2012 4-H Projects

My 2012 4-H Projects

I took twice as many projects in 2012, my first year in regular 4-H. Some people thought I was a little crazy, but it really wasn't that hard. I just had to work at it a little at a time all year.

I got lots of different ribbons and awards and three of my projects were selected to go to the Indiana State Fair. Can you guess which ones?

Just scroll down!

Livestock Projects

I took three livestock projects this year, Dairy, Poultry, and Swine.

Dairy

Rosemary II, Jersey heifer

In Dairy, I was planning on showing a calf, but my first calf died of pneumonia just a couple days after we got her (we didn't know she was that sick), and my second calf died in an accident while we were out of town. We were all sad, but these kinds of things sometimes happen on a farm. I decided to do a poster this time and try a calf again next year. But I included a few photos of little Rosemary.

Poultry

We have chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese, but I took one turkey hen named Peeper (I'll tell you the story about her somewhere else on my pages some time) and a pair of Dark Cornish chickens, Friendship the Rooster and Frances the hen.

Swine

In Swine, I took one of our Mulefoot gilts and expected to get a red ribbon because she didn't meet the weight requirements. That didn't matter to me, though, because I think it's important for people to learn about Mulefoot hogs and heritage pork.

You can read about this whole project here.

Horticulture and Conservation Projects

For 2012 I took Garden in Horticulture and Beekeeping and Entomology in Conservation.

Garden

I have helped with our gardens and our CSA for as long as I can remember so doing the garden project was pretty easy. Except for the workbook that I thought was boring at first, but then I kind of liked it.

Beekeeping

You have to read about how my Dad got into beekeeping. I like helping, but I DON'T like getting stung!

I have my own colony that Dad helped me capture and I did my poster on that. The judge gave it a lower mark for originality. How many 9-year-olds do you know who are capturing their own swarm?

Entomology

Dad got me into this one, too. He studied entomology in college.

Personal Interest Projects

This is the category that everything goes in that doesn't really have another category. (Foods has a category but it would have been all by itself so I put it here.)

Foods

I love to cook and learn new recipes! I especially like learning old fashioned recipes. The hardest part about this project is making what they say to make!

Sewing

I like to sew but we don't have any good space for it. I was going to make a different skirt than this one. Mom didn't even take any photos of me making it. But it ended up being selected for the State Fair!

The judge complemented me on my choice of elastic and liked that I have worn this skirt.

Scrapbook

Cropping photos.

There's a photo all the way at the top of the page of me with my scrapbook at the fair. It got a blue ribbon. I might have done better if I had journaled more.

My scrapbook is one of my records of my 4-H years. This website is another one!

Genealogy

Mom got me into this because she loves genealogy, too. I like finding out about my ancestors. I got division champion and State Fair selection!

Collections

I have been collecting coins since I was about 5. One day I was helping Mom sort coins to take to the bank and I noticed that not all the quarters were the same. I started sorting them by date! Mom got me a kid's state quarters collection folder right away. I have collections of all the US coins that we use now and coins from other countries that people have given me. I also have some paper currency. It's fun hobby, especially finding something that's been hard to find!

Abraham Lincoln

I love studying Abraham Lincoln and visiting places he lived and worked. You can learn more about Abraham Lincoln and my project here.