4-H CREATIVE WRITING CONTEST

Sheboygan County 4-H members compete in different age categories by entering their best poetry or prose for cash prizes. The event is open to Cloverbuds to high school age 4-H members. A written critique and certificate is given to each participant.

For the 1997 Creative Writing Contest, 12-year-old Ryan Menart from the Herman Cheerios 4-H club wrote this poem called "The 4-H Projects."

I must decide my project
For the County Fair--
And then I have to make it
With neatness and care.

What do I do?
What do I do?
My project has to be both
Challenging and new.

I studied the project guide,
Iexamined my skills,
I¹m tackling a big one--
It could give me the chills.

Since I started in 4-H,
I've learned quite a bit--
Including how to make
A model from a kit.

While I¹m making my project
I run out of glue.
And the hardware store is closed--
Oh, what do I do?

Where did all my time go?
What happened to it?
If I don¹t hurry up,
I just may have to quit.

Oh, no!
My project¹s going slow!
And Judging Day is
Tomorrow, you know.

It¹s time to go--
Today is Judging Day.
I hope the judge likes my project.
What will he say?

He asked some tough questions
And he took a good look.
I¹m glad I worked so hard
On this project book.

The judge said I did good,
But I did make some mistakes.
On my Food & Nutrition project,
I overcooked my cakes.

Then the projects came home,
And I put them on the shelf--
Where it will be used
By others and myself.

Next year, I will have to
Go through this all over again.
I don¹t know what I¹ll take--
I might just bring a hen.

But the most important thing
I learned was not to wait
Because before too long,
It will be too late.

Contact Amber Rehberg for more information. Email: amber.rehberg@ces.uwex.edu

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