Wirt County 4-H Welcomes the New 4-H Year

Whether you're a returning family or new to 4-H, we are excited you are joining us for the 2019-20 4-H Year. Below are some important things to know. A 4-H Family Guidebook is also available from your club leaders or the County Extension Office that provide in-depth information on exhibiting at the Wirt County Fair, project books, and event information. If you have questions at any time, please reach out to your club leaders or the County Extension Office. You can reach the WVU-Wirt County Extension Office at 304-275-3101.

How many meetings should I attend?

We encourage 4-H members to attend every meeting they can! To exhibit at the Wirt County Fair, a 4-H member must attend 6 club meetings or county activities. Your club may have attendance requirements for paying for camp or attending other events.

When is the deadline to turn in my enrollment form?

Please consider turning in your enrollment form at the first meeting you receive it! We encourage you to turn in enrollment forms to club leaders or the Extension Office by December 1. This helps ensure we can get the project books you request.

All first-year 4-H members are encouraged to take This is 4-H. Older first-time 4-H’ers (12 and older) may elect to take the 4-H: Philosophies and Traditions book in place of This is 4-H. This book is more challenging and is designed for older youth. If you plan to show an animal, you must take a project book and a record book that corresponds to that animal. We encourage all members to enroll in at least two project books each year. There are over one hundred project books to choose from!

How do I complete a project book?

Each project book comes with a scoresheet that explains exactly what you need to do to complete that project. Many project books are multi-year books, meaning you will do 6-7 activities in that book each year for 2-3 years until it is completed. If you're struggling to complete activities, there is a project leader guide for each book that can be checked out of the county office at any time.

• Activities are usually 1-2 pages in your book. All activities are listed at the beginning of the book. You must do all activities and answer all questions within that activity for full credit.
• If you want to do the “More Challenges” activities, usually located in the bottom right or left-hand corner of the activity page, you must write 3-5 sentences about the activity answering Who? What? When? Where? and Why? To get credit for the activity. Just checking off the activity will result in a “zero” for that activity.

Project books are due to the County Extension Office by July 15, 2020. Because most books only require 6-7 activities per year, make it a goal to complete one activity each month. Project books are scored based on effort and completion.

The Extension Office keeps records on every 4-H member. You should call the office if:

• You are changing project books or you will not complete a project book. The deadline to turn in project books you won’t complete is June 1, 2019. If you don’t turn in uncompleted project books by this date, this will factor into your club’s project completion rate.
• You have a change in address, phone, email, or other personal information that was turned in with enrollment forms. This includes health history or media releases.
• You would like to switch to a different project book.
• You have registered for an event and are no longer able to attend.

How will I know what's going on?

Important Dates to Remember