Hands-on activities, activity based curriculum, and interactive learning may be part of your children’s classroom through efforts by the Ottawa County 4-H Program.  The Ottawa County 4-H Program offers 4-H School Enrichment Programs to all Ottawa County kindergarten through fifth grade classroom teachers. 

The national 4-H definition of School Enrichment is "groups of youth receiving a sequence of learning experiences in cooperation with school officials during school hours, to support the school curriculum. It involves direct teaching by Extension staff or trained volunteers, including classroom teachers.”  Non-formal, community-based youth development opportunities through 4-H School Enrichment programs provide important opportunities for socialization and learning. They offer youth a context to develop critical life skills. 4-H School Enrichment Programs are based on structured activities for promoting the positive development of youth.

Ottawa County 4-H School Enrichment Program consists of fourteen different programs and kits offered to enrich and supplement school curriculum.  Some of the most popular programs requested include Digging Those Dinosaurs, Bubble Mania, and Character Counts.  In Digging Those Dinosaurs, students learn facts about dinosaurs, fossils, and even get to eat like dinosaurs! Classrooms that participate in Bubble Mania learn how to make their own bubbles and wands, and then get to experiment with bubbles.  Character Counts teaches the six pillars of character; respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, caring, fairness, and citizenship to students.  Character Counts challenges students to be better students and citizens.

In Ottawa County, School Enrichment Programs are supported by many teachers.  4-H School Enrichment is present in all school districts in the county.  For the 2008-2009 school year, approximately thirty-three teachers will receive at least two programs in their classrooms. By visiting these classrooms, the 4-H School Enrichment Program will reach approximately 650 kindergartners through fifth graders in Ottawa County.

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