*This post was written by Modern Parents Messy Kids through an activation with HireInfluence on behalf of 4-H. Although Modern Parents Messy Kids received compensation for participating in the campaign, all thoughts and opinions are our own.
When I was in the 6th grade, my mom sent me down the street to join the local 4-H club in Stevensville, Montana. As a shy kid, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
The thought of learning about agriculture and raising livestock, which is what most local kids were doing, seemed very intimidating.
But my mom knew what she was doing.
When I came home from the meeting, she opened up the book to show me pages of classes ranging from basic to advanced.
There were so many choices that expanded beyond livestock. And that’s what I love about 4-H.
The 4‑H idea is simple: help young people and their families gain the skills needed to be proactive forces in their communities and develop ideas for a more innovative economy.
Kids complete hands-on projects in areas like health, science, agriculture and citizenship, in a positive environment where they receive guidance from adult mentors and are encouraged to take on proactive leadership roles.
If the idea of raising a pig and showing it at the fair is exciting, you can do that! If you’re a little timid and want to ease into learning new skills, you could join a citizenship program. Want to build something with your hands, engineer your own robot, or become an at-home chemist? You can do that too!
Over the years I was in 4-H, I learned to cook yeast breads, oil paint and sew with a pattern. But most importantly, I became a much more confident version of myself.
My classes taught me to be a curious learner. The new skills I was learning would even one day give me the confidence to start a photography business as an adult.
Now that I’m a mom of three teenagers, I want them to have the same experiences, which is why I was so excited to hear about , the official launch of 4-H’s year-long campaign called Inspire Kids to Do.
celebrates ALL kids who “do” with purpose, not just those that live on a farm. In fact, it’s getting kids all across the nation in on the fun by providing 30 days of fun, skill-building ideas and activities that you can easily do with your kids at home.
I don’t know about you, but I’m always on the lookout for simple and new ways to spend some quality time with my kids making memories they’ll cherish forever. So I’m pretty excited that 4-H has done the hard work for me and come up with a whole month’s worth of ideas!
At our house, we’re filling the month with a cooking project that will encourage healthy living.
Each week, we’re picking a new vegetable and trying new recipes. The kids will help me in the kitchen and we’ll get to spend time together while building useful life skills and hopefully even instilling some new healthy habits- it’s a win-win!
Planner that I am, I’ve done my homework and already picked out a few recipes. Some will be familiar to my kids and some will be new takes on old classics using the vegetable of the week.
As we all know, kids don’t always embrace the green. So, part of my job as a mom is to introduce them to new tastes and textures, right?!
If you’d like to follow along with us, here are the recipes we’re trying out…
Vegetable Recipe Round-up Using Broccoli, Spaghetti Squash or Cauliflower
- This Lemon Roasted Broccoli is simple and looks delicious.
- This Broccoli and Cheese Orzo that looks like a yummy take on macaroni and cheese.
- I have a feeling my kids will love these Broccoli Tots.
- When you’re making tater tots out of vegetables, you might as well try more than one. I’m all in for the Spaghetti Squash Tater Tots.
- Spaghetti squash is such a versatile vegetable. Using it in lieu of pasta, like in this Baked Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Meat Sauce is so smart.
- The fact that spaghetti squash comes in a hard shell, makes it perfect for recipes like Taco Spaghetti Squash Boats.
- Cauliflower is another vegetable that can be transformed into anything from pizza crust to a mashed potato knock off. We’ll be trying Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes.
- And you better believe we’ll be trying Cauliflower Breadsticks.
- Finally, when we’re craving Asian food, we’ll pull out the recipe for Honey Garlic Baked Cauliflower.
Remember, cooking is just one of the multitude of challenges available for 30 Days of Doing and there are tons of ways you can get involved…
- Start by downloading 4-H’s “Inspire to Do” list.
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Be sure to enter the photo contest at 4-H.org/InspireKidstoDo from September 1st – 30th. You could win a $10,000 scholarship for your kid!
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Starts 9/1/18; ends 9/30/18. Official Rules available 9/1/18 at 4-H.org/InspireKidstoDo
What are you waiting for? Help us inspire 1 million kids to do! Grab yours and find a great way to spend some quality time together today!
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Kristin