Supporting our Cloverbud Youth during Challenging Times

In today’s world there are many tragic events, from gun violence to natural disasters, to which children are exposed on a regular basis. It is important as we get into the busy summer season that we serve as caring adult role models for Cloverbud participants. In doing so, we provide a safe, supportive environment for them.

The main purpose of this Cloverbud Connections article is to share about how to support healthy interaction with Cloverbuds. Talking with Cloverbud members can be difficult with not knowing what to say or how to be supportive. There is helpful guidance from the National Council on Family Relations (Myers-Wall, 2022) and KidsHealth (Walls, 2022).

Suggestions for supporting Cloverbuds include:

  • Help the children feel and know they are safe. Reassure them that you are here to support and care for them.
  • Make time to talk and to share about what they are feeling. Let their questions, if they have any, guide the interactions.
  • Use various expressive outlets and Cloverbud activities for them to express themselves such as music, art, movement, puppets, and play.
  • Cloverbud children may express a desire to help those hurting or experiencing pain. Support them with writing letters of care, gathering donations, or ideas they may have.
  • Know that Cloverbud age children may have a wide range of emotions from sadness to empathy. Let them express themselves as needed. It is okay to not to know the answers to all their questions. Listening and being there for them is just as important as what you say.

As a 4-H Cloverbud Volunteer, remember to take care of yourself. Know that your Extension professional is always available for your support.

 

Myers-Walls, J. A. (2022). Talking with children when the talking gets tough. Coping in the Wake of Shootings, Mass Violence, and Terrorism. National Council on Family Relations. https://www.ncfr.org/resources/resource-collections/coping-wake-shootings-mass-violence-and-terrorism

Walls, M. T. (2022). How to talk to your child about the news. KidsHealth. https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/news.html

Cloverbud CloverBOT Challenge – Get Your Team Registered

What is the Cloverbot Challenge?

The Ohio 4-H 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 Challenge issue and create a poster to illustrate their findings. Teams present their models and findings to a team of reviewers, learn about other Cloverbuds’ projects, participate in age-appropriate STEM activities and are recognized at a closing celebration.

This year’s theme is Wonderful Water! We use water everyday: to drink, cook, take a bath, wash dishes and laundry. Water also provides energy and transportation, aids in manufacturing and helps grow our food. Water is critical to our survival! Find the details here.

New this year…three locations. Find the Challenge closest to you!

  • June 23 at 6:30 p.m., Montgomery County Extension Office in Dayton
  • June 23 at 6:30 p.m., Washington County Junior Fair Building, Marietta
  • June 25 at 10:30 a.m., Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, Columbus
  • June 28 at 6:30 pm Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds

Cloverbud Volunteers can register teams by Friday, May 27, 2022 at: https://go.osu.edu/2022cloverbotchallenge

Cloverbuds and Social Emotional Learning: Now and for the Future

Youth’s social and emotional learning (SEL) skills are receiving increased attention, especially because of concerns about a loss of socialization opportunities during the coronavirus pandemic and overarching concerns about youth mental health. Social skills cannot be learned by reading about them in a book – they must be learned by doing, in situations where you interact with others, which makes Cloverbud meetings and activities an ideal learning environment.

There is no doubt that these skills are important for Cloverbud-age youth. How youth thrive may depend on whether they possess a variety of SEL skills. Being able to concentrate on SEL skills assumes a foundation having basic and safety needs met.

Social emotional learning, as conceptualized by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, consists of five overarching competencies (see the CASEL Wheel). The Ohio Department of Education also uses the CASEL SEL competencies. These five SEL competencies represent very broad areas.

  • Self-Awareness
  • Self-Management
  • Social Awareness
  • Relationship Skills
  • Responsible Decision Making

In addition to being important for Cloverbuds now, research indicates that SEL competencies have become increasingly important during the transition from middle childhood to early adolescence because they have been consistently linked to two primary developmental tasks of adolescence—academic achievement and social competence. In the most recent study, researchers studied five more specific indicators of social emotional development. The descriptions of these five skills are below.

  • Prosocial Behaviors: being able to take another person’s perspective, offer support, and help when others are in distress.
  • Cooperation: the ability to work well with peers, teachers, and other adults for a common benefit or goal.
  • Self-Control: being able to control and regulate attention and impulsive behavior in order to pursue and achieve long-term goals.
  • Emotion Regulation: identifying and managing emotions.
  • Work Habits: the ability to work hard and independently, to turn in work on time, to follow group rules, and to put forward one’s best effort to achieve goals.

This study found that there were distinct profiles of children’s SEL skills during middle childhood (measured in Grade 4). The researchers found that about half of the children displayed consistently high scores across all five SEL skills, while others were strong on some, but weaker on others, and still others were low on all skills. The other major finding was that these patterns were linked to distinctive peer and academic outcomes in early adolescence (measured in Grade 6), with the those displaying all five skills faring better. In contrast, the youth who exhibited prosocial and self-control skills were at risk of poor academic competence; the high cooperation/work habit youth were at risk of poor social functioning. Those with overall low SEL skills demonstrated the highest risk in poor academic and social functioning in early adolescence.

SEL and Cloverbud Volunteers

What does this mean for Cloverbud volunteers? A key takeaway from this research is that it is important to help youth achieve a variety of social emotional skills, not just any one skill. Children in the Cloverbud age group are learning social and emotional skills, but they are a work in progress – they are still mastering them. Small group activities help them learn how to get along with others and be social. As you work with Cloverbuds, how you set up activities and the interactions that occur between you and the members and between the members with each other will provide many opportunities to reinforce these skills. Encourage them to work with and talk to each other. These practices will create a positive social climate.

It’s easy to see how these SEL skills will help Cloverbuds get along in the world now and in the future. However, because they are more self-centered, it will be a while before Cloverbuds are totally able to see something from someone else’s perspective. Developing self-control allows them to share with others and to stay focused. Rules help establish group norms while teaching work habits, self-control, and emotion regulation. These rules should be focused on safety and well-being. If corrections are needed, the best practice is to start by getting the child’s attention by using their name, restating your expectations, and giving a specific instruction on how they can correct their behavior. When giving directions, start off by saying, “Soon, but not yet,…” and keep the number of steps simple.

In addition, you can teach these skills directly. For example, The Big Book of Cloverbud Activities has activities titled “My Feelings”; these activities help Cloverbuds learn to recognize and label emotions. Activities must take into account children’s developmental stage. For example, there is a gradual shift from the ability to recognize and name different emotional states (what does an angry face look like, and how is anger different from or similar to sadness?) to understanding that different people can have different emotional reactions to the same situation because of their own personal experiences and preferences (I feel angry when X happens, but my best friend feels sad).

These skills can also be embedded in many other activities. For example, many games involve waiting to take a turn. A game of “Freeze Frame” (play some music and when you pause, they are to freeze in whatever pose they are in when the music stops) can work on managing impulsivity. Another great way is to use books to introduce SEL concepts. Fortunately, there are many such books available (for example, see the Denver Public Library and the Deschutes Public Library for lists).

Developing SEL skills is not a one-shot deal; it’s a process that unfolds over time. As a Cloverbud volunteer, you get to be part of the process!

References

Collaborative for Academic, Emotional, and Social Learning. (n.d.). What is the CASEL framework? https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/what-is-the-casel-framework/

Denver Public Library. (n.d.). Books for social, emotional, and academic learning. https://kids.denverlibrary.org/blog/k-3/books-social-emotional-and-academic-learning

Deschutes Public Library. (n.d.). DPL Kids: Social emotional learning (SEL) picture books. https://dpl.bibliocommons.com/list/share/362500057/1258121077

Ferrari, T. (2021, January). Using books to discuss mental, emotional, and social health. Cloverbud Connections. https://u.osu.edu/cloverbudconnections/2021/01/18/using-books-to-discuss-mental-emotional-and-social-health/

Jones, S. M., & Doolittle, E. J. (2017). Social and emotional learning: Introducing the issue. The Future of Children, 27(1), 3‒12. https://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/Documents/FOC-Spring-Vol27-No1-Compiled-Future-of-Children-spring-2017.pdf

Ma, T.-L., Zarrett, N., Puente, K., Liu, Y., Vandell, D. L., Simpkins, S. D., & Yu, M. V. B. (2022). Longitudinal links between profiles of social emotional behaviors in childhood and functioning in early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 42(6), 765–792. https://doi.org/10.1177/02724316221078829

Matheis, L. (2021, December 2). Rebuilding children’s social skills during COVID. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/special-matters/202112/rebuilding-children-s-social-skills-during-covid

Ohio Department of Education. (2019). Social and emotional learning standards. https://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Learning-in-Ohio/Social-and-Emotional-Learning/Social-and-Emotional-Learning-Standards

U.S. Surgeon General. (2021). Protecting youth mental health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory. https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/reports-and-publications/youth-mental-health/index.html