4-H is alive and well in Mapleton Township. With all the excitement around 4-H Ontario celebrating 100 years and the Wellington County Association not far behind with 2017 as its 100th anniversary, the Mapleton Lifeskills 4-H club has had a busy year learning and having fun.
Nov. 4 was National 4-H day and club members celebrated at their meeting by wearing the 4-H colour green. This year their projects have taken them from cooking to playing Sports to shopping and learning the skills of catering.
Organizers note all this fun has been packed into the year while keeping the goals of the 4-H program at the forefront. 4-H members are encouraged to put the 4-H motto “Learn To Do By Doing” into practice to learn self-confidence, communication, leadership skills, problem solving and goal setting. Projects this year involved about 19 members aged 9 to 18 under the leadership of Cathy Dobben and Lynne Flewwelling.
The Catering Club gave members a chance to learn what it takes to prepare, serve and clean up at large events. Under the guidance of local caterer Arlie Zantinge, the members were able to practice these skills as they helped her with a number of functions.
Consuming Passions meetings had members learning everyday life skills of budgeting and shopping and becoming better consumers. Holding executive positions for this club were president Alexis Kuper, vice-president Brianna Flewwelling, secretary Shayna Morphy and press reporter Rebecca Gray. Over the course of the six meetings, the group learned how to spend money wisely, banking, setting budgets, getting the best buys, advertising and warranties. The members went shopping with a budget for materials to make a table centerpiece and toured the Drayton Food Market and the Elmira MCC Thrift Store.
A Sporting Chance club allowed members to learn how to activate both their body and mind. Holding executive positions for this club were president Matt Brodhaecker, vice president Kelsey Flewwelling, secretary Tate Driscoll, press reporter Brianna Flewwelling and youth leader Andrew Grose. Members played gaga ball, board games, they made kites and with a bit of wind they attempted to fly them, and went bowling. Youth leader Andrew instructed them on archery and each member was given the opportunity to shoot some arrows. The group completed the project with a new and challenging sport of bubble soccer.
The Power of Produce had members exploring different fruits and vegetables and learning ways to increase their daily intake. Holding executive positions for this club were: president Shayna Morphy, vice-president Rebecca Gray, secretary Alexis Kuper, press reporter Madison Martin and youth leaders Kelsey Flewwelling and Jordan Dobben. Members learned how fruits and vegetables travel from the farm to their homes. They practiced preparing fruits and vegetables for cooking. The group also toured the Reapers of Hope in Moorefield to see how vegetables are dried and processed into soup mixes.
And still in progress is the Chocolate Project. Labeled as “The Food of Gods,” members are learning everything about chocolate.
Holding executive positions for this club are: president Madison Martin, vice-president Tate Driscoll, secretary Brianna Flewwelling, press reporter Clare Cashin and youth leaders Kelsey Flewwelling and Jordan Dobben.
