Targeting Life Skills and Family LivesPlan of Work

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Clark County CES

Title:
Targeting Life Skills and Family Lives
MAP:
Enriching Family Lives
Agents Involved:
Shannon Farrell, Clay Stamm, Shonda Johnston, Horticulture Agent (vacant), 4-H Agent (Vacant)
MAJOR PROGRAM 1:
Horticulture, Consumer and Home
MAJOR PROGRAM 2:
Financial Education - General
MAJOR PROGRAM 3:
Nutrition and Food Systems General
MAJOR PROGRAM 4:
Communications and Expressive Arts
Situation:

In the current economy, the security and management of basic human needs of food, clothing and shelter dominate the needs of families as they work to improve their lives. There are many skills necessary for individuals and families to acquire in order to strengthen their family life. By utilizing Extension programming individuals and families can build personal strengths and develops life skills such as cooking, sewing, food accessibility, financial management, and academic success. Clark County Extension will promote programming such as Master Gardener, Character Education, financial education, Community Life skills, Farmers’ Market, home horticulture, summer youth enrichment activities, and early education workshops so that families can develop strong values, make wise decisions and encourage a supportive, educational environment.

Long-Term Outcomes:

-Improve quality of life for families

-Families are able to care for the physical and mental health and well being of each individual over the long term

-Build personal strengths and self-control, interpersonal communication, and development of life skills.

-Improve academic success for children in Kentucky   


Intermediate Outcomes:

-Practice skills to strengthen and sustain relationships

-Demonstrate basic life skills such as sewing, cooking, personal care

-Securing basic family needs

-Increase number of learning activities experienced at home

Initial Outcomes:

-Identify basic family needs

-Learn best practices related to self-control and positive interpersonal communication

-Increase in knowledge of basic life skills: sewing, cooking, personal care needs

-Increased knowledge and skills related to managing financial resources, including savings, credit, and financial planning.

-Increased knowledge of early education skills and activities, including developmentally appropriate play, expression of emotion, and gross motor skills

Evaluation:

Outcome: Knowledge of basic life skills: sewing, cooking, personal care needs

Indicator: increase quality of work produced by individuals engaging in development of basic life skills needs: sewing, cooking

Method: Self-Evaluation and Danish Ribbon Results

Timeline: After Project Completion


Outcome: Self-control and positive interpersonal communication

Indicator: Increase of number of individuals indicating an increase in learning/developing skills in basic family needs best practices

Method: Reduction in repeat families in utilizing community needs services

Method: Survey of Participants

Timeline: Monthly Reports of Services Utilized


Outcome: Individuals gaining knowledge of how to plan and implement gardening budgets/purchasing best practices

Indicator: Increase in number of individuals utilizing budgets in home gardening

Method: Survey of Participants,

Timeline: Monthly, Annually


Outcome:  Increase knowledge and skills related to managing financial resources

Indicator: Number of individuals reporting increased levels of understanding in the areas of handling money issues and financial decision-making or specific financial matters

Method:  Survey of participants/pre-post evaluations

Timeline:  Annually


Outcome: Increase knowledge of age-appropriate educational and social-emotional skills/activities to aid in their child’s healthy development. 

Indicator: Number of caregivers who expressed learning new skills and activities to engage their children at home

Method:  Survey of participants/pre-post evaluations

Timeline: Annually

Learning Opportunities:

Audience: 6th Grade Students

Project or Activity: 4-H Dollars and Sense

Content or Curriculum: 4-H Dollars and Sense

Inputs: Clark County 4-H, Public School, Community Volunteers and Agencies

Date: Spring 


Audience: 8th Grade Students

Project or Activity: 4-H It’s Your Reality

Content or Curriculum: 4-H It’s Your Reality

Inputs:Clark County 4-H Staff, Public School Staff, Community Volunteers and Agencies

Date: Fall 


Audience: 4-H Age Youth

Project or Activity: 4-H Sewing

Content or Curriculum: KY 4-H Sewing Curriculum

Inputs: Clark County Cooperative Extension Facilities and Equipment, 4-H Staff, Master Clothing Volunteers, 4-H Volunteers

Date: weekly fall and spring


Audience: Youth age 9-14 years old

Project or Activity: 4-H Summer Camp

Content or Curriculum: 4-H Core Content

Inputs: Clark County Extension Staff, 4-H Camp and Staff, 4-H Volunteers, Clark County 4-H Program Support/Materials

Date: Summer 


Audience: 4-H age youth

Project or Activity: 4-H Cooking Club

Content or Curriculum: 4-H Approved Curriculum

Inputs: Clark County Cooperative Extension Facilities/Materials, 4-H Extension Staff, 4-H Volunteers

Date: Monthly


Audience: Adults

Project or Activity: Gardening Classes & Workshops

Content or Curriculum: UK Publications and Specialists

Inputs: Master Gardener Volunteers, Clark County CES Facilities, Community Garden Locations

Date: Spring, Summer, Fall 


Audience: Preschool aged children and their parents

Project or Activity:  Early education workshops/series

Content or Curriculum: Laugh and Learn Playdates; Stories, Songs, and Stretches

Inputs: FCS Agent, UK curriculum and resources, 

Date: Annually


Audience: Adults, young adults, and teens

Project or Activity: Financial Education Workshops (budgeting, estate planning)

Content or Curriculum: Money Habitudes; Good Credit Game; estate planning

Inputs: FCS Agent, curriculum publications and resources,

Date: Annually


Audience: 5-8 yr olds

Project or Activity: Cloverbud Club

Content or Curriculum: 4-H Core Content

Inputs: 4-H Extension Staff/Facilities/Materials, 4-H Volunteers

Date: Monthly


Audience: 11th Graders

Project or Activity:  American Private Enterprise System

Content or Curriculum:  4-H Core Content

Inputs:  School Administration and staff, Extension Staff, Community leaders

Date:  Spring


Audience:  Adults

Project or Activity:  Farm Enterprise Creation/Expansion

Content or Curriculum:  UK Publications, UK Specialist and Community Resources

Inputs: Extension Staff; local producers

Date:  Spring, Summer, Fall 



Success Stories

Gingerbread House Challenge

Author: Shannon Farrell

Major Program: Family and Consumer Science

Gingerbread House Challenge

During this time of COVID, volunteers and agents have worked together to brainstorm effective ways of reaching youth virtually.  As we neared the Christmas and New Year’s holiday break, cooking club leaders in Clark County developed plans for a Gingerbread House challenge that would be promoted on the county’s 4-H Facebook page but open to anyone 4-Her (not exclusive to cooking club members).The challenge was divided up into 4 age categories that promoted 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place

Full Story

Success with Shooting Sports despite the challenges of COVID

Author: Shannon Farrell

Major Program: Natural Resources

4-H Shooting Sports is one of the amazing opportunities that is provided to 4-Hers to teach skills development in marksmanship and gun safety in multiple discipline areas.  KY State 4-H leaders and National 4-H worked to develop guidelines that could meet CDC requirements, health department approvals, and still allow outdoor setting practices to continue for local shooting sports programs.  When the state shooting sports committee determined that the state contest would happen in 2020,

Full Story

Middle School Family Connections Program

Author: Shonda Johnston

Major Program: Family Development General

In the Fall of 2020, the Youth Services Center (YSC) Coordinator at Robert D. Campbell (RDC) Junior High reached out the Clark County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent with a desire to help parents find ways to connect with their children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parent-child connection is often a struggle as children move into their teen years, but these struggles are being heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic as many typical ways of connecting are being limited. With the constraints o

Full Story

Gardening Series

Author: Shonda Johnston

Major Program: Food Preparation and Preservation

As the pandemic restrictions began to lift in early 2021, the Clark County FCS Agent and the Clark County ANR agent began to brainstorm programing ideas for our first in-person meetings for the post-pandemic world. There had been a great deal of news coverage of possible food shortages and as a result and a renewed interest in growing your own food to address the possible shortages. To address this new concern, it was decided to host a collaborative gardening series, focusing on growing, process

Full Story
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