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:

1. 4-H Summary Record
2. 4-H Story
3. Project Record(s); minimum of 1, maximum of 5
4. 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.

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.

* 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.

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.

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.

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.

G. Awards/Achievement

List personal recognition and/or awards that you have received. Summarize where possible.

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.