New year, new start! Are you a new or returning Cloverbud volunteer? Welcome! We are happy to have you join us in the Ohio 4-H Cloverbud program!
You’ve completed your Cloverbud Volunteer Training and you have a group of Cloverbuds, now what? Time to plan your meeting activities. The most valuable resource in your toolkit is The Big Book of 4-H Cloverbud Activities. The Big Book has 50 lesson plans which you can use during your Cloverbud meetings. Talk with your Cloverbuds to find out what they want to learn about in 2022. Give them a list of topics to choose from and ask them to vote. Your Cloverbud program is more likely to succeed if you consider input from your youth. The Big Book of 4-H Cloverbud Activities is available for purchase from your county OSU Extension Office or from OSU Publications.
What should your Cloverbud meeting look like? Once you have identified your topic, use the Cloverbud Meeting Planning Template to plan your meeting. Decide on the day, time, and location of your meeting. Be sure that all Cloverbud parents know when the meeting will take place. Consider your planned activity. What will you do for each portion of the meeting? What supplies are needed? Do the Cloverbuds need to bring anything to the meeting? Will you have refreshments or recreation? In general, Cloverbuds can participate in 4-H club meetings for the pledges and roll call. Once the older 4-H members begin their business meetings, Cloverbuds can be dismissed to complete their own activities. Upon completion of Cloverbud activities and the older club members’ business meetings, Cloverbuds can rejoin the group for refreshments and recreation, if age-appropriate. This is a great time for Cloverbuds to present what they learned to the older club members. This gives Cloverbuds a chance to do public speaking and also share their excitement for their activities.
My 4-H Cloverbud Year is a wonderful activity book for our Cloverbuds. Cloverbuds enjoy having a book to complete like the older
4-H club members. The activity book includes pages where the child can include information about themselves and their club, as well as about what they did at each Cloverbud meeting. At the end of the year, the member has a nice memory book of their year as a Cloverbud. My 4-H Cloverbud Year is available for purchase from your county Ohio State University Extension Office or from OSU Publications.
To see other resources that are available to Cloverbud volunteers, check out the Ohio 4-H Cloverbud Resources link on the left hand side of this page. You might be interested in Choose and Tell Cards or Clover Cubes. Both are fun and easy resources to use with your Cloverbuds.
Don’t forget to check out the Ohio 4-H Cloverbud Reading Adventures! Reading adventures connect Cloverbuds to literacy and include games, activities, and snacks to use with your Cloverbuds.
Fast forward – you’ve completed the year with your Cloverbuds, now what? Check with your county extension office to see what other opportunities are available. This might include day camps or fun days, exhibiting at the county fair (non-competitive events), Show and Tell, fair revues, Cloverbud graduation, and more!
Enjoy your time with your Cloverbuds! They are eager to learn and will not hesitate to share their enthusiasm. Spending time with Cloverbuds will put a smile on your face!