Fort Worth Country Day launched a new learn-by-doing program this year called Fort Worth Country Day 4-H.
The goal of the program is to “develop citizenship, leadership, responsibility and life skills of youth through experiential learning programs and a positive youth development approach,” according to Sunnie Sellers, FWCD parent and one of the chapter co-managers.
FWCD students in kindergarten through 12th grade can participate in 4-H, and one parent volunteer mentors the students on each project.
The programs aims to involve students in projects that expose them to something new that they could be interested in learning more about.
One of the advantages to 4-H is students can focus on one area they enjoy, or they can try a variety of the offered projects. So far, projects have covered a wide variety of subjects: leadership and public speaking, dog training, riflery and fishing.
Working off the motto “to make the best better,” Sellers said the students “learn by doing,” which is also the program’s slogan.
Students are exposed to subject areas such as science, health, agriculture and citizenship. These projects are “in a positive environment where they receive guidance from adult mentors, and [students] are encouraged to take on proactive leadership roles,” Sellers said.
The program meets once a month. But each project mentor can ask the students to meet more than the allotted time, if he or she thinks it would be beneficial.
Sellers said she hopes the program continues to grow because she and her co-manager have many goals for the program.
“We would love to see more students getting involved and competing at the County Show. We have a small garden on campus that we would love to expand to a much larger scale,” Sellers said.