Youth need opportunities to develop social skills, civic and leadership skills, create strong connections with caring adults, have access to safe places to interact with their peers, and support services to allow them to become more independent adults (Blank, M.J., 2017). 

The Olmstead Rambassador 4-H Leadership Club members were able to develop and advance their leadership skills by doing. They designed and implemented a new program called Lead to Read within their school. They organized the program by providing a theme related to a book, developed a hands-on craft for the students, and a healthy snack. They coordinated leaders in the community and school to come in and help them facilitate the program. 

The Lead to Read program was centered on the book Click, Clack, Moo – Cows That Type. The Rambassador Leadership Club read the book and all of the students in the program received a book to take home with them thanks to the generous sponsorship from Logan County Cooperative Extension and the Family Resource Youth Service Center. 

To go along with the book, students were able complete an activity where they made cow puppets. They also made milkshakes with our Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, Rachel Hance and our SNAP-Ed Assistant, Paige Alexander. 

The program worked so well that other schools in our district wanted the program. I worked with leaders at each school to help carry it out at three more schools in our county. Some schools used Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? to accompany their celebration of Dr. Seuss’s birthday and other schools used Little Blue Truck. 

Each school was able to adapt the program to fit their needs, but they were all successful in allowing leaders in their school to lead a hands-on project with younger primary. This program was designed to bring older students and leaders in the school into the elementary classrooms to build relationships and serve as a role model. It did just that. The total number of program participants from all schools combined was 670 and was comprised of multiple races and genders.