Author: Catherine Webster
Major Program: Family and Consumer Science
According to 2017 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, the obesity rate for children ages 9-12 in Kentucky is 20.2%. Recent research has indicated that teaching cooking skills to children encourages healthier food choices, which can lower obesity rates. In an effort to address this problem, the Simpson County 4-H Youth Development offered several opportunities for youth to learn cooking skills this year. The 4-H Youth Development and Family & Consumer Scien
Author: Kelly Alsip
Spring into Green has been a long-established area-wide program in the Purchase Area. This event brings participants from all eight counties to gain new information from educational workshops and demonstrations. The event was hosted virtually last year, and participants were excited to have the event back in person for 2022. Spring into Green: In the Garden edition, was hosted by the Purchase Area Family and Consumer Science agents at the Graves County Extension Office. Speakers at this year&rsq
Author: Terence Clemons
-The problemThis county's estimated population (as of July 1, 2021) is 12,778 with 4,885 households, which average 2.53 people. The population makeup is White Only (96.3%), Black (1.4%), and Hispanic Origin (1.7%) . Females make up 50.6% of the population. One hundred percent of the population is rural. Median Household Income is $44,893 with 22.5% of the population below poverty level. 79.3% of the the county population are high school or equivalent graduates, with 15.5 % Bachelor'
Author: Nancy Doyle
According to 2017 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, the obesity rate for children ages 9-12 in Kentucky is 20.2%. Recent research has indicated that teaching cooking skills to children encourages healthier food choices, which can lower obesity rates. In an effort to address this problem, this summer the Simpson County 4-H Youth Development and Family & Consumer Sciences Extension Agents along with the Franklin-Simpson Schools Community Education Director prese
4-H Food & Fun was a free at-home cooking program that united families in the kitchen and at the dinner table. The goal of the program was to get young people in the kitchen and preparing home-cooked meals, trying new foods, encouraging family time, developing communications skills, and having fun! The 4-H families who participated received a kitchen utensil kit related to each month's recipes, along with other informational materials. Youth prepared the recipes in the packet as they fol
Author: Alyssa Cox
Today’s parents are stretched thin for childcare between heavy workloads, single parenting in many cases, elder caregiving, and children’s out-of-school activities. Family members are often too busy or live too far away to lend a hand with childcare. Certified childcare centers are not affordable, especially for single income households. They are often shut down due to illness and being short-staffed.In rural communities, it is difficult for high school aged youth to find employment
Author: Lisa Jones
The 4H program is teaching young people valuable home economics skills that are becoming less common nowadays. According to the Daily Mail, 7 out of 10 youth don't know how to sew a button. Through the program, they are learning to use sewing machines, identify machine parts, use an iron, follow patterns, and sew straight seams. They even made pillowcases with sleeves and bodies to practice their skills. The group has planned to sew over 90 pillowcases for a local nursing home as a service p
Author: Stacey Potts
“Sewing is a discipline that helps develop self-esteem, confidence, focus, patience, fine motor skills, problem solving, process thinking and visualization. Additionally, sewing encourages creative ability.” (The Creative Art of Sewing; www. NorthJersey.com; September 13, 2012.) Seven Daviess County 4-H’ers participated in a Sewing Day Camp where they made a pillowcase and the Go Green Totebag from Unit 1: Let’s Learn to Sew. Four of the participants had very
4-H Cooking programs are a very popular request for after-school programs and clubs in Daviess County. 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, they will be more likely to eat healthier as adults and build self- confidence. (Cooking With Your Children; Web MD; May 30, 2008.) 4-H Cooking programs give youth the very appealing opportunity to cook and eat, while providing Cooperation Ext
Author: Krista Perry
Girls Empowered and Motivated to Succeed (GEMS) is a program in Henry County for 5th grade girls held after school. The program was designed to prepare young ladies for the next chapter of education and the challenges they will face with beginning a new school. The program consisted of 12 participants who met weekly to learn about empowerment and how being motivated can make them successful. The Henry County Cooperative Extension Service was asked to provide hands-on lessons for thes
Author: Katie Mills
Christian County has some wonderful volunteers that are always wanting to volunteer to help the youth in the county. They want to be able to share their talents with others and help them grow in a new skill. There are many youth in Christian County that want to learn how to skill and were eager to learn how to sew. Sewing is something many youth do not know how to do, but could benefit from it. Whether this includes sewing on a button, hemming pants, or making a bag, it is beneficial to have thi
Author: Glenna Bentley
The problemAccording to the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, 25.5% of youth ages 10-17 have obesity, giving Kentucky a ranking of 2 among the 50 states and the District of Columbia." Since healthy lifestyles choices is part of the Lewis County plan of work it was decided to do programming on eating healthy during 4-H club meetings. The educational program responseDuring the monthly club meeting with 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students the Lewis County Extension Office
Author: Charles Comer
According to the 2021 Annual Supplemental Nutrition Education Program Report for Kentucky, today, 60% of all Americans live with at least one chronic disease. These include heart disease and stroke, cancer, and diabetes. These diseases are all associated with obesity and physical inactivity. In 2020, Kentucky ranks in the top five states in the country for obesity with a rate of 36.6% for adults. The percentage of physically inactive Kentuckians is 32%, ranking it in the to
Author: Rebecca Hayes
Carter County Extension Council members, leaders, and staff identified a need to recruit new clientele in Carter County. As a result of the pandemic and agent vacancies face-to-face participation in programs had decreased. Carter County Agents wanted to develop programs that would be of interest to people of all ages and help bring new participants to the Extension Office. The goal was to have a schedule of classes that were not limited to farmers, 4-H, and Homemaker members. I
Author: Joni Phelps
Baking combines elements of both an art and a science. It is accurate in addition to being intuitive. Baking requires only a few basic components, including flour, leavening agents, milk, salt, and other common pantry items. When put together, these components create something that is not only beautifully complicated but also extremely delectable. Each year, participants in the 4-H Program in Livingston County put in a lot of effort to prepare exhibits that they can brin
Author: Kelly Woods
Sewing skills build confidence, patience, creativity, problem solving and motor skills. Oldham County has two newly certified Master Clothing Volunteers who are working along side Extension Staff to offer three four week 4-H sewing sessions. Members learned to thread a sewing machine, strengthened motor skills by cutting fabric, mastered pinning and measuring techniques, and conquered utilizing the seam ripper. Program participants indicated 88% learned the parts of the machine, controlled
Oldham County 4-H Chef Schools continue to be a valuable educational program, sharing the love and knowledge of cooking is a vital life skill embraced in our community. When the program began, one session was held annually, Oldham County 4-H now has completed 4 four-week Chef Programs this year with 96 youth completing the program and a Chicken BBQ Camp involving 22 young people. Surveys indicated youth learned to: use a knife properly, measure ingredients, crack an egg, prevent tunne
Author: Joyce Doyle
Since school is out for the summer, many parents are seeking for someone to watch their children. I had two 4-H members who called and ask if I would offer a babysitting clinic including CPR certification. I reached out to see how many youth would like to take a babysitting class and had a lot of interest. After calling two agencies, I scheduled the CPR class with our local health department. The final list of participants was only eight but those eight was eager to get s
