The Iowa 4-H product team has curated a wide variety of youth-led learning resources that are available for at-home learning. All of the resources below are publicly available for you and your family to use. Our goal is to provide resources that young people can use to stay engaged in learning while out of school.
Our Iowa 4-H staff are continuing to curate additional resources. For a full listing of resources that can be filtered and sorted by grade and topic, please visit our online spreadsheet of at-home learning resources.
Weekly Challenges: Water Week
Each week, we are posting daily challenges based on a theme. Please visit this archived list for our previous weeks' challenges.
- Monday: STEM Explore the concept of watersheds and conservation practices that clean up our water.
- Tuesday: Clover Kids Build A Boat! Design and build a boat that can float down a river, then challenge others to a boat race!
- Wednesday: Healthy Living Hydration Station, track your beverage intake and learn fun ways to boost your water consumption!
- Thursday: Civic Engagement Learn about water usage and the role it plays in people’s lives around the world.
- Friday: Visual Arts Design a rain garden.
Highlighted Programs
- Iowa 4-H and NASA Iowa Space Grant Consortium STEAM Academy
- Weekly STEAM challenges for youth in grades 4-12.
- Iowa 4-H Creates Face Masks
Ongoing Interactive Online Experiences
- Living Room Learning Series, Nebraska 4-H Each day, youth will participate in a hands-on virtually guided activity where they will learn about healthy living, science, technology, and more! Each session will focus on a new activity that can be done with materials found at home. Youth do not need to be 4-H members to participate.
- Credit Craze, Michigan 4-H is a series of online courses in money management. Registration is required.
- Boredom Buster Challenge, Nebraska 4-H Mondays and Wednesdays at 2PM Central, young people can participate in a hands-on virtually guided challenge.
General Project Area Learning
- Project Area Hot Sheets, Iowa 4-H a free series of over thirty topic-based resources with ideas for learning and exploring project areas like photography, veterinary science, communication and much more. Grades 4-12
- UKnow How-To Video Series, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is a series of videos on a wide variety of subjects, intended for older youth and adult learners.
- Shop 4-H Curriculum, National 4-H is the online store for nationally-vetted curricula on a wide variety of topics. Many of the products here are project area learning resources that can be used by young people directing their own exploration of a topic of interest. Most items on this site are offered at a cost. Grades K-12, grade filter available on site.
- Literacy Resourcse for Parents and Caregivers, Iowa State University is a curated list of read alouds, resources, social media campaigns, and workbooks related to literacy.
Agriculture and Natural Resources
- The Bug Guide, Iowa State University is an online knowledgebase for bug information and identification.
- Green Genes: Genetics, Massachusetts 4-H is a DNA online course for at-home educators working with youth ages 10-13. Grades 5-8
- Gardening in the Zone Video Series, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is a horticulture series of videos available on YouTube.
- My First Garden, University of Illinois Extension is an interactive website for kids on gardening. Grade 4
- UK Forestry, University of Kentucky is a YouTube channel dedicated to forestry and natural resources education for teens and adults. Grades 9-12
- Junior Master Gardeners, Cooperative Extension Network is a website with a wide variety of resources for kids on gardening. Curriculum is offered at a cost. Level 1 Elementary, Level 2 Middle School.
- Crops Feed the World, free online lessons cover a variety of science and agriculture topics. All you need is an email address so you can set up a free account. Aimed at youth in grades 4-12.
Animal Science
- How to Take Care of Your Pets, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach a collection of videos on the Extension YouTube UKnow channel.
- Livestock Judging Video Series, Iowa 4-H is a series of videos for livestock judging education and preparation.
- Poultry Breeds Video Series, Ohio 4-H is a series of videos on poultry breeds developed in collaboration with the American Poultry Association.
- Extension Horses, ExtensionHorses.org is offering several online learning modules free of charge. Enrollment is required.
- Animal U is a new and innovative online learning tool to engage Iowa 4-H youth in learning about the science behind livestock production. Currently, there are 87 lessons in beef, swine, and careers that youth may access at any time. More lessons are continually being created and will be posted as soon as they are ready.
- Bring Home the Blue Not the Flu, Iowa State University Center for Food Security and Public Health Targeted at youth aged 13–18 years, this free online course is meant to encourage showmanship and animal involvement while keeping both animals and humans safe and healthy.
Civic Engagement and Leadership
- Global Citizenship Global Clover Publications, Iowa 4-H highlight different countries, languages, economics, activities, and traditions outside of the US.
- Teen Leadership 20, Ohio 4-H is a series of leadership activities and lessons for teens. Some are group activities but many can be done at home with fewer numbers. Grades 8-12
Creative Arts
- Camera Corps, Iowa 4-H is an online photography program that has monthly challenges.
Family and Consumer Sciences
- Ages and Stages Series, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach has information on all stages of child development.
- Kentucky 4-H has project area activity pages related to clothing. Grades 4-12
- Texas 4-H has clothing curriculum called Duds to Dazzle and Sewing Basics.
- Preserve the Taste of Summer, ISU Extension and Outreach is a series of publications on preserving and canning foods.
Healthy Living
- 4-H Healthy Living Activity Guide, National 4-H is a free 30-page activity resource for healthy living activities.
- Food and Nutrition Publications, ISU Extension and Outreach has many publications related to food, nutrition, and health.
- Yoga for Kids, Arkansas 4-H videos and posters with activities for youth to practice yoga.
- Healthy Living Activity Book, Michigan 4-H is a 65 page activity book with 15 activities youth can do at home.
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
- At-Home Activities, Iowa State University Engineering Kids, offers a daily thing to do, deeper dive learning idea, a video connection, and a boredom buster--all based on a central theme.
- Stay at Home STEAM, Team Neutrino FIRST Robotics Team 4-H Club, join them every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for fun STEAM activities you can do at home.
- Teachable Moments, Iowa STEM Council, a carefully curated, small collection of lessons and activities curated by your STEM Network Team to help use the precious time of learners and caregivers during the suspension of schooling.
- STEM Lab, National 4-H is a collection of STEM activities that parents and kids can do together at home.
- Scratch, MIT Media Lab is an interactive coding website.
- Ask Dr. Universe, Washington State University is a question and answer site related to STEM topics. Questions are submitted by youth.
- Fizz Bubble and Goo is a K-3 day camp agenda that can easilly be adapted for home use.
- Teaching Science at Home Article, Michigan 4-H provides resources and support for at-home educators who don't have a science background.
- 84 Easy Science Lessons You Can Do At Home, Michigan 4-H is a list of resources categorized by topic.
- Science Activity Book, Michigan 4-H is a 100+ page activity guide for science activities at home.
