Hobbies And Interests
Potato Sack Races
Since the 4-H club is an agriculturally based organization that often has rural farmers as members, potato sacks should be relatively easy to come by for a club meeting. You will need one sack for every two members who will race. Members pair up with a partner and each put one leg in the sack so that their legs are side by side and each still has one leg free. This game is challenging because of the teamwork involved in making your leg move simultaneously with your partner's leg. Hold the sack up so that it doesn't fall. When a leader blows the whistle, the teams will run to a finishing point. If a team falls, it can still get back up and continue in the race. The first team to successfully reach the finish point wins.
Can Stilts
This game combines arts and crafts with a fun game involving physical exercise. Ask each member to bring two empty tin food cans from home. Have rope, scissors and a drill handy. Older kids or mentors can use the drill to poke two holes on each side of the upside-down tin cans near the closed end of the can. Members and mentors then cut the rope long enough to fit from their feet to their mid-section twice, meaning double the length from their feet to just below the chest area. String the rope through the can holes and bring the rope up through both sides of the can until the rope is at a length equivalent to just below the chest area. Put the cans under your feet, hold onto the ropes with each hand and practice walking. When the kids are comfortable, hold a slow-paced race walking on these newly-made stilts.
Chinese Chicken
Have members take their shoes off and line them up straight with approximately a foot of space between each shoe. One person begins as the "lame chicken" by hopping over each shoe on one foot consecutively until reaching the last shoe. She then picks up the last shoe and starts hopping over the row of shoes again. That turn continues by hopping on the opposite foot and picking up the last shoe until she falls, drops a shoe or hits a shoe while hopping. When one of these circumstances ends a turn, the next person goes. The player who was able to successfully collect the most shoes is the winner.
Animal Charades
Animal charades is ideal for a 4-H group because members are often familiar with a variety of animals and the characteristics and behaviors of farm animals. Choose one player to go first. Use a sand timer to flip for one minute of guessing. Once the timer is flipped, the person who is "it" will stand up and mimic a barnyard animal's movements and motions or facial expressions without making any sounds. The person to successfully guess the animal first is the next player to be "it." Charades is a game where a winner does not necessarily have to be declared, but you could keep score and name a winner according to who had the most number of correct guesses throughout the duration of the game.