Guide to Successful 4-H Meetings
Set The Climate
It takes more than a comfortable room to set the climate for a fun, successful 4-H club meeting. Physical arrangements such as lighting, temperature, and equipment are important factors. However, the 4-H members, parents, and visitors should feel welcome.
Ideas: Greet people as they enter the room
Play Mood Music
Put up posters or thought provoking quotes
Provide display, exhibits, or hands on experiments
Measure Your Time
Pre-meeting Activities – 5-15 minutes
Business Meeting – 15-20 minutes
Educational Program – 30-60 minutes
Recreation/Social Activities – 15-20 minutes
Pre-meeting Activities
Pre-meeting activities can bridge the gap between the time members begin arriving and the time the actual meeting begins.
Activities Mixers
Word games
Puzzles
Business Meeting
A club’s business session should be democracy in action. It may be the member’s first or only experience with parliamentary procedure. During 4-H club meetings members learn to express themselves in a group, listen to the views of others, use votes to reach decisions, and abide by majority rules.
Sample Business Agenda
Call to Order
Pledge of Allegiance
Roll Call
Introduction of visitors
Read and approve minutes
Treasurer’s report
Committee reports
Unfinished business
New business
4-H Pledge and Adjournment
Educational Program
The most important part of a meeting is the educational program. Members benefit by learning new ideas on subjects, speaking skills, how to organize discussions, and lifelong skills.
How People Learn
Read…………..20%
Hear…………..20%
See……………30%
Hear and See…50%
Say……………70%
Do…………….90%
Recreation/Social Activities
Recreation should be a part of every meeting. Recreation helps members continue the atmosphere of fun and interest as well as getting to know one another.
Ideas Small group games
Relays
Active Sports
Picnics
Hikes
Puzzles
Charades
Mix in Praise and Recognition
For a 4-H meeting to be successful, the meeting must provide a vehicle for individual growth and achievement. During the meetings, it is imperative that opportunities are provided for success. Tell members how much you enjoy working with them and look for positive points about their personality and what they contribute to 4-H. Encourage them in their failures and applaud their successes.
Involve Others
People care about what they are a part of. As you work to make 4-H club meetings fun, the most important step to insuring a strong 4-H club is involving 4-H members, parents, and community leaders. Make the 4-H club you are working with not YOURS but OURS. The 4-H members in the club need a sense of sharing in the club’s objectives and activities.
By consciously striving to “Make the Best Better”, your 4-H meetings can be fun and successful.
Taken from “Guide To Successful 4-H Meetings” by Janet E. Fox, Extension 4-H Youth Development Specialist, Southeast Research and Extension Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln