22 | Fall 2020
FACT CH E CK
4-H: Your Kid’s Passport to Development and Discovery KATE NEELEY contributing writer
WHAT DO THE four “H” letters stand for in the name 4-H? If you were to guess “hogs, horses, heifers, and hounds,” you’d be leaving out a whole lot. Although 4-H has been known to be a great way for kids to raise livestock and train dogs to show at the fair every summer, you might be surprised to learn just how much more this multifaceted organization has to offer kids (and adults) in the community. The true meaning of the 4 “H” letters are: HEAD HEART
HANDS and HEALTH And rightly so! Each member of 4-H develops his or her head, heart, hands, and health through an array of different activities and opportunities. Kids who are part of 4-H can learn about anything from cooking, robotics, mountain biking, to sewing, creative writing, or even soap making. The possibilities are literally endless. 4-H is really a “learn-by-doing approach,” Alisha Straatman, Cache County 4-H coordinator, said. “It’s basically anything that has to do with
positive youth development.” Who doesn’t want their kids to develop in positive ways? How does it work? What does being a part of 4-H look like? It can be raising a cow to show and auction off at the fair. It can also be a group of kids in a neighborhood who like __________ (insert any activity that fosters positive youth development), and an adult who has experience doing that thing, and they meet as often as every week to do fun things and learn more about it. Simply put, it’s a systematic way to mentor
