Clover Kids share lessons, fun after school

By Thomas Nelson, tnelson@charlescitypress.com

Before 4-H, children can join Clover Kids to learn, and one of their biggest rules is to “have fun.”

Clover Kids is an after-school activity for children from kindergarten to third grade. Members participate in educational activities that teach them lessons about the outdoors and other things.

The kids meet once a month at the Iowa State University Floyd County Extension office.

“Each group meets once a month. We do it in Charles City twice, then we’re in Rudd-Rockford school once and Central Springs once,” said 4-H Program Assistant Andrea Hobson.

The kids get signed up through forms that go home in backpacks and the cost is $5 a month.

Hobson said it’s for “the kids that aren’t quite old enough for 4-H yet, but are still in the school system.”

4-H begins for students in the fourth grade.

“We do a lot of hands-on learning stuff, like different crafts and kind of experiments and activities and games,” Hobson said.

The kids get to learn about a different topic each month, Hobson said.

“This month we’re doing caves and bats. Last month was Legos. Next month we’re doing a Thanksgiving meal,” Hobson said.

Hobson said she got involved with 4-H when she was kid and was a Clover Kid when she was in kindergarten.

“I was a 4-H member for 13 years,” she said.

Clover Kids had just started when Hobson was a member about 29 years ago, she said.