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Our Illinois 4-H Story

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teen teachers pose and smile

How Teen Teachers can spark a career path

You may ask what is the 4-H Teen Teacher program? The University of Illinois Extension offers a 4-H Teen Teachers program for High School youth across Illinois. In this program, 4-H Teen Teachers develop leadership and teaching skills as they train, plan, and implement hands-on learning...
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flowers emerging from a cutout profile

Eight mental health self-care tips for youth

May is Mental Health Awareness Month! Did you know that 7 in 10 teens struggle with feelings of overwhelm, stress, anxiety, and depression? One way to help manage these difficult emotions is to practice self-care. Self-care is simply taking time to do something every day to help you relax, manage...
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military family hugging with flag

Celebrating military families in our community during April

4-H Clubs looking for a service project during the Month of April might want to explore doing something for the military families living in their communities. 4-H clubs looking for a service project this spring should explore ways to support military local families during April which is the Month...
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youth participating in a livestock judging contest

Livestock judging helps youth gain skills for a lifetime

“I’ve got 23 members going today,” was the text message I woke up to just the other day. It was from one of my volunteer livestock judging coaches and he was referring to the first livestock judging contest of the season for our 4-H members. That contest fell on a Friday, a Friday when school was...
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Food insecurity and cold weather

As the holiday season comes to a close, it is important to remember the ongoing needs of people struggling with Food Insecurity. Cold weather is a growing strain on families, making it even harder than normal to keep everyone fed.  In the spirit of continued giving, consider donating to local food...
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Teaching kids effective goal-setting

The New Year is frequently a time when adults do some personal goal setting through resolutions of all sorts. This time of year also presents a great opportunity to teach kids this important skill. Setting and working towards goals helps kids to develop self-control, persistence and responsibility...
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Sustainable seeds: That's 4-H

The bounty of the harvest. Many of us interpret this to be the ending point of nature’s annual cycle. We know that winter is here and only the warm spring sun can signal the start of another cycle. But the seed that sprouts next spring is already here. And this seed needs winter; it needs nurturing...
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Food for thought: fighting food insecurity

Most students are back in school. This means that the majority of children will now be guaranteed school lunches five days a week. Although the return of school lunches is certainly a boon to families struggling with food insecurity, it is important not to get lulled into thinking that their trials...
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The love of archery shared – from California with love

Clarence was a freshman at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 1962 majoring in agriculture. He was from southern Illinois and looking for a way to meet new friends so he joined an archery club he learned about from a flyer posted in the Stock Pavilion. His love of archery lasted a...
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Blog Authors
tina veal

Tina Veal

4-H Alumni & Constituent Engagement Manager