4-H Record Books

 History

The California 4-H Youth Development Program has a long history of record-keeping as an activity by 4-H members. In early 4-H history, Record Books focused on project profit and loss and other activities in agricultural and home economics projects. As 4-H moved from a primarily agricultural focus to encompassing suburban and urban clubs, the Record Book process changed. In the 1980’s, the state level Record Book was reformatted to conform to national achievement (which was then eliminated in the early 1990’s) and the core values of the 4-H Youth Development Program. In the 21st century, the 4-H Record Book has undergone another transformation to ensure positive outcomes of youth participating in the 4-H Youth Development Program. Practices have been modified to meet the needs of a changing society. In order for the 4-H Record Book process to pilot youth into prepared and engaged partners within their communities, it has undergone changes to meet the mission of 4-H Youth Development.

The Purpose of Record Books:

4-H Record Books serve a variety of purposes in the California 4-H Youth Development Program. While society has changed, the goals of teaching record-keeping to youth remain the same.

• 4-H Record Books give members an opportunity to reflect on their yearly work. They document their skill development and their learning experiences in a written report. 4-H members measure their achievements and growth in their total years in 4-H.
  
  
• 4-H Record Books encourage members to set goals and develop plans to meet those goals. Completion of the Personal Development Report awards 4-H members for participation in 4-H activities, which provides an incentive for participation, learning, and achievement.
  
  
• Completing a 4-H Record Book is a process where 4-H members record project and club work. Records management (RM) is an industry-standard practice of identifying, creating, classifying, archiving and preserving records. The 4-H Record Book teaches 4-H members these skills through a standard format.

4-H Record Books are an educational component of the 4-H Youth Development Program. 4-H Record Books are not required for 4-H membership or for participation in 4-H activities such as club events and activities, or for attending 4-H camps or conferences. The 4-H Record Book process must be based on educational criteria and approved by county 4-H staff. Notification of 4-H Record Book requirements must be given to the 4-H member at the time of enrollment (ref: 4-H Policy 308.4 I). A 4-H Record Book may be required to receive participation awards (such as star ranking, medals or pins based on Record Book achievements).

The format of 4-H Record Books will depend on the 4-H member’s age, experiences, and whether he or she is entering the book for competition. While following formatting guidelines is important, the benefits of completing a 4-H Record Book are a positive and important experience.

Read tips and advice from 4-H volunteer leaders and 4-H members who have been doing 4-H Record Books for years ... (Word) (PDF)

4-H Record Books may be submitted for competition.  Click here to read more about competitions.

4-H Stories may be submitted on-line!  Click here to read more about this.

Forms

The 4-H Record Book has undergone minor revisions for the 2007-2008 program year. 
Changes from the 2006 Manual to the 2008 Manual (Word) (PDF).  
The most significant modifications include:

• Additional rationale and connection of the record book to youth development principles.
• Seperating out instructions for normal club use versus competitions.
• Including additional explanation and instructions for each of the record book components.
• Adding a planning portion to the Junior/Teen Leadership Development Report

4-H Record Book Survey Results (January 2008) (PDF)
114 responses from 34 counties were received from September 5, 2007 through January 11, 2008. The State 4-H Incentives and Recognition Advisory Committee reviewed survey results at their January 19 meeting. The results of the survey proved to be useful in making modifications to the 4-H Record Book.

Training Resources

Examples of Completed 4-H Record Books
(State Winners from the 2007 State 4-H Judging)
  Jane Durston, San Joaquin County (PDF)
  Lisa Hillebrecht, San Diego County (PDF)
  Mira Brown, Ventura County (PDF)
  Seth Washman, Placer County (PDF)
PLEASE NOTE: The examples above are provided for reference only.  The books may not conform to all formatting specifications.  Judges at the 2007 State 4-H Competition were instructed to be lenient with formatting for the first year of the new 4-H Record Books forms.

2006 Training Quiz (Word) (PDF)
Two-page quiz used at the Fall 2006 4-H Record Book trainings.

Comparison Chart between Formats (Word) (PDF)
Review the major similarities and differences between the club/county PDR and the Sectional/State Project Competition formats in comparison with the new 4-H Record Book format.

PDR Transition Worksheet  (Word) (PDF)
Moving from the Old PDR to the New PDR

Navigating Your Way Through the New PDR (Word) (PDF)
Two-page quiz for the Personal Development Report.  Provides examples and asks which category they could be placed on the PDR (if any).

Personal Development Report Form Chart
Template (Excel) (PDF)
Example (Excel) (PDF)
Chart for Community 4-H Club Leaders to record activities and the appropriate PDR category. Developed by Amber Wasniak, Sonoma County.