4-H Judging Teams

By: Sheldon D. Barker

While riding a pontoon boat on Reelfoot Lake one can’t help but be awed by the plants and animals adapted to live in such a unique place. For those of us who had never been to Reelfoot Lake, and for those who had, there could be no better way of seeing or learning about the lake. The Sequatchie County Senior High 4-H Wildlife Team had just such an opportunity three years ago. Learning about the wetland environment, and the plants and animals that live there was just part of the trip. The other was the opportunity to represent Tennessee at the National 4-H Wildlife Judging Contest. Since then the team has traveled to the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, and to Natchez Trace State Park, learning firsthand about the wildlife of Tennessee.

One of the many great opportunities 4-H offers is Judging Teams. My best memories as an agent and as a 4-H member are Judging Team trips. Over the last few years Sequatchie County has had four state winning Judging Teams (that we can find records for), two state winning Forestry Teams in 1970 and 2011. The 2011 Forestry Team placed third at the National 4-H Forestry Invitational in 2012. The Sequatchie County 4-H Land Judging Team which, although runner-up at the state contest, competed at the National Contest in Oklahoma in 1975. In the Family and Consumer Sciences area, there was a 1989 Diary Products state winning team, and a 1995 Interior Design winning team. Add to this a long list of regional winning teams. Sequatchie County has a great history of competitive judging teams.

Judging teams are a great way to learn about a subject area, as well as develop skills such as teamwork, leadership, goal setting, and decision-making. Currently, Sequatchie County has four active judging teams Wildlife, Forestry, Consumer Decision Making and Life Skills.

Life Skills

Being a part of the Life Skills Judging team allows junior high youth (6,7,8 grades) to participate in a fun and competitive way while learning valuable life lessons. Youth have the opportunity to become sales clerks counting back correct change, baby sitters choosing appropriate toys and games, a fitness coach selecting the appropriate exercise routine or a myriad of other scenarios that prepare them hands-on for life. Each team will compete in four various stations that have a Family and Consumer Sciences emphasis.

Consumer Decision Making

Do you love to shop? Consumer Decision Making is just the team for you! Youth in grades 9 -12 learn how to evaluate different products by value, purpose and quality. Teams then compete to make the best purchasing decisions based on this knowledge. Students may “shop” for sunglasses, jeans, ipads, backpacks and so forth. Consumer Decision Making trains young people to develop a critical eye for quality, a keen sense of value and excellent decision making skills while enjoying the thrill of competition. Judging team members when comparing alternative items for purchase. Team members are also challenged to represent themselves well through oral reasons.

Wildlife Judging

What do black bears need to survive? Or wild turkey? Could you identify a song sparrow by its song? Wildlife judging is an opportunity to learn about wildlife: how to identify various species, what they eat, what are their habitat needs. Participants have to identify wildlife species, evaluate habitat, and complete a test. Wildlife Judging is open to all 4-H members.

Forestry Judging

Is it an oak or a maple? What bug is this eating on my tree? 4-H Members in Forestry Judging learn to identify trees, insects and diseases that affect trees, how to measure a tree, and how to make forest management decisions. Forestry Judging is open for 4-H Members in 4th to 11th grades.

Photo: Members of the 2011 Senior 4-H Forestry Team preparing for National Contest 

Saving For College: Graduating With the Least Amount of Debt

February is National America Saves month.  One of the greatest debts we can ecru is that of paying for our child’s education beyond High School.  By June most recent high school graduates know what college they are going to, but many of them may still not know how they are going to pay for it. We’ve heard the stats that the average debt students have upon graduation has skyrocketed to $35,200, according to a recent Fidelity survey, and that the costs of attending college increase 6% each year. College is still a great investment for most students, especially with some planning ahead of time to help keep debt to a minimum. It’s still true that those with a bachelor’s degree will earn $1 Million more over their lifetime than those who only complete high school.

The challenge is to graduate with as little debt as possible.  Katie Bryan, America Saves, lists three ways to help keep student debt to a minimum:

1. Create a College Savings Plan

Just like savings for retirement, it’s good to save early and often. There are many ways out there to help you save, from a 529 account to Savings Bonds. Tip to find extra money to save: If you can save an extra $300 a year ($25 a month at 5% interest, compounded monthly for 18 years) you will have an extra $8,766.43 to put towards tuition bills.

Haven’t created a college savings plan yet? Pledge to Save with America Saves and you can set your savings goal and create a plan to reach it. You can even sign up for text message tips and reminders to help you reach your goal of saving for college.

2. Shop Around For Schools and Free Money

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created atool to compare the costs of different colleges. Their tool will let you compare financial aid offers so you can see how all those numbers impact your payments down the road.

Apply for as many scholarships as you can. $500 here and $1,000 there can go a long way to helping pay for college. Many students also stop looking for scholarships once they enter college, but keep applying each year. Need some inspiration? Check out the article “How I won$100,000+ in college scholarships” by Ramit Sethi.

3.  Find Ways to Reduce Spending (or Earn Money) While in College

Live at Home – Living on campus can cost anywhere from $7,500 to $9,000 per year. Consider living at home during college (if you can) and you can save nearly $40,000. You can still get a full college experience by joining clubs and being active on campus.

Get a Part-Time Job – Look for a job on campus or a paid internship to supplement your income and pay for expenses like food, books, and incidentals while in college. The more you can pay upfront the less your monthly loan payments will be when you graduate. For more tips on how to save money visit our site americasaves.org.

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America Saves, managed by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), is a non-profit research‐based social marketing campaign that seeks to motivate, support, and encourage low- to moderate-income households to save money and build wealth. Learn more at americasaves.org

Children and Chores

Doing chores is a tradition in many families. Chores help kids learn responsibility, and sharing chores gives you help around the house.

Not sure your kids will go for it? Take heart! Matt Devereaux, a child development specialist with University of Tennessee Extension says there are ways to make chores a little bit, well, less of a chore for everyone. Here are a few of his recommendations:

·  Don't insist on perfection. No one is perfect, and it's better to have a more relaxed approach to how well your kids do their chores. Otherwise, you might have a struggle on your hands. Or you might jump in and do it for them, which would undermine the whole point.

· Don't delay. You might think your child is too young. But kids can do a lot of chores at an early age, and they'll learn by doing.

·  Don't be stingy with praise. Get that praise going right away! Don't wait until the chore is done. Praise and encourage the child while the chore is in progress. You want to build positive momentum, especially with young kids.

· Don't be inconsistent. If your kids aren't expected to regularly follow through, they might start putting chores off in the hope that someone else will do them.

Devereaux recommends that families create a list of every job it takes to keep the family going. “Have kids pick out the chores they'd most like to do,” he said. “Then create a chart to track progress.”

Should your child get an allowance for chores? Usually not, Devereaux says, quoting most parenting experts.  “Chores are partly about responsibility and partly about learning household tasks. They're not focused on earning money. Yes, kids need to learn how to handle money, but not by doing chores they're supposed to do anyway,” he said.

“It's especially important to not tie allowances to chores for younger kids.  That's because a younger child may be less motivated by money and simply choose to not do them,” Devereaux adds.

There's an exception: For older kids who already know how to be responsible, money can become a nice motivator for doing extra chores above and beyond their usual tasks.

Devereaux lists these tasks as age-appropriate chores:

Chores for children ages 2 to 3
·        Put toys away
·        Fill pet's food dish
·        Put clothes in hamper
·        Wipe up spills
·        Pile books and magazines

Chores for children ages 4 to 5
·        Empty wastebaskets
·        Clear table
·       Pull weeds if you have a garden
·        Use hand-held vacuum to pick up crumbs
·        Water flowers
·        Unload utensils from dishwasher
·        Fix bowl of cereal

Chores for children ages 6 to 7
·        Sort laundry
·        Sweep floors
·        Set and clear table
·        Help make and pack lunch
·        Weed and rake leaves
·        Keep bedroom tidy

Chores for children ages 8 to 9
·        Load dishwasher
·        Put away groceries
·        Vacuum
·        Make own snacks
·        Wash table after meals
·        Put away own laundry
·        Cook simple foods, such as toast
·        Mop floor

Chores for children ages 10 and older
·        Unload dishwasher
·        Do laundry
·        Fold laundry
·        Clean bathroom
·        Wash car
·        Cook simple meal with supervision
·        Babysit younger siblings (with adult in the home)
·        Clean kitchen
·        Change their bed sheets

UT Extension provides a gateway to the University of Tennessee as the outreach unit of the UT Institute of Agriculture. With an office in every Tennessee county, UT Extension delivers educational programs and research-based information to citizens throughout the state. In cooperation with Tennessee State University, UT Extension works with farmers, families, youth and communities to improve lives by addressing problems and issues at the local, state and national levels.
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Article written by: Matt Devereaux, University of Tennessee Extension Specialist.

UT Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Programs

By: Sheldon D. Barker

We live in a unique place. Am I a bit biased in that opinion? Yes, most likely I am, but who can blame me. Just look around at the mountains, the valley, the trees and wildlife, where we live is unique in many ways.   

The Sequatchie Valley is an anticline, the result of folds in the rock, and the erosion of water. The Geological feature itself stretches from the Crab Orchard Mountains southwesterly to Guntersville, Alabama. The Sequatchie River drains the northern part of the valley, and from South Pittsburg, Tennessee south the Tennessee River. The Cumberland Plateau marks the western side of the valley and Walden’s Ridge the eastern side. The seventy-five mile or so expanse in Tennessee is known as the Sequatchie Valley, and Sequatchie County sets at the very heart of the valley.

The uniqueness is not limited to the geology. According to some sources, the region is one of the most diverse ecologically. With seventy-five percent of the county forested, there are many opportunities to benefit from our natural resources both economical and recreational.

The soils of the county are very fertile, thus agriculture is and has been very important in the county. There are 232 farms in Sequatchie County (2007 Census of Agriculture) with 28,675 acres in production, the market value of products sold is about $4,943,000, with livestock sales making up about 90 percent of the total value.

With such a diverse and rich natural environment, the Agriculture and Natural Resources programs of The University of Tennessee Extension are very important. Extension offers many programs and services to farmers and landowners.  From soil test and fertilizer recommendations, to insect, weed and disease identification and control recommendations, all researched based. There are also classes on vegetable gardening, beef and forage production, and forestry and wildlife management, just to name a few. Keep following us here and in our other media outlets to learn more about Extension.

Check out our website at https://utextension.tennessee.edu/sequatchie/ for more information.

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