Author: Brooke Hogancamp
Major Program: Family Development General
Data shows a significant child poverty level in Carlisle County. Compounded by a lack of quality educational engagement opportunities and little to no access to approved childcare facilities, there is an obvious need for assistance in the area of early childhood development for children ages 0-5. The Four River Communities Early Childhood Council is a collaborative of the four river counties of far Western Kentucky: Ballard, Carlisle, Hickman, and Fulton. These counties share not only a geo
Author: Dayna Fentress
Babysitting certification classes offered by the Hardin County Extension Office allow youth to learn critical skills for success as they are caring for youth who may or may not be related to them. The classes are a partnership between the FRYSC centers at our local middle schools, the FCS and 4-H programs, and the NEP program in Hardin County. Youth learn skills in the area of food and nutrition, appropriate snacks and food safety, first aid and physical safety, appropriate games and a
Author: Amanda Dame
The Hopkins County Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent, 4-H and Youth Development Assistant, and Nutrition Education Assistant partnered with the Hopkins County Youth Service Center to provide a Baby-Sitter class during a summer day camp series. The goal of the day camp was to teach middle school and high school students the responsibilities and skills needed to be successful babysitters. Additionally, to help youth develop the confidence needed to handle situations they may exper
Author: Marla Stillwell
With the primary goal of the Kentucky 4-H Clover Bud program being to promote children’s healthy development – mentally, physically, socially and emotionally, the West KY 4-H Clover Bud Family camp and its team of agent coordinators worked hard to provide an excellent opportunity for children ages 5-8 and their families to learn about the world around them, develop positive attitudes about learning new things by hands-on involvement, develop a deeper relationship with a caring adult
Author: Vicki Boggs
Family Traditions Across the Life Course, Holiday Road Show ProgramContinuing family traditions over time is important. Families remain the core and foundation of society and traditions help create stronger bonds. Holidays are often an exciting time of the year. However, holiday expenses, planning holiday meals, and ever-changing families can make the holidays stressful. Learning how to maintain family traditions may be challenging, so Quicksand Area Family and Consumer Sciences Agents col
Author: Rachel Hance
It is through our valued partnership with the Allen, Logan, and Simpson Community Early Childhood Council that we, the Logan County Cooperative Extension Service, seek to improve school readiness in Logan County by educating, encouraging, and engaging families. Kindergarten readiness means that each child enters school ready to engage in and benefit from early learning experiences that best promote the child’s success. The kindergarten screener measures readiness in five important domains,
Author: Ashley Board
According to the Early Childhood Profile, approximately 40% of children in the Caldwell, Crittenden, and Lyon counties are not ready for kindergarten. The majority of children ages 0-5 in this area are not enrolled in childcare, therefore families need access to other educational programs to build kindergarten readiness skills. The Caldwell, Crittenden, and Lyon Community Early Childhood Council was created to address this issue. The Caldwell County and Crittenden County Family &
Author: Annette Buckman
The World's Greatest Baby Shower is an educational event that was organized in 2007. The importance of prenatal and newborn health care is a topic that has been identified as important to Union County. The WGBS committee consists around 8 community partners that come together to discuss issues and develop a program that would be beneficial to expectant moms. The expected educational benefit of the project is to be prepared to bring a healthy new baby home. A light me
Author: Kerri Ashurst
During the reporting period, Dr. Ashurst directly received 3 grants/contracts totaling $332,176. One grant for $140,000 (year 3 amount; 5 year grant) is for a Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) grant to provide life skills programming for at-risk youth. Grant sites are in Fayette and Hardin Counties. A second grant for $147,582 was received for a Military Teen Adventure Camp program to hold camps for service members and their teenage children to attend together to reconnect
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. There are more than 100 Kesem chapters in the country. Dr. Kerri Ashurst has served as the UK Chapter Student Advisor for Camp Kesem since its formation in 2016. Camp Kesem KY had their first camp in July 2017 with 19 children attending and their second camp i
Author: Lora Davidson
Over the past five years (2015-2020), Kentucky has reported that only 52% of children attending kindergarten (48.4% in Laurel County) are actually prepared and equipped to succeed. In many Kentucky counties, limited resources or the environment may serve as barriers for healthy lifestyle choices related to early childhood development and physical activity. As an innovative strategy to improve early childhood development skills and increase kindergarten readiness with Laurel County residents
Author: David Weisenhorn
According to the 2019 census data, there are an estimated 7 million children in America living with their grandparents, and another 2 million living with “other relative”. In Kentucky, roughly one in ten children are being raised by their grandparents, and one in every 12 children (81,000) live in kinship care. As the number of grandchildren who rely on grandparents for security increases, the demands for financial and emotional security seem to be taking a toll on everyone inv
Dr. Ashurst has been the national co-chair for the Youth Experiencing Homelessness National Subcommittee since Fall 2018. This is one of the 12 subcommittees of the "Access, Equity and Belonging Committee" (AEBC), a national priority through USDA, National 4-H, and Extension Committee on Policy.Dr. Ashurst and Dr. Melissa Scheer at the University of Missouri co-chair the multi-state subcommittee, which included Extension personnel from 8 states
Dr. Ashurst has been a Federal Coach for USDA's Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) Professional Development and Technical Assistance (PDTA) Center since January 2019. This is a multi-state subcontract with the University of Minnesota and Pennsylvania State University as the national leads. During the reporting period, she was assigned to oversee grants in New York, Vermont, West Virginia, Michigan, Rhode Island, Ohio, Oklahoma (2), Maryland and North Carolina. Ashurst facilitates m
Author: Brenda Cockerham
Parent Expo is an event held annually by the Early Childcare Council on which the FCS agent serves. The objective of the group is to insure that preschoolers are as prepared as they can be in the 5 topics they are tested on before entering school: 1. Health and Physical Well Being 2. Social and Emotional Development 3. Language and Communication Development 4. Approaches to Learning 5. General Knowledge and Mathematics. The past two years we were unable to have the event due to covid. This year
Author: Cabrina Buckman
Through the Washington on Wellness Coalition, which holds an interagency monthly meeting, the Washington County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent partnered with Communicare and others to hold a community baby shower at the Washington County Extension Office on May 26, 2022. Community agencies that were represented through resource tables included the Extension SNAP-Ed Program, United Healthcare, Anthem Medicaid, Lincoln Trail District Health Department, Passport, Spring Haven, Head Start,
Author: Julia Wilson
Over the past five years (2015-2020), Kentucky has reported that only 52% of children attending kindergarten 45% in Edmonson county are actually prepared and equipped to succeed. In many Kentucky counties, limited resources or the environment may serve as barriers for healthy lifestyle choices related to early childhood development and physical activity.As an innovative strategy to improve early childhood development skills and increase kindergarten readiness with Edmonson County residents, the
Author: Nola Janeen Tramble
Only 50% of Crittenden County student who enter school are kindergarten ready so there is always a need for preschool programming. However, there isn’t always a good location and an available audience. This summer and fall, the Crittenden County FCS agent partnered with the Crittenden County Public Library to offer weekly preschool programs. The idea for the program came about after the FCS taught animal yoga at the summer reading program. The children’s librarian was goi
