Whether at the club level (provided by the Massachusetts 4-H Program) or at Camp Howe, youth learn through experiential or “hands-on” learning and gain valuable life skills needed to be successful - both as children and as adults.  These skills include communication, decision-making, problem solving, sharing and conflict resolution. They gain these skills at Camp Howe from participating traditional and contemporary camp activities, social interaction with other children & staff, and through other inherent experiences uniquely found at summer camp. 

Camp Howe’s joint mission with 4-H is to create supportive environments for culturally diverse youth and adults to reach their fullest potential by:

• providing a safe, enjoyable outdoor learning experience,

• providing opportunities to develop leadership, social and group living skills while fostering, creativity, independence and responsibility,

• offering a choice of age appropriate programs that build confidence and self-esteem,

• encouraging an understanding and respect for the environment, animals, agriculture, and natural resources,

• building an appreciation and acceptance of the differences in people, and

• developing a caring community.

In keeping with the 4-H mission, Camp Howe shares the goal: 

• to have fun,

• to learn about the outdoors,

• to learn to live, work and play with others,

• to learn self-reliance,

• to learn to get along away from home,

• to increase confidence and self-esteem,

• to develop some new skills and interests.

The most readily identifiable educational objectives for Camp Howe are the processes related to the following five life-skill areas:

• Self-Understanding - acquiring secondary skills, which support the development of self and which aid others in pursuit of personal potential;

• Communicating - artfully exchanging thoughts or information verbally and non- verbally to enhance cooperation and learning;

•  Decision-Making - recognizing life as a sequence of events, a pattern of steps, or a progression of challenges that require choices at each level; learning to learn; using the scientific method; fostering a spirit of inquiry to lead one around, over, or through obstacles encountered;

• Managing Resources - using acquired knowledge to contribute to humanism while preserving and protecting the natural environment;

• Coping - contending with difficulties which may arise unexpectedly in our changing environments and learning to act in order to survive those challenges without physical, social, or psychological suffering and with possibilities for growth in any or all of those areas.

Camp Howe also has a strong commitment to LEADERSHIP - to bring self and others to new discoveries, improved relationships, and increased skills.  The 4-H mission, pledge, motto, and slogan help provide the basis for maintaining many of Camp Howe’s rich traditions. 

4-H Motto: To Make the Best Better. 4-H Slogan: Learn By Doing. Pledge I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger services, and my health to better living, for my club, my community; my country, and my world.

These traditions enhance and expand the Camp Howe experience.  The four ‘H's’ (Head, Heart, Hands, and Health) serve as the basis for forming decisions about daily living, while the four areas (Club/Camp, Community, Country, and World) serve as reminders of the many facets of our interaction with our surroundings. Our weekly overnight camp format affords a perfect vehicle for incorporating 4-H values in the daily life of campers.  Sundays serve as an introduction to the pledge, Mondays highlight Head and Club, Tuesdays for Heart and Community, Wednesdays for Hands and Country, and Thursdays for Health and World.

	Head: Learning to think, make decision, understanding "why's" and "how's," and gaining new and valuable knowledge.
	Heart: Being concerned about the welfare of others, accepting responsibilities as citizens, determining values and attitudes by which we live, and learning how to live with others.
	Hands: Gaining new skills, perfecting skills already known, develop respect for work and pride in accomplishment.
	Health: Practicing healthful living, protecting the well being of self and others, and making constructive use of leisure time.

Every week for overnight campers concludes on Friday with a 7 PM Candlelight Ceremony.  Parent and friends are invited to join their children for staff introductions, a couple of camper performances, the awarding of “colored beads” to campers who participated or excelled in various activities.  At the conclusion of this short program, four children are recognized for exemplifying each of the four "H’s" and two children (one boy and one girl) are chosen to receive the "Camp Spirit Award”.  Campers recognized as Camp Spirits are awarded a certificate and free week of camp valid for the following summer.  

Massachusetts 4-H is a youth development program of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Extension, which prohibits discrimination in all of its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital or family status. Extension and Camp Howe are equal opportunity providers and employers, USDA cooperating. Contact Camp Howe on disability accommodations and the Camp or the Extension Director (413-545-4800)  for complaints related to discrimination.