Author: Mary Jane Little
Planning Unit: Animal and Food Sciences
Major Program: 4-H Youth Development Programming
Plan of Work: County Leadership
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
Just like the 4-H program for older youth, the purpose of the 4-H Cloverbuds is to help young children learn life skills to become competent, caring and contributing citizens. Specifically, Cloverbuds are youth who are five to eight years old or in kindergarten through the second grade.
Cloverbuds help young people:
The primary goal of the Cloverbuds program is to promote children's healthy development - mentally, physically, socially and emotionally. The Cloverbuds program provides an excellent opportunity for children to reach their highest potential because early life experiences, even subtle ones, affect future development. (https://4-h.ca.uky.edu/content/clover-buds )
Mason County recruited a new Cloverbud volunteer who started at the beginning of the 2019 program year. Since her start, the club has grown from ten youth to twenty-five active youth. Participants engaged with family members to complete at-home activities prior to meetings, then expanding on activities during club meetings. Meeting topics ranged from agriculture to SET, entomology, and also "touring" other active county 4-H clubs to gain interest when Cloverbuds reach 4-H age on what they can join. The leader has also expressed interest in teaching cloverbud curriculum in the classroom beginning in the 2019/2020 school year.