Recordkeeping is a valuable skill taught to members of the Texas 4-H program. Members are encouraged to keep project records and have these records reviewed annually by submitting a Texas 4-H Record Book. The primary purposes of completing a Record Book are for a young person to develop the skills necessary to set goals, work toward achieving those goals, reflect on his/her experiences, and set new and higher goals for themselves. A secondary benefit is to prepare young people for the process of completing academic scholarship and/or collegiate admission applications.
Recordkeeping – maintaining a history of one’s activities such as financial dealings or life events by entering data in ledgers, journals, calendars or putting items into a file system; an essential life skill.
4-H Record Book – the competitive event where 4-H members assemble their records into a specified document and submit those for evaluation against other 4-H members. However, one may choose to complete a record book just for the skill learned and not elect to submit for competition.
Purpose/Objective of 4-H Record Book
- Allow 4-H members to tell how they have grown, what they have learned, where they came up short and to do it creatively within outlined parameters.
- Demonstrate the importance of keeping a written document of what has been done.
- Provides a written platform for goal setting and documentation of the actions required to reach goals.
- Provide an opportunity for competition at the County, District, and State level.
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