Shawano County’s 4-H is holding Spark Saturday, an event open to the public for children in kindergarten through high school at 9 a.m. Jan. 10 at Shawano Community High School, 220 County Road B, Shawano.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with the sessions running until noon. A $5 fee per child will be collected the day of the event. No same-day registration will be offered. Preregistration can be done at https://tinyurl.com/4HSpark11026.
Spark Saturday is an event that will instruct youths with hands-on activities that may include recycling, scale models, foods, horticulture, environmental education, animal projects, weaving, drumming and more.
Class facilitators consist of 4-H adult volunteers, 4-H youth leaders, community members and educators. Each class is about 45-50 minutes long.
For information, contact Megan Suehring, the 4-H Positive Youth Development educator for Shawano County Extension, at msuehring@wisc.edu or 715-526-6136.
“This event is offered to youths — who may not be enrolled in 4-H — the chance to see if they might be interested in joining, or even just to enjoy a morning of youth development with peers,” Suehring said. “You do not need to be in 4-H.”
In 4-H, a spark refers to a passion or interest that drives youths to achieve their goals and thrive. Sparks provide direction and purpose, helping young people connect with their unique talents and interests. Essential for personal growth, these sparks can lead to success in various areas, including academics, social interactions and personal development.
“Areas that spark interest such as photography or shooting sports can lead to even more of a learning engagement,” said Suehring.
Shawano County 4-H is in its 103rd year.
“Last year, we boasted over 600 members between 19 community clubs and two after-school clubs in Marion and Gresham,” Suehring said. “Enrollment for 4-H is still open for youths, so we don’t have accurate counts yet for this year. However, we do expect membership numbers to increase, as we have expanded our 4-H program to the Boys and Girls Club of Shawano, Mohican Family Center of (the) Stockbridge(-Munsee Tribe) and Safe Haven,” said Suehring.
The Cloverline is the club’s newsletter and a “4-H Minute” is sent out every Tuesday to highlight meetings, registrations and other information regarding the club’s activities.
Many events are held within their club, such as Movie Monday at the Shawano County Park Pavilion on Dec. 29, Youth Leadership Bowling scheduled for January, winter camps and financial management training, to name a few.
“Since 4-H began more than 100 years ago, it has become the nation’s largest youth development organization,” Suehring said. “The 4-H idea is simple: help young people and their families gain the skills needed to be proactive forces in their communities and develop ideas for a more innovative economy.”
Today, 4-H serves youths in rural, urban and suburban communities in every state across the nation. 4-Hers are tackling the nation’s top issues, from global food security, climate change and sustainable energy to childhood obesity and food safety.
The out-of-school programming, in-school enrichment programs, clubs and camps also offer a wide variety of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) opportunities – from agricultural and animal sciences to rocketry, robotics, environmental protection and computer science – to improve the nation’s ability to compete in key scientific fields and take on the leading challenges of the 21st century.
The 4 H’s stand for Head, Heart, Hands and Health, which is directly connected to the 4-H pledge: “I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service and my health to better living for my club, my community, my country and my world.”
There is a limit to each class in the upcoming Spark Saturday event — ensuring adequate project materials and quality instructor ratios. Suehring suggested registering as early as possible.
