AMES, Iowa -- Tommee Pelky was only nine years old when she decided to get more kids involved in Iowa 4-H. But how could she explain to others everything the youth development program means to her?

“If you make something fun and interesting, people are more likely to listen to your message,” the Van Buren County 4-H’er said. So she decided to share “the 4-1-1 on 4-H” with puppets.

“I thought using a puppet theater and answering the most common questions about 4-H in a fun way would be cool,” she explained.

Pelky’s puppets are one way that 4-H’ers are spreading the word about 4-H — in time for National 4-H Week Oct. 4-10, as well as throughout the year.

Who better than a 4-H’er to understand what other kids would want to know about 4-H? “It really didn’t take too long to come up with the characters’ lines,” Pelky continued. “I would remember things that kids would ask me, like if you need to live in the country or on a farm or have animals to be in 4-H.”

The answer to those questions is “no,” Pelky said. In the words of her puppet 4-H Freddie, “4-H is for anyone who likes to have fun while learning at the same time.”

Pelky’s 4-H puppet theater netted her a blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair this summer, and now she’s taking it on the road.

“I will be going to my local schools presenting my skit for children in grades K through fifth in hopes of recruiting new members this fall,” Pelky said.

Iowa State University Extension’s 4-H Youth Development program is accepting new members throughout the state, said marketing coordinator Shelly Greving. 4-H is a community of young people across America who are learning leadership, citizenship, communication and life skills. In Iowa the 4-H program is headquartered on the ISU campus in Ames and offered in every county through the local Iowa State University Extension office.

For more information about how to get involved in 4-H, contact any county office of ISU Extension or the state 4-H office at (515) 294-1017.

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