I have always heard really good things about 4H so this past year I decided that my children should give it a try and join up with some animals. It has definitely been a good experience and my children have learned so much.
I always thought that 4H was for farm kids, not so, there are so many projects that a suburban kid could do and they are all so well organized and educational. However, for the farm kids, there are some really neat things that they learn about animal husbandry. My children have learned that you can actually wash a chicken (yes, people do this to make the chickens look their best before judging...and you can blow dry them, most of them even like it!)
(your kids will learn more than you thought possible!)