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Impact Report

For plan Youth Development (Socorro County)
Date September 25, 2008, 2:25 pm
For Objective Medium-term Show medium-term objectives
Impact Report City of Socorro After school Program: We just completed our first year of the City of Socorro after school program, and we (program staff, Mayor and City Clerk) felt like it was a huge success. We had roughly 45-50 youth per day ranging in age from 5 years old to 12 years old. Youth were brought to the center after school by the school bus and pick up by parents between 5:00 and 5:30. Upon entering the program, youth were given a nutritious snack and were provided time to complete any homework they had. Youth then spent 30 minutes in each rotation (arts & crafts, game room, outdoor recreation, & library). The Socorro County 4-H Agent made bi-weekly visits on Tuesday’s, Thursday’s and school half days in which a 4-H rotation was added in their daily rotation schedule; on the 4-H days we substituted 4-H for the library. Information and project ideas were taken from the 4-H project list and adapted to fit a variety of themes ranging from seasonal lessons to cultural exploration. Programs performed during this reporting period include: 1.) Flower Gardening: During the month of March, we learned a lot about flower gardening; how to select the plants, how to sow the seeds, how to arrange the plants in the garden, garden care, and how to identifying leaves and flowers from different types of annuals and perennials. As a hands-on activity youth planted flowers by seed in cups and were required to care for them daily. After the seeds had sprouted and the plants were ready to be transplanted we planted them in large containers that the youth had decorated and placed in front of the center to make the front entrance of the center look nice for the community. 2.) Vegetable Gardening: The kids loved the flower gardening so much that in April we decided to do some vegetable gardening. We learned how to prepare the soil by tiling and fertilizing it, how to identify different vegetables, and how to determine what we wanted to plant. As a hands-on activity we tiled and fertilized the soil then we made “Gardens in a glove” where we placed lettuce, tomatoes, onions, carrots, and cucumber seeds into a plastic glove and taped it to the window. After the seeds sprouted the kids planted them in a garden area in the side yard. The kids are required to water, pull weeds, and harvest the vegetables when they are ready. 3.) One of our traditional 4-H members applied for a community service project to assist her monetarily with Horse School. Her community service project was to come once a month on her half day of school and teach youth about 4-H and various projects within 4-H. In February, she began with the “This is 4-H” project teaching them the 4-H pledge, motto, slogan, what the 4-H emblem was, etc. As a hands-on activity youth made 4-H clovers using shrink art paper. In March, she talked to them about soils and plants since we were already doing the gardening projects. As a hands-on activity they made dirt babies which are just a homemade chia pet. They talked about the things that plants need to grow, how plants help us, and how to care for their dirt baby. In April, she brought some of her Rabbits that she is planning on showing for the County Fair and let the kids pet the rabbits. She talked to them about what it takes to show a rabbit and that even kids like her that live in the city can raise and care for animal. And finally in May, she focused on the Dairy Foods project. She talked to them about how Dairy products help your body and different types of dairy products. As a hands-on activity, they made homemade ice cream in a bag. 4.) Every Monday during the month of June, the youth in the summer program have participated in Nutrition Education Classes. The 4-H Agent and the ICAN (Ideas for Cooking and Nutrition) Nutrition Educator have coordinated to provide an hour long nutrition class once a week. The youth got a 5 week in-depth look into their nutrition and ways to improve it. Over 1602 youth has participated in this program. HEALTH: Living • Healthy Lifestyle Choices- Youth must participate in a physical activity every day; ways they can participate are through kick ball, basketball, soccer, and elbow tag. • Healthy Lifestyle Choices- Youth learned to make healthier food choices through their nutrition courses. HEART: Relating • Cooperation- Youth have to cooperate with each other as well as with the Agent to complete task. Youth must be patient by waiting for their turn to speak as well as waiting in line to gather their supplies. Caring • Concern for Others- Youth at Finley Gym are expected to follow certain rules, they can not touch each other, fight or call each other names. They are expected to respect each other, the staff, and things that don’t belong to them. HEAD: Managing • Wise Use of Resources- The Agent brings the supplies for the activities and the youth need to be creative in designing their end product. They are also expected to not waste materials. HANDS: Giving • Responsible Citizenship – Youth learn responsibility by caring for the flower and vegetable plants that they planted. They also learn the importance of making their center beautiful for the rest of the community by planting flowers in front of the building.