2012 – 2013 East Hills Projects and Descriptions

American Girl
In the American Girl project, we will discuss a book from the American Girl historical book series, and then we will do a craft relating to that American Girl and her era. Join us for a great time talking about six of the American Girl books and making crafts! The books selected are available through the Alameda County Library system. Please note this is a book discussion and craft project; owning an American Girl doll is neither required nor a focus of the group. Primary members, please bring an adult to help you.

Archery
In this project, we will explore the lore of archery and learn to shoot a bow in a wonderful park environment in Redwood Park. We will explore archery technique and nomenclature and do special projects. This year we will streamline our activities for maximum fun and learning.

Around the States in 80 Plates
Each month we will be cooking the traditional foods unique to the varied regions of America. From North to South, East to West, we will discover the flavors of our great nation.
Art – History in the Making
We will travel through space and time as we explore different styles and artists, from painting to sculpture, from medieval to modern. Then we will create our own masterpieces!

Arts and Crafts
The Arts & Crafts project will focus on creative crafts geared towards 5-10 year old members, although all ages are welcome. We will make a different craft each meeting. Primary members should have a parent to help.

Cake Decorating
In Cake Decorating, we will begin by learning the basics of working with cakes and frostings. We will cover different types of icing and how to use it to make flowers and other designs. We will then move into the concepts of cake design, working with fondant and gum paste, and creating cakes for fair entries.

Chemistry – Explorations in Chemistry
We will be exploring the chemistry of solutions, including things like surface tension, solutes and solvents, polarity, pH, acids and bases, gases, air pressure, plastics and more. This is a project for younger kids, ages 7-10, so the experiments will be fun, but based on exploring real chemical principles.

Chess Instruction Community Service
This project will be for intermediate to advanced chess players. The goal is chess instruction during public school breaks: Thanksgiving, winter, and spring. There will be 2 hours of instruction per session at the San Lorenzo Library. The times and dates will be announced.
Members will be asked to participate in an established chess club 1½ hours per month at Lakeview Library in Oakland for playing with others and to gain hands-on experience. Teen leader David Williams will email tips and strategies monthly to help members improve their games.

Collage Art
Collage art is made by combining various types of materials and media into one composition. If you can cut and glue, you can make a collage. In this project we will make collages with paper, magazine cut-outs, cloth, and found objects (such as shells, seeds and twigs, trinkets, recycled materials, yarn, etc.), and we will make decoupage on wood. We will experiment with various painting techniques such as making marbled paper and gelatin prints, and we will strive to create mixed media art in the style of famous illustrators and artists such as Eric Carle, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso.

Communication
This project will offer practical skills for giving several different types of oral presentations. Project members will become more competent (and comfortable) communicators as they develop and present four different types of short speeches.
Drama
Project members will get hands-on experience producing a short skit for 4-H Skit Night in the spring. They will also gain invaluable self-expression and team building skills as they work together to create a script and design and make scenery, props and costumes. Everyone will be encouraged, but not coerced, to have to role in the skit. Come join us for another fun year of drama!! New project members are definitely welcome.
Engineering Challenges
Each month in Engineering Challenges, project member will explore the design process and the varied ways engineering affects our lives. They will work individually or in teams, using the basic laws of science, to find creative solutions to the problems given.

Environmental Stewardship – Sausal Creek Community Service
We’ll adopt a spot in Sausal Creek that we’ll be responsible for maintaining. Meanwhile, we’ll work with a forester to learn about the ecology of the area and explore human management of the natural environment.

Fiction Writers’ Workshop
This project reviews the elements of dramatic fiction and provides peer review of ongoing novels and short stories. Members refine their writing craft and their critiquing and editing skills.

Horseless Horse Project
You don’t have to have a live horse to be in this project. We will have fun with some horse themed crafts, learn about horses, and talk about horses in literature. Members are encouraged (but not required) to bring a model or stuffed horse to each project meeting.

Junior Master Gardening
Junior Master Gardening is a national program to encourage interest in gardening, soil science, and water issues. We will be meeting at our plot in a school/community garden to not only grow plants, but also to work through the JMG curriculum, which is a series of science experiments to learn more about botany, soils, and of course, gardening. This year will see us covering the soil curriculum, with lots of experiments and activities geared around learning about soil and water. There will also be community service opportunities available, namely working at the George Mark Children’s Hospice (in their garden) once a month on Wednesdays, plus we will be actively working on making educational posters for public information booths to teach the public about gardening without pesticides and switching to drought-tolerant plants.
Lego Engineering
We will be keeping the emphasis on community service like last year, with the project meetings being used to work on Lego activities to teach science and make informational posters.

NaNoWriMo
November is National Novel Writing Month. Come join us as we write a novel! We will help you plan your novel, work on your characters, and chart your course on this exciting adventure. And we will write, write, write!

Outdoor Adventures for Teens
In Outdoor Adventures for Teens we will hike on moderately challenging trails in nearby local and regional parks including the Oakland Hills, Hayward and Castro Valley. Get some exercise and enjoy the great outdoors with your 4-H friends! The hikes usually last about 2 hours, and parents are always welcome to join.

Photography – Teen Photography Project
Learn the different features on your camera and shoot. We would meet in different locations to photograph architecture, landscapes, animals etc.

Poetry – Clover Buds Poetry for Primary Members
This project is an introduction to poetry and poetry writing for primary members. We will learn to write different kinds of poems and learn how to use some common poetic tools such as repetition, alliteration, and onomatopoeia. We will write acrostic poems, synonym poems, riddle poems, list poems and concrete poems. We will listen to poems read by the teen leader, recite some poems as a group, and do a community service. At the end of the year, we will put together an anthology, a booklet of poems written by all the project members.

Poetry – American Poets
This project is a creative writing class devoted to poetry. This year we will focus on the works of American poets and the poetic tools they use. We will read poems by Edgar Allan Poe, e.e. cummings, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, Shel Silverstein and others. At each project meeting we will recite poems together and do a poetry writing exercise. We will write lots of poems, experiment with some new forms of poetry (such as sound poems without words), perform recitals in the community, and put together an anthology of our best work at the end of the year. In addition, we will organize a county-wide 4H poetry jam and invite other 4-Hers to join us in reciting their poems.

Poultry
Learn about chickens from the egg to the table, including embryology, growing and managing a small flock of chickens, the latest research in feed and coop practices, and especially urban poultry issues. We will also practice showmanship and judging for the Alameda County fair in June and perform community service by educating the public about having “Backyard Chickens” in an urban environment by participating in information nights in the community. This will involve making informational posters about backyard chickens and “Favorite Breed” posters highlighting your personal chickens’ breeds.

Sewing, Intermediate
This project’s goal is for each member have a garment or outfit ready for County Fashion Revue and the Alameda County Fair. Project leaders will help you choose a pattern at your skill level and get the fabric that you need. We will teach you the intermediate sewing skills necessary to complete it. Beginning sewing skills and use of a sewing machine will be needed for this project.

Song Singing
This project is a song adventure. We will learn the basics of singing, from simple vocalization to voicing the words in poetic form, and then try out different types of songs.

Square Dancing
4-H members come join the fun! This is a county-wide project so you can meet members from other clubs. Boys and girls learn to square dance from basic beginner to Mainstream and Plus as well as some line dancing. There are also community service and project exhibit opportunities with this project. Square dancing outfits are not required, but be sure you wear tennis shoes, not slip-ons or sandals, and clothing you can move around in. — In this project, you can have a lot of fun, meet new friends, and get great exercise!