4-H Adventures

The name, 4-H Adventures, reflects the excitement and wonder children bring to learning. To young children, life is an adventure! We hope that participation in the program will serve to reinforce not only the children's excitement for learning, but also a sense of adventure within the adults who participate in the program.

What Adventures Members Gain:
-A positive self-concept
-Life skills that enhance self-understanding, social interaction, decision-making, and physical development
-Knowledge in sciences, literature, and the arts through the experiential learning process
-Positive attitudes about learning
-Ongoing relationships with caring adults and older youth
-Family and community relationships
-An understanding of and appreciation for social and cultural diversity.

The Learning Environment for K-3 Children
The 4-H Adventures program reflects a child-centered approach and attends not only to the materials used to teach young children but also to the environment in which they are taught. Young children need support and encouragement. Adventures Leaders can promote young children's development by forming positive relationships with their members and by supporting relationships between members and their parents.

Children learn best when they are actively involved. The Adventures program promotes hands-on activities that are designed to provide members with an opportunity to experiment and explore.

For young children, the learning process is more important than a finished product. Competitive activities are developmentally inappropriate for children of this age range. Children are encouraged, instead, to learn through cooperation. Cooperation means that Adventures members work in small groups and depend on each other to accomplish goals. Cooperative learning encourages the development of social skills, teaches children to work together, and enhances self-esteem.

Basic Materials

The following materials are offered without charge to leaders and families participating in the 4-H Adventures program.

4-H Adventures Leader Guide (4-H 6810L)
Every 4-H Adventures leader should obtain and read this guide prior to meeting with members. The guide offers a comprehensive overview of the 4-H Adventures program, contains helpful information about the developmental characteristics of K-3 youth, and shares ideas on how to provide a successful program for them.

4-H Adventures Family Guide (4-H 6817L)
Every family participating in the 4-H Adventures program should be offered this guide. It provides a comprehensive overview of the 4-H Adventures program and it suggests ways that families and leaders can work together on behalf of Adventures members.

Off to Adventure (4-H 681L)
Off to Adventure is a leader guide that offers 24 individual activity plans drawn from science, nature, community, animals, expressive arts, and foods. The guide also provides information on how to work successfully with children in grades K-3 and how to structure the 4-H Adventures club experience. Off to Adventures may be the basic curriculum guide for a club, or it may introduce topics that club members will explore further with additional resource materials.