Extension
It Starts With Us
Targeting Life Skills and Family Lives
Enriching Family Lives
Clay Stamm, Shonda Johnston, Madalyn Wells, Horticulture Agent (vacant), 4-H Agent (Vacant),
Horticulture, Consumer and Home
Financial Education - General
Nutrition and Food Systems General
Communications and Expressive Arts
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, relationship building, and academic success. Clark County Extension will promote programming such as Master Gardener, Health and Wellness Ambassador, Character Education, financial education, Community Life skills, Farmers’ Market, home horticulture, summer youth enrichment activities, and early education programming so that families can develop strong values, make wise decisions and encourage a supportive, educational environment.
-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
-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
-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
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
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), Life Skills Academy
Content or Curriculum: Money Habitudes; Good Credit Game; estate planning, Life Skills Academy
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
Author: Madalyn Hale
Major Program: Family and Consumer Science
The It's Your Reality Program has been happening in Clark County for many years. Last year, due to Covid restrictions and virtual school, the program could not take place as usual but the staff in Clark County created a digital version to take it's place. Since restrictions were lifted we were able to proceed in person with the 2021 It's Your Reality program at Robert D. Campbell Junior High. After planning meetings with the Family Resource Coordinator and 8th grade counselor we made
Author: Levi Berg
Major Program: Financial Education - General
A common question which extension agents receive is usually about preparing youth for adulthood or building life skills. One aspect which the extension agents at the Clark County Extension Office focused on was budgeting while working. The program “It’s Your Reality” seemed to be the perfect fit to teach 8th grade students how to properly budget for life on their own while at the age of 25. Over 400 students at the Robert D. Campbell Junior High School were able to choose their
Author: Shonda Johnston
Major Program: Financial Education - General
The It's Your Reality Program, a financial management program implemented with 8th graders at Robert D. Campbell Junior High School, has been happening in Clark County for several years. It addresses the need for junior high school students to learn budgeting and financial management skills. The Clark County 4-H and FCS agents collaborated with the Youth Service Center Coordinator at RDC to implement this program on November 16th, 2021. Nearly 400 8th grade students participated in the
Author: Aubrey Lawson
Major Program: Civic Engagement
The high-school students in the Madison County 4-H Teen Council put together 55 Fall Family Kits to be distributed to families in the community. These kits included art activities, recipes and ingredients and educational information on fall themed topics including pumpkins and apples. These teens felt there was a need in the community for fall family activities due to COVID-19 and the traditional community events being cancelled. The teens brainstormed the ideas for the kits, assisted with adver
