this and last year, Calvin participated in our local 4H archery club, where, for just $1 per Tuesday evening, he got to borrow their equipment and their expertise for two hours of archery fun. They also offer classes or workshops throughout the year. Next year we're thinking about taking part in the photography workshops. And the 4H mother office is considering adding some fine arts classes or clubs, including creative writing, theater, and music. I know he'd love that.

The 4H year is wrapped up late every July, just before the August last hurrah vacations and the beginning of a new school year. The wrap up consists of a week of activities that show off what the kids have learned or accomplished during the year. There is a day of still project showing (those being anying that does not include livestock in some way), a variety of contests and competitions throughout the week (some including livestock, some not), and a final fun day of tournaments and silly races. Calvin showed woodowrking, photography, poetry, and educational wildlife notebooks as still projects this year. He participated in the make something out of foam scraps challenge, and competed in the archery tournament. He also got a little crazy in the end of the week olympic game challenge. We ate ice cream, got face (or arm) paint, hung out with a lot of friends, and, yes, saw the obligatory cows, chickens, horses, etc. Oh, and rabbit agility. Can't miss rabbit agility.

4H Youth Show, 2014