Are you looking for additional ideas to expand your current Cloverbud program? Do you have 4-H clubs with one or two Cloverbud members that would benefit from opportunities beyond the community club? Consider hosting a county-based Cloverbud Club to maximize outreach efforts.
Each year, Union County, Ohio, hosts a county-wide Cloverbud Club. To accommodate the large number of Cloverbuds in their county, two sessions are offered: one on Wednesday evening and one on Saturday morning. Meetings are held at the beginning of each month, February through May, with an additional session at the end of May to conclude the Cloverbud year. The theme for 2023 is “In My Backyard”. The meeting schedule utilizes a camp approach in which the Cloverbuds rotate in groups to different stations. Teens serve as counselors and supervise the Cloverbuds as they rotate through the activitie
s. Adult volunteers lead the sessions and teach the Cloverbuds about the selected topics.
The February meeting topic was “All About Bees”. Cloverbuds learned about the life cycle of a bee, made beeswax candles, learned about pollination, and had a honey tasting station. The March meeting focused on worms. Cloverbuds conducted experiments with Red Wiggler Worms. During the April meeting, Cloverbuds learned about gardening. They planted lettuce seeds, made fruit pizza, and did a fruit and vegetable taste test. May’s meeting focused on animals. Volunteers brought a dog, horse, lamb, goat, pig, and turkeys. The final meeting in May included a visit to a local farm and fishing. 
The Cloverbud Club is a huge success, thanks to the teens and adult volunteers, and continues to grow each year. Consider adding a county-based Cloverbud Club to your existing Cloverbud opportunities and expand your 4-H outreach.
Magnetic Slime
The Ohio 4-H Cloverbud Engineering Adventure (formerly known as Cloverbot Challenge) gives 4-H Cloverbuds the opportunity to work cooperatively in teams to problem-solve using STEM (science, engineering, technology and math) skills. A new theme is selected each year and teams research a topic, build a working model of their solution to the engineering issue and create a poster to illustrate their findings. Teams present their models and findings to a team of reviewers at one of the Showcase events, learn about other Cloverbuds’ projects, participate in age-appropriate STEM activities and are recognized at a closing celebration. Watch this short video to learn more about the Cloverbud Engineering Adventure: 
fosters their sense of belonging and helps them understand the benefits of being a 4-H member. Older members of your club will enjoy the opportunity to act as a mentor.
gh these activities, Cloverbud members can practice care and kindness toward others and become self-aware how good this feels. The kids learn skills of generosity and compassion and are examples to their friends and others. This quote from the Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu sums this up well: “Compassion seems to be contagious. When we see others being compassionate, we are more likely to be compassionate. There is a ripple effect of helping others.”
4-H Conference is the largest gathering of 4-H volunteers in the State of Ohio. As a Cloverbud volunteer, you have the opportunity to attend the conference and participate in numerous educational sessions that will enhance your skills as you work with 4-H Cloverbud youth. The conference will be held Saturday, March 11, beginning at 9:00am, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. More than 1,000 Ohio 4-H volunteers, teens and adults, will come together to celebrate Ohio 4-H and gather new ideas to take back to their clubs and their counties.
One of the Ohio 4-H Reading Adventures is Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? 
short list of possibilities and ask them to vote on which topic they choose. This introduces them to the democracy process – learning to vote with the understanding that the topic with the most votes will be the lesson. Be sure that the list of topics you give your Cloverbuds to select from are topics that you are comfortable leading. Select your topics from the Big Book of Cloverbud Activities. Check with your Extension Office to obtain a copy or you can order directly from 
ile “My 4-H Cloverbud Year” is not a project book (like our older 4-H members complete), it is an activity book which has information that your Cloverbuds can complete at each meeting – what they did at the meeting; what they learned. It also has general sections to complete about your 4-H Club, the pledge, and more! Check with your Extension Office or you can order directly from 
citement of making a holiday wish list is something most children look forward to each year. For younger children, the list can sometimes be endless. For parents, the thought of disappointing their child when the whole list cannot be purchased can be stressful. Teaching your Cloverbuds about needs and wants might help them to understand the importance of purchasing the “needs” first and appreciating the “wants” they receive.
rstand a “need” is something necessary to live safe and healthy. “Want” is something that would be nice to have, but you could live without. Now, have the children divide their index cards into a “need” pile and a “want” pile. They might need to ask themselves, “Can I live without this?”