Author: Kate Thompson
Planning Unit: Campbell County CES
Major Program: Child Development Programs
Plan of Work: Family & Consumer Sciences Education - Individual and Family Development
Outcome: Long-Term Outcome
In Campbell County, an average from all the school districts showed that only 59% of students were kindergarten ready (Kentucky School Report Card, 2021). Kindergarten readiness means the child is academically, socially, and emotionally ready to start school. Another important focus for children to be ready for school is having healthy relationships and strong families. According to the University of Kentucky’s publication, “Family Vitality: Characteristics of Strong Families,” relationships that include good communication skills, fun times, time together, involvement with friends and community, commitment, and a healthy lifestyle are some essential characteristics of strong families (Rupured and Quick, 1997). In order to improve the kindergarten readiness rate and build healthy strong families, the Campbell County Extension Service taught the monthly series- Flowerbuds at the Extension Office and Leap at Campbell Ridge Preschool.
The Campbell County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent partnered with the Horticulture Assistant to teach the monthly Flowerbuds series, which provided educational family time for 17 preschoolers and their caregivers. The caregivers of the children included fathers, mothers, and grandparents. Flowerbuds met monthly for an educational story time and hands-on activities such as tasting a variety of fruits and vegetables, engaging science lessons, making art projects, and growing plants. The Kentucky Early Childhood Standards, the University of Kentucky’s Leap curriculum, Plate it Up recipes, Nutrition Education Program recipes, Laugh and Learn, and Stories, Songs, and Stretches lessons were utilized. A lesson on bullying was also taught by the Family Nurturing Center using puppets and storybooks. A nine-month follow-up evaluation showed the following as a result of the program:
Some of the comments from the caregivers about the program were the following:
The Campbell County Cooperative Extension Service also collaborated with Campbell Ridge Preschool on a nine-session curriculum called Leap (Literacy, Eating, and Activity for Preschool/Primary) for Health to 40 children aged 3-5 years. Storybooks were used to teach children the importance of staying healthy, being physically active, eating more fruits and vegetables, and improving literacy. Each session included reading the story, tasting foods introduced in the story, and a reinforcement activity such as discussing how to brush one’s teeth. At the end of the ninth session, 97% of the children could identify spinach as a vegetable, 94% could identify mango as a fruit, 97% said exercising was important, and 100% knew that they were to brush their teeth at least two times every day.
Flowebuds Farm Lesson-Partnered with Ag Agent, Michelle Simon
Mental health is a vital part of childrens overall health and well-being; it includes childrens ment... Read More
In Campbell County, an average from all the school districts showed that only 59% of students were k... Read More
Horses are an important industry and pastime in Campbell County. According to the 2022 Kentucky Equi... Read More
With the number of farms and acres of farmland in Campbell County decreasing each year, the general ... Read More
The recent pandemic had a direct impact on school readiness and social interactions of children ages... Read More
In Campbell County, an average from all the school districts showed that only 59% of students were k... Read More