Monocacy Valley Montessori 2011 4-H Club Project Primer

4-H “Projects” provide members a structure through which they can explore areas of personal interest.  Every 4-H member (age 8+) is required to complete one Project each calendar year (called “carrying a Project”).  In the past, MVM4-H members have completed Projects in Aerospace, Ag/Gardening, Art, Cooking, Dogs, Jewelry Design, Leadership, Outdoor Adventures, PackGoats, Photography, Rocketry, Sewing, Small Animal Care, Veterinary Science, and Woodworking. 

For a Project to be complete, a member must meet the following requirements:

1. Participation in six (6) learning experiences (these can be something they did with the club and/or something they did on their own, outside the club);
2. Public exhibition of something created as part of the Project (this can be at one of our two annual club open houses (spring and fall), at the Great Frederick Fair, or any other public forum). 
3. Presentation of a demonstration or illustrated talk on some aspect of Project work (this also can be done at one of our two annual club open houses (spring and fall), or any other public forum). 
4. Competition of an official 4-H Project Record (template available here: http://frederick.umd.edu/4-H/forms/generalprojectrecord.doc).  Members are STRONGLY encouraged to work on their Project Record throughout the year, as it is very difficult to recreate a year’s worth of experiences in January when Project Records are due.  Members who were 8 years old on January 1 or who are new to 4-H are encouraged, but not required, to complete a Project Record. 

Members are responsible for planning and implementing their own Project(s), but the club will help in the following ways:

1. Offering learning experiences throughout the year that may relate to one or more Project areas, e.g. building a birdhouse could be part of a Woodworking Project and/or an Entrepreneurship project; these will be announced at meetings, by email, and on the club web site: www.mvm4h.org.  In 2011, we will be offering Learning Experience Workshops in at least the following areas:  Arts and Crafts, Cooking, Leadership, Outdoor Adventures, and Sewing.  Frederick County offers Projects in many other areas from Alpacas to Entomology, Fashion Design, Packgoats, and Robotics.
2. Helping point members to people and resources that may be useful with Project work such as the Project Guides available at:  http://www.4-hmall.org/Category/4-hcurriculum.aspx.
3. Offering opportunities to present illustrated talks and exhibit project work;
4. Offering assistance in completing Project Records.

Questions:  Contact Beth Coyne – epcoyne@comcast.net.

Important Note:  If you are going to do a Project involving animals (cats, dogs, horses, goats, chickens….), you must read, sign, and turn in (to Ms. Beth) the 4-H Code of Animal Science Ethics before you begin your project: http://www.agnr.umd.edu/Extension/4H/4HFiles/CodeAnimalSciEthics2010.pdf.