The ex
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.
Children are familiar with money and spending it, but at such a young age they are often not familiar with making good spending choices. Using this activity may help them gain a better understanding.
Supplies Needed:
- 3” x 5” index cards
- Writing utensils
Using the supplies, write one “need” per card that is commonly purchased for the child’s daily needs. Now, use additional index cards to write one “want” per card of items commonly purchased for the child, include items from the holiday wish list. This activity can be done as a group, or each child can have their own set of cards.
Have a conversation with your Cloverbuds to help them understand the definitions of “need” and “want.” Be sure they unde
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?”
Once the cards are all divided out, help the Cloverbuds discuss making good spending choices. Which items should be purchased first? Why? What happens if we purchase all the “wants” first? Discuss how learning to make good spending choices can affect our ability to get everything off our “need” and “want” piles. Ask them if they think it is hard to be the adult making the decision of what “needs” to be purchased and what they “want” to purchase. Remind Cloverbuds to appreciate all the “needs” purchased to help them have a safe and healthy life. Remind them to appreciate the “wants” they receive as someone has worked hard to earn the money necessary to purchase it for them. Remind them that their holiday wish list is a great way to share ideas with others but understand in advance they may not get everything in their “want” pile.
Source: The Big Book of Cloverbud Activities. Needs and Wants, page 180.
ut it into approximately three-inch pieces. Fill the grooved center of each celery slice with peanut butter to fill your “log”. Now, add your raisins or “ants” and your Ants on a Log is ready to eat. Be sure to provide each youth with their own supplies including a plastic knife they can use to spread their own peanut butter. Have a picky eater in your group who does not like one of the ingredients or a member with a food allergy? Check out some alternative ingredients at 
bananas, and blueberries. Toast a slice of bread. Spread peanut butter or butter on the toast. Peel a banana and cut three ½ inch round slices of bananas – place one in the center of the toast as the nose and use the other two as the ears, one in each of the upper corners of the toast. Wash three blueberries and place one in the center of the nose and use the other two as eyes. Place them just above the nose in the peanut butter.
Continue your lesson by teaching about MyPlate and the 5 food groups that will help keep your members healthy. Check out free activities at 
s (red, yellow, or orange); different tree fruit such as apples, acorns, hickory nuts, or walnuts; check off/write down the animals they see such a ladybug, wooly worm, squirrel, rabbit, bird, or deer. If youth are able, have them take a gallon size bag on their hunt to bring back a few items from their adventure. This will give you the opportunity to help them match the leaves and fruit from the same tree or compare the sizes of each object the members found. For a little extra fun, tell them to find the smallest and the largest leaf they can find. It will be fun for them to compare what they found with what others found.
n watch the birds. There are multiple ways to make homemade bird feeders. A simple and clean option is to use pipe cleaners and cereal. To complete the activity, you will need pipe cleaners, cereal, string or ribbon, and scissors. Select a cereal with a loophole that can be strung on the pipe cleaner. Members can bend their pipe cleaner into a shape, such as a heart, star, or circle. Be sure the two ends come back to meet each other. Connect two pipe cleaners together to make a bigger feeder. Members can string cereal on the pipe cleaner, leaving about a half inch on each end. Twist the ends of the pipe cleaner together to secure the cereal in place. Use a piece of string or ribbon to hang the feeder outside.
s. Tie a loop of string or ribbon to the top of the pine cone to hang your feeder with once it is complete. Use your dinner knife to spread peanut butter on the open pine cone layers. Hold the pine cone at each end and roll it through a bowl of bird seed until all peanut butter is covered in bird seed. Members are now ready to hand their completed bird feeder outside. Encourage Cloverbuds to hang their bird feeders where they can watch the birds from inside. As the weather gets colder, members can refill their bird feeders or make new ones and continue watching the birds through the winter months.
