Learn by Doing – Love Our 4-H Family Pasta Bash

By Connie Gerow, 4-H Mentoring Site Coordinator

From learning to set a table, making a salad, preparing brownies, to serving dinner and cleaning up after a meal, are many of the life skills that the Love Our 4-H Family Pasta Bash 4-H Mentoring participants will be utilizing in preparation for the 2nd annual Family Night Outing. Research shows that the fundamental practical learn-by-doing experiences encourages youth to grow and become more confident, mature adults and are more ready to succeed in today’s challenging world.

Beginning at 6pm on Wednesday, February 12th in the Salmon River Central High School Cafeteria, the Love Our 4-H Family Pasta Bash outing will be held for all the 4-H Members and their immediate family who attend Salmon River and St. Regis Mohawk Schools. The menu of spaghetti, salads, bread/rolls, milk/water, ice cream and brownies will be catered by the 4-H Mighty Shamrock Members.

Although a monetary donation of $1.00 per person will be accepted, 4-H families are encouraged to bring a donation for the Animal Shelter and/or Food Pantry. Animal shelter items may include old towels, blankets, plastic bags, kitty litter or many types of toys or treats. Food pantry items may include any non-perishable product such as canned foods, boxes of cereals, peanut butter and jellies to name a few. In order to plan, all 4-H Mighty Shamrock Members and Families are encouraged to respond to their invitation by February 6th and indicate the number of immediate family members who will be attending.

Family Night Outings (FNO) are one of the key initiatives designed in a collaborative grant that Franklin County Cornell Cooperative Extension program received from the Office of Justice and Juvenile Delinquency Program (OJJDP) that has been approved in a resolution by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and the Salmon River Board of Education. In keeping with the design, the 4-H Mentoring: Youth and Families with Promise (YFP) goals, the objectives for FNO are to strengthen family bonds, improve parent-youth communication using themes such as: building trust, kindness, positive communication, and working together.

To learn more about 4-H in Franklin County or the 4-H Tribal Mentoring program, one may contact one of the site coordinators either Connie Gerow at 518-358-4271; or Karen Armstrong by calling the Cornell Cooperative Extension Office at 483-7403.