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My main emphasis during my years as a 4-H
Leader was to introduce young people (mostly girls) to the basics of cooking
and sewing. In the process of teaching these homemaking skills, I strived
to emulate integrity, flexibility, morality, leadership, and role modeling.
Encouraging each youth to do the best they could was an on-going goal. Helping
them to visualize the benefits of learning new skills each year was important
for their self esteem, especially in sewing. Eventually, the club members
and I developed our own foods (cooking) program. members worked side by
side with the older ones, learning by example; teaching and helping each
other without really knowing what was happening.
My most significant personal growth in being a 4-H volunteer has been in
the area of flexibility – to make changes and adapt the learning techniques
to fit the members and their needs. 4-H is a wonderful vehicle for teaching
basic homemaking (and other) skills to young people. As our world keeps
changing, many of these skills may be lost along the way. Cooking and sewing
are just as much an art form as painting and design. The offshoot of these
two very basic projects can lead to a wide variety of interests and careers.
Working with 4-H youth is a joy that has given me innumerable rewards.
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