Volume 1, Issue 5

Transition of Older 4-H Cloverbud Members to Community 4-H Clubs

Summer brings lots of fun and excitement to 4-H Cloverbud age youth and their 4-H Cloverbud groups. But it is also a time to begin thinking about the transition of youth who will be eight years of age by September 1 to community 4-H clubs. If your 4-H Cloverbud group is already affiliated with a community club, this transition may be a "natural progression." However, if your members belong to separate 4-H Cloverbud groups, they may not be aware of other 4-H opportunities.

The following are a few ideas Cloverbud volunteers might use to help their "older" members move on into the 4-H community club setting.

• Have your Cloverbud club visit a community club in the area this summer. Perhaps you could join them on their club project tour, achievement program or summer outing. This would give your members a chance to interact in a fun, informal way with the bigger club.

• Co-sponsor a special "4-H Cloverbud Graduation Ceremony" with the local community club that your members are going to join in the fall. You local Extension office should have a copy of the suggested ceremony. Youth in the 4-H community club could become "Big Friends" to the new Cloverbud graduates. The Big Friend might be a 4-H member who is 10 or 11 who has been in 4-H just a few years him/herself. The Big Friend can serve as a mentor and helper for the transition year. Big Friend materials are available from your local Extension office.

• Ask the local Extension Office to add your Cloverbud graduates to the County 4-H Newsletter mailing list now so that they will receive the first newsletter of the new year and will become familiar with the opportunities available to them.

• Visit your local 4-H Show and spend time with your 4-H Cloverbud members in looking over the variety of projects that will be available to them in 4-H next year. Cloverbud members may want to select two or three projects that they may be interested in. You might jot these ideas down and pass them on to the new 4-H Club volunteer.

• Provide each 4-H family with a copy of the brochure "What about 4-H? Answers to questions frequently asked by PARENTS about 4-H and 4-H Clubs. This may help them understand the difference between 4-H Cloverbud groups and 4-H Community Clubs.

• Arrange for your 4-H Cloverbud group to do a joint activity in the fall with the 4-H community club that your graduates will attend. This will give all members a chance to see one another again and an opportunity to meet new friends.

The transition from a 4-H Cloverbud group to a 4-H Community Club can be an exciting experience to look forward to if 4-H Cloverbud and Community Club volunteers work together to pave a smooth path for the new members.

Written by Sheri Seibold, Extension Educator, Youth Development from University of Illinois Extension, Manteno Center.