(Editor’s Note: The following article was submitted by Benton Co. 4-H.)

“We look forward to this tradition every year in 4-H,” said 4-H volunteer Karen Sakry. “This is a great opportunity to reach out to our community and enjoy watching the smiles on the faces of the youth.” 

Benton County 4-H held their annual Holiday Workshop plus Painting Class Thursday, Oct. 21st during MEA at the Foley Intermediate School. 

“We look forward to this event every year,” said participant AnnaGrace Berger, sixth grader from Big Lake. “I love making all these crafts for gifts and I especially enjoy painting my very own masterpiece.” 

During the huge crafting and painting, there were ten different crafting stations. One of the exciting opportunities was having Amy Kleine, a local artist from Sauk Rapids, work with three different groups of youths painting their own canvases. The youths were able to choose from three different themes for their canvases. The themes they could pick from were fall with a holiday tree, an owl, and pumpkins. 

“My favorite part of the day was making a fleece tie pillow.” Said 4-H’er Lauren Dahler, third grader from Foley. “It was difficult to cut but I was really glad that I did it.” 

At each of the other stations, 4-H youth ambassadors and adult volunteers taught participants how to make a mason jar arrangement, perler bead keychain, fleece tie pillows, set of cards, Jenga reindeer, rock painting, corn cob beads, a cd spring ornament, a Santa paint brush, and a canvas painting. The Holiday Workshop is a great example of the 4-H philosophy: adult volunteers providing youths opportunities to teach and lead other youths. 

The lunchroom was filled with smiling and excited faces. The youths focused hard using glue guns, paint brushes and even hair dryers to dry paint on their projects. The Benton County 4-H Holiday Workshop is a day set aside for youths to get out of the house and spend a few hours making crafts from kits prepared by some of the 4-H groups in Benton County. Participants finished not only with boxes filled with Holiday crafts, but with an increased understanding of art, how to recycle “trash” into treasure and the value of making thoughtful, homemade (rather than purchased) gifts. 

Extension educator Ann Olson said, “We would like to extend a huge thank you to Benton County 4-H Clubs and volunteers. Thank you to everyone who assembled craft kits, set up, taught and/or cleaned up. Thank you to the clubs that helped prepare the crafts and for the dedicated ambassadors along with adult volunteers that guided the success of the participants.”