Author: Tyrone Atkinson
Major Program: Nurturing Families (general)
In March 2019 a contract was received by the National Military Family Association (NMFA) to do perform a curriculum revision of Operation Purple Camp. Operation Purple Camp is a residential week long camping program for military youth across the country who have have family members injured/ill/or wounded in military service. The curriculum had not been updated in over 10 years and Tyrone Atkinson and Kerri Ashurst (FCS Extension Military Program leaders) were sought out as for camping and
Author: Melinda McCulley
For the past several years, Family and Consumer Sciences Extension has sought innovative ways to retain our established audiences with timely and relevant information while reaching new and unique audiences at the same time. The Talking FACS (Family And Consumer Sciences) podcast has accomplished both these goals. Fifty-two regular episodes were produced and broadcast during the year, along with eight special edition episodes, for a total release of 60 shows. Show topics address fami
Author: Heather Cheek
The life of the high school senior is full of “adult” decisions: selecting a college, picking a major, choosing a career path, and moving out! Although today’s adolescents are technologically advanced compared to prior generations, they sometimes lack basic practical living skills. After being approached by school officials with this very same concern, the Bracken County Family Consumer Science Agent and 4-H Youth Development Agent decided a crash course was needed.
Author: Alethea Price
The Boyle County Community Early Childhood Council has undergone numerous changes in leadership over the past few years. For a period of about two years, there was minimal activity going on with the CECC in Boyle County. The Chair position had not been filled when the previous person stepped down, resulting in the CECC chapter missing the opportunity to apply for the grant during that cycle.In 2017 the FCS agent took on the role of CECC Chair in order to rally the council and apply for the Gover
Author: Christy Ramey
What's in the Doctor's Bag was a training I attended which was offered by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. The program takes the diagnostic tests and instruments that are used at the physician's office and addresses each one with a story and a fun presentation. The goal of the program is to relieve the stress of the visit for both the child and the parent or caregiver. The FCS agent in Simpson county was involved with a local Day Care
Author: Shannon Smith
For the second year, the Bracken County Extension Office collaborated with the local Family Resource Youth Service Center (FRYSC) to offer “A Day with Dad.” The focus of this event is to offer an opportunity for fathers to spend quality time with their children. Often times bonding, experiences between parent and child are focused on the mother as the primary caregiver. However, studies have shown that children are more successful when fathers take an active role in
Author: Eugenia Wilson
Stories, Songs, and Stretches!® is a startup dedicated to enhancing early learning through embodied play. Through this program you can intentionally weave together books, songs, mindfulness, and yoga-inspired movement to create joyful play experiences that engage the whole child – body, heart, and mind. This class involved three preschool classes at Fairview elementary and approximately 52 students participated in all three sessions. The youth learn to calm themselves, focu
Author: Lynnette Allen
In Kentucky the need for early childhood development and school readiness continues to be identified. Due to limited early childcare programs in Breckinridge County, there are only 400 slots in licensed and certified childcare facilities. With this limitation, many local young children are not in structured learning environments; therefore, Breckinridge County Community Early Childhood Council (BCCECC) once again applied and was successful in receiving funding ($6,800) for early chil
Author: Anna Morgan
In Kentucky, “School readiness means that each child enters school ready to engage in and benefit from early learning experiences that best promote the child’s success”. Kentucky has broken school readiness down in five domains: physical and motor development; social and emotional development; approaches to learning; language development; and cognitive development. A child's readiness score is determined by measuring a student’s cognitive, physical and language develo
Author: Cathy Sparks
Many high schools across the state have eliminated family and consumer sciences programs from the curriculum altogether, while others have cut back on the programs drastically. Five years ago, our county cut the all of the sewing programs from the family and consumer sciences program completely. As a result, there have been many young women in our community who have expressed interest in sewing to us, thus promoting the teaching of beginner's sewing, by the two local quilt guild
Author: Kelly Mackey
Growth mindset is an important quality for success. I developed a program working with the AIMS Upward Bound program. A four part workshop was developed for 1st generation college students. The workshop focused on tips for being successful in college and setting SMART goals. The participants learned how to set SMART goals and practiced techniques for mental clarity and mental wellness. Each participant then created a vision board for the goals that wanted to attain in key areas of their life. Th
Author: Kerri Ashurst
The purpose of this grant is to provide life skills programs for homeless and unstably housed youth in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The primary goal is for target youth to increase the number of critical life skills they possess to become more self-sufficient. This project aims to provide life skills education (e.g., workforce prep, communication & conflict resolution) to homeless or unstably housed youth ages 12 to 22 years. Participants completed an adapted common measures pre-survey (
The purpose of this grant is to provide life skills programs for homeless and unstably housed youth in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The primary goal is for target youth to increase the number of critical life skills they possess to become more self-sufficient. This project aims to provide life skills education (e.g., workforce prep, communication & conflict resolution) to homeless or unstably housed youth ages 12 to 22 years. Findings for the long-term outcomes delineated on this grant are as
The purpose of this grant is to provide life skills programs for homeless and unstably housed youth in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The primary goal is for target youth to increase the number of critical life skills they possess to become more self-sufficient. This project aims to provide life skills education (e.g., workforce prep, communication & conflict resolution) to homeless or unstably housed youth ages 12 to 22 years. Findings for the short-term outcomes delineated on this grant are a
Author: Kate Thompson
In Northern Kentucky, only 53% of students were kindergarten ready (Kentucky Center for Statistics, 2019). Kindergarten Readiness means the child is academically, socially, and emotionally ready to start school. Another important focus for children to be ready for school is having healthy relationships and strong families. According to the University of Kentucky’s publication, “Family Vitality: Characteristics of Strong Families,” relationships that include good communic
Camp Kesem is a nationwide community, driven by passionate college student leaders, that supports children through and beyond their parent’s cancer. They are the largest national organization dedicated to this unique population. Currently there are 105 Kesem chapters in 40 states led by 4,500 college student leaders. Dr. Kerri Ashurst serves as the UK Chapter Student Advisor for Camp Kesem, formed in late 2016. Camp Kesem KY had their first camp in July 2017 with 19 children attending and
Dr. Ashurst became a Federal Coach for USDA's Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) Professional Development and Technical Assistance (PDTA) Center as of January 2019. This is a multi-state subcontract with the University of Minnesota and Pennsylvania State University as the national leads. She was assigned to oversee 6 grants - New York 1, New York 2, Vermont, West Virginia, Michigan, and New Jersey. Since that time, Ashurst has had monthly Zoom meetings with every state; has complet
Dr. Ashurst became the national co-chair in Fall 2018 for the Youth Experiencing Homelessness National Subcommitee, one of the 7 subcommittees of the "Access, Equity and Belonging Committee" (AEBC), a national priority through USDA, National 4-H, and Extension Committee on Policy.Ashurst co-chairs the multi-state subcommittee, currently including Extension personnel from 13 states that are conducting programming for youth who are experiencing or at high risk for experiencing home
