4-H Teaches Life Skills By Doing
4-H kids getting some horse time at Friday Market. Photo by Patty Miller
Michelle McAfee - CRR Staff
Patty Miller, the Kenny Lake 4-H Club leader, puts a lot of heart and time into the youth program, and wouldn’t have it any other way. 4-H teaches life skills by allowing kids to roll up their sleeves and do hands-on, experiential learning in almost any subject. The program is part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska’s land grant university, offered by the Cooperative Extension Service.
Last summer, Brad Kimberlin dressed in a white bee suit leaned over a green “super,” the top box in a stack of three on a beehive, and reached in. A handful of kids, also dressed in white bee suits with screened hats draped over their heads, looked on as the beekeeper pulled a frame from the hive, loaded with honeycomb and dripping with bees.
Beekeeping and collecting honey with Brad Kimberlin, Lazarus, and Zaphora Kimberlin. Photo by Patty Miller
Miller said, “The bee project this summer was awesome! It opened the kids’ eyes to what you can do in a small area, how much you can get out of it.” According to Miller, it wasn’t the greatest bee year, but the kids ended up with eight quarts of honey from one hive.
Through the summer, the kids took care of the bees, closely connected to the process under the tutelage of local beekeeper, Brad Kimberlin. “A lot of the kids at first were scared and thought the bees would sting them, but, the donated bees were really calm and it was a great experience for them,” said Miller. It didn’t take long for the kids to stop fearing the bees and have fun with the experience.
Another highlight of the summer for the Kenny Lake 4-H Club was horse training. The Club borrowed horses for the program; one of them was a year-old “little filly.” Miller used her own knowledge and worked with the kids. She said if the kids made a mistake, they would talk about what went wrong and then do it a little differently to see the other result.
By the time the young horse went home, the kids could lead her on a rope, pick up all her feet, and turn her out to co-mingle with other animals. “The kids did a wonderful job with her. They understood they needed to be patient, calm, and quiet with this filly,” said Miller.
A young horse in training with 4-H kids. Photo by Patty Miller
The Club hosts fundraisers to support local programs and pay $27 per year in dues to 4-H, allowing them to participate in activities across the state. The yearly fee also opens access to information, books, and summer fairs where kids can participate in showing animals and crafts. 4-H is also community funded through donations and the effort of volunteers.
The nonprofit is organized under the National 4-H umbrella and breaks out to state, district, then individual clubs like Kenny Lake. Their slogan is “Learn By Doing.” The name 4-H comes from four values that form the foundation of the organization’s learning: Head, Heart, Hands, and Health.
“Different leaders lead individual clubs and it’s all volunteer when you get down to the district levels. Nobody gets paid for it,” said Miller. At least not monetarily. The benefits for kids, leaders, volunteers, and the larger community are priceless.
4-H programs teach kids time management, accomplishment through completing projects, learning opportunities in making mistakes, trial and error, and how to be responsible citizens. Miller said, “We teach all the little things school leaves out because they have to teach certain things. 4-H teaches everything, just as life lays it out.”
This last year, the Kenny Lake District offered archery, rifle, horses, beekeeping, working with goats, and a petting zoo where younger kids could learn about different animals. Some kids also did crafting and sold their work at the Bazaar. The money made from sales was used to buy more materials to make more crafts.
Kenny Lake 4-H also partnered with the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP), which allowed the kids in archery to compete in the state 4-H contest and the NASP competition.
In the last few years, two kids from the state attended the National Shooting Sports Contest, and Miller said she is hoping one more will follow this coming June. She is also hopeful that some of the 4-H Archery kids will compete in Utah next year through NASP.
4-H Archery practice. Photo by Patty Miller
Several 4-H kids showed livestock at the Kenny Lake fair this summer. In the past, Miller’s son Joseph showed animals in competition at other state fairs. Miller said it’s hard to travel at certain times of the year, so the Kenny Lake Club kids aren’t always able to make it to the larger fairs. “Some of those fairs are long, and you have to stay there the whole time. If a family has small children, it’s hard for them to leave the area and take their kids to the bigger fairs,” said Miller.
In the Copper Basin, the Club has learned to be flexible. They meet as often as possible, but if some people are sick or can’t make it, they just don’t meet. The goal is to meet as a whole club once a month.
If adults or parents want to get involved, they can run a club, teach a subject, or volunteer time with Miller’s Club. “If they want to run a club, they have to sign up on the state website as a leader and get a background check, then do a couple of classes for mandatory reporting,” explained Miller. Safety is the main objective of 4-H.
“If parents only want to volunteer time, they don’t have to jump through all those hoops. They can contact me to work out available times. If they want to teach or do a specific project that I don’t have as much skill in, I prefer them to be the leader, so I don’t give kids the wrong information,” said Miller.
Kids who want to be part of 4-H need their parent’s permission to sign up. Once she has permission from parents, Miller works with kids to get them signed up for whatever projects interest them. She said, “Then, they just need to show up to the meetings and be part of it. Get to know the other kids and be there to help out. The biggest thing is showing up and being part of it.”
4-H connects kids with things they love while creating a safe environment for learning new life skills. Miller said it’s equally impactful for adults and leaders, who can reach and benefit so many kids through involvement with this program.
People who want to volunteer or sign up for a project can contact Patty Miller or find her at a 4-H event – she attends nearly every one. Sometimes people ask her what the 4-H pledge is. Her voice softened and there was a long pause before she clearly spoke from her heart,
“I pledge my head to clear thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health for better living - to my club, my community, my country, and my world.”
For more information on 4-H, visit alaska4h.org. To volunteer, lead, or join 4-H, call Patty Miller at (907) 953-2075 or email: millerrabbits73@gmail.com.