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This training meets the requirements for all adults working with you in WSU programming. Participants will gain awareness of WSU Executive Policy 14 Protection and Safety of Minors and learn the policies related to working with youth.

The audience for this course is: New 4-H volunteers

By taking this course, students will learn:

  * What is Experiential Learning?
   * Why is it so important to our 4-H program?

For more information or to enroll please contact:  Nancy Melville; nmelville@uidaho.edu and Donna Schwarting; dschwarting@uidaho.edu

This self-directed course is designed for Nebraska 4-H leaders, staff, volunteers, and any chaperone of a 4-H event to better understand their responsibility for creating a protective environment for youth. The course includes lessons, planning guides, example scenarios, and reporting procedures, and the curriculum addresses potential risks that could cause personal harm or harm to a 4-H member. Contact: Jill A. Goedeken (jgoedeken2@unl.edu) University of Nebraska-Lincoln


4-H Mindful Me Curriculum CoverThis course contains the video supplements to the 4-H Mindful Me Curriculum.  Participants should access this course and watch the video associated with the current lesson that they are completing. 

To purchase a copy of the curriculum and gain access to this resource, please visit Shop 4-H.

About Mindful Me:
Mindful Me is a 10 lesson curriculum for elementary school aged youth and their caregivers. These lessons can be completed with a single youth or with groups of youth. Lessons are adapted from Mindful Me, a peer-review and published National 4-H Curriculum, which was developed by academics with the University of California.

While these lessons can stand alone to teach youth mindfulness strategies, the Mindful Me curriculum provides additional background and training for educators, more activities, and additional resources. "The overall program aims to promote mindful practices that lead to improvements in managing one’s own goals, developing a sense of self, time management, stress management, emotional regulation, and mindful eating practices. Specific outcomes from youth participation in the curriculum include short-term (skill development and knowledge gain), mid-term (increased stress management, mindful eating, etc.), and long-term (improved physical, emotional, and social health) benefits" (Iaccopucci, Soule, & Lewis, 2019).

Utah 4-H Volunteer Orientation is an online course for all Utah 4-H volunteers.  This course is designed to orient new 4-H volunteers to Utah 4-H, specifically participants will learn:

  • Volunteer Roles & Relationships
  • Positive Youth Development
  • Youth/Adult Partnerships
  • Safe & Inclusive Environments
  • Learn by Doing

For more information please contact:  Utah State 4-H Office at Utah4h@usu.edu

By taking this course, students will learn:
  • Educational and professional requirements for various careers 
  • Benefits and costs of postsecondary education
  • How to improve self-efficacy and agency in one’s path to their success
  • Details about current and future occupational needs
  • Information about pending plans, managing cash flow, saving, avoiding scams and fraud, and investing for retirement. 
For more information or to enroll please contact: 
Becky Smith at becky.smith@msstate.edu or Susan Cosgrove at s.cosgrove@msstate.edu, with Mississippi State University Extension

Resources and discussions to support NH 4-H Volunteer's interests, and skill development. 

The audience for this course is: middle school youth interested in rabbits

By taking this course, students will learn: Rabbit anatomy and physiology, health care, nutrition, and basics of rabbit management

For more information or to enroll please contact: lisa.karr@unl.edu

This course is designed to provide education for safe administration of medications for youth by unlicensed persons as delegated by a RN or MD during outdoor school, camp, or away from home events; developed specifically for the West Virginia University Extension Service youth events and the WVU Science Adventure School.

Intermediate Horseman: 4-H  Level 2 is a course for youth 8 to 18 years old

Youth will learn basic horse science, health, and care principles for the intermediate horseman.

For more information contact: Lena Luck at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, email address at lena.luck@unl.edu

Idaho 4-H Volunteer Orientation is an online course designed to orient new 4-H volunteers.  Participants will learn:

  • Volunteer Roles & Relationships
  • Positive Youth Development
  • Youth/Adult Partnerships
  • Safe & Inclusive Environments
  • Learn by Doing                  

For more information contact Donna Schwarting; University of Idaho; dschwarting@uidaho.edu

The iCook 4-H curriculum supplementary training site is a self-directed course for Extension Educators and Health Professionals Working with Families. By participating in this course participants will gain access to additional information, supplementary materials, and trainings to learn how to better implement the iCook 4-H curriculum. The iCook 4-H curriculum is available for purchase through the National 4-H Mall. With purchase of the curriculum, course access information on enrollment is provided. For more information contact Lisa Franzen-Castle, University of Nebraska-Lincoln at lfranzen2@unl.edu.

Online 4-H Crop Production Lessons for Grades 4-8: Soil-based and Soilless Systems

Earth’s population growth and concurrent decline in farmland pose great challenges for food security across our planet.1 The challenge of how to feed 9.9 billion people calls for new methods to grow and distribute food.2 Having access to fresh and nutritious food is a basic need for all people. We invite youth to be learners and leaders who meet these challenges with a new vision for crop production that combines soil-based and soilless farming.

To engage youth in these global challenges, WVU Extension Service, Iowa State University Extension, and PLANTS, LLC have partnered to create a series of online lessons. Youth can gain a foundation by digging deep into crop growth and development in conventional and hydroponic systems. Youth learners in this online program will also explore their role and possible career opportunities in sustainable agriculture and ag technology.

Questions that students will explore in the online lessons include:

  • How do plant seeds differ in terms of germination rates, structures, and plant types? 
  • What type of plant maintenance is important for each stage of plant growth?
  • How does light intensity and duration affect photosynthesis? 
  • What are key elements of a healthy soil, and how does soil quality affect plant growth? 
  • When are soilless plant production systems good alternatives to soil-based farming?
  • What plant growth strategies can be used to conserve water? 
  • How can farmers apply new plant growth technologies to increase crop yield and integrate sustainable agricultural practices?
For more information, contact Laurie Ruberg PLANTS, LLC (LFRuberg@gmail.com) or Karen Cox, WVU Extension Agent, Ohio County (Karen.Cox@mail.wvu.edu), or Maya Hayslett (hayslett@iastate.edu)

This project is made possible by support from NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium. Students will explore soil-based as well as soilless (hydroponic) agriculture methods used locally and as part of NASA space science research. The Iowa State University 4-H program shared material from their Crops Feed the World online lessons in support of this project.

1 Read more about world population growth projections presented by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) at: https://sdg.iisd.org/news/world-population-to-reach-9-9-billion-by-2050/

2 Read more about New and Emerging Technology for High Quality and Sustainable Horticulture Production in Gonnella, M., & Renna, M. (2021). The evolution of soilless systems towards ecological sustainability in the perspective of a circular economy. Is it really the opposite of organic culture? Agronomy 2021, 11(5), 950; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11050950.

Expanded Learning Opportunities: Experiential Learning is for Employees or Volunteers in Youth Serving Organizations. Participants will learn how children and youth in out-of-school settings reach their full potential as a result of positive youth/adult interactions, purposeful learning experiences, and safe environments. 

Participants will be able to: identify experiential learning techniques, provide purposeful and directing teaching, and engage and energize youth so they are ready to learn.

For more information or to enroll contact:

The 4-H Volunteer Training is designed to give new volunteers basic information to prepare them for service in 4-H.  It will also serve as a refresher course for all returning volunteers.  This training has 4 components that are designed to be completed in sequential order.  As you complete each section, lessons in the next section will appear.

The course does not need to be completed in one sitting and will pick up where you left off when you return to it.

The overall training will take approximately 1 hour to complete.

Target Audience is Adults, who want to be Volunteers for the Colorado 4-H Program.

For more information or to enroll please contact instructor Joy Bauder CO 4-H State Office, CO 4-H Youth Development Program @ colorado4h@gmail.com

The audience for this course is: Youth in grades 3 through 6

Youth often lack the maturity to make good decisions on their own. They often require firm guidance from parents and other caring adults to reach adulthood successfully. Thus, learning to set boundaries is an integral element of positive youth development. It is not just the caring adults who need guidance in setting appropriate boundaries for youth, but the youth need guidance as they learn to set their own boundaries. The Boundaries and Boundaries Jr. curriculum utilizes multiple delivery methods to delve into understanding the need, the importance, and the process of establishing boundaries. Both youth and their caring adults participate together, working with one another to establish boundaries in their lives.

For more information or to enroll please contact: Bob Bertsch at robert.bertsch@ndsu.edu

The fee for this course is $25.  To purchase and enroll in the course, click the following button:



The audience for this course is: Youth in grades 7 through 12

Youth often lack the maturity to make good decisions on their own. They often require firm guidance from parents and other caring adults to reach adulthood successfully. Thus, learning to set boundaries is an integral element of positive youth development. It is not just the caring adults who need guidance in setting appropriate boundaries for youth, but the youth need guidance as they learn to set their own boundaries. The Boundaries and Boundaries Jr. curriculum utilizes multiple delivery methods to delve into understanding the need, the importance, and the process of establishing boundaries. Both youth and their caring adults participate together, working with one another to establish boundaries in their lives.

For more information or to enroll please contact: Bob Bertsch at robert.bertsch@ndsu.edu

The fee for this course is $25.  To purchase and enroll in it, click the following button:



The audience for this course is Youth and families who raise backyard poultry. 

Learning objectives are Best practices for the care of backyard poultry including disease prevention, behavior observation, housing and daily care.

The key to enroll in the course is backyard chicken

For more information or to enroll please contact, Course leaders, Martin H. Smith (mhsmith@ucdavis.edu); Richard Blatchford (rablatchford@ucdavis.edu)

Beginning Horseman: 4-H Level 1 is a course for youth 8 to 18 years old

Youth will learn correct and safe handling and riding principles for the beginner horseman.

For more information contact: Lena Luck at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, email address at lena.luck@unl.edu

Avian Influenza Biosecurity for Youth and 4-H members is a self-directed course designed for 9-19 year-olds and members of 4-H. Participants will gain important information about the avian influenza virus as well as biosecurity measures that are necessary to prevent the spread of disease. 


For more information about this course contact Nathaniel Tablante, University of Maryland at nlt@umd.edu.

The audience for this course is: 4-H volunteers and Leaders

By taking this course, students will learn: Aspects about teaching the different concepts of the Advancement Level 3.

For more information or to enroll please contact: Grace Kim at grace.kim@unl.edu

4-Hers: Understanding How You Prefer to Solve Problems is an online course for 4-H Members who are interested in learning more about problem-solving styles and how they can use their problem-solving style when working with others.  

For more information contact:  Dr. Curtis R Friedel, Director, Center for Cooperative Problem Solving at Virginia Tech – cfriedel@vt.edu or Ms. Sarah Bush, Teaching Assistant, Center for Cooperative Problem Solving at Virginia Tech – sabush17@vt.edu

This course will take you through the step by step process involved in reviewing 4-H curriculum.

We will explore each criteria in the review process and discuss the standards for evaluating that criteria. We will conduct a similar exploration with for non-curriculum educational materials for which we also have a review process. Then we will explain the roles and responsibilities of becoming part of the national review team. Although intended for curriculum reviewers, this course can be a valuable tool for curriculum developers as well. Understanding the reviewers expectations and the review criteria will assist curriculum developers in designing great learning experiences. 

Contact 4-H National Headquarters at 4Hhq@nifa.usda.gov for more information or if you encounter any questions or challenges along the way.