Utah State Extension in Iron County: 4-H Works with Teachers

Utah State Extension in Iron County: 4-H Works with Teachers in the Classroom

Brenda Haight is a second grade teacher at South Elementary School in Cedar City. She said she relies on Extension to teach valuable life skills to her children.

"I've been involved in 4-H all my life; as a child, a junior leader and later as an adult leader with my daughter, so I know the skills it can teach," Haight said. "When I started teaching in the classroom seven years ago I looked for ways to bring this into the classroom."

One of the skills Extension brings to her classes is nutrition education through FNP — the Food and Nutrition Program. Nutrition assistants bring lessons on healthy snacks and understanding the food pyramid, she explained. Another program she uses is Extension's embryology course. Extension placed 84 eggs in seven classroom settings reaching more than 140 students. The eggs were incubated 17 to 18 days at the Extension office and then delivered to the classrooms to hatch. The 4-H Embryology Program provides educational materials and instruction to grade school students on hatching and raising chicks. This helps young people understand the importance of agriculture in our everyday lives.

"The embryology program helps supplement our science class on animals and birds," she said. "After the eggs hatch we give the chicks to local farmers. These presentations add a lot to the classroom and they introduce the kids to other opportunities in 4-H. In turn, 4-H helps form lifelong connections."

To find out more about Iron County, click here. For more about Extension in other counties take the Extension tour of Utah.