Famtoberfest

According to the U.S. Census Bureau about 7.2 million grandparents now have grandchildren younger than 18 living with them in the United States. According to www.grandfamilies.org 112,364 children under 18 live in householders being raised grandparents or other relatives in Kentucky, this number does not exclude Lawrence County.

With this information in mind the Lawrence County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Education developed a program in collaboration with Lawrence County FCS Extension Council that focused on families spending time with one another. The FCS Agent also collaborated with a local farmer who donated the pumpkins for the pumpkin painting activity at the “Famtoberfest” event.

The program “Famtoberfest,” was held at the Lawrence County Extension Office in the month of October. The event focused on families building relationships, exploring good nutrition practices, family communication, and fun seasonal activities. Additionally, while all families were welcome, the program was marketed towards families with children particularly families where children were being raised by a grandparent or other relative(s). 

            After evaluations it was found that all families who participated felt like they had spent quality time with their children and 93% felt that it was important to make designated “family time” in the future. 84% of the children who were old enough to read and complete a survey/evaluation indicated that they enjoyed spending time with their parent/guardian at the event. All of the children who participated wanted to attend “Famtoberfest” or a similar event in the future.