Team Work

The Ohio 4-H Conference

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The Ohio 4-H Conference is the largest gathering of 4-H volunteers in the State of Ohio.  As a Cloverbud volunteer, you have the opportunity to attend the conference and participate in numerous educational sessions that will enhance your skills as you work with 4-H Cloverbud youth.  The conference will be held Saturday, March 11, beginning at 9:00am, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.  More than 1,000 Ohio 4-H volunteers, teens and adults, will come together to celebrate Ohio 4-H and gather new ideas to take back to their clubs and their counties.

The Ohio 4-H Preadolescent Cloverbud Design team will present two sessions during the conference.  The first session is “Cloverbud Fundamentals”.  In this session the team will share what 4-H volunteers need to know in order to have a successful Cloverbud program.  You will learn about program guidelines, expectations, and resources that are easy to access and use.  There will be hands-on opportunities to learn how to engage our youngest 4-H members during their club meetings.  This presentation will be offered twice, during Sessions 1 and 2 of the conference.

The second presentation is “2023 Cloverbud Engineering Adventures”.  Cloverbud Engineering Adventures, formerly called the Cloverbot Challenge, gives 4-H Cloverbuds the opportunity to work cooperatively in teams to problem-solve using STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills and interlocking bricks.  Learn how Cloverbuds can participate in the engineering adventure and share their experience, model, and poster with an interview in a regional showcase event.  Complete details about the subject matter for this year’s Cloverbud Engineering Adventure, as well as tips on how to organize and prepare your Cloverbuds will be shared.  This presentation will be offered in Sessions 3 and 5 of the conference.

These are just two of the Cloverbud related sessions that will be offered during the day.  To learn about additional presentations, visit the Ohio 4-H Conference webpage.  There you will find the registration booklet, as well as the registration form.  The cost of the conference is $40.00 which includes lunch. Registration and payment is due to your local Extension Office by February 10.  Check with your local Extension Office to see if financial support is available for 4-H volunteers who attend.

We look forward to seeing you at the Ohio 4-H Conference on March 11.  Plan to attend and enhance your skills as a 4-H volunteer and learn ways that you can work ‘To Make the Best Better”.  Come and join the fun!

 

Ohio 4-H Cloverbot Challenge

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The 2021 Cloverbot Challenge will help Cloverbuds imagine how could they live on a newly established colony on the planet Mars. They will explore what a colony might that look like, where to live and how they could move from place to place.

The 4-H Cloverbot Challenge is a statewide event designed just for our youngest 4-H’ers. Teams will work together to research a topic, build a model out of interlocking bricks and create a poster highlighting their experience. Teams will present and share virtually via Zoom either Monday, July 12 or Thursday, July 22.

Cloverbud teams will learn about the planet Mars and potential modes of transportation. Teams will also learn more about the challenge by answering these questions:

  • What are similarities and differences between Earth and Mars?
  • What might your colony look like on Mars?
  • What kinds of transportation do you use on Earth?
  • How would transportation you use on Mars be different or similar to what we use on Earth?
  • What jobs are associated with space travel?
  • How might you stay safe when using transportation on Mars?
  • How does the environment on Mars impact transportation?

Teams may have a minimum of two members, but no more than eight, and are coached by an adult team leader. Details and registration information can be found at https://ohio4h.org/families/cloverbuds/cloverbot-challenge

Questions? Contact Christy Millhouse at millhouse.10@osu.edu or Rhonda Williams at williams.418@osu.edu. And a special thanks to the Ohio 4-H Foundation for their ongoing support of the Cloverbot Challenge.

Flyer: 2021 Cloverbot Challenge

Get Up and Dance!

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Dancing has always had a positive impact on youth development. Whether it’s doing the Macarena, partnering in a complicated square dance, or moving across the room with a waltz, dancing has been a huge part of our history.  It is a valuable tool to use when teaching skills such as fine motor development, pattern recognition, discipline, teamwork, and more. We can use dancing to teach our Cloverbuds developmental skills while also having a good time.

Great dances for Cloverbuds will:

  • Have a simple structure that is easy to follow and consists of 3-5 steps
  • Have a repetitive pattern of steps
  • Utilize a short song of no more than 3 minutes
  • Have a medium tempo (too fast and they can’t keep up with the steps, too slow and they will lose interest)

Circle dances are a great tool to use with Cloverbuds.  Circle dances can be done in any group size and everyone does the moves together. This allows the youth to watch each other as they are dancing, so they can easily follow along.  In order to be sure your dance works, test it with a small group before trying it with a large group of Cloverbuds.

After you’ve taught the dance steps to the youth, call-out the instructions as they are dancing to help them.

Here are some songs and dances you can use but always feel free to create or find your own.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jCn7Xgru1A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZxoE2Rj49I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0hzZUbIXio