Introduction
4-H Records are an important written summary of what
you have learned and the skills that you have gained
within your 4-H work as well as other parts of your
life. Over a period of years your records will show
how you have grown. The information on your 4-H records
will be useful as you fill out other forms in your
life such as resumes, job applications and college
applications.
Your records must be bound in a folder. 4-H Record Book
folders are available in the "Sourcebook" published
by National 4-H Council. You may wish to use tabs/dividers
to separate the sections. Your record book must contain
the following sections in the order listed:
- 4-H Summary Record
- 4-H Story
- Project Record(s); minimum of 1, maximum of 5
- Support materials (optional)
The 4-H Summary Record is cumulative: add on to the same
Summary Record form each year so that all of your
4-H years are included on this one form. The Project
Record forms are for one year only. Each year you
must complete a new Project Record for each 4-H project,
even if you have the same project from year to year.
You must write a new 4-H Story each year and update
the support materials (photographs, news clippings,
etc.). Only the current year's project records are
turned in as part of your record book to the county
office. You may want to keep your previous years'
project records for future reference.
It is best to do your records on the computer. This way, it is easy to make changes and corrections and to save your work. If this is not possible, the forms must be printed neatly in ink.
Accuracy is important! All signatures must be included! Check
spelling, punctuation and grammar. Do not use slang
language. Be concise on the Summary and Project Record
forms: use brief statements with as few words as
possible. All information on the Summary Record should
be listed in chronological order.
Do not duplicate information! Record each event or activity
under one section only. For example, do not list
a Visual Presentation in Section E and then list
it as a 4-H Activity in Section F.
A. 4-H Projects
A 4-H project is an area of interest that the member
spends a significant amount of time and effort
on during that year. For example, if a member bakes
for the holidays during the year and helps to set
the table and clean up after dinner twice a week
throughout the year, this does not constitute a Foods
project. A project requires that members set goals
relating to new things they want to learn and new
skills that they want to gain during the club year.
They must work in a deliberate manner and spend a
significant amount of time to meet these goals. On
the Project Record the member must demonstrate that
he/she has taken part in learning experiences related
to this project and document the skills learned.
All items listed on the project record must be done
in 4-H.
4-H members must choose one to five projects each year
and focus on the development of these projects. If
five projects are chosen these five must include
community service and leadership. In other words,
this is a maximum of three projects of your choice
plus community service and leadership. The focus
of 4-H records should be on quality and not quantity.
All work on 4-H records is to be done by the member.
Of course, the member may receive assistance and
encouragement from others.
| 4-H Year |
Comm. Service Project |
Leadership Project |
Project(fill in name) |
Project(fill in name) |
Project(fill in name) |
| 1997-1998 |
Community Service |
|
Rabbit |
Photography |
|
| 1998-1999 |
Community Service |
Leadership |
Rabbit |
Foods and Nutrition |
Small Business |
B. Community Service
Community Service is an important part of any 4-H project.
Be sure to include all community service that you
do. Community service activities must benefit people
who are not related to you. If you receive any sort
of compensation for this activity it becomes a job
and not a service activity. Compensation includes
money, services or favors such as reduction in board
or other fees. It is important to be very specific
about activities and results; use numbers wherever
possible. Community Service activities should show
increasing complexity and growth over the years.
| 4-H Year |
Activity/What I Did |
Who I Helped/Results |
4-H/
School/Other |
| 1996-1997 |
sang Christmas Carols (1 hour) |
15 elderly people in nursing home |
United Church |
| 1996-1997 |
donated cans of food 3 different times |
people using the food pantry in my town |
my 4-H club |
| 1998-1999 |
Relay for Life - walked 3 hours |
Raised $125 for cancer research |
American Cancer Society |
| 1998-1999 |
organized local river bank cleanup |
6 members and 6 adults worked 4 hours to clean
and improve environment |
4-H club |
* In all examples given, italics text are examples
suitable for experienced members
C. Leadership
Leadership
is an important part of any 4-H project. You should
grow in this area by taking on more complicated leadership
roles each year. As you grow you should be taking
on more responsibilities such as running your club,
becoming a junior leader or taking on leadership
roles at the county and state levels in 4-H. Extend
your leadership skills to other organizations and
groups outside of 4-H.
When writing about your leadership experiences, be
very specific. It is not enough to say that you
are president of your 4-H club. You must say what
you did as the president; for example, ran 6 club
business meetings, set up a telephone chain, met
with leader 3 times to set up yearly program for
the club, etc. Use numbers whenever possible.
In addition, evaluate each activity carefully to determine
if it belongs in the leadership section. For example,
serving on a committee is not always a leadership
experience. Being in a leadership role on a committee
would be listed in this section. This would mean
that you were in charge of organizing the committee
and insuring that the committee worked to accomplish
its task. You need to be specific about what you
did that enabled the committee to carry out its function.
| 4-H Year |
Leadership Experience |
Responsibility/What I Did |
4-H/
School/Other |
| 1996-1997 |
Chairperson of Refreshment
Cmt. for my 4-H club |
Set up refreshment schedule, called 2 members before
each meeting to ask them to bring refreshments |
4-H club |
| 1997-1998 |
Secretary of "Too Good for Drugs" Club |
Kept minutes of 4 meetings of this club at my school |
Kennedy School |
| 1996-1997 |
Chairperson of Freshman Banquet |
Chaired 3 committee meetings, coordinated purchase
of all Committee decorations, supervised the
decorating committee, set up budget for banquet |
Amherst H. S. |
| 1997-1998 |
Served as club president and conducted business meetings |
Learned Robert's Rules of Order to be able to conduct
a good business meeting; learned it is important
to keep the group focused and move the meeting
along. Presided over 10 meetings of an 8 member
club. |
4-H Teen Club: County level |
| 1998-1999 |
Served as 4-H Ambassador |
Attended 3 day training session to learn to be an Ambassador;
spoke to 2 community groups about 4-H and wrote
and distributed 3 press releases about 4-H
events. |
4-H: State level |
D. Workshops/Conferences/Camps Attended
List workshops, conferences and camps that you have attended.
Summarize the most important thing(s) that you learned
as a result of attending each.
| 4-H Year |
Workshop/Conference/Camp |
What I Learned |
4-H/
School/Other |
| 1997-1998 |
Attended 4-H Camp Farley for 1 week |
Improved my swimming, learned archery and learned about
taking care of the environment |
4-H Camp Farley |
| 1998-1999 |
Attended workshop for referees sponsored by Youth Soccer Assoc. |
Learned the rules of the game and how to referee a soccer game. |
Ayer Youth Soccer |
| 1997-1998 |
Attended 4-H StateTeen Conference |
Developed skills in self-defense and making pottery;
attended issues forum on substance abuse where
we discussed the pros and cons of using penalties |
4-H Teen Conference |
| 1997-1998 |
Participated
in State DECA Conference |
Learned how to promote and market a new product including
pricing, test marketing and advertising |
State DECA Conference |
E. Communication Skills
Identify all types of oral presentations that you have given
which can include club demonstrations, 4-H Visual
Presentations, radio presentations, T.V. appearances
(including local cable T.V.), video taped productions
or others. Also include other written communications
such as news articles, press releases, or newsletters
that you have written and promotional items such
as posters and flyers that you have developed and
produced.
| 4-H Year |
Type of Presentation |
# of Times Given |
4-H/
School/Other |
| 1997-1998 |
Gave Visual Presentation titled "Child Care" |
2 |
4-H; local & county levels |
| 1997-1998 |
Report on child care |
1 |
Oakdale School Home Economics |
| 1997-1998 |
Cable T.V. show about local government |
a series of 3, 30 minute shows |
Primetime Cablevision |
| 1998-1999 |
30 minute presentationto PTO group of 25 adults
about 4-H |
once |
Horace Mann PTO |
| 1998-1999 |
submitted a press release on local club awards banquet |
once |
Daily Planet Newspaper |
F. Youth Development - Events and Activities
Identify activities that you participated in and be specific
about important skills that you have developed as
a result. These may be life skills such as communicating,
decision making, coping, managing resources or learning
more about yourself and others. You may also include
job related skills such as learning to do spreadsheets
on the computer, how to ring up a sale on the cash
register, work as a member of a team, etc. Activities
may include fairs, contests, field trips, lessons,
employment, athletics and school related activities.
| 4-H Year |
Activity/Project |
Skills Gained |
4-H/
School/Other |
| 1996-1997 |
Participated in 3 county horse judging clinics |
learned how to explain why I selected a specific horse
by doing oral reasons |
4-H; county level |
| 1997-1998 |
Member of Franklin Kickers Soccer team |
Improved my soccer skills and learned the importance of teamwork |
Franklin Youth Soccer |
| 1996-1997 |
Worked at a women's clothing store at mall |
Learned how to take inventory, customer service skills,
how to ring up a sale and how to dress appropriately
for work |
Fashion Corner in Riverdale Mall |
| 1997-1998 |
Exhibited 5 clothing articles, 4 food items, 9 craft
items, and 7 photographs at the County 4-H
Fair |
Learned a new way to finish the seams on my dress |
4-H County Fair |
| 1997-1998 |
Showed 4 sheep at 3 4-H Fairs |
I learned that I am very patient in the show
ring with my animals |
Barnstable, Norfolk & Worcester County
4-H Fairs |
G.
Awards/Achievement
List personal recognition and/or awards that you have
received. Summarize where possible.
| 4-H Year |
Award Received |
Achievement/Reason You Received Award |
4-H/
School/Other |
| 1996-1997 |
2 blue ribbons, 3 red ribbons, 1 white & 1
special rosette |
Crafts, foods and photography |
Topsfield Fair |
| 1997-1998 |
1st prize |
For being a member of the Geography Bee team that
represented my school |
Oakville School |
| 1996-1997 |
County 4-H Medal; rabbit project |
For completing one of the top rabbit medals project |
Hampden County 4-H program |
| 1997-1998 |
Inducted as a member of the National Honor Society |
For meeting qualifications and being accepted based
on application and references |
Everyville H.S. |
H. 4-H Story
This is a written narrative about how 4-H has made an
impact on your life or the lives of your family or
others. You should not list various events that you
have participated in throughout the year that can
be read on the record forms. Instead, you need to
focus on impact. How has 4-H made a difference in
your life? Is there something that happened as part
of your 4-H experiences that was very significant
to you?
This is one of the important parts of your record! It
is a chance to really "tell your story" and
be creative! Make sure that you write in complete
sentences and that your grammar and spelling are
correct.
Each year you must write a new story. As you get older,
the stories should become more involved. At age 9,
one or two paragraphs is appropriate. By age 15 your
story should be 3 to 4 pages in length. Maximum acceptable
length is 5 pages (typed, double spaced).
I. Project Records
You must include a project record for each project that
you have listed in section A of the current year.
You must include at least one goal for each project.
New goals must be written at the beginning of each
4-H year even if you carry the same project(s). Select
goals that will challenge you and help you to grow
over a number of years. It is acceptable if you do
not meet your goals for a particular year; give reasons
why this is the case. See "4-H Project Record
Instructions" for additional details.
On the knowledge and skills section of each record what
you learn must be listed in bullet statements as
shown in the examples. A bullet statement is a brief
statement which includes the most important facts.
J. Support Materials
It is recommended that you include up to 5 pages of
support materials. The purpose of including these
materials is to help give a complete picture of your
experiences. Include a variety of items and pictures:
for example, don't include 2 pages of photographs
of your pet! Photographs should show you involved
in different activities. Do not write on the photographs!
In additions to photographs, you may include news clippings
and letters of commendation or recommendation. Do
not include ribbons, certificates, programs or flyers,
ticket stubs or other memorabilia. Fasten items securely
to one side only of each sheet. Do not overlap items.
You will probably have more than you can use; choose
carefully. Use captions to explain the significance
of the photographs and other items that you have
included. |
