Brain Storming Help Needed

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GLZ

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Mar 24, 2008
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So I have been asked to give a presentation tonight to a 4-H club.  Unfortunately the leader of the club gave me no direction even when I asked for it.  In his words "oh you'll figure something out".

So does anyone have any ideas for a topic to present.  My audience is apparently about 10 kids from the ages of 10-14.  Several are just getting started showing cattle on the county level, and a few show/ride horses but have little interest in cattle.

I thought about doing something on the importance of record keeping, but I can't imagine being able to keep their attention with that.
 

Dusty

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Feb 13, 2008
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StillLearning said:
So I have been asked to give a presentation tonight to a 4-H club.  Unfortunately the leader of the club gave me no direction even when I asked for it.  In his words "oh you'll figure something out".

So does anyone have any ideas for a topic to present.  My audience is apparently about 10 kids from the ages of 10-14.  Several are just getting started showing cattle on the county level, and a few show/ride horses but have little interest in cattle.

I thought about doing something on the importance of record keeping, but I can't imagine being able to keep their attention with that.

Do it on beef carcass.  Talk about grade and yield etc...  Have some pictures of a couple good carcasses and then some bad ones..
 

box6rranch

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I think kids would be interested in gestation periods, calving unassisted, assisted and C section procedures. Maybe throw in the colostrum etc. Pictures would be good. You could talk a little about genetic defects.
 

dori36

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Central Lower Michigan
StillLearning said:
So I have been asked to give a presentation tonight to a 4-H club.  Unfortunately the leader of the club gave me no direction even when I asked for it.  In his words "oh you'll figure something out".

So does anyone have any ideas for a topic to present.  My audience is apparently about 10 kids from the ages of 10-14.  Several are just getting started showing cattle on the county level, and a few show/ride horses but have little interest in cattle.

I thought about doing something on the importance of record keeping, but I can't imagine being able to keep their attention with that.

If you focus solely on beef cattle, I'd suggest talking on what to look for when selecting their calves for the showring.  You can talk thickness, length, standing wide behind from the earliest age.  Throw in disposition, clean fronts/underlines, extension up front.  And, finally, how do they travel couple with overall soundness.  Pictures of good and bad would be good if you can find some.  I'm unclear on whether the group will be mixed - horse people and cattle people together. 
 

LN

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That was kinda rude of the leader not to give you any direction. What about leadership opportunities available in 4-H and the importance of being involved.
 

AAOK

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LN said:
That was kinda rude of the leader not to give you any direction. What about leadership opportunities available in 4-H and the importance of being involved.

I believe this is on the right track.

My first thought for a program would be titled; "Dedicated to Success".  A very general talk about what it takes to excel at what ever the task might be.


 

GLZ

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385
It is kind of upsetting that he didn't give me any direction, but I must say I wasn't too surprised. 


I thought about going very basic, but at the same time something I can tie to both horses and cattle.  I believe I could put something together on basic nutrition. 

Possibly show them how to read a feed tag, something along those lines.

Any good sites anyone knows of for handout material etc, lessons, etc.
 

pjkjr4

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Oklahoma
StillLearning said:
It is kind of upsetting that he didn't give me any direction, but I must say I wasn't too surprised. 


I thought about going very basic, but at the same time something I can tie to both horses and cattle.  I believe I could put something together on basic nutrition. 

Possibly show them how to read a feed tag, something along those lines.

Any good sites anyone knows of for handout material etc, lessons, etc.
I think you are on the right track with feed tags. You could try to do the whole TDN, but sometimes that gets kinda dry. I rely on wikipedia and google quite a bit when I want to research something. Call the extension office at a univesity near you, or talk to a local FFA advisor. You might be surprised at the ideas that they might have for you. At any rate...good luck.
 

chambero

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Texas
AAOK said:
LN said:
That was kinda rude of the leader not to give you any direction. What about leadership opportunities available in 4-H and the importance of being involved.

I believe this is on the right track.

My first thought for a program would be titled; "Dedicated to Success".  A very general talk about what it takes to excel at what ever the task might be.

I got suckered into this very situation 2-3 months ago.  Here's what I did.

The best thing I ever got out of 4-H was being taught public speaking.  You don't have much time and kids get bored in about two seconds and lose attention - just like adults.  So you have to make them participate.  So, I gave our club a very brief talk on the importance of public speaking and then made them do it.  I made them stand up and tell me their name and how long they've been in 4-H.  Then I asked every one of them a question - not something that was a yes/no answer.  For example, what is your favorite project?  Why?  What is your favorite subject in school?  Why?  As they would answer, I would coach them on whatever big things they needed coaching on - talk louder, look at me when you talk, etc.  We did this with around 20 kids in 30-45 minutes.  And then I told about how they all had just stood up and spoke in front of a crowd and that it wasn't any different than giving a speech.

It was starting point for the subject and better than boring an audience to death about something most wouldn't be interested in.  Great for an audience of different ages also.
 

oakbar

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I've done Genetics talks with kids of all ages using pictures of sires and dams(both cattle and horses) and talking about color patterns.  For example, roans, patterned, and solids in cattle  and Tobiano, Overo, Sabino, and solids in paint horses.  We have even had a game with kids as young as Kindergarten age asking them to "Match the calf or colt with the dam or sire".  Keeps the kids interested and they almost always learn something in spite of themselves.  It works the best when you have completely different colored offspring out of the same mare or cow.
 

jbzdad

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Jan 21, 2009
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southwestern Kansas
we had a very good childrens time at church 2 weeks ago, the speaker wrote twelve or so building blocks of charachter on cards then built a house of cards with them ... pull one of the cards out and the whole house falls down,,,,, cards were faith,persistence,selflessness, honesty etc... took about ten minutes... if you can think of the traits you nwant to teach, and can come up with the cards and build a house of cards this might do it for you... not beef related but is 4-h related
 

justme

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Missouri
How about getting some feed ingredients tell about them then do a quiz?  I've done that and the kids loved it and actually learned stuff
 

ShowmanQ

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Ohio
I would suggest stressing the importance of GETTING INVOLVED, in general. Let the kids know that they are helping to play a major role in the Agriculture industry as a whole, through the work they do with their projects. Like it or not, the youth is our future and without them being actively involved, where will we be? So many young people do not have or want anything to do with production agriculture, make sure the kids you are speaking to know that they are important. Whether you run a 2,000 head feedlot or are "just a kid" raising a few steers a year for fairs or whatnot, you are still a PRODUCER. Working together towards a common goal...promotion of the industry and feeding the world.
 
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