The problem:

Youth involved in ag classes often work on projects that relate to the class they are enrolled in. Greenhouse, workshop, animal science, etc. They often do not think about other projects that can be completed outside of what they are already doing. 

The educational program response:

We wanted to teach the students a new still and give them creative freedom in doing so. 

The participants/target audience:

Students enrolled in agriculture classes in grades 10-12th at Robertson County School. 

Other partners (if applicable):

None 

Program impact or participant response:

Robertson County youth in grades 10-12 that are currently enrolled in an ag class, were educated on how to create a door hanger. This included choosing the best material, hangers, paint, and other essential supplies that would be needed to construct their door hangers. Once materials were obtained, the youth had to use the bandsaw to cut out the rounds and then sand down their piece of material. They then had to choose if they wanted to stain their piece or paint it, and were given different options of each. The next step was creating the design and wording that would be on the hanger. Students utilized the vinyl cutter to make stencils for the words and hot glue/staples for the additional decorations. 

The project took multiple class room visits to complete due to the the class period only being 45 minutes long. However, when the final projects were complete, the kids were excited about the work they had completed and could not wait to gift their projects to their loved ones. There were 28 youth who started and finished the project. Overall, the students were excited to do something that went outside of their normal classroom duties and were also able to learn a skill that they may not have known they possessed.  

Below are some of the students with their finished door hangers.