literacy

Winter is a great time to Read!

by

It is cold outside! For winter months, it might be harder to think of what to do during a club meeting since it is harder to go outside.  Reading is the perfect thing to incorporate into all 4-H club meetings. Ohio 4-H has created Cloverbud Reading Adventures to help provide some easy and ready to go resources. Each has a book along with some games, activities or crafts and a themed snack. https://u.osu.edu/cloverbudconnections/reading/ Continue to check out the link as additional Reading Adventures are added as they are created.

Being able to read and understand the story is essential to a child’s education. Children should still be read to. Reading will help throughout school as well as in life. Reading helps youth discover new things about the world around them, add additional vocabulary, manage emotions, and have fun. Reading is a fun and engaging way to incorporate additional learning and discussion into a club setting.

Here is a fun winter activity:

One of the Ohio 4-H Reading Adventures is Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? www.go.osu.edu/pandabear  This is a perfect wintertime book to enjoy.

Read Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? to your Cloverbuds. Youth will make a hand print penguin. Talk about the other endangered species that the book refers to. Have they ever seen any of these animals?

At the end of reading the book, enjoy a themed snack of pretzel pops. The youth can make decorated pretzel animals.

If you use one of the Cloverbud Reading Adventures, please complete the evaluation so we can continue to provide resources that are helpful for you as a volunteer.  The link is http://go.osu.edu/evaladventures

Check out each of the Ohio 4-H Cloverbud Reading Adventures for additional books that are ready to go for use in club settings.

Reading – It’s FUNdamental!

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

by

The world appears much larger to youth once they enter elementary school! They are exposed to numerous extracurricular activities that provide a wide range of opportunities to help children develop their skills and identify their interests.

Once children start school, it’s natural for adults to begin asking, What do you want to be when you grow up? Their answers are often not surprising. They typically respond with teacher, doctor, astronaut, a professional athlete, just to name a few. Just by those responses, we know that youth naturally are thinking about their future careers through imagination, exploration, and role-playing. However, as adults, we know there are so many more careers in the world!

So, when should career education truly begin beyond role-playing? Many experts have embraced the developmental approach, which recommends career education beginning as early as kindergarten, while gradually becoming more of a focus as youth get older. Having access to different careers and the concept of work helps youth recognize the connection between what they’re learning and why that knowledge is valuable.

Here are some ways to incorporate career awareness into your Cloverbud program:

  • Read books that showcase various careers. This not only increases reading literacy but allows the opportunity to expand their knowledge about work. Check out 4-H Cloverbud Reading Adventures for career-related, literacy books and activities.  For example, Ada Twist, Scientist or What Do You Do with An Idea?
  • Talk to your Cloverbuds about your own work and explain what you do.
  • Find ways to incorporate less obvious careers into your conversations with your Cloverbuds. For instance, it was someone’s job to design and construct the home in which they live or the job of someone who changed the oil in their family vehicle.
  • Capitalize on the skills and abilities your Cloverbuds are developing. For example, do they enjoy drawing? Find ways to incorporate art into your Cloverbud activities. Invite local artists (graphic design, fiber artists, etc.) to share their talents with your Cloverbuds.
  • Check out the lessons included in Cloverbud Investigators Cloverbud Career Detectives. Each lesson allows Cloverbuds to explore science-based activities with a career twist!

There are many opportunities for Cloverbud volunteers to take advantage of a child’s natural curiosity and begin laying the foundation of positive attitudes and habits toward careers and work.  Ask your Cloverbuds, What do you want to be when you grow up?  You might be surprised at their responses!

References

Alexander, J., & Hubbs-Tait, L. (n.d.). Career exploration in elementary school. NC State Extension Publications. Retrieved April 13, 2022, from https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/career-exploration-in-elementary-school

Learning-Liftoff-Staff. (2019, April 1). Should career education begin earlier for kids? Learning Liftoff. Retrieved April 13, 2022, from https://www.learningliftoff.com/should-career-education-begin-earlier-for-kids/

Just Like the Big Kids – Using “My 4-H Cloverbud Year”

by

Cloverbud members want to be “just like the big kids” and have a 4-H book to complete.  Have you considered using My 4-H Cloverbud Year with your members?

This fun book is a great way for Cloverbuds to learn the basics of 4-H and keep track of their activities and events. Completion of this book is optional and can be done with or without the help of an adult leader. It can be repeated each year a child is a Cloverbud.  It is especially appropriate for older Cloverbud members as they prepare to transition to project membership.

The length of your Cloverbud meetings or activity time might determine how best to use this resource. Here are two options:

  1. If you have plenty of time (approximately an hour) for your Cloverbud meeting, then you could have the members complete the sections after each group activity. It will probably take at least 15 minutes to help the members complete the two pages titled “Today at 4-H Cloverbuds”. Younger members will need help answering the questions about what they did, their favorite part of the activity, what they learned and what they want to learn more about. There is also a box to draw or add a picture about the day’s activity.
  2. Here is a second option if you are limited on time with your Cloverbuds. Plan one or two of your meetings around completing the beginning of the book where they will learn about themselves, all about 4-H, their club, meeting manners, the American Flag and the 4-H Flag. After these sections are finished, the book could be sent home with your Cloverbud members. Ask parents to help their child complete the “Today at 4-H Cloverbuds” section after each meeting or club activity. This will help reinforce learning and recall of information as well as begin practicing the life skill of recordkeeping.

My 4-H Cloverbud Year is for Cloverbud members who can write about themselves and their experiences, with or without the support of an adult helper. If your Cloverbuds struggle with writing, you can help them by providing prepared answers to paste into their books. On the Today at 4-H Cloverbuds pages, for example, “What we did” could be answered with a short typed, or printed response: We practiced reduce, reuse, and recycle.

The end of the book provides a spot for community service activities, county fair activities, and a place to add memories like photos, ribbons, or clippings.

Copies of My Cloverbud Year can be purchased from your local OSU Extension or from https://extensionpubs.osu.edu

Reading Adventures – Connecting Cloverbuds to Literacy

by

Recently I spent time with my grandson who is in kindergarten.  When I asked him what his favorite subject is, he responded with reading!  Oh how happy this grandma was to hear those words! Being an avid reader myself, I understand the importance of reading and the love of curling up with a good book.

Why is reading important to our youngest 4-H members?  Being able to read and comprehend is the cornerstone of any child’s education.  Reading introduces educational foundation skills, increases vocabulary, and instills a love of books and reading in children at a young age.  Children who read are better able to make the connection between written and spoken words, not to mention the fact that reading is fun!

Reading just one book per day to a child from birth to kindergarten will result in them hearing almost 300,000 words by the time they start school.  Children will also bond with that caring adult who takes the time to read out loud.

The cool thing about books is that they can be used to begin conversations with children about sometimes difficult or challenging subjects.  Reading provides an opportunity for children to safely explore strong emotions.

Cloverbud volunteers can reinforce the love of reading by incorporating a Reading Adventure (or two!) into their annual Cloverbud activities.  Reading Adventures take popular children’s books and pair them with ideas for healthy snacks, games, and activities.  Reading Adventures are designed to be stand-alone lessons that can enhance your already dynamic Cloverbud program; or, they can be used with different chapters found in the Big Book of Cloverbud Activities.  Each Reading Adventure identifies which chapter of the Big Book can be used with that particular adventure.

Most books featured in the adventures are popular books which you may already have on your bookshelf.  If not, these titles should be readily available from your public library or from an online library source.

Check out the Reading Adventures included in this blog.  Check back often as new titles are added as they become available.  Have an idea for a book that would make a great Reading Adventure?  Send your book recommendation to williams.418@osu.edu.

Reading a book can take us places when we need to stay where we are.  And, a child who reads will be an adult who thinks.

The Power of Words

by

The Word Collector, by Peter H. Reynolds, is the story of a boy and the love for his very special collection – words.  Jerome was inspired to write down words that he heard, saw, and read.  He organized his collection into scrapbooks.  There were so many books!  One day when he slipped and fell, the words were tossed into a jumbled mess.  Jerome began to reorganize the words into poems which later became songs.  He noticed that words could move people.

My daughter began to discover her first written words at the age of two.  The books became her friends, and she would sleep with them like stuffed animals.  By age four, she was reading books.  She discovered early, like Jerome, that words are powerful.  They have the ability to transport, transform, and transition a person to a new way of “thinking, feeling, and dreaming”.

Amanda Gorman, the first National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States, grew up with a speech impediment.  She used written word as a form of self-expression and practiced spoken word as a way of developing her own “speech pathology” to overcome her speech difficulties.  Gorman was chosen to read an original poem for the inauguration of President Joe Biden.  Words can heal.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a voracious reader, masterful orator, and eloquent writer synthesized words into a symphony of thought that united people during the Civil Rights Movement.  In his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. King stated, “This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims’ pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”  Words can unite.

George Washington Carver stated, “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom”.  Carver, who was born into slavery, later became an instructor and researcher at Tuskegee Institute, a scientist, and an inventor.  He used his words to educate people in traditional and non-traditional classroom settings, to pen bulletins and newspaper articles on agricultural innovations, and to craft more than 400 uses for crops such as the “peanut, sweet potato, soybeans, and pecans”.  Words can inspire.

Peter Hamilton Reynolds concludes The Word Collector with this quote, “Reach for your own words.  Tell the world who you are and how you will make it better”.  Looking for ideas to guide your Cloverbuds as they begin their word collections?  Check out Cloverbud Reading Adventures.  You will find a diverse collection of books and activities that will inspire our youngest 4-H members to find their words as they “think, feel, and dream” the world better.

Sources:
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/i-have-dream-address-delivered-march-washington-jobs-and-freedom  
https://www.biography.com/scientist/george-washington-carver

Utilizing Children’s Books to Have Tough Conversations

by

Are you wondering what to say to your children about racism in the United States?    What is too much to say?  What is not enough?  Do not wait for children to bring this up to you.  We, as a society, need to be proactive in helping build a positive awareness.

Children recognize differences in people at a very young age.  They are not too young to be exposed to diversity.  Start the conversation early and continue the conversation as children are growing.

The 4-H program is for all who are interested.  As parents, volunteers, supporters, educators, we should have confidence in ourselves, as well as in the children we work with, that we can handle these tough conversations and situations.  Our role should be to be honest with our children and specific in our answers so the future generation can continue to confront and handle racial injustices that are still evident in our society.

But, where do you start?  Utilizing children’s books is a perfect way to begin the conversation.

We all love children’s picture books.  They have so many important lessons built into their stories.  Use diverse characters in books.  Children want to be able to see themselves in books, and this allows an opportunity for further discussion.  In addition, when they see characters that are different from themselves, they become more accepting which will stay with them as they grow into adults.

Ask building questions.  Use this opportunity as a chance to learn what the children know, what they do not know, and what they might be thinking about race.  Then, most importantly, you can help them learn more by asking additional questions and preparing yourself for additional conversations in the future.

It is never too early to have this conversation.  If the topic is racism, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, being a good citizen, helping others, or any other topic, starting these important conversations can be done using children’s books.  Incorporate children’s books into every 4-H Cloverbud activity and meeting.  We want our 4-H members to grow into caring, competent, contributing citizens.  As 4-H parents, volunteers, and supporters, we have an opportunity to have important conversations, so our children are ready to take on the world and make the best better.

Links for diverse children’s books: