4-H Record Keeping
The purpose of 4-H recordkeeping is to teach how to keep records, an important life skill. Recordkeeping is an ongoing process. Keeping records is a great way to document your participation in the 4-H program. You will be able to refer to your information when you apply for 4-H awards, scholarships, and more.
Objectives of keeping records
- To learn how to set goals, how to make plans for action, and how to decide how well you did (evaluation).
- To learn the skills of record keeping and organization to use now and in the future.
- To learn to communicate and summarize.
- To learn responsibility by completing a task.
- To evaluate information that will market personal skills through future resumes and application forms.
Available Forms
Overall Participation Summary – a way to summarize your participation each year in one document
Yearly 4-H Summary - a way to summarize your participation for one 4-H year
Story County 4-H Project Record - this is the form required for county 4-H project award. Use this form for a project area you have participated in. Examples 2010 Rabbit Project; 2011 Photography Project, etc. To prepare for the 4-H award application process, it is recommended to keep records by project area.
Additional items you may include in your records: your fair exhibit write-up, pictures, news clippings, certificates, etc., as they tell the story of your experience in the project area. You may record ribbon placings received for exhibition; however the actual ribbon should be stored in a separate location from your 4-H records.
Livestock Worksheets (financial) – some county 4-H awards require this information.
4-H Record-Keeping Self Evaluation
Tips for keeping records
- Working on your records throughout the year is helpful.
- Records are required for most 4-H award applications.
- You can have records for projects that did not have an exhibit for the fair. Projects are what you enroll in and work on throughout the current 4-H year, while exhibits are one piece of a project that you choose to prepare and take to the county fair.
Example: Project – Food and Nutrition (help prepare meals, help grocery shop, set table, make cookies for bake sale, made chocolate chip cookies for fair exhibit, etc.) Exhibit – Chocolate chip cookies (made to be judged and on display during fair)
Ways to save your records:
- In a tabbed 3 ring binder
- Labeled hanging files
- Files in a computer
- Other ideas
