16th annual Spaces Conference

It’s not all about animals in 4-H

Branching out: About 95 children took part in classes on Outer space, Inner space, and Shared Space.
By Kathleen D. Bailey
Special to the Union Leader
Epping

Joey Pearson, a 4-H leader from Auburn, said she laughs when people ask her, “What kinds of animals do you have?” She’ll point out, gently, that she draws young people from Manchester to her Crafty Crew club, and that 4-H has branched out. “It depends on the leader,” she said. “Are you interested in horses, crafts, technology? You can’t teach something you don’t know anything about.”

Teens, younger children, and adults from around Rockingham County gathered Saturday for the 16th annual Spaces Conference at Epping Middle/High School. They chose workshops in the areas of Inner Space, Outer Space, and Shared Space, and explored new skills or polished talents they already had. The free workshops drew both 4-H members and children outside the program, who listened to more than 40 presenters share their passions. Outer Space activities, focusing on science and technology, included a cooking class, geo-caching, and “Surgeon of the Day,” in which children got to dress up in scrubs and practice with surgical instruments - on an embroidery hoop, extension educator Rick Alleva said. Inner Space included organizing classes, journal exercises, hypnosis, and drama, while Shared Space brought classes in basket-weaving, gardening, and Pysanky egg decorating.

In Japanese Culture, presenter Suzette St. Pierre drew on her four months in Japan for a slide lecture and hands-on activities, including kimono modeling. The garments she had were actually called the “yukata,” she said as she wrapped one around 4-H member Richie Gress. “The guys have yukatas that fasten left to right, and the girl’s right to left. In the winter, you wear a kimono over a yukata. Without help, it takes me two hours to get dressed,” she added.

Alleva said 89 children registered for the event, but there were also a number of walk-ins. “I’d say 95 kids in all, and 37 volunteers,” he said. There were 30 workshops, a pizza lunch, and a chance for each child to ride a Segway. The event works, Alleva said, because of the great variety of “exciting hands-on activities. Kids can get involved in doing, making, sharing.” There were “traditional” 4-H activities, such as Bits and Bridles, and Fun with Poultry. But children and adults could also choose from mini-classes in beading, the Wii, and needle-felting.

Two of Joey Pearson’s younger 4-H members showed her the stuffed bunny and bear, respectively, they had made in their needle-felting group. “I’m going to make the bird next,” one told her.

Lynn Garland, former 4-H educator and now a volunteer, talked about plants in one classroom. “Tell me something you grow as an annual,” she said. When children called out ”pansies” and “marigolds,” she nodded. Most of your bright flowers are annuals, and most of your vegetables.”

In another classroom, Dee Voss and Lainee Clark instructed a group in the fundamentals of basket-weaving. Most of the Spaces classes had a take-home component, and when a boy asked, “Will we make a basket?” Voss said, "Of course.”

Michelle King distributed blown-out white eggs in her Pysanky egg-decorating class. The craft involves dyeing the eggs after wax had been applied to create a “resist.” King introduced participants to the “kistka.” A Russian egg-decorating tool, and showed them how to mark off sections on their white eggs with pencil. They would draw their designs freehand, she said, adding, “What you put the wax on is what you’ll see at the end. “You hold the pencil straight so it makes a nice line,” she said. “but once you’re done, the line disappears under the dye.” And King espoused the philosophy of the Spaces conference when she added, “It doesn’t have to be perfect.”