This page is being developed and will be updated regularly.
UW-Madison Extension’s Positive Youth Development Institute is working to create a Virtual Learning Community during the summer of 2020 to provide quality educational activities online that youth, volunteers, and staff can participate in. This committee has been working hard to create an easy to use calendar and submission form that will help to promote these activities Statewide and beyond. These activities will cover a wide variety of topic areas and methods of delivery. The committee wants to make sure that anyone who wants to find something engaging, educational, and fun online is able to do so easily. The Virtual Learning Community is set to run our Summer of Activities from July 1-August 31, and we will use this experience beyond the summer to bring more high quality virtual programming to youth, volunteers, and Extension staff across Wisconsin!
Calendar of Activities
The Calendar used for the Virtual Learning Community is available for anyone to view through TeamUp. You can find the calendar of activities here: Summer Activities Calendar. TeamUp allows visitors to sort the calendar by activity type and age group. You will find a wide variety of activities available to you for the summer. Check back with the calendar often as new activities are added regularly as they are approved. You can find information on each activity and registration information if you click on each calendar item. TeamUp is also available as a free app for your smartphone! Special thank you to TeamUp for their free premium subscription for the summer as the PYD Institute works on online learning.
Submitting an Activity
The Virtual Learning Community team is also looking for activities to add to our calendar and share Statewide! Do you have a topic area you are interested in sharing your expertise in, or do you know of someone who would be interested in teaching? You can submit your activity and the committee will review it and help you get your activity up and running! Committee members are willing to work with you on your activities no matter your experience level in teaching. You can find the activity submission form here: Submission Form for Summer of Learning Activities
Resources for helping with Submissions:
Lesson Template Support Document
Fun Hands-On Learning To Do at Home
Delivering 4-H Through Technology
Staying Connected
Follow Wisconsin 4-H on Facebook and Instagram for posts highlighting different activities throughout the summer and more!
Service Sundays
Service Sundays
Extension is excited to be connecting with youth and families across the state with our Summer Virtual Learning Community. As we build out our calendar, we are looking forward to offering all types of activities for youth and families to engage with! Some days there will be lots of options and others may be a challenge or individual opportunity.
Each Sunday we will highlight and share a Sunday Service Project!! The project does not have to be completed on Sunday, but sometime throughout the summer. If you choose to complete the project, please take a moment to share what you did and learned by completing this form: https://forms.gle/23c3LKeStvvF7PuT9. We will be recognizing individuals and families throughout the summer and highlighting their service!!
Check back each week for a new Sunday Service Project.
Sunday, July 5 – Cloth Face Coverings – During times of disease outbreak, preventing the accidental spread of a virus protects everyone. Young people can help to prevent the spread by sewing cloth face coverings. The service-learning activity plan from Wisconsin 4-H includes guidance for adults and youth in safe and supportive service learning; step-by-step instructions with photos for how to make cloth face coverings that meet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines; as well as reflection questions and opportunities to learn even more. Youth can get involved in this important project. Educators and families can support them in doing so safely. Wisconsin 4-H developed the Cloth Face Coverings Activity Plan as part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension.
As a part of our Sunday Service, consider helping us reach our goal of donating 1000 Cloth Face Coverings by the end of July!! Cloth Face Coverings can be donated locally. Complete the form to share the number of masks donate and where they have been donated.
Sunday, July 12 – Nursing Home/Assisted Living Facility Pen Pal Program –
Sunday, July 19 – Concert – Do you love music and play an instrument or sing? Give back to your community by giving a neighborhood concert! This can be done in your backyard or livestreaming it. Please follow all social distancing guidelines for your backyard concert.
Sunday, July 26 – Neighborhood Beautification – With beautiful weather forecasted for the weekend and week ahead, we would encourage youth and families to get outdoors and look for ways to beautify their neighborhood and/or community. It can be as simple as picking up trash around a body of water, in a park, along a beach or on a nature/bike trail.
Families may also want to head out for a walkabout, exploring and looking at their neighborhood and/or community from a different lens; seeing if there are other projects that might be needed. There may be benches or buildings in parks that could use paint and/or other small projects that families could work on together!! Why not make a list and then reach out to the city council or town board to seek approval for working on those projects this summer.
Sunday, August 9 – Send a Box of Sunshine – The sun has physically been “shining” a lot this summer and yet many people are struggling. To show someone you are thinking of them and to brighten their day, why not consider making and giving out a Box of Sunshine?!
All you need to get started is a shoe box or other small box!! Wrap and decorate it in yellow and then search for “bright” items to add to the box.
- Carmex
- Lemon Drops
- Zone Bars
- Yellow Gummy Bears
- Crunch N Munch
- Lemon Scented Hand Soap or Hand Sanitizer
- Cascade Ice Drink
- Lemon Cake Mix
- Melt Em’s
You might also want to check out a dollar store and find some other great fun yellow/bright things that will help spread some sunshine and light. Cut out a few paper sunbeams, print out a little note and you have a Box of Sunshine!
Then…think of someone you know who needs cheering up and drop off your Box of Sunshine!! If you have questions on how to get started, reach out to your local 4-H Educator or Amber Rehberg at amber.rehberg@wisc.edu.
Service Sundays
Extension is excited to be connecting with youth and families across the state with our Summer Virtual Learning Community. As we build out our calendar, we are looking forward to offering all types of activities for youth and families to engage with! Some days there will be lots of options and others may be a challenge or individual opportunity.
Each Sunday we will highlight and share a Sunday Service Project!! The project does not have to be completed on Sunday, but sometime throughout the summer. If you choose to complete the project, please take a moment to share what you did and learned by completing this form: https://forms.gle/23c3LKeStvvF7PuT9. We will be recognizing individuals and families throughout the summer and highlighting their service!!
Check back each week for a new Sunday Service Project.
Sunday, July 5 – Cloth Face Coverings – During times of disease outbreak, preventing the accidental spread of a virus protects everyone. Young people can help to prevent the spread by sewing cloth face coverings. The service-learning activity plan from Wisconsin 4-H includes guidance for adults and youth in safe and supportive service learning; step-by-step instructions with photos for how to make cloth face coverings that meet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines; as well as reflection questions and opportunities to learn even more. Youth can get involved in this important project. Educators and families can support them in doing so safely. Wisconsin 4-H developed the Cloth Face Coverings Activity Plan as part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension.
As a part of our Sunday Service, consider helping us reach our goal of donating 1000 Cloth Face Coverings by the end of July!! Cloth Face Coverings can be donated locally. Complete the form to share the number of masks donate and where they have been donated.
Sunday, July 12 – Nursing Home/Assisted Living Facility Pen Pal Program –
Sunday, July 19 – Concert – Do you love music and play an instrument or sing? Give back to your community by giving a neighborhood concert! This can be done in your backyard or livestreaming it. Please follow all social distancing guidelines for your backyard concert.
Sunday, July 26 – Neighborhood Beautification – With beautiful weather forecasted for the weekend and week ahead, we would encourage youth and families to get outdoors and look for ways to beautify their neighborhood and/or community. It can be as simple as picking up trash around a body of water, in a park, along a beach or on a nature/bike trail.
Families may also want to head out for a walkabout, exploring and looking at their neighborhood and/or community from a different lens; seeing if there are other projects that might be needed. There may be benches or buildings in parks that could use paint and/or other small projects that families could work on together!! Why not make a list and then reach out to the city council or town board to seek approval for working on those projects this summer.
Sunday, August 9 – Send a Box of Sunshine – The sun has physically been “shining” a lot this summer and yet many people are struggling. To show someone you are thinking of them and to brighten their day, why not consider making and giving out a Box of Sunshine?!
All you need to get started is a shoe box or other small box!! Wrap and decorate it in yellow and then search for “bright” items to add to the box.
- Carmex
- Lemon Drops
- Zone Bars
- Yellow Gummy Bears
- Crunch N Munch
- Lemon Scented Hand Soap or Hand Sanitizer
- Cascade Ice Drink
- Lemon Cake Mix
- Melt Em’s
You might also want to check out a dollar store and find some other great fun yellow/bright things that will help spread some sunshine and light. Cut out a few paper sunbeams, print out a little note and you have a Box of Sunshine!
Then…think of someone you know who needs cheering up and drop off your Box of Sunshine!! If you have questions on how to get started, reach out to your local 4-H Educator or Amber Rehberg at amber.rehberg@wisc.edu.
Archive of Activities
Archive of Activities
Some activities will be archived and available for later viewing. Our team is working to ensure that archived videos are properly captioned in accordance with UW-Madison policy. We will not be able to archive every activity, but will work to archive as many as possible. You can find the list of archived activities below. The archive will be publicly accessible through Google Drive here. You can find a short list of some archived activities below.
Virtual Beef Farm Tour – Arlington and Lancaster Research Stations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip25BqpzTwg Posted 5-6-2020
Arlington Beef Research Station and Lancaster Beef Research Station hosted by UW Madison Animal Sciences and Division of Extension. Arin Crooks, Lancaster Research Station; Caleb Karls, Arlington Research Station; Amanda Cauffman, Grant County Division of Extension Ag Educator, and Bernie O’Rourke, Extension Youth Livestock Specialist led participants through both beef units. Participants learned about animal care, nutrition, facilities, pastures, SW Wisconsin topography, and much more. More activities and educational verification forms for those needing educational credits can be found at https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/youthl…. Please complete the survey after viewing the tour. https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/j…
Virtual Swine Farm Tour – Arlington Swine Research and Teaching Center
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=438yeXMiOQs Posted 4-29-2020
Arlington Research Station Swine Research and Teaching Center Virtual Farm hosted by UW Madison Animal Sciences and Division of Extension. Kadi Walsh, Program Manager, Dr. Tommy Crenshaw, UW Madison Animal Sciences, and Bernie O’Rourke, Extension Youth Livestock Specialist led participants through the swine unit. Participants learned about animal care, nutrition, facilities, baby pig care, surgery, and much more. More activities and educational verification forms for those needing educational credits can be found at https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/youthl… Please complete the survey after viewing the tour. https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/j…
Archive of Activities
Some activities will be archived and available for later viewing. Our team is working to ensure that archived videos are properly captioned in accordance with UW-Madison policy. We will not be able to archive every activity, but will work to archive as many as possible. You can find the list of archived activities below. The archive will be publicly accessible through Google Drive here. You can find a short list of some archived activities below.
Virtual Beef Farm Tour – Arlington and Lancaster Research Stations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip25BqpzTwg Posted 5-6-2020
Arlington Beef Research Station and Lancaster Beef Research Station hosted by UW Madison Animal Sciences and Division of Extension. Arin Crooks, Lancaster Research Station; Caleb Karls, Arlington Research Station; Amanda Cauffman, Grant County Division of Extension Ag Educator, and Bernie O’Rourke, Extension Youth Livestock Specialist led participants through both beef units. Participants learned about animal care, nutrition, facilities, pastures, SW Wisconsin topography, and much more. More activities and educational verification forms for those needing educational credits can be found at https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/youthl…. Please complete the survey after viewing the tour. https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/j…
Virtual Swine Farm Tour – Arlington Swine Research and Teaching Center
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=438yeXMiOQs Posted 4-29-2020
Arlington Research Station Swine Research and Teaching Center Virtual Farm hosted by UW Madison Animal Sciences and Division of Extension. Kadi Walsh, Program Manager, Dr. Tommy Crenshaw, UW Madison Animal Sciences, and Bernie O’Rourke, Extension Youth Livestock Specialist led participants through the swine unit. Participants learned about animal care, nutrition, facilities, baby pig care, surgery, and much more. More activities and educational verification forms for those needing educational credits can be found at https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/youthl… Please complete the survey after viewing the tour. https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/j…
