School will soon be out for the summer and what are the youth going to do? Youth who are active in the 4-H program have many summer opportunities to participate in.
Youth have several camp opportunities to choose from. Discovery Days for the older youth allows them to live on the Kansas State University Campus for 3 days (June 7-9) and experience a variety of SPARK Sessions ranging from Leadership to Business to Ag to Drones and much more. Youth who are 7-9 years old can experience Camp Lakeside near Scott City on June 14 & 15. They will enjoy numerous activities with a pirate theme this summer. If you are wanting to go to a livestock camp, Seward County Community College is hosting one on June 9-11. K-State is also having a horse judging camp and State Judging contest on June 13-15. There is even an Insect Spectacular in Manhattan on June 16 & 17.
Older Youth who would like to help at our summer camp need to attend the Camp Counselor Training in Garden City on May 30th. We are also looking for counselors to help with the Superstar Livestock Show on June 24th to teach special needs youth how to groom and show sheep and goats.
There will also be Day Camps and other learning opportunities in all our counties. We will have two District Interns throughout the summer that will be offering activities. Be watching our District 4-H Newsletter for dates.
Want to be prepared to take your projects to the fair? There are a variety of Project Meetings that are scheduled for this summer. These include Shooting Sports, Horse, Rabbits, Foods, Swine, Livestock, Reading, Rocketry, Crochet, Clothing, Archery, Plant Science, Photography and many more. Our awesome project leaders have prepared learning opportunities for youth to make sure they are ready for the summer shows and fairs.
Livestock and Horse Shows are great places to gain experience, confidence and long-lasting friendships. The SW Area 4-H Horse Show on June 10th is one of those opportunities to show your horse. The 2nd Annual Superstar Livestock Show is a show that is organized and run by our District youth who share their show experience and leadership with special needs youth.
Maybe your youth would like to help paint parking lines at some Hugoton church lots or clean gravestones in Haskell County to prepare for Memorial Day. These are two of the community service projects your youth could participate in this summer.
Our summer usually ends with our County Fairs. All the hard project work done by youth during the summer will be on display at our County Fairs. Our Wild West District dates are Haskell County and Stevens County fairs are July 22nd to the 29th with a few pre-fair activities during the few days before the fair. The Seward County and Five State Fairs are August 6th to the 13th.
If you would like to participate in any of these activities, more information can be found in our monthly 4-H Newsletters. Please feel free to contact our County Extension Offices or any of our agents to get involved in the 4-H program.
