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Welcome to the Swine Helper's Guide

helper's guide

Congratulations!

A young person has asked you to serve as his/her helper for this level of the Swine Project. You may be a family member, project leader or advisor, teacher or a neighbor. Your role in guiding, encouraging and rewarding progress is very important. How you choose to be involved will often determine the success the youth has in developing important life skills while learning what pigs are all about.
The youth’s interest in swine is the vehicle leading to life skill development. You’ll find that these guides are designed to encourage active involvement andexploration rather than simply providing answers.

 

Your Role

  • Review the Swine Helper’s Guide.
  • Support youth in his/her efforts to set goals and complete the Swine Program.
  • Serve as a resource person to help connect youth with the community, resource materials and others knowledgeable about the project.
Project Activity Guides

This project activity guide is a part of the 4-H “Skills for Life” Animal Science Series. The three youth guides in the swine series are designed for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners respectively. Each guide includes an achievement program to provide challenging activities, a way to expand project experiences beyond the animal and a means to recognize youth for what they have accomplished. The activities in this guide are specifically designed to help youth develop skills in decision making, relating to others, communicating with others and learning to learn.

Each guide is organized with four chapters:

  1. Selection and Judging
  2. Management and Health
  3. Nutrition and Carcass and
  4. Beyond the Pen
Swine Resources

university of nebraska
-Good Land-Grant Resource
 
Developing Life Skills

To be successful in your role as a 4-H Swine Project Leader or Helper, there are important concepts that deserve your attention and understanding.

Ages and Stages of Youth Development

As you work with young people, it is important to take into account where they are in their stage of development. Not all people develop in the same way at the same age. But there are certain patterns within youth development that are commonly expressed by most youth. Understanding these characteristics will help you better reach and teach your audience.

Basic Life Skill Development

As a helper for the swine project, one of your primary goals is to help youth gain knowledge about swine. However, it is equally important to emphasize the learning of "life skills.” These skills transfer beyond the actual activity. Life skills are critical in helping young people become self-directing, productive and contributing members of society. The Targeting Life Skills (TLS) Model (Hendricks, 1996), identifies and divides the major life skills targeted in 4-H youth development by the four H's from the 4-H clover that represent Head, Heart, Hands and Health. These four are further divided into categories and then into specific life skills as shown.
Additional Resources
National 4-H Curriculum 

National 4-H Curriculum focuses on 4-H's three primary mission mandates:

Science, Engineering & Technology
Healthy Living
Citizenship

Youth activity guides are filled with fun, engaging experiences that cultivate abilities youth need for everyday living as they progressively gain knowledge about subjects that interest them.The National 4-H Reviewed and Recommended Seal signifies excellence in providing hands-on learning experiences for youth.State 4-H programs within the Cooperative Extension System, National 4-H Headquarters at USDA, and National 4-H Council provide leadership for the development of National 4-H Curriculum.  This partnership provides the knowledge, resources and management necessary to develop and market quality youth curriculum.

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