What 4-H Project Record Books Really Are — and Why You Should Do One!
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A 4-H Project Record Book is a written record where you document everything you did and learned in a 4-H project throughout the year. It’s more than just lists — it’s a place to reflect on your goals, show how you worked toward them, track your activities, expenses, and achievements, and highlight what you’ve learned along the way. These books help you remember what you’ve done this year and show your growth over time.
Project Record Books for 2025 are due in the Guilford County Office by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 6th.
Why Should You Complete a Project Record Book?
1. Reflect on Your Growth
By writing down what you learned and accomplished, you get to see how much you’ve grown. That reflection is one of the most valuable parts of 4-H.
2. Build Real-World Skills
Working on a record book teaches planning, organization, goal-setting, writing, and record-keeping — skills that are useful in school, jobs, and college applications.
3. Track Your Project Work
Your record book isn’t limited to just fair exhibits or one event — it’s a place to capture everything you did in your project area this year.
4. Earn Recognition & Awards
Record books are judged at the county level and can advance to district or state competitions where you can earn medals, scholarships, or other awards.
Earn Money Just for Turning One In!
Thanks to the Guilford County 4-H Volunteer Leaders Association (VLA), you can earn $10 just for completing and submitting a Project Record Book to the extension office — no matter how big or small your project was. And that’s just the start: if your book places in competition (for example, county champion), you can earn even more money through additional awards.
What Can You Do a Record Book About?
Pretty much anything you worked on in 4-H this year! Whether it was animals, gardening, community service, leadership, technology, healthy living, or any other project area — there’s a project record book for it. Here is a sample list of topics and what category they fit in.
Tips for Getting Started
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Gather your project notes, receipts, photos, and examples of activities you did throughout the year.
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Think about what you set out to do and what you actually learned or accomplished.
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Start with your goals, then fill in the sections that reflect your project work, leadership, community service, and experiences.
Here are some resources to help you:
Cloverbud
8-12 Year Old Forms – (Word) (PDF)
13 – 18 Year Old Forms – (Word) (PDF)
Where Project Record Category does my project fit in?
Remember: your project record book is for the 2025 year. You will select your age group based on your 4-H age for 2025. Example: you turned 13 on February 10th of 2025. Your 4-H age for 2025 is 12. You will complete the 8-12 year old project record book.