The Homer-based, Leaping Lizards 4-H club is still accepting new members.
The club is for ages five to 18, said leader Melissa Siegmund.
Siegmund said she thinks 4-H clubs, no matter where they are located, are fun places for a diverse group of kids to meet and have fun.
The Leaping Lizards meet once a month to plan upcoming outings, participate in community service projects or learn from other members about their projects or interests. The outings are only limited to places that seem fun or interesting, Siegmund said. The club has been to hockey games, a creamer where they make fine cheese and raise cattle, the Champaign County Humane Society, Skateland and Urbana Boulders.
They also start and end the 4-H year with an outdoor potluck dinner at Homer Lake.
“We go anywhere and do anything the group thinks would be fun or interesting to see,” Siegmund said. “It is up to the kids to decide what they want to do -the adults just help make it happen.”
Siegmund said one important aspect of 4-H meetings is developing the talents of the members of the group as they work on their projects. Club members choose a project in areas they want to learn more about. They present these projects at the Champaign County Fair and if they place well they show the projects at the Illinois State Fair 4-H building for state-level judging with other counties in Illinois.
Siegmund said Leaping Lizards have worked on projects that include drawing, painting, 3-D art, knitting, rockets, welding, electrical, computer programming, speech demonstrations, food and nutrition, cooking, sewering and textiles, canning, archery, theater make-up, woodworking, fishing and of course livestock display and animal and pet management.
“Not to be overly proud of our kid’s past project but the 4-H Leaping Lizards club has many County and State Fair ribbon winners and Champions and we just couldn’t be prouder of all the new skills they have learned,” Siegmund said.
Siegmund said the club loves to help the local community through service projects.
“We have made and decorated cookies for a local food pantry for years, made cat and dog toys for the Humane Society, and helped clean up at Homer Lake, just to name a few,” she said. “We have plans for even more community service this year.”
Siegmund said the meeting structure of 4-H allows club members to run for many leadership positions and various committee positions. She said this allows the members to participate in structured meetings, accomplish goals and prepare them for life in college, the workplace and adult life.
“4-H membership looks great on college and job applications as it shows to others that these kids are involved in their own personal development, want to do more outside of school, and want to help others,” she said.
The club meets on the first Thursday of the month at the Homer United Methodist Church from 6-7:30 p.m.
At their November 1st meeting they will be making dog toys for the Champaign County Humane Society, decorating placemats for a local nursing home, planning upcoming outings, and participating in a fun game before our snack. At the December 6th meeting they will be making and decorating cookies for a local food pantry.
Contact Melissa Siegmund at 217-417-3794 or DelnMelSiegmund@aol.com if you are interested or want to learn more about how easy it is to become a 4-H member.
