Author: Lindsey Dunn
Major Program: 4-H Youth Development Programming
With the Covid-19 national pandemic, our country is facing new challenges daily, from isolation to uncertainty, causing stress for many individuals. This challenge has affected every individual in the family unit, whether you have been in direct contact with the virus or not. As this virus affected 55 million youth, interrupting their school year (National 4-H Council), many guardians adjusted their work and life schedule as students began to remain home completing non-traditional in
In August of 2019, the coordinator working with Daviess County’s Homeschool Cooperative group reached out to the 4-H agent looking for activities to offer to their youth. Six sessions were scheduled with the 4-H agent to have the youth attend programming in the curriculum areas of Communications and Expressive Arts and Natural Resources at the Daviess County Cooperative Extension Office.Youth first attended a communications workshop to become familiar with how to properly prepare a s
The Kids Outdoor Adventures Committee formed in Daviess County in 2015 with a mission to encourage a break from technology while engaging families in fun, educational, safe, and healthy outdoor activities. The committee is made up of a number of individuals representing local businesses, youth organizations, law enforcement, youth organizations, outdoor sporting organizations and facilities, and volunteers interested in the outdoors. From the three annual programs the committee hosts
Author: Amanda Sublett
In response to COVID-19 school, community and business closings, Marion County Cooperative Extension Service and the 4-H Program sought to address a community need to provide educational opportunities. Due to COVID-19 social distancing, 4-H and Extension Programs developed 4-H To Go Kits and informational packets that helped to keep youth and clients informed and involved with 4-H and Extension programs during the pandemic.Over 1500 informational packets were distributed through Cent
Author: Eric Comley
According to an American Camp Association article entitled, "The Benefits of Camp," 'Camp provides children with a community of caring adults who nurture experiential education that results in self-respect and appreciation for human value. All of the outcomes — self-identity, self-worth, self-esteem, leadership, and self-respect — build personal competencies. These personal competencies are reflected in the four "C's" of the camp community: compassion, con
Author: Elijah Wilson
When the COVID-19 global pandemic forced Kentuckians into quarantine youth and families began spending more time at home, minimizing opportunities for youth to engage in typical extracurricular activities. Due to this situation the Kentucky 4-H Program began the Kentucky 4-H Virtual Experiences on social media platforms. The goal of the Kentucky 4-H Virtual Experiences was to maintain ways for youth and families to engage with 4-H projects, events and activities while learning new life skills th
Author: Samantha Gamblin
Situation4-Her’s experienced a pandemic for the first time in their lives. Quickly youth were asked to change the way they lived. Whether it was how they do school work, go to the grocery, social interaction, extracurricular activities and so much more. For our local 4-Her’s what did that mean for them? Would there be 4-H Teen Summit, Teen Conference, Fair, 4-H Camp, club meetings and so much more. 4-H wanted a way to keep contact with 4-Her’s, keep them busy with projects and
Author: Dora Centers
The Knott Co 4H program offered multiple brown bag take home projects with educational curricula to youth in our county during the COVID pandemic. The projects themselves are experiential educational learning opportunities. The product of this effort was to show our communities that we understand that the mental health and well-being of our youth is upmost importance during this trying time. Those projects provided outlets for youth and their families to refocus their attention to po
Kids are often bored at the end of the summer and parents are looking for educational opportunities to engage them in before returning to school. Over 87 youth participated in one or more of the following seven day camps offered in July and August 2019: Night and Day, Fashion Design, Kids Eating and Doing Something, Clover-buds, Paper Craft and Mixed Media, Fitness and Horticulture. All day camps included a healthy snack and six included lunch and were provided free of charge to the community. A
So many times you hear parents say, “Wow, I didn't know that 4-H had so much to offer,” after their child has participated in a few activities. 4-H is sometimes still stereotyped as being just for “farm kids” when in reality the possibilities are endless. In order to promote the Taylor County 4-H Program to the community, the local council planned and implemented a large scale event that would showcase all of the wonderful things 4-H has to offer to youth and to creat
Author: Rhonda Jewell
The Corona Virus outbreak truly rocked the 4-H world, and Cooperative Extensions as a whole. When it hit in early March most people had no clue that it would be as devastating and life changing as it has been. We learned a lot about social distancing, importance of hand washing, wearing mask and had to accept the fact there was now a new “normal”, whatever that turns out to be.Schools began to close and students were expected to do NTI or other forms of alternative education.
In the middle of March 2020, many businesses, restaurants, and schools in Kentucky closed to in-person traffic because of a global pandemic. Families and community members were encouraged to stay home except for essential business and items. Families were suddenly working from home, keeping up with non-traditional school instruction for their children, trying to avoid the public or maintain social distance, and running a household all at the same time. The stress le
Author: Paula McCuiston
On March 16, 2020 the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service began a quick transition to remote working conditions due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. The Hickman County Cooperative Extension Service quickly looked for ways to continue programming and reaching youth in our community. One of these ways was to create two day camp boxes; one titled “Extension Explorers” and the other “Extension Day Camp in a Box.” The Extension Explorers box is uniq
Author: Paula Tarry
When the COVID-19 erased the in person 4-H programs on our calendars, we knew we needed to “reinvent the wheel” for our 4-H members, parents, leaders and other youth. This Agent was ask by the schools to provide a weekly list of virtual activities for the 4,000 + students in the school systems. Each school sent the list to their students to supplement their plans.A wide variety of activities were utilized on the Barren County Face Book page and the County website. Virtual learning in
Author: Kimberly Lane
COVID-19 is a public health crisis for both physical and mental well-being. According to David Weisenhorn, UK Senior Specialist for Parenting and Child Development, “the uncertainty around COVID-19 is even harder for children.” Morgan County Extension service aimed to support mental health among youth and families during this crisis while following CDC and social distancing guidelines. The goal of the 4-H program was to provide hands-on programming for youth, using
Author: Anna Meador
As a response to COVID-19 school and community closings, Allen County Cooperative Extension Service and 4-H Program sought to meet a community need to provide continued education opportunities amid the new social and distance learning climate. Due to the COVID-19 social distancing period, the 4-H and Extension Programs developed an “Extension Tool Box” that helped to keep clients informed and continuously involved with 4-H and Extension programs with Take-n-Go Education kits.In
Author: Ella Fourqurean
COVID-19 hasn't been easy but one thing it hasn't stopped is community involvement in 4-H through programs like "Grab n Go Bags" or the "Brown Bag Projects" across the entire state of Kentucky. Each week brings a new and exciting way to engage our youth in simple, fun projects at home. To date we have given out over 100 grab and go bags weekly featuring a multitude of activities for youth ranging from Agriculture, SET, Health, Family and Consumer Science and more. Inc
Author: Mary Jane Little
The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a new illness that was first identified in December 2019, with patients reporting cases of fever and acute respiratory illness. Since that time, other countries, including the U.S., have seen cases of the illness. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mason County 4-H, Horticulture, and EFNEP have partnered to create "Brown Bag Projects" and correlating social media videos for community members in Mason County. These brown bags are free and champion at-
