Instructions for Compiling your 4-H Record Book
 

4-H Record Books are due to the Hillsborough County 4-H Office on or before September 1, 2009.

Each 4-H member must sign up in a 4-H project each year as part of becoming a 4-H member.  The 4-H Youth Development Program has a long history of record-keeping as an activity by 4-H members. In early 4-H history, Record Books focused on project profit and loss and other activities in agricultural and home economics projects. As 4-H moved from a primarily agricultural focus to encompassing suburban and urban clubs, the Record Book process changed.

The Purpose of Record Books:

4-H Record Books serve a variety of purposes in the Hillsborough 4-H Youth Development Program. While society has changed, the goals of teaching record-keeping to youth remain the same.

• 4-H Record Books give members an opportunity to reflect on their yearly work. They document their skill development and their learning experiences in a written report. 4-H members measure their achievements and growth in their total years in 4-H.
• 4-H Record Books encourage members to set goals and develop plans to meet those goals.
• Completing a 4-H Record Book is a process where 4-H members record project and club work. Records management is an industry-standard practice of identifying, creating, classifying, archiving and preserving records. The 4-H Record Book teaches 4-H members these skills through a standard format.

Instructions for Completing your Annual 4-H Record Book:

Things you will need:

Green paper folder with inside clasps (we prefer folders versus notebooks due to the amount of space the notebooks take when storing).
4-H Level Book-  You can download a copy of the level book based on the 4-H member's age by clicking on the links below.     -  Cloverbud Level Book.pdf     -  Junior Member Level Book.pdf     -  Intermediate Member Level Book.pdf     -  Senior Member Level Book.pdf
4-H Project Book-  This is either your record keeping book that has been provided to you by the FL Strawberry Festival and FL State Fair or a National 4-H curriculum project book that you have purchased through www.4hmall.org
4-H Story- This should be a 1-2 page story about your 4-H experiences throughout the year.  Please see the directions included in your Level Book
4-H Pictures- The judges LOVE to see pictures of you and your project work.  Include photos of you in action, learning about things, working on community service, and of course, HAVING FUN!!  You record books are great "scrapbooks" to look back on when you progress through the program and come in handy when you start filling out scholarship applications.

The criteria that your record books are judged on can be found by clicking the link below to the score sheet.  If you have any additional questions regarding the record book submission process, please contact the 4-H office at (813) 744-5519.

Record Book Score Sheet.pdf

Cloverbud Score Sheet.pdf