Because of COVID restrictions, Gordon County Extension/4-H has had very limited club meetings this year. However, we still wanted to provide educational opportunities to our homeschool youth. Get ready to travel through time and learn how Georgia 4-H’ers have been involved in our club throughout history! Our “Decode the Decades” kit will contain all supplies needed to complete three interactive workshops, including ‘follow along’ videos. See below for topic descriptions. If you complete all three activities and complete an evaluation of the kit by February 12, you will be recognized at our Gordon County 4-H Awards Ceremony to be held in July. Register for these kits at this link by Friday, January 15.
These kits are best suited for upper elementary and middle school youth. If you are interested in opportunities for younger elementary or high school students, we do have Cloverbuds activity kits available for our K-3rd grade youth, and a monthly senior club meeting for our 9th-12th grade students.
Activity #1
Let’s start where it all began … in 1904. Mr. George Claud Adams gathered together a group of boys in Newton County and taught them how to grow corn. However, this corn was a special hybrid variety, created by plant biotechnology. It was the beginning of Georgia 4-H, where young people were able to make their lives better by applying researched-based information. In this session, participants will learn about plant breeding and genetics, creating their own hybrid variety of corn with unique characteristics.
Activity #2
During the 1940s, World War II affected people of all ages, including 4-H families. As a way to help with the war efforts, Victory Gardens were planted for families to cultivate their food and boost morale. Having access to fresh and healthy food is important. About 35% of the world’s food crops depend on animal-mediated pollination, including many of the vegetables grown in Victory Gardens. In this session, participants will create their own Victory Garden and have insects visit that will model the pollination process.
Activity #3
The year is 1996. All of the world is watching Atlanta as the site of the Summer Olympic Games. Georgia 4-H members are always willing to serve others, and some 4-H members even volunteered during the event. Archery has been an Olympic sport for well over 100 years, testing physics knowledge and skill of the competitors. In this session, participants will create their miniature archery set and compete in various Olympic challenges – shooting their arrow into rings, knocking down ping-pong balls, and hitting the bullseye target.
