The fourth H in 4-H represents Health. When reciting the 4-H pledge, members pledge their health to better living. Health as the 4th H can mean many things, including:
- Taking a health-related project
- Learning more about health through reading and hands-on learning
- Adopting healthy behaviors
- Encouraging one’s family and friends to do things to be healthier
- Teaching others about a health-related topic
- Making changes in the food served at club meetings and county events to reflect health recommendations
- Learning about health-related careers
- Talking to community leaders about health issues
- Creating a plan to address a health-related issue in the community
Health is very important to the overall 4-H program. Whether members take a health project or not, we want involvement in 4-H to include educational experiences focused on health.
Ohio 4-H has some new healthy living resources, brought to you by the Ohio 4-H Healthy Living Design Team. These resources can help club officers and 4-H professionals add a dose of the 4th H to their meetings.
Ohio 4-H Healthy Living Officer Resource Guide 
Healthy Living officers have the opportunity to lead activities that will be both fun and educational for their 4-H club. The Healthy Living Officer Resource Guide is a new 20-page resource designed to accompany the Healthy Living Officer’s Record Book. Both can be found on the Ohio 4-H Officer Resources page. The resource guide includes background information on the healthy living area, tips for planning your part in club meetings, evaluating sources of information, and a list of current healthy living projects. The remaining sections are organized by the core topics covered in the national 4-H Healthy Living mission area:
- nutrition
- physical activity
- mental, emotional, and social health
- safety and injury prevention
- prevention of tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use
Each section includes a brief description, sample activities, and sources of additional resources to learn more about the topic. You’ll find ideas for icebreakers, roll call, displays, presentation, guest speakers, and community service projects.
Healthy Living Grab and Go Resources Page
We’ve created activities that go along with many of our blog posts, and now they are organized on the Grab and Go Resources page. On the grab and go page you’ll find lesson plans that you can download and use at your next meeting. You can use one activity, or combine several related activities to create the plan for an entire meeting. The lessons are grouped together by topics that correspond with the Healthy Officer Resource Book: nutrition; physical activity; and mental, emotional, and social health.
Additional topics include:
- The newest section is Mindful Moments, which are short, 5-minute activities that can be used at the start of any meeting.
- COVID-19 activities address situations brought on by the pandemic.
- Creative Well-Being activities are fun activities that exercise creativity in different ways.
As we write new blog posts, we will continue to add resources to the grab and go page, so check back often. Click the “subscribe” button to receive an email notification about new blog content.
And don’t forget that we have Ohio 4-H Mental Health Month resources on our 4-H Healthy Living webpage.