Monday, March 22, 2010

Hosting an Exchange Student - Great Way to Spend a Summer!


Open your home to an exchange student and open your lives to the world. Families will have an opportunity to host Japanese exchange students, ages twelve through sixteen, for four weeks this summer, July 23 – August 19, 2010.

The youth will be visiting the United States as part of a 4-H Exchange Program. You don’t need to be involved with 4-H to host. You just need a willingness to share your lives and your friendship with a young person from another country. 

The program is open to families who have a child within two years of the same age and of the same gender to the Japanese youth. One Japanese visitor will be matched to a family based on the host sibling’s gender, age, and interests. The homestays are only for a month during the summer, but the experience will last a lifetime! 

There are also opportunities to host adult chaperones for 2- 4 weeks.  Families who host chaperones are not required to have children in the home.
For more information and an application visit

Information from Carolyn Langley, NC International Exchange Coordinator.  

Thursday, February 25, 2010

The day has finally arrived! When I got to the office on Tuesday, I heard the faint sound of chirping coming from the incubator. Several hours later, our first chick hatched! Overnight, many followed suit and we now have more than 20 here at the 4-H office! I have gotten reports from many classrooms of chicks hatching there as well.

As fun as today is, the 4-H Embryology project is about more than just hatching chicks! Through this project, 24 Richmond County 1st and 2nd grade classrooms have cared for eggs for the past 21 days. After the teachers attend a training with Miss Michelle, they are ready to receive equipment and eggs. During the course of the project, students learn about life cycles, agriculture, biosecurity, record keeping and more! Students have written stories, made books and completed timelines to help them learn more about the chicks and why we treat them like we do.

Farm Bureau partners with us to help ensure success of 4-H Embryology! Special thanks to them for assisting with this program.

And - since they are so fun to look at - here are pictures of some of our chicks!