4-H After School Program

University of Idaho 4-H will launch the third year of its 4-H Afterschool programs in Plummer and Burley with an extension of funding from the USDA Children, Youth and Families at Risk Initiative.

About $47,000 supports the program at the 21st Century Community Learning Center’s Success Center in Plummer, while $46,000 goes to the program at White Pine Elementary School in Burley, according to Maureen Toomey, director of the Project and a University of Idaho 4-H Extension associate in Caldwell. Offered four days a week, the 4-H Afterschool programs reach about 80 children in Plummer and 30 in Burley.

The 4-H Afterschool curriculum emphasizes science and technology as well as visual and cultural arts and healthy living activities. Participating children have learned to map locations with Global Positioning System equipment, operate digital and video cameras, and use laptop computers to make multi-media presentations.

I asked the director if these kinds of learning experiences meshed well with the 4-H Agricultural background: “Yes potentially because what ultimately we’re doing is teach the life skills, that’s what 4-H is about is teaching life skills.”

The goal is to bring opportunities for positive, after school activities to predominantly underserved low-income and diverse populations.