Hutchinson County Achievement Days

4-H was a gigantic part of my life growing up.  My summers were consumed by it, and as I look back, I realized I loved it.  Yes, there were tears when I was forced to finish a project, or when I had to go and tie up our dairy cattle, again and again and again.  But I learned so much...........as only an adult could see.

But I absolutely loved the fair every summer.  A week of hanging out with friends, eating junk food, staying up late, and playing pranks in the dairy barn.  But there was also the sense of accomplishment at the end of each show; knowing that I worked with each of those animals to get them show-ready.  I felt independent at the fair.  I was in charge of those animals (and I liked to think I was also in charge of my brothers, but they would tell you differently).  I had to make sure they (the animals, not my brothers) were fed and watered, washed, and their stalls cleaned.  Nothing gives you a sense of responsibility like caring for another living being.

And now, as that living being is a human instead of an animal, I want to make sure that they feel that sense of responsibility, independence, and accomplishment as I did, which is why Reid started 4-H this year.  And he loves it.  This year was his trial run, so he only did one project, but volunteered at many other events so that we could figure out South Dakota 4-H as I'm realizing it is different that Iowa 4-H.

Above is a picture of Reid and the robot that he assembled and programmed.  Who knew that this many years later, I'm still learning from 4-H.   Up until July, I had no idea what a bot-shield board, servo, or adreno board was, but now I do, because of Reid's repeated explanations.  He got a purple ribbon at the county level, which earned him a trip to the state fair, and as you can see, he was thrilled!