INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING A ST. MARY’S COUNTY

4-H RECORD BOOK

One of the most important “Life Skills” a 4-Her will learn is to keep good records. Completing a record book is a good way to learn this skill. Record books document knowledge and skills that you have learned and also the progress and achievements you have obtained in 4-H. The written record tells about your experiences in leadership, citizenship and community service.

All 4-H club members are asked to submit a 4-H record book with all completed projects. Clover members are not required to complete a record book. Here are some tips for completing a “Blue Ribbon” Record Book.

Tips:

  • Your record book should be filled in throughout the year as you participate in events and activities. Don’t wait until the last minute to complete your record book. If you have completed a project already, fill out the record sheets now. That will be one less thing to do later.
  • To avoid forgetting what you’ve done throughout the year, write down your activities in your record book as you go. Don’t try to remember everything you’ve done in the past year.
  • Use a three-ring binder to keep all of your 4-H “stuff” in one place (newspaper clippings, newsletters, pictures, project supply receipts, etc.). You’ll know just where to look when you need information for your record book.
  • Be consistent and neat and write clearly. It’s important that others can read your writing. Take your time to write legibly and use black or blue ink. Or, download the forms and use a computer to complete your work. The summary and project records are available to download at
  • Do not leave any section blank. Write ‘none’ or ‘n/a’ on the first line when you have no information to put in a specific section.
  • Proofread your information before turning in your record books. Check your spelling and grammar.
  • Make sure your record book is assembled in the correct order (see instructions for assembly).
  • Signatures are required on all forms. Your signature states that everything you have written is true and accurate. Make sure you allow time for your club leader and parent/guardian to sign your record book before the deadline.
  • Have someone take pictures of you with your 4-H project (i.e., sewing your outfit, fitting your animal, giving a demonstration, etc.)

Please do not include ribbons, medals, fair entry forms, or programs in your record book.

CRITERIA FOR A COMPLETED PROJECT

  1. A Project Record Sheet has been completed for each project area.
  • If you participated in a non-animal project, use the 4-H Project Record form
  • If you participated in a market livestock project, a Market Livestock Project form should be completed.
  • If you participated in a breeding animal project, the 4-H Large Animal Project form should be completed.
  • All other animal projects should be completed on the correct species form (i.e. horse, dog, small pet)
  1. An illustrated talk or demonstration in the project area has been presented during the current project year.
  2. Project work has been exhibited for thatproject area.
  3. At least oneproject picture with a caption has been included in the record book. Each project requires at least one picture.
  4. Participate in a minimum of two (2) county-wide4-H events.

COMPLETING THE St. Mary’s County 4-H Summary Record

Page 1

  1. Complete information about yourself.
  2. Goal: include what your “goal(s) as a 4-H member” were for the current year.
  3. List your projects: write all the project categories you have completed this year and include the number of years you have been working in each project area. You should only include completed projects.
  4. Signatures: make sure you have all signatures on forms and records, including yourself, parents and leaders. It will be your responsibility to arrange with your leader for his/her signature. Leaders are not to sign blank forms.

Page 2

  1. Club Participation: Check the box for the months where you attended the club meetings. If you have more than one meeting a month, add a check for each meeting you attended.
  2. Committees &Offices: Writeif you held a club office (i.e., President, Treasurer, etc.) during the year, any committees you served on, and other roles you played in your club. This could include leadership,teaching events, camp counselor, organizing a special event for your club, or membership on a county or state 4-H Committee.
  3. Promotional Activities:List any 4-H publicity that you did, either alone or with your club. This can include interviews shown on TV, newspaper articles that you wrote, radio announcements you recorded, help that you gave on displays or club fair books, advertising or club flyers you designed or helped to distribute, or participation in a membership drive. Remember, you should have been a part of the activity.
  4. Communications Activities: List any communication activities you participated in that are not listed on one of your project record forms.

Page 3

  1. Awards and Honors: Include 4-H awards from judging contests, outstanding 4-H Member, record book awards, spirit awards, county, district and state level programs/contests awards and recognitionNOT included as part of your project work. Exhibits you put in the fair but did not carry as a project can also be listed here.
  2. Journal of Activities, Events, and Experiences: Include all events you participated in during the year that are NOT listed on your project record. Some events include the Achievement Banquet, officers’ training, camps, Spring Show, dog shows, Dog Bowl, rabbit show, State Fair, County Fairs, workshops and contests, training programs, trail rides, or community service projects.

COMPLETING THE ST. MARY’S COUNTY 4-H PROJECT FROMS

One 4-H Project Record form should be completed for each project area. Those enrolled in animal projects must fill out the appropriate form for each species (Market, Livestock, 4-H Large Animal, horse, etc.) - see next page.

NON-ANIMAL PROJECTS

Page 1

  1. Fill in your name, 4-H year, club name, level, years in 4-H, and date of birth
  2. Complete Project Information: Include project name (crafts, woodworking, etc.); number of years you have worked in this project area, the date you started the project, and date you completed the project this year. Remember that all activities and demonstrations for the current year must be completed by December 31.
  3. Goals: Write what you wanted to accomplish in your project during the year.
  4. Title of Project Manual:If using a project manual for this project, list the name of the manual you are working from and complete the information related to that manual. If you did not use a manual, write N/A for this section.
  5. Conclusions: Tell about what you learned, problems you encountered and what you were encouraged to do this year in your project.
  6. Signatures: Make sure you have all signatures on forms and records. It will be your responsibility to arrange with your leader for his/her signature.

Page 2

  1. Project Communications: Use this section to list any judging contests, demonstrations, illustrated talks, public speaking,etc., you have given that relate to this project only.
  2. Learning Experiences: Include activities that helped to enhancing your project work. List any 4-H related activities, meetings, trainings, etc., you participated in that helped you in the specific project area.
  3. Project Exhibits: List any informative displays, items made, or shows participated in where the public is the majority that sees the exhibit. It must relate only to your project area.

Page 3

  1. Project Financial Journal: All project areas have expenses - craft supplies, cooking supplies, seeds, patterns, frames, equipment, etc. If your parents or sponsor purchases or gives the items to you, the cost should still be listed. If your parents pay for the feed for all farm animals, figure out what your reasonable share would be if purchased separately. Don’t forget to include entry fees as expenses and premiums earned as income.

ANIMAL PROJECT FORMS(ONE PER SPECIES)

PAGE 1

  1. Information about member – name, age, club, etc. Select project species – beef, sheep, etc. (complete one form for each species).
  2. Goals – Write three goals you set for your project this year and how you achieved those goals.
  3. What did you learn – write two things you leaned this year
  4. What would you improve in your project – is there something you would like to change? (i.e. better rate of gain, better confirmation, etc.)

PAGE 2

  1. Life skills – refer to the Life Skills diagram to tell what 4-H life skills you learned in your project work this year (one for each “H” - Head, Heart, Hands and Health)

Page 3

  1. Project Activities: Include activities that helped to enhancing your project work. List any activities, meetings, trainings, webinars, etc., you participated in that helped you in the specific project area.
  2. Project Communications: Include all speeches, demonstrations, or illustrated talks you have done about this project.
  3. Project Exhibits: List any fairs, shows or community events in which you participated. It must relate only to your project area.

PAGE 4-7 (or 6)

  1. These pagesinclude specific information about your animal project. Additional information requested includesyour expenses, such as how much you spent on items such as food, veterinary, supplies, etc. Also includedis information about your project income, such as how much you earned in premiums, sale of animal, etc.
  2. The last page is the financial summary. This is where you will add your income from the income tables listed and deduct your expenses from the appropriate tables listed to find out the cost of your project work.

How to Assemble Your 4-H Record Book

Items should be placed in the following order:

  1. 4-H Table of Contents
  2. Introduction
  3. 4-H Summary Report
  4. 4-H Projects (animal projects and non-animal projects)
  5. 4-H Project Pictures, News Clippings, Correspondence
  1. Table of Contents: Type or write the above list and make sure it is the first page of your Record Book.
  2. Introduction Page: This page is your introduction. It should have a picture of you, centered on a piece of plain, unlined paper. Do not put a title on this page or decorate it. Under your picture you should list the following information: Name, 4-H Age, Address, Club, and County
  3. 4-H Summary Report: Refer to the St. Mary’s County 4-H Summary Recordinstructions.
  4. 4-H ProjectRecords: Include only 4-H projectsin which you have met the requirements for completion(see criteria for a completed project above). A Project Record form (either animal or non-animal is required for each project area listed on your Summary Record(i.e., goats, crafts, foods, etc.).Project Manuals are not required to be included in your record book. However, if the manual is beneficial to your project, please feel free to include it in your record book. Manuals should be placed behind the Project Record form for that project.
  5. The Leadership and Veterinary projects require written responses. It is also necessary to see what work has been completed in the current year. You will need to submit your responses to the questions/activities you did for the current year. The page with your response must be titled with the Project area, page number, question number, and your response. These may be stapled together and placed behind your Leadership/Veterinary Project Record. A Leadership/ Veterinary manual will be provided to the judges by the 4-H office.
  6. Independent Study: Independent study is only for 4-H Members who have completed all three levels of a specific project. A written informational study on the topic you chosemust be included. It should be between 3 - 5 pages and should be placed behindthe Project Record sheet for that project area.

2)4-H Pictures, News Clippings and Correspondence: This section should include pictures of your projects, news clipping and any correspondence you have received.

  1. Pictures - Each picture must have an informativecaptionexplains the picture. These pictures should be of you doing your project work. One picture per project area is required. The caption should include the project area if not obvious from the picture. After you have your REQUIRED project pictures, you may also add club activity pictures, special 4-H event participation, etc.
  2. 4-H News Clippings – These clippings can be taken from Newspapers, Newsletters, or an article you wrote for your school newspaper on 4-H, etc. Tell where the clipping came from and the date it was published. Clippings should be placed chronologically, oldest on the bottom. Your name or club name should be underlined or highlighted. Do not put the entire page of a newsletter in IF it has sections that do not apply to you.
  3. 4-H Correspondence–Include any correspondence you received relating to 4-H. It can include personal letters of congratulations or thank you cards for 4-H related work you or your club has done. Smaller thank you cards or notes can be glued to one side of an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of plain, unlined white paper, in such a way that they can be opened by the judges.

It is required that you keep at least one previous year’s work in your book. Put this year’s project work on top of the previous year’s work. This allows the judges to see “growth” in project work if this is not your first year in 4-H. Move your project manuals up to the current year (if needed), but leave your record sheets in the previous year.

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