Author: Erica Spurgeon
Major Program: Health
Within the Kentucky 4-H program, most clubs and activities become available to youth at age nine. By this age most children have already developed interests and extracurricular involvement. This is why engaging with youth from ages five to eight is so important. Pulaski County has a thriving Cloverbud Club where youth ages five to eight can explore what 4-H has to offer. The Cloverbud Club boasts 40 members who attend meetings monthly or attend special outings and day camps. Agent Erica Spu
Author: Shelley Crawford
The 2021 Kids Count data ranks Kentucky as 38th nationally in youth health, and 14% of children live in a high-poverty area, which is an adverse community environmental factor that impacts a child's ability to thrive (KYA, 2022). These high-poverty communities often struggle with equitable access to indoor and outdoor spaces. This inequity is heightened in winter due to a reduction of daylight hours and a decrease in outdoor temperatures. This creates a barrier for youth in these communities
Author: Kimberly Thomas
18 youth, ages 9-13 years old attended the Poultry BBQ Day Camp at the Taylor County Extension Office on June 16, 2023, led by University of Kentucky Extension Specialist Dr. Jacquie Jacob. The youth in attendance had a variety of skills levels coming into this Day Camp. During this event youth learn proper food handling, kitchen safety, grilling safety, and cleanup. They learned these skills while leaning how to prepare and cook turkey burgers and chicken thighs on a charcoal grill.100% of the
Author: Sue Ann McCandless
Ag Safety Day is an event that teaches elementary students grades 3-5 in Hardin County the importance of being safe in their community, at home and on the farm. Hardin County is a very ag based community which makes programs like this important to ensure the safety of our youth and families. The event includes several stations including electricity, fire arms, water, lawn equipment, dog, ATV, fire, soil conservation, and chemical look-a-likes. Agents, community members, school staff
Author: Carolina Robles
The problem: Senior Citizens have a difficult time finding activities that promote being physically active. The educational program response: The response of the program was not well received. The individuals were not excited to learn about being physically active and did not want to do any activity that involves movement.The participants/target audience: Target audience was senior citizens over the age of 60Other partners (if applicable): n/aProgram impact or participant response: the prog
Author: Paula Tarry
The mission of the Progressive Farmer Agriculture Safety Day program is to “provide education, training, and resources to make farm, ranch and rural life safer and healthier for children and their communities”. (Progressive Agriculture Safety Day Planning Manual) Barren County had participated in the AG Safety Day program for many years but had not been conducted for the past four years. The Barren County School Superintendent ask this Agent if Barren County 4-H would be willi
Author: Chanda Hall
Sometimes as humans, we forget about the importance of being inclusive to those individuals who are physically challenged. Often, students who are visually impaired miss out on opportunities to learn concepts incidentally as they may or may not be able to observe and effectively interreact with their world. To shorten this gap, it is important to expose those youth to meaningful experiences and interactions that they can touch, hear, smell, and see (if they have some any vision). &nb
Author: Brandon Darst
According to the Kentucky Health News report from 2022, Kentucky now ranks the highest for childhood obesity rates for children ages 10-17 in the Nation. Not a list Kentucky wants to be the top of and consequently the age group it listed fits right into the 4-H age group. In an effort to get kids moving and exercising the CES 4-H Agent attended a 4-H Soccer Training the weekend COVID hit, so the idea of hosting any type of event would be placed on the back burner. However, the
Author: Tyrone Gentry
Youths feel overwhelmed often for totally different reasons than adults, but the stress affects them in unhealthy ways just the same. For students, those stressors can show themselves as "fatigue, anxiety, depression, and poor academic performance"*. It may be the youth who is distracted. Who feel unconfident in themselves. Who avoids positive opportunities. 4-H recognizes that all of these contribute to preventing youth from being successful.Green County 4-H or
Author: Paula Jerrell
Obesity is an issue in Ballard County and in the country. Youth obesity is a growing concern.Ballard County Extension Programs partner with the school systems 21st Century program with a focus on nutrition education. Youth learn about My Plate, food groups, serving sizes and portion sizes. Nutrition games are played like nutrition Jeopardy and Bingo. Food lessons are shared to raise awareness of food groups, a balanced diet and portion control. Physical activity is a part of the lessons as well.
Author: Alyssa Cox
Regular physical activity in children and adolescents is associated with improved bone health, weight status, cardiovascular and muscular fitness, cardiometabolic health, cognition, and reduced risk of depression. Lack of physical activity is a significant risk factor driving the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States. There is also evidence that engaging in physical activity can improve academic performance and other cognitive and memory functions. Exercise also increases the chances o
Author: Molly Jordan
The ending of school for the summer means kids are ready to be active outside! The need to be safety aware is heightened during summer break. The Bracken County 4-H, Bracken County Soil Conservation District, and the Bracken County FRYSC recognized this and developed Safety Day. Through this event students in grades 2nd-9th visited stations that encountered a variety of safety areas kids need to be aware of. Lawnmower/lawncare safety, outdoor/ATV safety, and seat belt safety were just a few of t
Author: Mollie Tichenor
The 2000 data from Kentucky Kids Count states children living in food insecure households showed the State of Kentucky’s rate for this is 16.1% compared to Spencer County’s rate of 8.4%. Spencer County has limited access to fresh food resources and public transportation. There is only one grocery store and several dollar stores in the area. Issues such as these are barriers to healthy lifestyle choices related to nutrition and physical activity. During the summer when schools ar
Author: Renata Farmer
According to the CDC, empty calories contribute to 40% of daily calories for children and adolescents and most do not consume the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. In a world full of hectic schedules, fast food and convenience, the challenge for families and children to eat healthy is difficult. According to the American Heart Association, teaching youth how to prepare their own food will give them a skill they can use for a lifetime and they will be more likely to eat healthier as ad
Author: Raymond Cox
Over 400 students attended the 20th Annual 4-H Safety Day held April 14 at National Guard Armory. All fifth graders from Harlan County and Harlan Independent Schools attended. Due to the increasing number of ATV and drowning related accidents in Harlan and surrounding counties, it was established a need for safety information presented to students by professionals. Water and boating safety, fire safety, emergency rescue, gun safety, bicycle safety, weather-related safety, ATV safety,
Author: Lora Stewart
The Gallatin County Cooperative Extension Service 4-H Youth Development Agent, Lora Stewart and Family & Consumer Sciences Agent, Ronda Rex collaborated with the Gallatin County Lower and Upper Elementary School Librarian to conduct LEAP once a month throughout the school year. The purpose of having this program is teach children healthy eating habits at a very young age. It also introduces them to new foods. The program reached 326 primary students (3- to 4-year-olds and K-3rd g
Author: Stephen Conrad
Data from the last decade (The Recovery Village) shows rates of middle school substance abuse and addiction in kids as young as 11 or 12 years old have swelled across the United States. In 2015, more than 8% of 8th graders have reported using illicit drugs. To assist in the fight to turn the tide in this area, the Boone County Cooperative Extension Service (program materials, volunteer lunch, and manpower) partnered with Boone County Schools (morning snacks, guest speakers, community volun
Author: Presley Grubb
Greenup County 4-H Youth Development Agent and Greenup County Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent collaborated to offer the Superstar Chef Camp program to 14 students. 1 volunteer worked with students in a hands-on educational setting to teach important life skills. A pre-test/ post-test evaluation was conducted to determine learning outcomes.As a result of the program, students gained the following knowledge and skills:• 50%- identifi
