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4-H Record Books and Portfolios

Record Keeping for Club Members

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Every 4-Her should keep a Record Book and turn it in every year. Not only is it a component of the
NJ 4-H Member in Good Standing Policy, but record keeping is a life skill that is critical for
college and job readiness!

New for 2024 – Gloucester County 4-H will be piloting a new form of recording keeping for projects.
For those that would like to take part in this pilot program, these portfolios would take place of
your traditional record books. Both versions will be accepted and members can choose the style of
record keeping that works best for them.

Traditional 4-H Record books can be found here: https://nj4h.rutgers.edu/recordbooks/

− Please use the Record Book Evaluation Sheet as a reference and when turning in your completed book at
the end of the 4-H year, include dividers between each section.

4-H Record Portfolio (Pilot Program)

Record Portfolio Instructions for 4-H Members: A completed record book portfolio should include all
of the below components:

  1. Summary Record – All of your activities (4-H and other) throughout the year are recorded here as
    well as highlights of your projects (communications, awards, activities, etc.)
  2. 4-H Story (Sample 4-H Stories) – As the final page of your Summary Record, there is space to write
    a story about your 4-H experience last year. Add additional pages as needed and be creative! You
    can summarize your year, talk about what you learned from your favorite project, or show how 4-H
    changed you.
  3. Project Records – You should have one project record per project/species. For
    member’s in more than one club, you can select your primary club from the above list and add an
    additional project record for each project area using the below:
    ⮚ Dog Project Record
    ⮚ Horse Project Record (Horse, Pony, VSE)
    ⮚ Livestock Record (Beef, Dairy, Goat, Sheep, Swine)
    ⮚ Small Animal Project Record (Rabbit, Cavy, Small Animal, Herpetology)
    ⮚ General Project Record – for all non-animal projects like Arts & Crafts, Food, and Leadership.
  4. Project Pictures – You can include up to 4 additional pages of project pictures. Keep in mind that
    we are looking for 4-H in action!

− Please use the Record Portfolio Score Sheet as a reference and when turning in your completed book at the end of
the 4-H year, include dividers between each section and project.