{"id":30058,"date":"2025-11-25T09:33:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T14:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/?p=30058"},"modified":"2025-11-25T09:33:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T14:33:48","slug":"december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/","title":{"rendered":"December 2025 4-H Volunteer Corner: Your corner for connection, tips and tricks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Nurturing Sparks (Part 3 of 3)<br \/>\n<\/strong>Once you notice a spark, did you know you can actually help fuel it? 4-H volunteers support youth sparks by facilitating exploration through varied activities, fostering a supportive environment where questions are valued, encouraging exploration, and building relationships that empower youth to discover and develop their passions. Connecting youth with resources, mentors, or new opportunities is a great way to help fuel the spark. Other ideas for you as a 4-H volunteer include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Modeling curiosity:\u00a0 <\/strong>Showing your own excitement for learning and discovery can encourage youth to adopt a similar mindset.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Showing genuine interest:\u00a0 <\/strong>Listening actively to the youth&#8217;s thoughts, opinions, and aspirations to build trust and encourage their self-expression can be powerful. Sometimes we all need a sounding board.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Allowing for silence and space:\u00a0 <\/strong>Giving youth time to think, process information, and formulate their own ideas without the pressure of immediate answers can be helpful. Circling back to a topic after a few weeks, asking if they have given any more thought to something, or inquiring to see how you might help them with a next step, can help youth feel supported.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>4-H Volunteer Huddle:<br \/>\n<\/strong>Join us for a short \u201cgather and learn session\u201d to help you up your game. We meet on the first Friday of each month from 12:00-12:30 pm via Zoom. Whether you are an experienced 4-H volunteer or just getting started, there\u2019s something for everyone. We\u2019d love to see you there! No registration required!<\/p>\n<p>December 5- <strong><em>Delegating\/Asking parents and other adults to help<br \/>\n<\/em><\/strong>January 2, 2026-<strong><em>Navigating 4-H Curriculum Resources<\/p>\n<p><\/em><\/strong>Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/maine.zoom.us\/j\/82015703524?pwd=QkT05bDbaaDIeYAQ8aGUd4eco5c6Rd.1\">maine.zoom.us\/j\/82015703524?pwd=QkT05bDbaaDIeYAQ8aGUd4eco5c6Rd.1<br \/>\n<\/a>Password: volunteer<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>4-H Volunteer Connections<br \/>\n<\/strong>January 21, 2026\u00a0<strong><em>Volunteer Excellence: Recognizing Achievement, Inspiring Growth<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n6:30-8:00pm<\/p>\n<p>Connect with 4-H volunteers from states in the North East region to hear inspiring 4-H volunteer stories including those recognized through the National 4-H Salute to Excellence Award. Come celebrate success, learn from peers, and strengthen your own impact. Free to attend, but registration is required!\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/maine.zoom.us\/meeting\/register\/7M0UxFX0Rbiaoc1n0JhlmQ?_x_zm_rtaid=PMM-xDwbQDusb6Q8nM2rPg.1758202384209.77645bb478e747f37764ba7d64017055&amp;_x_zm_rhtaid=362#\/registration\">Register here!<\/a><strong><\/p>\n<p>4-H Volunteer Opportunities Calendar:<br \/>\n<\/strong>Find our 4-H volunteer training opportunities on our calendar of events\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/events\/list\/\">here<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 scroll to the bottom of the page to subscribe to the calendar and never miss upcoming events, workshops, and more!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Resource Spotlight<br \/>\n<\/strong>Do you work with Cloverbuds (youth ages 5-8)? If so, check out these resources!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>We love our friends at Ohio State University for creating an amazing collection of <a href=\"https:\/\/u.osu.edu\/cloverbudconnections\/click-it\/\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/u.osu.edu\/cloverbudconnections\/click-it\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1764165156926000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2AhoJSWWwFGNceLIGlnvh6\">Click and Do 4-H Cloverbud activities<\/a>! All organized by themes, there\u2019s something for everyone!<\/li>\n<li>A welcoming environment is the cornerstone to a successful 4-H club meeting.\u00a0 Try these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canr.msu.edu\/news\/icebreakers_for_4_h_cloverbuds\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.canr.msu.edu\/news\/icebreakers_for_4_h_cloverbuds&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1764165156926000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1Wq2PYi_BcF0L85ZBMjIuo\">Icebreakers for Cloverbuds<\/a> from Michigan State University!<\/li>\n<li>Looking for some holiday craft ideas for younger youth? Check out this <a href=\"https:\/\/4-h.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/08094637\/4H-at-Home-Holiday-Activity-Guide-and-Cookie-Making-Recipes-2020.pdf\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/4-h.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/08094637\/4H-at-Home-Holiday-Activity-Guide-and-Cookie-Making-Recipes-2020.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1764165156926000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3ERxrKi3WZ0e7nixTrxVWt\">Holiday Activity Guide<\/a> from National 4-H Council- there is even a cookie recipe collection included!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nurturing Sparks (Part 3 of 3) Once you notice a spark, did you know you can actually help fuel it? 4-H volunteers support youth sparks by facilitating exploration through varied activities, fostering a supportive environment where questions are valued, encouraging exploration, and building relationships that empower youth to discover and develop their passions. Connecting youth [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-volunteers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>December 2025 4-H Volunteer Corner: Your corner for connection, tips and tricks - Cooperative Extension: 4-H - University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"December 2025 4-H Volunteer Corner: Your corner for connection, tips and tricks - Cooperative Extension: 4-H - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nurturing Sparks (Part 3 of 3) Once you notice a spark, did you know you can actually help fuel it? 4-H volunteers support youth sparks by facilitating exploration through varied activities, fostering a supportive environment where questions are valued, encouraging exploration, and building relationships that empower youth to discover and develop their passions. Connecting youth [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cooperative Extension: 4-H\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-25T14:33:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jessy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jessy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jessy\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#\/schema\/person\/db50817cc6a13b4c0cc7b755b2626c85\"},\"headline\":\"December 2025 4-H Volunteer Corner: Your corner for connection, tips and tricks\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-25T14:33:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/\"},\"wordCount\":483,\"articleSection\":[\"Volunteers\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/\",\"name\":\"December 2025 4-H Volunteer Corner: Your corner for connection, tips and tricks - Cooperative Extension: 4-H - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-25T14:33:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#\/schema\/person\/db50817cc6a13b4c0cc7b755b2626c85\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"December 2025 4-H Volunteer Corner: Your corner for connection, tips and tricks\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/\",\"name\":\"Cooperative Extension: 4-H\",\"description\":\"Information you can use. Research you can trust.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#\/schema\/person\/db50817cc6a13b4c0cc7b755b2626c85\",\"name\":\"Jessy\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc4c92407b04ea295bd48ba26f9215afba7af28ea8162b0bb28506ac7ebc5700?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc4c92407b04ea295bd48ba26f9215afba7af28ea8162b0bb28506ac7ebc5700?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jessy\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/author\/jbrainerd\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"December 2025 4-H Volunteer Corner: Your corner for connection, tips and tricks - Cooperative Extension: 4-H - University of Maine Cooperative Extension","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"December 2025 4-H Volunteer Corner: Your corner for connection, tips and tricks - Cooperative Extension: 4-H - University of Maine Cooperative Extension","og_description":"Nurturing Sparks (Part 3 of 3) Once you notice a spark, did you know you can actually help fuel it? 4-H volunteers support youth sparks by facilitating exploration through varied activities, fostering a supportive environment where questions are valued, encouraging exploration, and building relationships that empower youth to discover and develop their passions. Connecting youth [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/","og_site_name":"Cooperative Extension: 4-H","article_published_time":"2025-11-25T14:33:48+00:00","author":"Jessy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jessy","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/"},"author":{"name":"Jessy","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#\/schema\/person\/db50817cc6a13b4c0cc7b755b2626c85"},"headline":"December 2025 4-H Volunteer Corner: Your corner for connection, tips and tricks","datePublished":"2025-11-25T14:33:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/"},"wordCount":483,"articleSection":["Volunteers"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/","url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/","name":"December 2025 4-H Volunteer Corner: Your corner for connection, tips and tricks - Cooperative Extension: 4-H - University of Maine Cooperative Extension","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-11-25T14:33:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#\/schema\/person\/db50817cc6a13b4c0cc7b755b2626c85"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/2025\/11\/25\/december-2025-4-h-volunteer-corner-your-corner-for-connection-tips-and-tricks\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"December 2025 4-H Volunteer Corner: Your corner for connection, tips and tricks"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#website","url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/","name":"Cooperative Extension: 4-H","description":"Information you can use. Research you can trust.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#\/schema\/person\/db50817cc6a13b4c0cc7b755b2626c85","name":"Jessy","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc4c92407b04ea295bd48ba26f9215afba7af28ea8162b0bb28506ac7ebc5700?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc4c92407b04ea295bd48ba26f9215afba7af28ea8162b0bb28506ac7ebc5700?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jessy"},"url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/author\/jbrainerd\/"}]}},"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":382,"label":"Volunteers"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jessy","author_link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/author\/jbrainerd\/"},"comment_info":"","category_info":[{"term_id":382,"name":"Volunteers","slug":"volunteers","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":382,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":382,"category_count":8,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Volunteers","category_nicename":"volunteers","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30058"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30059,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30058\/revisions\/30059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/4h\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}