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4-H School Enrichment Programs

Gloucester County 4-H offers hands-on educational enrichment programs designed to supplement the school curricula. These programs are free and available to any school, camp, library or daycare center in Gloucester County. The programs are presented by a Gloucester County 4-H staff member and last about 40 minutes.

Youth Development Educators at the Rutgers News Jersey Agriculturla Experiment Station, Cooperative Extenion, have developed these programs. The CCS numbers listed with each program indicate the NJ Core Curriculum Standards on which the programs are focused.

Contact Information for all programs: 856-307-6450, Ext. 3.

Butterflies, Butterflies, Butterflies
Grades K-2
Core Curriculum Standard: 5.1, 5.5, 5.10
The life cycle of the butterfly is offered in this program geared towards children grades K-2. Children learn how a caterpillar becomes a beautiful, colorful, different creature.

Colonial Food And Fiber
Grade 4
CCS: 5.2,5.5, 6.1,6.2,6.4,6.5,6.6
Utilizing a program developed jointly with 4-H of Rutgers Cooperative Extension and the Curator of the Ann Whitall House, 4th graders can experience New Jersey history, learning how food was prepared and served on an 18th century plantation. They will also learn how New Jersey colonials grew and processed natural fibers into cloth and made clothing. Some children will take a step back in time as they try on colonial costumes.

Food Safety
Grades 3-5
CCS 2.1, 5.1, 5.5, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4, 6.6
Children will learn about different types of bacteria that can cause food-borne illness: E-coli, listeria, salmonella, and staph. Discussion will include why it's important to keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot, and how proper hand washing is the effective way to help rid us of bacteria. Using a black light demonstration and some "glowing germs," children will see how bacteria appear on their hands.

Hungry Caterpillar
Grades Pre-K-1
CCS 2.1, 5.1, 5.5, 5.10
We're using the popular story "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle as a tool to teach children more about positives of fruits and vegetables, from taste and nutrition to the fun of "pick your own." Children will also learn about the relationship between insects and produce as they follow our caterpillar puppet on its "hungry" journey to become a butterfly.

Kids Under Cover
Grades 3-5
CCS 2.1, 5.1, 5.4
This joint effort by Gloucester County 4-H and the American Cancer Society is teaching skin cancer awareness and prevention to children in a fun way. Activities include discussion about ozone depletion, determining your risk factor from overexposure to the sun, and learning ways to protect your sking using ACS's Slip Slop Slap. The presentation is wrapped up by each student making his or her own UV detection bracelet (beads turn colors when placed in UV light).

Spiderrific
Grades 4-6
CCS: 5.1, 5.5, 5.10
This program will show that spiders are terrific creatures to observe and study. The students will learn basic characteristics of spiders, why they should not be afraid of them, and basic types of webs and how spiders keep from sticking to their own webs!

Embryology In The Classroom
Grades 2-5
CCS: 5.1, 5.3, 5.5, 5.10
Egg-splore the science of embryology from egg to chicken. A 4-H educator will come to your class to introduce the project, help get the eggs started properly, and provide directions to create a simple device to candle the eggs. A complete curriculum is available for purchase. Incubator may be borrowed from RCE for a small fee. Call to reserve it.

Don't Trash The Planet!
Grades 3-6
CCS: 3.3, 4.1, 5.1, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.10, 6.1, 6.2
Gives a basic understanding of how the garbage they produce has an impact on the environment. The basics of the 3R-s-Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. How they can make a difference by reducing the amount of garbage going into landfills. How to make changes in the way they purchase and dispose of products in order to benefit wildlife and the environment.

Tree-Mendous Fun
Grades 2-3
CCS: 5.1, 5.3, 5.5, 5.10
This program teaches how to tell the age of a tree by counting its rings, the products that come from trees, how tree seeds travel, and the parts of a tree and how they work together.

As Big As A Whale!
Grades 4-8
CCS 4.3, 5.1, 5.3, 5.5, 5.10
Discussion includes the differences between whales and fish, information about the Order of Cetacea, the wide variety of whales and their sizes, and the shapes of whales, the difference between baleen and toothed whales, and the differences between whales, dolphins and porpoises. Basic math skills are used with regard to dimension and scale.

Good To the Last Drop
Grades 3-6
CCS: 4.1, 5.1, 5.4, 5.5, 5.8, 5.10, 6.1, 6.2
The focus of this program is water quality and conservation. Discussion includes the use and effect of water in our everyday lives, the movement of water in the water cycle, the importance of and methods of water conservation, and the importance of and methods for maintaining water quality.

Amazing Butterflies
Grades 3-5
CCS 5.1, 5.5, 5.10
A variety of brief activities help students appreciate the diversity of these fascinating creates. Discussion will include how to tell a butterfly from a moth, where one can find a chrysalis, and how to plant a "butterfly cafeteria."

Get Moving Get Healthy
Grades 3-12
The Get Moving-Get Healthy With New Jersey 4-H action kits, display, and curriculum were developed to address the issue by providing an interactive and fun way to learn healthy habits. The curriculum has three major focus areas: identifying portion sizes, understanding My Pyramid, and learning easy ways to exercise. The kits include the following activities: Exercise Challenge, Finding Your Pyramid, Healthy Plate, Measure Up, Portion Distortion, Read The Label, Serving Match, Think What You Drink, and What Counts. Each has a lesson plan and provides options for expanding the learning experiences.