Applications for the semi-annual CWF trip to our Nation's Capitol are due to our office by January 20. The cost is $915, scholarships are available from the Champaign County Extension Education Foundation. We encourage teens age 15 and over to apply. Applications are available from our office or at http://www.4-h.uiuc.edu/events/

The trip is July 10-17. You will travel by bus and stay at the National 4-H Center. Through small group sessions, 4-Hers will learn about federal legislation, political parties, the Bill of Rights, and how to make a positive impact on your community. Plus you will tour many of the historical sights of Washington D.C. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Join us Wednesday, January 14 for Fran's homemade vegetable soup beginning at 6:00 p.m. Alison will provide a surprise dessert. We'll share the State Fair changes and give you an opportunity to ask questions.

Leaders who attended the North Central Leaders' Forum in November will share highlights of what they learned. This will be a very informative meeting with many details for you to share with your club members. Please call to R.S.V.P so that we may have enough food.

High school seniors or junior college transfers are encouraged to apply to live at 4-H House on the U of I campus. The 4-H House was founded in 1934 to provide girls who were 4-H members for at least five years to live at a reduced cost. 4-H House is a cooperative style of living meaning all household duties are shared among the residents.

Interviewing for Fall 2004 will take place February 21 & 22 and March 5 & 6. Applications are available from the Extension Office and are due by February 13th.

4-H Bowling at Arrowhead Lanes is rapidly approaching. As in past years, we are in need of 4-H members to make the event run smoothly by helping with registration, scoring and passing out prizes. The event is March 13, 2004. Check-In starts at 9:30. Members interested in helping with registration will need to be there at 9:00 to check in bowlers. They will bowl two games and you are needed to help add the scores together and pass out prizes. Also, older 4-H members are always good at teaching younger 4-H members how to bowl. If you want to help and also want to participate in the tournament, we will make certain you can do both. Anyone interested in helping call Alison at the office by March 5, 2004.

Bowling Registration
March 13 • 9:30 a.m.
(must be registered by March 5, 2004)

Name ___________________________________________

Address _________________________________________

Club ____________________________________________

Age (as of 9/1/03) ________ Phone ____________________

Circle one: Boy Girl

Cost: $3 per person.
Make checks payable to: University of Illinois Extension

Don't miss out on these fun workshops! Sign up today.

Snakin'Attack
-Monday, January 26, 6-7:30 p.m. in the Auditorium.
Learn some basics and prepare a fun snack with Donna Falconnier, Extension Educator, Nutrition and Wellness. Call early- only one space left!

Room Stylin'
- Monday, February 23, 6-7:30 p.m. in the Auditorium
Specialists from Murphy Design Associates will discuss ways to enhance a room.
Creepin' Crawlers (sessions full)

All workshops are free but we may ask you to bring some items to certain workshops. Call 333-7672 today to make all your reservations. Registration is required.

4-H families can join the St. Louis Cardinals as they play the World Champion Florida Marlins on Saturday, May 15. Although game time has not yet been set, Cardinal officials promise it will be a day game.

Tickets are $21 per person for Terrace Reserved seating. The price includes your ticket, a free t-shirt, and an opportunity to be in a 4-H parade on the field just prior to opening pitch. As in previous year, a scholarship raffle will also be part of the ticket order form. For $1 per chance, your name will be entered in a drawing to throw the first pitch of the game, to be one of six lucky people - 3 from Illinois and 3 from Missouri- to be on the field for batting practice, to receive some great ticket packages for future Cardinals games, or to win Cardinal memorabilia. This year, there are also chances for 4-H singing groups or choirs to sing during the seventh inning stretch.

Order forms will be available at the Extension office in early February and must be postmarked by April 1.

The second annual Illinois 4-H Jr. Leadership Conference is back and is for 7th and 8th grade 4-H members. The conference will bring together younger teens from across the state to have some fun, share experiences, and learn the basics of being a leader. The theme and logo, Leaders Under Construction, illustrates how members can "build leadership skills" that they can use when they return home.

The conference is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, March 6-7, 2004 in Champaign. Youth will stay at the Hawthorne Suites, attend workshops, meet new friends, and have a great time with an outstanding speaker and entertainment. Delegates will learn skills and information that you can share with your club, county, and others when you return home.

Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first served basis, as space is limited. Registration forms are available at the Extension office and must be returned by January 23, 2004. Scholarships are available. Adult chaperones are needed as well.

Twenty members of the DreamCatchers 4-H club and their parents, along with their leader, Marilyn Whalen ventured to Monticello on Sunday, November 9 to learn about glass blowing and enjoy the opportunity to make their own glass blown ornament. Prairie Fire Glass, owned by Jim Downey and Laurie Rumery welcomed them upon their arrival.

First, Jim demonstrated how to make a glass blown ornament. He gathered molten glass onto a blowpipe from a furnace where it's kept at 2100 degrees Fahrenheit. The glass is blown and manipulated by the artist, Jim in this case, at the end of a blowpipe. It is a hot, complex and challenging process. Depending on how much air you blow determines the size of your ornament.

Each 4-H member chose what color ornament they wanted to blow. Some of the colors included: amethyst, dark blue, dark green, cherry red, cranberry, purple, and more. You could also add white to any of the colors.

Once the 4-H member made their color choice, Jim began to work with the molten glass. When ready, the 4-H member prepared for their next job, which was to prepare to blow into the blowpipe when Jim brought over the hot glass. Speedily they wiped the end of the blowpipe with an antiseptic wipe to clean off any germs, and then they followed instructions on when and how hard to blow. All the while Laurie quickly turns the blowpipe while Jim is manipulating the glass. As they blew, the members saw their ornaments start to form. Once it reached its final size, Jim took it over to another station and placed more hot clear glass on top to create a hook that could be used for hanging the ornament.

Then the ornament had to be annealed (cooled) in an oven, which starts at 920 degrees and is gradually lowered to room temperature over about 24-36 hours. Pieces incorrectly annealed will crack or explode in the oven. Luckily, every one of the DreamCatcher ornaments was perfect in the end.

All the 4-H'ers had a wonderful time and look forward to displaying their glass blown ornaments. If you are interested in visiting Prairie Fire Glass or learning more about glass blowing, you may contact them at 217-762-3332 or e-mail laurie@prairiefireglass.com.

- Marilyn Whalen, leader

Over 60 4-H members and parents joined the Teen Leaders group on November 1 at the Extension Auditorium for games, contests and good food.

Rachel Roth welcomed all those in attendance and the fun began. Lori Berbaum and friend took care of the face painting, while Arik Miller and Lydia Bernett helped participants guess the weight of the "turkey pumpkin" and jar of candy corn.

Whitney Springer and Jackie Campos helped lead the group in several games, while Alison and Ryan Hays organized group family pictures.

Everyone enjoyed hot dogs, chips and dessert before ending the evening with the "iggle" song. This is the first social event planned by the new Teen Leaders group, and they hope to have another one possibly next spring.

Any 4-H member between the ages of 13-18 is encouraged to join this group. More activities are planned monthly, including a self defense class, and there are even more possibilities. If you are an interested teen please contact Marilyn Whalen at 333-9295 or e-mail at marilyn_whalen@hotmail.com.

The next teen leaders meeting is January 10.

My favorite activity at Space Camp was when we did a mission. A mission is when some people are in a shuttle simulator, others in the mission control room, and still more in the space station. I got to be the pilot in the shuttle! It was lots of fun! The Space Camp museum was awesome. We also got to go on a lot of simulators. My favorite was the moonwalk where you got to sit in a special chair hanging from the ceiling. Another was where you sat in a chair in the middle of three rings and they spin you around in every direction possible. At the end of camp they had a space bowl and then we all graduated.

(4-H Missions in Space trip took place October 10-12 in Huntsville, Alabama. Along with Daniel, Kaliegh Sides also attended. Daniel's father, Les Gioja, went as a chaperone.)

- Daniel Gioja

The Sunshine 4-H group went to Panera Beread on Thursday, October 2, 2003. To begin our field trip, we went to the oven and realized that their breads, cookies, and brownies are baked on a rock and the rack is picked up and spinned around so the food would cook evenly!
Second, we went to the room where they make the food. We found out that they don't make the soups fresh. They get the soups in a plastic bag. Since the soups are frozen, they put them in boiling water.

We went into the refrigerator where they kept the food fresh. We also went into the freezer, brrr! Then after all of that, we went to take a quick look at how the drinks were made. We were all hungry so we all got something to eat.

 

- Kaitlyn Duchien