Summer Camps in Region 6 (Western Iowa) Have Begun!

Monday, June 7th

Here in Region 6 our summer camps finally began! I started the week in Woodbury County (Sioux City) on Monday. I was able to help lead our Cooking Around the World Camp with Alesha Roll. Alesha is Woodbury County’s INN Grant Director and the 4-H Program Assistant. We had 10 kids, ranging in age from 4th grade to 8th grade. The Cooking Around the World Camp was so much fun! We split the group of 10 in half so I had 5 kids in my group. I was assisted by Woodbury County’s dietetic intern Katelynn. I enjoyed getting to teach a skill or direction and then watch the youth execute what I had explained to them. The first dish that we made came from Sweden. The kids learned how to make fondue. They also learned proper knife skills and were able to cut vegetables, fruit, and bread to dip into their fondue. My group was a little nervous to try the fondue because they had never tried it before, but they all ended up trying it and seemed to like it. The vegetables didn’t seem to get used as much with the fondue, but the bread was a hit! The second dish that we made was Three Sister Soup from the Native American tribes the Navajo and the Iroquois. This one took a little while longer to prepare compared to the fondue, but they still enjoyed getting to cut and mix in all the ingredients. A takeaway that the youth had from the Cooking Around the World Camp, was to cut the vegetables into smaller pieces so they would cook easier and not take so long. Another takeaway that they had was to not be afraid to try new food! It may look a little scary at first, but if you give it a try you may end up liking it more than you think.  All in all, the camp was a success and I think all of the youth that were involved enjoyed getting to be the chefs for once instead of their parents!

Cooking Around the World Camp: Picture #1, youth stirring the fondue continuously in order to make sure it doesn’t burn. Picture #2, youth peeling a carrot for the Three Sisters Soup.


Tuesday, June 8th and Wednesday, June 9th

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in Plymouth County in Le Mars. I was able to help with the Clover Kid Day Camp. I think these two days were my favorite part of my week! The Clover Kids were so excited to be back together again after not being able to see each other for a year due to the pandemic.The Clover Kids ranged from 1st grade to 4th grade. Both days we had a different group of Clover Kids and we taught the same thing both days. We started the morning with breakfast. They were able to choose from pancakes, doughnuts, or cereal. The pancakes seemed to be a hit! After they finished eating breakfast, we played an ice breaker game. We threw an inflatable ball around the circle and got to tell everyone a little bit about ourselves. Next we divided the group in half and got to make two different projects for the fair. The first station was perler beads. At this station the kids got to make whatever design they wanted, making an emoji face seemed to be the biggest hit. One of my little friends that I met at day one of the camp was Miley and she talked me into making a perler bead! We both made an emoji face and had so much fun doing it. The second station seemed to be the favorite out of the two. Here, they were able to learn how to sew and make an emoji face pillow. The kids seemed to love getting to put their own twist on the face that they chose to put onto their pillow. A mixture of the projects that they made will be put on display at the Plymouth County Fair at the end of July in their Clover Kid booth. They also got to design their own rocks for the ISU Plymouth County rock bed and also got the option to take them home if they chose too.

First picture: Alaina with her decorated rocks to go in the rock bed outside the front door! Second picture: Miley and I’s finished perler beads. Last picture: Lane said, “Autumn take a picture of me! I want to make this face out of perler beads.”

After they were finished with making their projects we took them on a walk to the Extension Garden. They were very eager to guess which plant was which. Once we got back from the walk to the garden Jodi Fisher, Plymouth Counties Program Assistant, talked to the kids about STEM and what it meant. The Clover Kids got to use Dash and Dot and program them with a tablet. The younger kids seemed to struggle a little bit in the beginning but with some guidance they caught on really quickly! After going through some of the task cards for about 45 minutes, their next task was to figure out how to program Dash to win a race. All of the Clover Kids got really excited about getting to race their robots and their competitive sides came out. The races were a hit! The winners for the races were then asked to explain to the others exactly how they programmed their dash. It was a great learning experience for all of the kids. The majority of the Clover Kids asked me multiple times if they could go back and get to experiment with Dash and Dot some more. After Dash and Dot were put away it was time for lunch. The kids who were sitting next to me had a lot of different stories to tell me and seemed to ask me so many different questions, but I didn’t mind. I enjoy getting to work with kids and teach them different things.

Programming, experimenting, and racing Dash and Dot!

Once lunch was over, we took the kids on a walk to the park for them to get some of their energy out. On the second day of the camp I made a handful of new friends with a group of girls. They told me all about their projects for the fair and their bucket calves. By the end of the trip to the park they started to call me their best friend, which makes me laugh writing about it now! The girls were definitely sad when I told them I wouldn’t get to see them again after the day was over, but I promised them that I would come watch them show their bucket calves at the Plymouth County Fair, so they would get to see me one more time before I completed my internship. One of the girls whose name is Savannah said to me, “Autumn the fair is only 49 days away!” Our trip to the park wasn’t long due to the extreme heat, but they got an ice cream treat from Blue Bunny upon our return back to the office. We all took a short break and enjoyed our ice cream treat and to cool off, but then it was back outside to get to enjoy the slip n’ slide! In previous years the Clover Kids were able to go to the pool across the street, but this year the pool is still not open due to maintenance. The kids were definitely bummed, but that didn’t stop them from having fun! I enjoyed the Clover Kids Camp and wish there could be another one, but I was glad that I was able to help with this one! 


Thursday, June 10th

Thursday was more laid back as the morning was spent at the Woodbury County office catching up on emails and figuring out my next week’s schedule. I then traveled to the Monona County office in Onawa and started gathering materials for the Livestock Day in Castana, which is tomorrow June 15th. Later on during the day last Thursday, I then traveled to the Iowa State Research Farm in Castana to help with their Breakfast Club. The Monona County Breakfast Club is a program they started a few years ago. Through this opportunity the youth are able to show pigs and this year chickens! The youth who are involved in this live in town and do not have anywhere to house their pigs or chickens or do not have the funds to raise the animals. I think this opportunity that Monona County offers is simply amazing and it would be a great opportunity for other counties to offer to youth! Woodbury County offers a similar program, which is called Pig Pals. At the farm last Thursday a few kids who are a part of the program came out to get to work with their pigs. I was able to help teach them some different showmanship skills and help them get to wash some pigs. The pigs definitely enjoyed getting to be washed due to the heat that day. I am excited to be able to help at the Livestock Day in Castana! I do not know much about pigs because I only show cattle, but I have shown pigs a few times so I am eager to learn more about them myself while also getting to teach the youth more showmanship skills and tips that I have to offer. My week was definitely busy traveling to all three counties, but I enjoyed staying busy and I am excited for the rest of my summer with Monona, Plymouth, and Woodbury County!

Molly Hewitt, the Regional Director of Region 6 and I at the ISU Research Farm in Castana a few weeks ago!

Catch up with you later this week!

-Autumn Weaver