Under the Sea Workshop

I spent the beginning of last week at a conference in Roanoke but I came to the office Thursday, ready to finalize the Under the Sea workshop I hosted Friday. We also did some last minute shopping Thursday. The participants that came on Friday ranged in age from 5-8 and were a great group to work with! We had lots of fun learning about sea creatures, making sea crafts, playing sea games, and making new friends. It was a full day but we enjoyed a few snack breaks and lunch with Finding Nemo. Everyone had fun and learned something at this great workshop! This week will be spent getting everything ready for camp! Camp starts Monday!! :)

A couple of the Egg Carton Crafts we did at the workshop

Virginia 4-H State Congress 2014

We arrived safely Monday and had a HOT first day of Congress. Opening assembly, district meetings, and the cookout were fun and a great start to State Congress. It was fun getting in the groove of Congress and seeing old friends from all over the state.
Tuesday started with a tasty Virginia Tech breakfast, some workshops, and then lunch. After lunch everyone went to different workshops, then ate dinner, went to district meetings, attended a carnival, went to the 2014 Congress photo (which included glowsticks!), then enjoyed an ice cream social sponsored by the Virginia 4-H All Stars. Since I am a 4-H All Star I got to help out again this year and was in charge of the whipped cream! Definitely the best job ever! I helped out with a Lifesmarts workshop Tuesday morning, which is a trivia question competition with lots of cool facts! I learned A LOT of new things while I was watching the youth delegates participate in a mock competition. Before we got to the workshop I successfully got all 15 of the delegates to follow me around the first floor of one of the buildings on Tech's campus 2 times, and asked directions twice before we got to the right building/floor/room. The teens were not impressed with my navigation skills. I also walked around to find the room I have to take teens to tomorrow morning at 8! I'm more prepared this time and am really glad I found it ahead of time. Today was a busy, hot day, but so far, these first 2 days of Congress have been fun, educational, and did I mention, hot!
Wednesday we had the college/department tour, I took the business school delegates to the proper room and got to help the teens create business plans and was a judge while they presented their product ideas. The coolest name one the groups came up with for their idea was "California Calzone Zone", however "Suncell" won with their idea of solar powered smart phone charging cases. After the business department tour everyone headed to a 100 years of extension celebration meal which was cool! All Star tapping was done on the Ag Quad after that, and then the awards/share the fun winners were announced before a dance began. Lots of changing outfits and running around was done that day!
We packed up the cars on Thursday, ate breakfast, and attended the closing ceremony before heading back to Charlottesville. Congress has always been my favorite summer activity and I am glad I was able to go once again! We all had fun and were ready for a nice nap when we got home! :)

My First Week

The first day of my internship was Monday, June 2nd. I fully expected a busy summer when I first applied for this internship, and it is obvious that this summer will be full of fun and adventures with Albemarle/Charlottesville 4-H!
I started off Monday, June 2nd with a lot of important internship paperwork, but when I FINALLY finished that, Karrin and I met with Ian and the Albemarle/Charlottesville FCS/ANR intern, Morgan, to discuss the upcoming presentation we had with Monticello High School AP Economics students on Friday. After the meeting I began researching the 5 day camp workshops I am in charge of this summer. The topics are Under the Sea for 5-8 year olds, Wacky Science for 5-8 year olds, Recycled Arts and Crafts for 5-8 year olds, Recycled Arts and Crafts for 9-13 year olds, and a STEM workshop for 9-13 year olds. Karrin and I will also have a hiking "workshop" in August but that one does not require tons of planning by me. I'm excited to be able to host these workshops and look forward to meeting the 4-H youth from the area!
After my first staff meeting, I spent Tuesday copying, organizing, and stapling together about 100 camp packets (about 13 pages in each packet...which equals 1300 pages total!) for the 4-H campers attending camp with us this summer. Karrin was at Holiday Lake so I took over her office and had a table, desk, the floor, and 6 chairs covered in papers! I cleaned it all up before she got back though! :)

Before: Papers to go into Each Camper's Packet 

After: 100ish Finished Packets

Wednesday I spent the day cleaning out the 4-H cabinet full of supplies from many different activities that had accumulated in the cabinet from previous years. The most interesting things I found in there were some old leaf stamps and a dog print stamp that were super sticky and falling apart. I also went to the Downtown Mall for the first time to attend a Main Street Ag Day Meeting. I met new people from around the city and learned about this event that is taking place in September and I am excited to come back in a few months and see how the whole thing turns out! There are going to be TONS of awesome exhibits and demonstrations and I am excited to see what I learn through working with this event and attending it!
Thursday, Karrin and I found a drawer full of old pictures, documents, and a journal from past 4-H agents. The journal dated back to 1922 and included the names of Bessie Dunn and many other women who greatly influenced Albemarle/Charlottesville 4-H. We set up a meeting with the historical society for June 11th to see if they can help us figure out ways to preserve and display the items we found. I can't wait to see what the Historical Society has to say about the things we found.
Friday was a fun day! Karrin, Ian, and I went to Monticello High School and talked to 3 different sections of AP Economics students about online banking and entrepreneurship. It was the students' last day of classes before exams and I was impressed with the level of interest they showed in what we talked about. I was able to include some student information and experience because I was familiar with the content we talked to them about. Friday evening we had a camp class sign up night. This was where campers came and filled out the sheet of camp classes they want to take at camp. I never realized how big of a deal camp classes are, but we had a good turnout and it made me even more excited for summer camp!
My first week was a success and I am excited to see what the rest of the summer will bring! :)

The New Intern :)

Hey guys! I'm Caroline, the 4-H summer intern for the Albemarle/Charlottesville Extension Office. I am a rising senior at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, VA, pursuing an Elementary Education major, Spanish minor, Business Administration minor, and English as a Second Language endorsement. I grew up on a small farm with cows, horses, laying hens, a donkey, dogs, and cats in Rockingham County which is about an hour Northwest of Albemarle/Charlottesville. My parents own a small retail greenhouse business and I have grown up working with plants my whole life. I was a 4-H member and showed steers through the 4-H livestock program at the Rockingham County Fair for 6 years. I became a Rockingham County 4-H ambassador and teen leader and took advantage of 4-H Interstate Exchange and was able to travel to Montana and Minnesota through that. I have had opportunities to travel to DC and Richmond with 4-H leadership groups and have made many new 4-H friends through my travel experiences. I attended 4-H State Congress at Virginia Tech every year I was allowed to, I was a teen counselor with Rockingham County's 4-H Summer Camp at Smith Mountain Lake, and I was selected to attend National 4-H Congress in Atlanta, GA in 2011 as one of seven Virginia State Youth Representatives. I was on the 4-H Programming Committee and helped plan and host cooking and craft workshops for 4-H youth as well as help with Rockingham County's Relay for Life. I have held leadership positions in the Plains 4-H Club and the Rockingham 4-H Interstate Exchange Club and competed in Avian Bowl and Poultry Judging at the local, state, and national levels. I was tapped in as a 4-H All Star in 2012 and have found ways to stay involved in 4-H since I graduated high school in 2011. Last summer I was the summer intern at the Greene County Extension Office and this summer I am excited to meet all of the 4-Hers in Albermarle/Charlottesville. The first few days at the office have been fun and I cannot wait to have an awesome summer here!