The chill of winter is here and children are wishing for lots of snow. From the warmth of your home or office, check out Extension's Winter Storm Resource Center web site at www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/winter/. The site has useful as well as fun information about winter storms, winter health and safety, and Have Snow Shovel, Will Travel.

Children and youthful adults will enjoy the activities in the Fun in the Snow web section. The site will surely brighten up a dull winter's day. Enjoy this site as learning can be fun.

If you spent more on holiday gifts than you intended, you're not alone. Nearly one-third of adults say they spend more than they should during the holidays. One survey showed most spent $100 to $500 more than they planned. And, for some, this means a hefty credit card debt for the New Year.

If you used your credit card a little too freely during the holidays, strive to pay the balance as quickly as possible. After the holidays, some credit card companies offer to let you skip a payment or two. Or, the company may even reduce your minimum payment. Don't be tempted to take these offers because you'll pay more in the long run through interest costs.

Paying just the minimum amount on the credit card balance each month is dangerous to your financial health, too. You might be surprised how long it will take you to pay off your bill. For example, if you have a credit card balance of $1,825 at 18 percent interest and pay only a minimum monthly payment of $28, it will take you 21 years to pay off the balance and cost you over $5,000 in interest. And, that's with no additional charges on the card over those 21 years!
To see just how much the interest cost affects your debt, use Extension's on-line credit card calculators at: www.ace.uiuc.edu/cfe/credit/index.html. This website also allows you to figure out how much you need to pay each month in order to pay off your balance in a certain amount of time.

If you don't have Internet access, call the office at 333-7672 and ask Steve or Angela for information about managing credit card debt.

Plan to attend the Credit Card Smarts workshop on January 20 at 7 p.m. or January 26 at 10 am. Call the office to register for this free program.

The Champaign Extension staff recently hosted a lunch to thank the media for their work with our staff and programs. The entire local staff was present as well as the Champaign Center Educators to help the media contacts learn of educational resources available through our office.

Many young people are involved in playing sports. Whether in youth leagues, school athletics or neighborhood games, the lessons learned between the sidelines may stay with those young people for a lifetime.

Adults have the responsibility to ensure the lessons learned from participation in sports are positive ones. We sometimes fail that responsibility by sending messages that convey winning is everything. Not everyone can finish first but everyone can achieve sportsmanship through competition.

How do you behave at athletic events? What values do you exhibit as a fan at a sports event? Here are some suggestions to guide your behavior:

• Remember that you are at a contest to support and yell for your team and to enjoy the skill and competition, not to intimidate or ridicule the other team and its fans.
• Remember a ticket to an athletic event is a privilege to observe the contest, not a license to verbally assault others and be obnoxious.
• Show respect for the opposing players, coaches, and spectators. Treat them as you would treat a guest in your own home. Refrain from taunting or derogatory remarks about your opponents.
• Respect the integrity and judgment of game officials. Understand they are doing their best to promote the student-athlete, and admire their willingness to participate in full view of the public.
• Enthusiastically support your team but win and lose with dignity. Be a good fan, not a fanatic.

The values of people who participate in sports, including spectators, not only shape our culture but reflect it. This places a significant responsibility on those who influence sports - administrators, teachers/coaches, athletes, cheerleaders, fans, and parents to adhere to ethical standards and sportsmanship in the pursuit of victory.

Pursuing Victory With Honor is a sportsmanship campaign developed by the Josephson Institute of Ethics. University of Illinois Extension staff have received training to implement local programs with sport enthusiasts to emphasize character building, ethics, and sportsmanship.

This program can be introduced through a sports team, student council (cheer group) or a parent group. If you would like to learn more about this program, contact Marilyn at the Extension office.

More than 475 adult volunteer leaders and teen leaders from the Midwest and Canada gathered in Peoria, IL for the North Central Region Volunteer Forum on November 14-16. The forum promotes learning and sharing on all aspects of 4-H, leadership development, youth and adult partnerships, keeping teens involved, international opportunities, character education, Positive Youth Development (PYD), involving parents and more.

As part of a community service project, volunteer leaders collected more than 830 pounds of non-perishable food items and $350, which was donated to the Peoria Area Anti-Hunger Coalition.

Magic Play Time, a program for parents of infants and toddlers, held a holiday celebration on December 12, 2003 with eleven families in attendance. While others intended to join us, the flu bug had other ideas! We made play doh kits, magic reindeer feed, candy cane seed packets, decorated gift bags with stickers, and compiled picture albums of the many friends who have taken part in the group over the past two years. Everyone brought refreshments and had a great time talking and sharing with each other!

It's a new year and a new chance to organize or re-organize your home or office. Here are some tips to help you.

• Reduce the number of items stored.
• Sort items into three boxes:
  • Keep
  • Maybe
  • Discard
• Consider storage before an item is purchased.
• Buy items that serve multi purposes.
• Store items near where they are used.
• Store together all items used together.
• Store frequently used items in spaces most easily seen and reached.
• Return items to their place after use.
• Keep storage needs flexible.
• Sort mail when you receive it.
• Set up a schedule to "declutter."
  • Set a timer.
  • Do one room each month, week, or day.
  • Involve all family members to "help."

As we prepare for the summer exhibit shows, we will be making some local changes to accommodate the new schedule for the Illinois State Fair. The major change will be: Not all exhibits will be conference judged at the State Fair. Most projects selected for State Fair at our 4-H Project Expo will be taken to the fair in early August, judged, and then put in a display for the duration of the fair.

It will be necessary for every 4-Her, family and leader to read the 2004 Program Guide carefully. Additional updates will appear in future newsletters. Many of the exhibit changes will be discussed at the 4-H Leader's Meeting held in the Auditorium on Wednesday, January 14 at 6:00 p.m. Any interested person is welcome to attend this meeting.