Author: Admin

Cloverbuds are such a special part of Emeryville 4-H! This year, our sessions will focus on two themes:

(a) Providing age-adjusted versions of a few club projects that are available only to older club members. We’ll account for safety, skill level, and attention span in offering our Cloverbuds “mini” versions of some popular club projects. For example: Can’t sign up for Creative Writing because you’re not old enough yet? Don’t worry! We will have a Cloverbuds session where we make our own stories and poems together.

(b) Exploring the general themes of 4-H and Cloverbuds, including Civic Engagement, Leadership, Healthy Living, STEM, and, of course, the 4 Hs: Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. We’ll be working in nature and making things wherever we can, and building up our little community of friends is always top priority.

Come cook with us! The whole family can get involved in this fun activity. Sessions may have a “cultural or special food” theme and some will be led by teen leaders. Ingredient lists and prep instructions will be sent out a week in advance. The leader may explain the significance of the savory or sweet food and will demonstrate how to make it, and we will all follow along and make it too. This will be a great way to expand your culinary repertoire and have fun!

Our club’s literary magazine, Flying Script Ladder, will publish its second annual edition this Spring. If you like creative writing, fun word games, and reading what others write, please join us one Monday evening a month on Zoom for an hour to (a) write together using fun prompts and (b) make some decisions about what this year’s literary magazine will be like.

Involves some writing outside of the meetups (i.e. you may be asked to try continuing with an exercise we have started in a Zoom).

Join us for some fun rides on paved and unpaved roads. Locations will be somewhat weather-dependent. Riding time will be about 2 hours at an easy pace for all to keep up, with at least one snack break. We’ll review cycling safety at each start. Along the ride, we’ll discuss natural and cultural history of features and critters. Details still TBD, but here’s some examples of what we’re planning:

November 1 – Hayward Shoreline – Gravel roads on dykes along the Bay. So many birds! May include stop at Interpretive Center.

November 15 – Berkeley-Richmond Bay Trail – A unique perspective of the East Bay hills. Again, birds! An optional one-way trip, and possibly a visit to the Rosie the Riviter center at the end.

Sunday March 22, 10-12 – Point Pinole

Sunday, April 19, 1-4 – Bay Bridge to top of Yerba Buena Island and back

Saturday May 2, 1-4 – Alameda Loop (or BART to SF, ride from Embarcadero to Golden Gate Bridge and back)

Have you ever wanted to learn to play Dungeons and Dragons? Here’s your chance! First meeting in Febuary will go over rules and which dice to roll when. Also you will be creating a personal Character and will be given your own dice set and rolling tray. Second meeting in Febuary will consist of a full one shot game where you will be playing the character you made. Dates in May will include character creation, then a mini campaign of two sessions. Location TBD (Meetings may be at homes on West Alameda, if we don’t find a larger location).

Practice problem solving use vignettes or scenarios, reference sheets and real world supplies/tools. Learn about everyday hazards, emergencies and response in our homes, schools and communities. Learn about how our public health private institutions and groups prepare, train and practice for larger scale emergencies like natural disasters and pandemics. Map out resources near your home or school, and make a Family Plan and a “Go” Bag. Learn about knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors that increase resilience in individuals and communities.

Introduction to birdwaching for all! An in-person experience that includes nature walks with seasoned birders, tips and tricks for identifying birds, and activities that will get you and your child thinking critically and scientifically about the natural world around us.

We’ll learn together about how maps are made and used, talk about ways they’re complicated and interesting, and make your own map of an imagined place.

Topics we’ll explore include: What makes a map, a map, and what are some different kinds? What is the Mercator Projection, and in what ways do maps have power and influence? What tools do professional mapmakers use? And more.

We’ll use a map to find our way to a destination, and talk about what we think a good map includes. Then, we’ll each make a map of an imagined place.

Interested in making something small that has a big impact? Join us to make two sewing projects: a scent doll and a cat hammock. The Brightest Little Star Project is a scent doll (a comfort doll) that a mother wears on her body to pick up her scent. When she is apart from her baby, she can leave this doll with them so that the baby can find comfort from her scent. The doll helps with bonding with their mother, even when they cannot be together. These will be donated to Alta Bates Summit Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Cat hammocks will be made for the cats awaiting adoption at Oakland Animal Services. We will use bright, enticing fabrics to draw the attention of visitors to the cats, which may help get them adopted! We will meet in-person for two 3-hour sessions.

We will have mutliple sewing machines and supplies. However, if you have your own sewing machine that you prefer to use, feel free to bring it.

Cardboard cardboard everywhere! Each meetup we will create something with recycled cardboard. There are many creations to choose from – depending on our signups maybe we’ll vote on which 3 to do!? Could be giant masks, a box city, a puppet theater, abstract art… lots of options. We’ll use things like paint, glitter, washi tape, glue and pom poms to transform our cardboard into creative creations.

Why buy premade products from the store when you can spend 3x the price and make them at home!? The reason is, because then you know what’s in them and you can take pride in knowing you can make things you didn’t even know you could!

Join us to learn how to make holistic home wellness products like non-toxic cleaning supplies, body butter, and common cold remedies. Together we will explore how simple, affordable ingredients can be combined to make refreshing, restorative and immune-boosting wellness products.

Join us for all things rocks and crystals!

Over 3 sessions we will get to see and investigate various rocks and crystals from my personal collection. We will also be using a rock tumbler to smooth out stones to keep, crack open our own geodes and grow our own crystal with a science kit! If time allows we also will do some crystal art with water colors!

Along the way, we will learn about different minerals and names/terms for identifying crystals.

Let’s start off the New Year with some learning and planning that will help motivate and mobilize us to decrease plastic use now and across our lifespan. We’re going to learn about the human creation of plastic from production and use to breakdown. We’ll explore the health effects of plastic on humans, other living creatures, and ecosystems. Participants will perform an inventory of their daily activities and/or home environment to better understand our use of plastic. Participants will also visit stores to better understand opportunities to reduce use and demand for plastic. Lastly, participants will prepare 2-3 small changes that their family chose as first steps in humanity’s new “War Against Plastic”.

Get a head start with these short kid-friendly “Trash Academy” videos, watch TED-X videos on the great garbage patch, learn about kids helping with Plastic Free Lunches, read about microplastics, moving beyond plastics, and opportunities for engineering and “Green Chemistry”.

Lunar New Year is on February 17, 2026. We will be ringing in the Year of the Horse. Preparing for Lunar New Year (LNY) starts at least two weeks before, with cleaning, decorating, and cooking! For the first project day, in person, we will construct lanterns from red envelopes and learn how to tie traditional Chinese knots. For the second project day, virtually on Zoom, we will be steaming traditional new year cake, known as “nian gao” and baking almond cookies.

Join us to learn LNY holiday traditions, symbolisms, and prepare some delicious treats.

The annual Alameda County Presentation and Interview Event is coming up on March 1 (Zoom) and March 7 (In-Person) and these workshops will help your child prepare to participate in the event.

This event is a great opportunity for kids to practice the important life skill of public speaking. We will figure out what support your child needs to have a successful experience at the event and I will help prepare them — whether they need help picking a topic or type of presentation, making an outline, creating visual aids or practicing.

We’re going to build a city out of LEGOs. Participants will describe the elements of their home city, and decide on one to create out of Legos. Together, participants will plan and layout the city.  We’ll also make a tri-fold poster display about our project to enter in the Alameda County Fair in June.

We have some LEGOs available thanks to many generous club members, and participants will be able to keep what they use.

As a warm up, you can go to the First Annual Stack City Brick Con at Chabot College: https://www.bxbtoys.com/stack-city-brick-convention

Adults love to ask youth what they’d like to “be” when they grow up but how are we supposed to know what we can be if we don’t know all the options and what they entail? There are so many more jobs/careers out there to learn about. What do adults actually “do” at their jobs? How did they get the job? What do they love about it versus what do they dislike? We will take time together to hear from professionals about their cool and interesting (or even perhaps, boring?) jobs and a little about the ins-and-outs of it. There will be time for questions and discussions. Additionally, each youth participant will pick a job they’d like to learn about and do their own research to share with the group as if they were a professional in that field!

During 4-H Weaving, new and continuing students will learn what different parts of the loom do and how a loom works as well as how to plan, measure, prep your loom, weave a piece of cloth or an inkle band. Students will all have the chance to work on a loom and complete a simple project. Returning students can begin or finish more complex projects. Kids will get a loom to work on and take that loom home to work on between project meetings.

Finished projects can also be entered in the Alameda County Fair in June.

Depending on student interest and timing, we may also explore: how to recognize and understand different textile techniques (e.g., weaving, tatting, knitting, bobbin lace, card weaving), as well as yarn chemistry—how to tell what a fiber is without a label.

Do you want to create something beautiful with fabric? This project is for anyone that wants to explore fabric and learn how to make a quilt. Participants will design their quilt, learn sewing skills, and develop foundational quilting skills.

Participants are guided through the full quilting process, including fabric selection, basic color and pattern concepts, safe use of tools, and beginner sewing techniques.

Quilts can be entered and displayed in the county fair. Smaller quilts can be displayed in a local fiber gallery.

Sewing machines and fabrics will be provided.

Please note that this project involves independent use of sewing machine, so would not be appropriate for individuals that need a high level of supervision for continued machine use (note: sewing machine operating skills will be taught in the project).

This project will be an exercise in responsibly taking data and inventory of the natural world around the Bay Area. Participants will explore, investigate, notice and appreciate the natural beauty around them at each curated location. Responsible collection will include sunprints, flower and leaf pressing, bark rubbings, sketching, journaling, and other activities that promote curiosity and awareness. Participants will walk away from this project with a physical journal, bound with a devised cover, along with a deeper appreciation for Bay Area flora, fauna and landscapes.

Join us for an in-person session to learn Kintsugi. This will take place over 2 afternoons on March 22nd and March 29th. What is Kintsugi? Kintsugi is a unique Japanese cultural tradition of repairing broken ceramics using urushi lacquer and gold for decoration. The history of Kintsugi dates back to around 15th century. It is not just a technique for repairing ceramics but it embodies a deeper Japanese philosophy – taking good care of things that they own, their sense of value and their sense of beauty. Kintsugi has been highly regarded as an art form in the world. It is said that people cherished the repaired ceramics even more with the unique golden features that often looked like living things or nature.

Bring a once loved broken small bowl, pot, mug or other ceramic piece. Bring your own eye protection. We will supply all the materials to repair using Kintsugi methods.

Raising animals and auctioning them at the Fair is a common activity for most traditional 4-H clubs. Our club has never been very traditional, but when we can, we like to honor the roots of 4-H. Learning about where your food comes from and practicing the humane treatment of animals are core values of 4-H.

While we can’t raise large livestock for auction, we will have a small group of members raise some chickens to be sold at the County Fair in July. We will get chicks in mid-May, and they take about 6-8 weeks to mature to selling weight.  This is a collaborative project — we will all need to contribute to take care of the chickens.  This will include getting supplies, cleaning the pen and chickens, weighing them, ensuring they have fresh water and food, handling them, preparing them for Fair, caring for them at the Fair and showing them at the auction.

Go Team Chicken!

Part 1: Pot a “gratitude” jade plant • Garden walk and picnic
At our first meetup, we’ll plant a small jade cutting and talk all things gardening. Our second meetup is a walk through a garden with a picnic afterwards. (Bring a packed lunch—whole family welcome!)

Part 2: Mini garden planning and supply making • Building and planting your mini fairy garden
Our third meetup is when we’ll plan and prep for our mini fairy gardens. We will also hand-make at least one miniature for our gardens. At our fourth meetup, we’ll plant and build our gardens! You can enter/exhibit your garden at the county fair in June.