Clubs and projects

4-H clubs and projects

4-H clubs offer positive youth development opportunities to help youth build leadership skills, develop life skills, engage in civic engagement projects, meet new friends and have fun. 4-H projects are led by a caring adult volunteer and youth choose which projects interest them to participate in.

View the 4-H family handbook (pdf) for more information on clubs and projects.

Clubs

Clubs are made up of local youth and adult volunteers and may focus on a single project or a variety of projects. Clubs typically meet monthly and are led by youth officers who are elected to guide the activities of the club.

Youth ages 5 to 18 can join a 4-H club. Some projects have age limits, such as Cloverbuds, which is designed specifically for ages 5-7. Membership age is based on the individual's age as of January of the current 4-H year.

Joining a club

Youth can enroll in 4-H any time during the year. Some projects have enrollment deadlines to show at the county fair. The 4-H year begins on Oct. 1 and runs through Sept. 30 of the following year.

To join a 4-H club near you, reach out to your local UI Extension office to see what clubs and projects are available. Once you have identified a club to join, enroll through our official online platform, ZSuite. The final step is to pay enrollment fees, which vary by county.

If your local office doesn’t have a club or project you are interested in, we can help you start a new 4-H club. New clubs require a minimum of five or more youth from at least three different families, and one or more adults certified as 4-H volunteers. Contact your local county office to learn more.

Club documents

• 4-H club annual plan of meetings and activities
• Annual financial summary and audit certification (excel) (pdf)
• Annual civil rights engagement report (word) (pdf)
• County financial summary form (excel)
• Parliamentary procedure made easier
• Officer's handbook
• 4-H club officers and adult partners
• Installation of officers
• President handbook
• Vice-president handbook
• Secretary handbook
• Treasurer handbook
• Treasurer electronic record book (excel)
• Reporter handbook
• Reporter sample press releases
• 4-H meeting wheel
• 4-H club charter request packet (word) (pdf)
• 4-H policies and procedures (English) or (Spanish)
• Experiential learning model (English) or (Spanish)
• Life skills model (English) or (Spanish)
• 4-H club social media policy
• Fund raising approval form
• 4-H family groups
• 4-H name and emblem use request packet (word) for use by Idaho's 4-H affiliates and councils only
• 4-H name and emblem use request packet (word) for use by Idaho's 4-H family groups only

Treasurer and secretary record books are available through ZSuite.

Download Acrobat reader, Word viewer or Excel viewer

Projects

4-H projects allow youth to learn by doing. Club members typically complete one or more age-appropriate projects per year and present them at local county fairs. There are over 100 projects to choose from in 10 subject areas — whatever sparks your curiosity, there’s probably a project.

When enrolling, youth will sign up for specific projects they are interested in. Most projects have a beginner, intermediate and advanced level — allowing youth to build on their knowledge every year.

Choosing a project

Here are some things to think about as you choose 4-H projects:

• What interests you?
• Does your county 4-H program already have a leader for this project?
• How much will the project cost? Some livestock projects, for instance, require a significant financial investment.
• Do you have enough space to complete the project, and can you get the equipment you’ll need?
• Can your parents or another adult help you with the project (for example, drive you to meetings)?
• Will the project help you grow as an individual?
• How much time will the project take? Some projects take a full year to complete, while others take just a few days or weeks. You may want to do only one or two projects in your first year of 4-H.
• Does the project sound like it's fun and worth the effort?

Project categories

Explore the different project options to see which is the right fit for you.

Self-determined

The 4-H self-determined project option is available to youth 12-18 years of age. It is designed for members to explore appropriate educational interests in subject areas where either: (1) no Idaho-approved 4-H curriculum exists or (2) members have completed all levels of the approved curriculum and desire to continue learning about that subject in greater depth. At no time shall it be used to substitute for currently approved 4-H curriculum.

Furthermore, while supporting member’s creativity, for safety and liability reasons all proposed self-determined project plans (fully completed through page 10 of the member manual) must be submitted to local UI Extension 4-H personnel for review and approval, before members continue with their project. Extension personnel may require plan modifications and/or deny approval of the proposed plan if they foresee potential safety issues or if it does not comply with the parameters set forth above.

Because of inherent risk management issues, self-determined projects related to the 4-H Shooting Sports program are not permitted.

Project sheet

• You decide! Decision making guide (pdf)

Project documents

• Learning through exhibiting
• Speak up with confidence
• Cloverbuds memory book (word) or (pdf)
• 4-H leadership portfolio (word) or (pdf)
• Animal science lesson plans
• Poultry lesson plans
• Permanent individual animal record (word) or (pdf)
• Sample bill of sale (word)
• Sample lease agreement (word)
• Sample horse lease agreement
• COOL affidavit (word)
• 4-H Idaho livestock exhibitors biosecurity reference manual
• Animal welfare volunteer guide
• Animal welfare youth guide
• Market animal weight guidelines

4-H project and animal project record books are completed through ZSuite.