How we live life is ever-changing but learning basic life skills is still as important as ever. Learning to practice healthy habits, select clothing to emphasize one’s best appearance, create and live within a budget, prepare nutritious meals safely, nurture children, create a safe and pleasant home environment, practice common courtesies, and form relationships with others—all of these skills are basic to everyday life. Reality is that many of these basic life skills are not consistently taught to youth at home or at school. 4-H Youth Development through family and consumer sciences projects equip youth with these skills.

County 4-H programs across the state involved youth in a wide variety of hands-on learning activities—sewing clubs; babysitting clinics; entrepreneur clubs; series of school enrichment sessions on nutrition, manners, consumerism or money management; Dollars and Sense simulations; a variety of workshops on topics like fashion, sewing or needlework; Super Star Chef camps; after-school clubs or groups learning job seeking skills; Reality Store simulations; hands-on learning sessions for youth with disabilities; opportunities for immigrant youth to acclimate to life in the United States; opportunities for diverse youth to form relationships as they learn to cook foods from other countries; multi-day American Private Enterprise seminars; clubs in after-school child care facilities such as schools and Boys & Girls Clubs; and summer fashion related engineering day camps.  

At the state level, youth participated in the fashion revue, culinary challenge, demonstrations, Kentucky Youth Seminar, Kentucky State Fair exhibits, sewing skill-a-thon, fashion leadership board, FCS Day at the state fair, and FCS educational sessions at Teen Conference (high school youth) and Teen Summit (middle school youth).

As a result of their involvement in 4-H Family and Consumer Sciences projects, 15,414 youth report that they were able to follow instructions step-by-step to do or make things themselves. 15,569 youth reported that they followed safe practices. 12,979 youth reported that they demonstrated what they learned to do for themselves. 20,807 youth reported that they are more aware of preparing and eating healthy, local food.

*Final reporting will be completed after Aug. 1, 2018