2008 - 2009 Club Activities
Monday, October 27th, 2008
The Minisink Critters are back for another great year with a full schedule of activities and projects.
In September we met at our local park for one of the messiest projects ever! We used black walnuts and poke weed berries to naturally dye fabric squares. Club members tried two different methods to color their cloth. One method was to make two dye baths, simmering the cloth in each dye color for about 1/2 hour. The other was to simply rub the nuts or berries directly onto the fabric. The results were interesting and surprising (as well as beautiful).
In October we met Stiles and the Hudson Valley GleanMobile at a local farm to help harvest butternut squash. We collected enough to fill the box truck 2/3 full! The squash was then donated to local food pantries and soup kitchens. Later that month, we met and made scarecrows which were used to decorate our leader’s truck at our community’s annual Halloween celebration.
In November our club took part in a second gleaning opportunity, this time picking apples at a local orchard. Later in the month, we harvested grapevines from the woods and made beautiful wreaths to decorate our homes for the holidays, or to give as gifts.
In December we enjoyed a planetarium show featuring the winter night sky and its constellations. We also learned how the winter solstice inspired various celebrations in ancient cultures. At our second meeting, we made beautiful holiday centerpieces using a variety of evergreens, pine cones, flowers and candles.
At our first meeting in January we presented our ideas for which country to select for this year’s International Night. The island nation of the Bahamas received the most votes. Club members discussed what items we could display and what aspects of Bahamian culture to investigate. At our second meeting we created our diplay board and practiced our skit.
Our club participated in International Night in February where we served Coconut Bar Cookies, tropical fruit punch and presented our skit highlighting the facts we learned about the Bahamas. Later in the month club members and parent leaders all enjoyed a fun afternoon of bowling along with several other of the county’s 4H clubs.
Several club members prepared and presented public presentations in March on a variety of interesting topics including: Calf Care, Ski Gear, Apple Cider Making, Cattle Feeds, Football, and Cats as Pets.
In April we started our woodworking projects, learning how to hand sand, measure, and apply paint and stain, as well as how to safely use a power sander and a router. We also took a field trip to Lynhaven Goat Farm to learn about raising dairy goats and making cheese.
We finished our woodworking projects (wind chimes and ribbon racks)during our first meeting in May. At our second meeting, we made burlap sack container gardens for growing potatoes.