Michigan 4-H Youth Development - Age-Appropriate Youth Development Experiences


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4-H Youth Development Michigan State University 160 Agriculture Hall East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 USA Phone: 517-432-7575 Fax: 517-355-6748 Email: msue4h@msu.edu Disclaimer & Indicia

Age-Appropriate Youth Development Experiences

As you work with young people, it's important to keep in mind the many changes they're going through—physical, thinking, social and emotional. Providing experiences for young people that address healthy development and that focus on family relationships is the goal of Michigan 4-H Youth Activities. That's why 4-H is committed to providing and supporting learning environments that are safe, appropriate, healthy and fun for kids ages 5 to 19 at all developmental stages of their lives.

The Experiential Learning Process

4-H Youth Development programs are developed to ensure that young people actively learn using hands-on educational opportunities. Learning materials, programs and events are designed to provide adults and professionals who work with young people the tools they need to offer a "Do-Reflect-Apply" experiential learning process in which young people complete five important steps:

DO:

Young people experience an activity, which involves exploring or discovering something related to the learning topic.

REFLECT:

Young people share by describing what happened or what they experienced. When young people share what they’ve learned, they not only stimulate their own growth, but the growth of their group as well.
Young people process what they’ve learned and shared in order to look for patterns or themes, with the goal of building a bridge to new knowledge and skills.

APPLY:

Young people generalize from this experience to implications related to their own lives or to broader societal experiences.
Young people apply or think about what can be done with their newly acquired information or skill.

Each of these steps is accomplished through positive and appropriate questions, encouragement and support provided by the caring adults who work with youth. The overall goal of the experiential learning process is to provide young people with positive learning experiences and tools for ongoing use in their lives, and with the enthusiasm to put these tools into action.

When you offer experiential learning opportunities that are developmentally appropriate and appealing to young people at the different ages and stages of their lives you provide environments proven to foster positive youth development.

Online Resources

Michigan 4-H Participant Age Policy (PDF document — requires Adobe Acrobat Reader which may be downloaded free from http://www.Adobe.com)
- Frequently Asked Questions About the 4-H Participant Age Policy (PDF document)
Michigan 4-H Cloverbud Program Policy Information (PDF document)
Character Education
Early Adolescents
5- to 8-Year-Olds
Natural Helpers
Older Youth
Peer Plus, Group Dynamite and YEA

Learning Materials

More information on learning materials available to support these activities can be found in the Michigan Guide to 4-H or through the MSU Bulletin Office.

Training & Events

For upcoming training and events in this area, check the 4-H Volunteer Workshops web site, the MSU Extension Calendar and the 4-H Exploration Days web site.

Contact Information

For more information on how to get involved as a youth or volunteer, contact your county MSU Extension office or:

Michigan 4-H Youth Development
Michigan State University
160 Agriculture Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824-1039
USA

Phone: 517-432-7575
Fax: 517-355-6748
Email: msue4h@msu.edu