Ready Within – A Virginia 4-H Program
7-Dippity was hired by the Virginia Cooperative Extension State 4-H Office to develop a statewide curriculum to help youth learn to manage their emotions, think creatively under pressure, and handle conflicts constructively – preparing them to thrive in today’s complex world. The curriculum, entitled Ready Within: Emotional Intelligence Skills for Life and Leadership, began implementation statewide in 2026.
While participating in Ready Within, youth learn and practice life skills through fun, interactive hands-on activities and instruction. The program’s topics and activities were selected with direct input from Virginia 4-H teens, juniors, volunteers, faculty and staff. There are 17 activities within the Ready Within program, divided into five essential topics:
- Topic 1: Emotional Awareness
- Topic 2: Self-Regulation
- Topic 3: Effective Communication
- Topic 4: Flexible Thinking
- Topic 5: Conflict Resolution
Each topic begins with a brief introduction. Each activity then starts with an interactive discussion to introduce a new life skill, fun activities to practice the life skill, and a set of reflection questions for the youth to think about what they learned and how they can apply that life skill in other real-life situations.
The program uses a “Teens as Teachers” approach, where the curriculum is delivered by teens to younger youth, with support from 4-H Extension Professionals and adult 4-H volunteers. The activities are flexible, can be delivered at a pace that best suits the facilitator and audience, and can be used in a variety of settings (e.g., school classrooms, afterschool programs, 4-H clubs, 4-H camps and mentoring programs).
Professional development workshops for teens and 4-H staff were conducted as part of the initial rollout of the curriculum.
