Author: Bruce Zimmer

Ohio 4-H Cloverbud Time Capsule

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Have you ever thought about creating a family time capsule? 2020 has been an unprecedented year and there are some important memories you might want to capture for the future. A time capsule provides a visual record of a particular period in time and all the items are sealed in a container to be opened in the future. There are so many fun things that can added to a time capsule such as photos, newspaper clippings, letters, favorite drawing, recipe, favorite 4-H memory, a magazine, or even a list of favorite toys and games!

Christy Millhouse, 4-H Extension Educator in Preble County Ohio has developed a guide to help us create a family time capsule. You can print a copy here, collect items for your time capsule and seal it up! Good luck and have fun!!

2020 Cloverbud Time Capsule

Making Recycled Paper

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Materials: Old newspaper, rotary egg beater, cream of tartar, large bowl, large rectangular cake pan, screen cut to fit inside the pan, dish towels, wax paper, scissors.

Note to the Volunteer: Since this activity takes more time than others and some waiting is necessary, other activities can be done while waiting.

Make your own paper! Tear the newspaper into very tiny pieces and put in the bowl. Fill the bowl half full with water, let the paper soak for a minute or two, then add two tablespoons cream of tartar. Beat the mixture until it is thick and “soupy” and place the screen in the rectangular pan. Pour the soupy mixture on it. Carefully lift the screen, catching the fibers. Stir and repeat until no screen shows through the pulp. Let the extra water drip into the pan. Lay the screen on top of several dish towels and cover it with wax paper. Press down on it to squeeze the moisture out. Put several heavy books on top of the wax paper. After a few minutes, take the books off and peel back the wax paper. You have just made recycled paper! Place in the sun to dry or in front of another heat source (oven, register, hair dryer). When the recycled paper is almost dry, gently peel from the screen. Cut into pieces so everyone can have their own sample of recycled paper!

Note to the Volunteer: Have the children make extra paper to use in the Art Exhibit and Cloverbud Display lessons in the subject area of Community Expressive Arts.

Application: The next time you go to the store, look at greeting cards, paper and stationery.


  • Can you tell which are recycled?
  • Can you find any that look like the paper you made?

Reprinted from Ohio 4-H Cloverbud Connections – Summer 2010 Edition.

Source: Ohio 4-H Cloverbud Curriculum Series 1, Helping our Environment: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle. Author: Bobbie Grawemeyer.

 

Healthy Relationships

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This lesson aims to help kids recognize everyone, including themselves, as unique members of the human family.

BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION
People are all members of the family of mankind, or the human family. As human beings they have many things in common; for example, needs for food, clothing, shelter, affection, security, feelings, emotions, and ideas. Simultaneously, they meet these needs in different ways; they have different ideas and beliefs;
they look different and have different personalities.

Click here for the complete activity: HealthyRelationships-1-1e2lzre

Reprinted from Ohio 4-H Cloverbud Connections – Summer 2008 Edition.

Source: The 4-H Kid Stuff Activity Book (4-H 958 – 1993). Ohio State University Extension. The Ohio State University.
Submitted by: Sheila Meyer, 4-H Program Assistant, Ohio State University Extension, Hocking County, Ohio.

Fun Fit Hike

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According to the National Association for Sports and Fitness, children 6 – 12 years of age need a minimum of 60 minutes of exercise daily. The American Heart Association recommends at least 30 minutes a day to maintain a healthy heart. Outdoor exercise is just a trail, large yard or park away and a hike is one of the
simplest ways to get children outdoors and moving. Here are a few creative ideas to turn an ordinary hike into fun exercise:
Youth will need:
• Appropriate dress for weather
• Sneakers or trail shoes
• Bottle of water
• Healthy snack

Click here for the complete activity: FunFitHike-1yfyl2j

 

Reprinted from Ohio 4-H Cloverbud Connections – Spring 2008 Edition.

Source: Rebecca Miller, Hocking County Soil and Water Conservation District Education Specialist.

Produce Handling Game

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A perennial favorite with Cloverbuds in Cuyahoga County is the “Produce Handling Game.” It helps young members learn to identify fruits and vegetables, using only the sense of touch (and possibly smell). They can also imagine themselves as working in the produce department of a local grocery. If the right mix of produce is used, it can also teach members which vegetables come from roots, stems, leaves, or are fruits of plants.

Items Needed:

  • 1 recycled copy paper or printer paper box with detachable lid (the kind that holds about 10 reams).
  • pictures of fruits and vegetables from magazines, garden catalogues, etc.
  • small piece of felt or other cloth
  • variety of vegetables and fruits from garden or store (onions and ripe tomatoes not recommended!)

Instructions:

  1. Cut out pictures of vegetables and fruits, and glue to outside of box to decorate.
  2. Cut small window (about 6 x 8 in) in one side of box. Glue or staple cloth over window like a curtain, so players can’t see inside.
  3. Put produce in box where players can’t see what goes in. A good mix would be things like bell pepper, sweet potato, carrot, celery stalk, leaf lettuce bunch, lemon or lime, kiwi fruit.
  4. Players take turns reaching inside (no peeking!) and guessing one or more vegetables or fruits that are inside, using only sense of touch, feeling shapes and textures of items inside. Players can whisper their guess to game moderator so a not to “spoil” turn of next player.
  5. After everyone has had a chance to guess, take lid off and reveal what is inside.

Reprinted from Ohio 4-H Cloverbud Connections – Spring 2004. Authored by Greg Seik, Former 4-H Youth Development Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Left, Right, Center, Keep

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This is a great game to play with all ages, children and adults. I have played it with all age groups and it is always enjoyed. It is a great way to reinforce right and left, plus teaching fair play and sharing.

What you need :

  • a minimum of 3 wooden blocks for each group of 5-10 players
    (blocks need to be large enough to have a letter written on each side but small enough that all three blocks can be held in a child’s hand at the same time – these can be purchased in the craft department of many stores or cut out your own)
  • Using a permanent marker – write one letter on each side of the block as follows – one K, one C, two sides will have R and two sides will have L. So the blocks will contain one K, one C, 2 R’s and 2 L’s. I place the R and the L on opposite sides of the block.
  • 3 pieces of wrapped candy per player ( I like chewable wrapped candy as opposed to hard candy. Lollipops work well too! )
  • people to play

Instructions to play:
The players sit in a circle facing one another. Each person receives three pieces of candy. They place their candy in front of them. One person begins by picking up all three blocks and rolls these into the center of the circle.

  • For example – lets state that the dice rolled come up with K, C , R

The person who rolled the dice will then K = Keep one piece of candy, C = place one piece of candy into the Center of the circle and R = hand one piece of candy to the person sitting on their Right. The next person (go around the circle either direction ) takes the three blocks and rolls.

  • For example – this person gets L, L , C. This person would then hand the person on their Left 2 pieces of candy and place one piece of candy into the Center of the circle. The game continues. A person can be completely out of candy and then a few rolls later receive some from a “ neighbor” A person rolls the number of blocks corresponding to the number of pieces of candy that he or she has.
  • For example – one piece of candy – roll one block, 2 pieces of candy – roll 2 blocks, 3 pieces of candy – roll 3 blocks, more than 3 pieces of candy – still you roll 3 blocks as that is the maximum number of blocks.

Several circles can be playing at one time. I suggest having a teen leader or adult volunteer supervise each circle of players. The game ends when only one person has any candy left and the last two players with candy have rolled a final time. The person ending up with the last piece of candy is then allowed to take all the candy from the center of the circle and distribute it to all the players. With little ones, sometimes a small talk on sharing is needed!

Reprinted from Ohio 4-H Cloverbud Connections – Spring 2004 Edition.

Author – Barbara Phares, Former Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development, Ohio State University Extension, Mercer County, Ohio

4-H Cloverbud Resources to Purchase

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Ohio has several 4-H Cloverbud resources available for volunteers and educators. In Ohio they are available from your local Extension Office. Outside of Ohio the resources can be ordered from http://estore.osu-extension.org/ Click on 4-H then Cloverbuds

  • The Big Book of 4-H Cloverbud Activities – NEW in 2017
  • My 4-H Cloverbud Year – NEW in 2017
  • Clover Cubes
  • Choose and Tell Cards
  • Cloverbud Volunteer Guidebook
  • Connect to College

4-H Cloverbud Connections – New Format & Features

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The Ohio 4-H Cloverbud Connections has been a resource for Ohio 4-H volunteers and Extension staff since the 1990’s. The resource was developed in response to requests from 4-H volunteers for more information and support working with 4-H Cloverbud members. The newsletter started as a print version and later transitioned to a blended online and printable resource. The quarterly resource has grown to include a variety of Click it, Print it, Do it activities that are easily accessible and readily available for volunteers.

The new location for this resource is u.osu.edu/cloverbudconnections   The new format will allow readers to subscribe to the site and receive an email when new posts are added. The site is searchable by key words and topic to help readers find content. New posts will be added monthly rather than quarterly in the previous format. The new format will continue to provide a unique blend of education, activities, and fun to build and challenge 4-H Cloverbud Volunteers teaching kindergarten through second grade youth.

The Editors,

Bruce Zimmer, 4-H Educator, OSU Extension, Washington County, Ohio

Joyce Shriner, 4-H Educator, OSU Extension, Hocking County, Ohio