My 4-H Cloverbud Year

Happy New Year!

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2022 is winding down and we are on the threshold of 2023 – a brand new year!  Time to begin outlining your plans for your Cloverbud program in 2023.

As you begin to outline your goals for your Cloverbud program, think about your Cloverbud members.  What topics spark their imagination?  What gets them excited about learning?  When planning your meeting topics, consider giving your Cloverbuds a short list of possibilities and ask them to vote on which topic they choose.  This introduces them to the democracy process – learning to vote with the understanding that the topic with the most votes will be the lesson.  Be sure that the list of topics you give your Cloverbuds to select from are topics that you are comfortable leading.  Select your topics from the Big Book of Cloverbud Activities.  Check with your Extension Office to obtain a copy or you can order directly from OSU Extension Publications.  Ohio residents receive the best price when they order from their Extension Office.

Once you have identified your topic, begin planning your meeting.  If you are not sure how to plan your meeting, try using this Cloverbud Meeting Planning Template.  Remember to keep your activities short to allow for the attention span of your club members.  The activities in the Big Book are designed with the ages and stages of Cloverbud members in mind.  Activities are short, leader-directed, and move fluidly through the subject matter.  You will not be able to complete all activities included with each lesson.  Choose the activities which will inspire your Cloverbuds.

Are you using “My 4-H Cloverbud Year”?  This is a great tool to introduce your Cloverbuds to the concept of completing a book.  While “My 4-H Cloverbud Year” is not a project book (like our older 4-H members complete), it is an activity book which has information that your Cloverbuds can complete at each meeting – what they did at the meeting; what they learned.  It also has general sections to complete about your 4-H Club, the pledge, and more!  Check with your Extension Office or you can order directly from OSU Extension Publications.  Ohio residents receive the best price when they order from their Extension Office.

Now that you have your topic, gather your supplies.  What supplies do you have on hand?  What supplies do you need to purchase?  What supplies can you ask your Cloverbud members to bring to the meeting?  Check with your 4-H club’s organizational volunteer to see if there is money available in the club budget to purchase supplies for Cloverbud activities.  Each club handles this differently so be sure to check before you purchase needed supplies.

Have fun at your meeting!  Let the Cloverbuds explore the topic and be sure to take advantage of teachable moments.  Things may not always go as planned and that’s okay!  Cloverbuds love to learn and will ask all sorts of questions; some of which may not be related to the topic at hand.  Be sure to gently redirect questions you may not be ready to answer!

If you aren’t sure how or where to begin planning your Cloverbud meetings, check with your county 4-H Educator.  They are ready and willing to help you plan and conduct a successful year for your Cloverbuds.  Be sure to check out other resources you will find on this blog, such as Cloverbud Reading Adventures and Click It! Print It! Do It!.

Best wishes for a successful Cloverbud year in 2023!

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

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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

I’m a Cloverbud Volunteer! Now What?

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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!

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