The Cloverbuds have Arrived

Today marked the first day of our ever popular and exciting 4-H Cloverbud day camp. In 4-H speak cloverbuds are our 5-8 year old youth, who in our 4-H world get to do many of the activities that our older youth do such as public speaking and presentations but everything surrounding them is noncompetitive until they reach 9, then they become Juniors and start competing and moving up the ladder.

Cloverbud day camp was revised this year from 8:30 to 3 p.m. to offer them a shorter day a little more similar to the school day. Each morning we start waking up with coloring something really cool. Then we sit down and recap what we learned and liked about the day before. We talk about the day ahead and then play a game that everyone can have fun with. Today was a little different as we started our day with Mrs. Tameka, our 4-H Expanded Foods and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) program assistant. She introduced us to Professor Popcorn and the food pyramid. We got the change to make our morning snack with her, an apple carousel. It was really neat and yummy. After our snack we broke into two groups. One group headed into the kitchen with Mrs. Janice, our Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, to cook up a storm. There we made a yummy orange creamsicle that is good for you (and will be a great frozen treat later in the day). The other group went with Miss Shea Ann to make our own personal cups. After an hour the two groups switched and were able to enjoy the best of both worlds.

After being crafty and cooking up sweet treats it was time for lunch. Almost every child's favorite, chicken nuggets and mac and cheese for lunch. We could hardly wait! We had a really big cookie for dessert as we watched a movie about tropical rain forests and the creatures that live in them.

At one Dillon, a 4-H member, volunteered to read a story to us. It was a Doctor Seuss Story about the planets and it was literally out of this world. After our story we played with really neat dice, also known as fitness dice. One had numbers the other different activities like arm circles and jumping jacks. We each rolled a die and everyone followed the directions when they landed. Then we sat down and divided into teams to play the funniest game ever, Laugh, Jr. Then we had a very special visitor. Sgt. Larry Russ (also one of our 4-H volunteers) brought a special treat for our youth. They each got to see, and hear, the Sheriff's Office motorcycle. After asking their share of questions they each got an official pencil.

Then we headed into the kitchen for a cool treat. That's right our orange creamsicles that we made earlier in the day with Miss Janice. Then it was time to head home to rest up for the next day. After all this fun, how can we top it? Guess we will have to stay tuned for tomorrow.