Minisink Critters 4-H Club

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.

The Minisink Critters 2007-2008  

In OCTOBER ~ Everyone enjoyed a craft project making original creations using Perler beads.Club members went apple picking during a field trip to Och’s Orchard.  Our club participated in gleaning, harvesting apples at a local orchard for donation to local food pantries. Read more about this on our “Community Service” page! Members participated in the town’s Halloween Trunk & Treat by decorating our Group Leader’s truck with a Charlotte’s Web theme!

During NOVEMBER ~ Our club participated in gleaning for a second time, harvesting apples at another nearby orchard for donation to local food pantries. We also had fun putting together shoe-box Christmas gift boxes for donation to Operation Christmas Child. We packed boxes with school supplies, personal hygiene products, small toys, arts & craft supplies, and hard candy ~ then wrapped and donated the boxes for distribution to needy children around the world.

In DECEMBER ~ We took a Field Trip to Manza Farms. It was a really cold day, but riding in a buckboard wagon pulled by a trio of mules was the highlight of our visit! We met again later in the month to make Star Memory Books, a photo-craft project.

JANUARY ~  During our two meetings, we prepared for the upcoming 4-H International Night by choosing a country to present, sampled different countries’ food recipes, then developed our presentation and created our display.

In FEBRUARY ~ Our club enjoyed participating in International Night for the third year in a row! This year we chose Brazil as our country. In 2007 we chose Australia and in 2006 we chose Guatemala. See the three delicious foods we served at our display booth by visiting our “International Night” page!

In MARCH ~ Several club members prepared 4-H Fun Talks and Public Presentations, they then presented their topics and posters for evaluation and judging.  We also took a field trip to a local Environmental Center for a Maple Sugaring tour to see how sap is harvested and made into maple syrup. 

During APRIL ~ Club members learned about weaving by making a simple loom, then used basic weaving technique to create a small piece of cloth from yarn.  We also made soda bottle terrariums using pebbles and plants (”weeds”) found at our local playground.

In MAY ~ Our meetings and field trips focused on gardening. We planted a sunflower garden at our local resource center, visited a commercial greenhouse, and grew Iroquois “Three Sisters” container gardens.

In June ~ We  built and launched model rockets, had a picnic at the playground, and got our fair entries ready!