Iowa 4-H Clover Kid's Connection

What does your county to do help recruit Clover Kids into the Club program?

As I travel across the state talking to leaders and county staff, I hear so many great ideas for activities, transitioning, recruitment, etc. This site is the perfect opportunity for you to share your ideas! The best ideas - the ones people like the most seem to be the most simple ones - the ones we dismiss as being too common or simple to share - but those are the ones people need! So - what does your county do?

Posted by Joan at 08:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This website has great force and motion experiments for K-3 grades. I know it is a kindergarten website, but the activities would work for older grades as well with a little adaptation. They change different variables to see how they affect the movement of cars. Check it out!

http://www.littlegiraffes.com/forceandmotion.html

Posted by Joan at 07:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just kind of realized that not everyone is probably familiar with the National Association for the Education of Young Children or its position on developmentally appropriate practices. the NAEYC is the most recognized organization that deals with early childhood education and Clover Kids fits that bill! Anything between birth through 8 years old counts!

So, I thought I'd include a link here. This is a long read (22 pages!) but there are very good parts to help you educate the Clover Kids leaders and other stake holders on the importance of using developmentally appropriate practices in ANY program for children in grades K-3!

Here it is:
http://www.naeyc.org/about/positions/pdf/PSDAP98.PDF

Posted by Joan at 06:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ever ask a question and hear crickets chirping? I know I have!

How can you ask a question and get the types of answers you are looking for? By using the right word at the beginning of the question!

If we can get used to starting questions with the right words, we can help children build great communication skills and guide them through great discussions in the Experiential Learning Process. What words am I talking about? Starting questions with these words encourage longer more thoughtful answers.

What if "What happened" "What if"

How "How did you decide" "How did that"

Tell me "Tell me about...."

We also want to avoid using words that allow children to answer the question in one word. Typically, starting questions with these words encourages short, one word answers.

Who
When
Which
Can
Whose

One trick I like to use - write the questions down as you write your plans! It takes the pressure off!

Posted by Joan at 08:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My son Patrick wants to drive so bad he can taste it! But, he doesn't get his permit until next month - so he has to wait. Does that bother him? Yes. Is it going to hurt him? Absolutely not! It gives him something to look forward to and gives him time to study the situation and learn what is expected of him when he does start to drive.

In my Group Management Workshops I make the point over and over that we never want to make a group of children wait. But that isn't entirely accurate - there are times when we WANT them to wait.

When?
When they want to do something that they aren't developmentally ready for....like waiting to exhibit competitively in the fair or waiting until they are physically, mentally, and socially ready to exhibit animals at the fair. It's not only OK to wait - it is critical to wait until the children are ready for those experiences.

Quite often, we feel pressure from others to let CKs experience things we know they aren't ready for. We want to make sure we are educating those families, fair boards and other stake holders about the CK program.

CKs have to wait because they don't have the basic physical, social, cognitive and emotional skills to adequately deal with the situation....and like my son Patrick and driving - waiting gives them something to look forward to in the future!

Posted by Joan at 08:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Welcome to the Clover Kids Blog! I'm so excited to get this going because I think this provides a great opportunity for us to share information and ideas about working with children in grades K-3!

My goal is to eventually have areas to discuss transitioning, CKs and the fair, group management and discipline, experiential learning practices and of course developmentally appropriate practices. It might take a while to get there, but I'll keep plugging away so we can get some great discussions going! So check back often!

Posted by Joan at 08:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I think the easiest way to help children through the Experiential Learning Process is to be involved with them as they do the activities. I tell people in my workshop that being involved is important for group management and that's true, but it is also important to help children do the activities, think about what they are experiencing and apply that in another area of their lives.

When you are involved, the questioning process of Experiential Learning gets simplified because you can see what they are experiencing and ask open ended questions about it. You can ask open ended questions about what they think is happening and help them brainstorm ways they've seen this experience used in other areas or help them use what they've done in a different way. But you have to be involved to help them catch the excitement and be engaged enough in the activity to think about it!

Posted by Joan at 03:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Choices are an important piece of the Clover Kids program. Choices allows children to learn good decision making strategies - especially when they get to experience the consequences - good and bad - of those decisions. What opportunities do we have for offering choices?

We can let the children help us determine what topics we want to explore. Children can also choose between 2 activities that are going on at the same time. You can let children choose where to sit, what to eat, how to make open ended art and more! As adults, we make choices all day long, so encouraging CKs to start making them in our safe environment provides wonderful learning opportunities!

Choices also helps with group management and discipline. Choices eliminate power struggles. Choices also allows children to retain their dignity when they've done something inappropriate. It helps them understand that there are always options to fix any problems - and that helps them become self-sufficient problem solvers in the future!

I'd love to hear how you've been able to include choices in your program! It is an important part of the program!

Posted by Joan at 07:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We are getting ready for the fair, what is the rule with Clover Kids and exhibiting at the fair?

Clover Kids is all about providing foundational experiences the children can build on later. The key word in that statement is EXPERIENCES. Exhibiting at the fair should reflect the experiences Clover Kids had during the year. What is brought might look very different than what a Club member brings.

We don't have Clover Kids do project work during the year, so making Clover Kids bring in exhibits based on our Club project areas isn't a good match between the CK program and what we are trying to showcase. What we want to focus on is exhibits that showcase the experience the CK had during the year and that can take many different forms.

Do Clover Kids have to bring exhibits have to fit into the project areas?

Clover Kids is all about the experiences – not about projects. We lay the foundation that project work is built on in the club program. So asking children to bring something in a project area takes away from the importance of having great experiences and transfers the focus from providing the developmental experiences needed in Clover Kids to the project centered – standard focus of the Club program. We need to keep our Clover Kids focus all through the year – including the fair.

Posted by Joan at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our County is just starting to have Clover Kids exhibit – are they able to bring animals?

For this question I’ll refer you to the document in the CK toolkit – available on the CK website: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4H/Clover/resources.htm

Look in Section A – General Information – Pages A3a-&b.
It is marked as document VI-970101-JK/CM January 1997 on the top.

The decision to have 3rd grade Clover Kids handle bucket bottle or smaller animals within the guidelines of the above document should be made in conjunction with discussions of the safety practices that will be put in place to ensure safety and after reviewing the risk management information available at: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4H/Volunteers/volrisk.htm

I think the thing we really have to remember and educate the public about is that Clover Kids have different developmental characteristics- both physical and emotional that come into play – and first and foremost we have to ensure their safety.

Even a child who can control a puppy at home – may not be able to keep it under control in an exhibition type situation – we’ve all seen animals “go awry” and Clover Kids may not have the physical skills- reaction time and cognitive capacity to think quickly enough through the situation to keep themselves safe in those situations. In addition, we need to stay in compliance with the National Standards and our policy seems to fit that. So – sticking with pets and bucket bottles for 3rd graders and letting K-2 watch – in a very safe and controlled environment – with lots of adult assistance – is the best option!

Here is the policy:
Educational Statement – 3rd Grade Youth with Small Animals

After looking at the research base, receiving feedback and guidance from a representative committee, and getting counsel from AEEDs, we are able to expand the program offerings in our K-3 programs to include safe and educationally sound small animal activities for 3rd graders. ISUE may sponsor planned educational programs with appropriate enrollment, providing the criteria on the attached Clover Kids Activity Checklist are followed.

Appropriate animals are pets and bucket bottle projects. Animals excluded are swine, horses, beef other than bucket bottle, and dairy other than bucket bottle. All animal exhibiting opportunities with 3rd grade youth must be non-competitive.

Physical and emotional safety of youth is the prime consideration. Special procedures, such as joint leading and/or close proximity of adults need to be employed to safeguard youths’ safety. Younger youth can benefit most when they experience success in win-win situations instead of risking their positive self worth in being “judged” in competitive situations such at county fairs.

This program expansion does NOT open the door for younger than 3rd grade youth. The research base and safety considerations clearly do not support the involvement of K-2 youth in animal activities.

Posted by Joan at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Judging is a big part of the Club fair experience. That is partly because the Club members are suppose to learn the standards of the project they are working in. If baking a muffins, they should understand the texture, recipe, etc involved in muffing making.

Clover Kids aren't held to a standard because they are still developing very basic skills. That is where providing the variety of experiences in the program comes in. In addition, emotionally, Clover Kids aren't good at accepting criticism. It is too personal and can be too damaging for them because they can't separate the doer from the deed so to speak.

So, Clover Kids exhibits are NOT judged. Participation ribbons can be given, but a graded system like the Club has is not appropriate for children in grades K-3. That doesn’t mean someone can’t talk to a Clover Kid as s/he brings in an exhibit. I think the ideal situation might look something like this:

A CK brings an exhibit and a Club Member meets him at the door and shows interest in the exhibit. The club member asks how the CK made the exhibit and how did they decide to bring that exhibit – simple conversational questions. THEN – to help with transitioning – the Club members shows the CK member something the Club member is exhibiting and maybe another exhibit someone else made that might build on what the CK member brought. All of this is done in an informal way and is designed to let the CK members tell about his experiences and also see the potential/create interest in the Club program. Counties might want to think about having CK’s bring their exhibits after the Club exhibits are put into place to accomplish this.

Posted by Joan at 09:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Transitioning is a hot topic these days! We all know that the longer we get to work with youth, the greater the chances for positive impact on their development. Clover Kids leaders have the unique opportunity to help CKs and their parents understand the benefits of continuing their 4-H experience by joining the Club program. But, we can no
longer just cross our fingers and hope the children will chose to join a Club. We have to be intentional!

Being intentional means we need to develop a plan of attack for introducing CKs to the Club experience. As we plan our meetings, we can also plan ways to help CKs see the benefits and fun involved in the Club program. Plan how you can bring up the Club program during your meeting! Of course that doesn't mean we are going to copy activities from the Club program - but what that does mean - is that we can point out how the activities we are doing can be extended during the Club experience. For example, if you are making pizza during a CK meeting. You can point out how they can compare different types of pizza for nutritional information, or how they can compare the costs/value of different pizza brands. I'm sure there are lots of different ways to extend that activity in the Club!

Another way to be intentional about transitioning is to plan to use the Club members in your CK program. We can have Club members do mini hands on workshops for CKs at our meetings to expose CKs to project areas they can look forward to in the Club. Club members can also just help at CK meetings for "crowd control". We can also have Club members show CKs around during the fair. The point is to make the Club visible for the CK members in a positive and fun way. Plan ways to get the Club members and CKs involved with each other. Again, duplicating the Club experience isn't appropriate for CKs and it isn't the best way to prepare CKs for the Club. We just want to keep the option of joining a Club in focus.

Posted by Joan at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The longer we work with youth, the greater the potential impact we can have on their positive development. Clover Kids leaders have a unique opportunity to help children grow and develop after they leave the program by helping them transition to the Club program.

Clover Kids leaders often want to help members prepare for the club experience by adding Club experiences to their program. However, research indicates that isn’t the best way to prepare youth for the next step in 4-H. Doing Club activities – even “watered down” club activities isn’t appropriate for the Clover Kids experience because the children do not have the background skills to be successful in those tasks. The best way to prepare Clover Kids for the Club program is to provide a hands-on cooperative program based on the developmental needs of the children. This allows children to build the foundational skills and background experiences they can “draw on” later.

What that means:

In the Club program, youth need to follow parliamentary procedure, work on committees, and follow along during the meeting.
Skills needed to work in a group setting are best learned through the cooperative activities in the Clover Kids program. Providing Clover Kids with cooperative small group activities allows them to practice those skills in a safe setting. Those experiences lay the foundation for working on committees, being part of a team and even parliamentary procedure.

In the Club program, youth need communication skills.
The best way to help Clover Kids develop the communication skills that will help them feel success in the Club program is to provide them lots of concrete hands on activities and opportunities to share what they are experiencing. Children develop a good communication skills when the language they are using are based on concrete experiences.

In the Club program, youth need to do record keeping.
The best way to prepare Clover Kids for record keeping is to provide verbal opportunities for them to describe the concrete experiences they are involved in.

Providing a developmentally appropriate program by following the National Guidelines in the best way to ensure that Clover Kids have the skills to feel successful in the Club program.

COOPERATIVE SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES
× Provides communication skill practice
× Provides good “group” skill practice
× Provides more adult – child interaction.
× Provides opportunities for all children to feel successful

HANDS ON LEARNING
× Provides meaningful experiences
× Builds physical, social, cognitive skills.
× Helps children understand their experiences in a concrete way.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROCESSING
× Accessing prior knowledge helps children remember what they already know.
× Reflecting and talking about their experiences helps CKs store the information for retrieval later.

Posted by Joan at 08:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I saw a cute idea at school yesterday. A first grade teacher had the children grow grass in a shallow plastic dish - the kind a planted pot sits in. They scooped the dirt, sprinkled the seeds, and then sprayed it with a bottle filled with water. Then, they blew out an egg and dyed it. After the grass grows, the egg sits on the grass and it makes a cute center piece for spring!

If you don't want to wait for the grass to grow, you can cover the dish with clear plastic wrap and secure it with a rubber band to send it home!

Posted by Joan at 07:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here are a few ideas you could include in a transitioning plan:

• Have a 4-H Club member personally call each 3rd grade Clover Kid and invite them to a meeting – that same person should greet the potential member at the door and sit with him/her during the meeting.

• Invite 3rd grade Clover Kids to visit county events like project fairs.

• Make sure Clover Kids families get a copy of the 4-H Club newsletter

• Work with the Clover Kids Leader to develop a meaningful transition ceremony at the end of Clover Kids – have the community club involved and invited to attend.

• Provide the 3rd grade Clover Kids with a copy of the club program and invite them to visit a meeting as a special guest.

• Down load photo cards from the Clover Kids website, personalize them and send them to Clover Kids.

• Download Club recruitment fliers from the Clover Kids website, personalize them and send them to Clover Kids.

• Send Clover Kids a congratulatory note when they graduate and invite them to join a 4-H Club.

• Invite Clover Kids to bring a NON-JUDGED exhibit to the fair. When they arrive, have Club members greet them and ask them about Clover Kids –What they like, what they made, how they made it, etc. Then, let the Club members share their Club experience and show the CK one of their exhibits!

• Follow up with Clover Kids when they enter the Club program to see how it’s going and to offer support for the family.

  Again - just a few ideas - and we'd love to hear what is going on in your county!
  

  Posted by Joan at 07:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)