Citizenship
· Do your share to make your
school and community better
· Cooperate
· Stay Informed; vote
· Be a good neighbor
· Obey laws and rules
· Protect the environment
· Respect Authority
Working
with Children and Teens
Have children cut out pictures and assemble a collage
depicting acts of civic responsibility such as recycling, voting, showing
respect for the law, and speaking out against injustice. When the collage is complete, each family
member identifies one contribution they have made and explains its
significance.
Addressing Community Problems
Ask children to think about problems they might find in their neighborhood. Discuss
what causes these problems, how problems affect members of the community,
and how concerned citizens can solve the problems. A list of concerns might include:
· Litter and other forms of
pollution
· Shoplifting
· Outdoor play equipment is broken
· Wildlife dying because of harsh
weather
Practicing
Citizenship 1
True citizenship means participation, involvement and
contribution. No one can make a
difference without being involved.
Good citizenship is not just doing the thing that “looks
good.” Good citizenship means
helping others and knowing more than how the government works. It means working to make our community,
country and world a better place to live.
A good citizen:
· Obeys the laws
· Helps others/volunteers
· Protects the environment
· Votes
· Respects the flag and other
national symbols
How can you address community problems? Ask your children to think about problems
they might find in their neighborhood, school, or 4-H club. Discuss what causes these problems, how
problems affect members of the community and how concerned citizens can
solve the problems. A list of
concerns might include:
· Litter and other forms of
pollution
· Shoplifting
· Outdoor play equipment that is
broken
· Wildlife that is dying
· 4-H members not attending meetings
and scheduled activities
Practicing
Citizenship 2
Citizenship is not passive. It demands participation, involvement and
contribution. Good citizenship in
practice is understanding, appreciating, and doing things that make life
better for yourself and others.
Citizenship includes both rights and duties. My rights depend on you fulfilling your
responsibilities and my responsibility includes the duty to see that you
are free to exercise your rights.
4-H’ers have shown good citizenship through community
service activities and projects.
Exercise
This month take the time to learn more about your
community. Study its history and
share that information with others through a program at a 4-H club meeting
or an article for the local newspaper.
It doesn’t take lots of people to complete a
community service projects; in fact, one person is enough. This month think of 1-2 activities you
can do by yourself to help your community.
Some ideas might include attending a city county meeting to learn
more about issues, help with voter registration or drive someone to the
polls to vote or organize a bingo party or costume party at a local nursing
home.
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4-H
Character Connections - Citizenship
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Participation, involvement and contribution
are traits of character. Good citizenship is not doing what “looks
good.” It means helping
others, knowing more than how the government works and working to make
our community, country and world a better place to live. A good citizen:
·
Does their share
·
Cooperates
·
Stays informed and votes
·
Is a good neighbor
·
Obeys laws and rules
·
Respects authority
·
Protects the environment
Infants
and Toddlers
Even infants and toddlers can learn
about citizenship. Not only is
taking them for walks in the neighborhood healthy it also shows them a
larger world than home and CYS. As
your infant becomes a toddler, talk to them about what you see on your
walks. Toddlers may not understand
all that you explain but the more you talk, the more they will understand
and will want to become a part of the community.
Preschoolers
Preschoolers can start learning about
citizenship by being a citizen of their family and their CYS
classroom. Help them understand
the importance of getting along with others. They can also show good citizenship by
doing chores around the house – picking up their toys – or by
feeding animals.
Birdfeeders
Activity
Supplies: pine cones, string, yarn or pipe
cleaners, peanut butter and bird seed
Help your child make a bird feeder by attaching string,
yarn or a pipe cleaner to a pine cone.
Then smear peanut butter on it and roll it in bird seed. Hang it by the string. Explain how important it is for us to
take care of our feathered friends.
School-Age
Help your
school-ager (6 to 10 years) understand that a community can be defined in
many ways. The entire town is a
community; the installation is
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a community; even the CYS program is
a type of community. An important
part of citizenship is taking pride in your community by helping keep it
clean, by following the rules and doing your part to see that everyone is
safe.
Chore
List Activity
Have everyone in your family
brainstorm a list of chores that need to be done to keep your family
“community” running smoothly.
Assign each family member specific chores on the list. Talk about why these chores are
important and what will happen to the “community” if someone
decides not to do their chores.
Middle-School
and Teens
As your child becomes older, he should take an even
more active role in citizenship.
Middle schoolers and teens in CYS programs do an amazing job of
giving back to their community through service. Whether planting flowers, cleaning up a
playground or baking holiday cookies for the MP’s at the gates,
encourage your child to take an active role in service projects.
Who, What
When Activity
Help your child to learn more about the community or
installation. Find out how it got
its name and some of the early history that makes it a special and unique
place to live and work. This could
be a great family activity. When
you have completed the project, share it with others so they can learn
what you found out about the community.
Adapted
from materials written for US Army Child and Youth Services and USDA
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.
CHARACTER COUNTS! and the Six Pillars of Character are
service marks of the CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition, a project of the
Josephson Institute of Ethics. www.charactercounts.org
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