It is through our valued partnership with the Allen, Logan, and Simpson Community Early Childhood Council that we, the Logan County Cooperative Extension Service, seek to improve school readiness in Logan County by educating, encouraging, and engaging families. Kindergarten readiness means that each child enters school ready to engage in and benefit from early learning experiences that best promote the child’s success. The kindergarten screener measures readiness in five important domains, academic/cognitive, language development, physical development, self-help, and social-emotional. The 2016 Early Childhood Profile for Logan County indicates the following readiness results for preschool aged children in Logan County:

Academic/Cognitive: 34.1%

Language Development: 75.8%

Physical Development: 47.1%

Self-Help: 44.2%

Social-Emotional: 74.8%

To address our school readiness areas of concern, the Logan County Cooperative Extension Service in cooperation with our community partners, provided a school readiness event called “Preschool Pumpkin Days” for families of preschool aged children in Logan County. 

This county-wide initiative was held at the Logan County Extension Office by the Logan County Extension Agents in Family Consumer Sciences, 4-H and Youth Development and Agriculture as well as the Logan County SNAP-Ed Assistant. Other key community partners that were instrumental in making this event happen were family resource directors from all of the Logan County Schools and Stevenson Elementary School, the Logan County Library, the Logan County Health Department, and the Logan County Schools preschool teachers. Parents were provided information on school readiness on top of opportunities to observe the level at which their children were ready for school. Parents and children rotated through sessions on healthy eating, reading a story, physical activity and craft activities. Each session focused on one or more of the school readiness skills for Kentucky. Parents completed a school readiness evaluation as they rotated the sessions based on their observations of their children. Before leaving, all children in attendance were given pie pumpkins with agriculture and nutritional facts attached to provide additional education and opportunities to engage with at their homes. There were 63 adults and 33 children in attendance for Preschool Pumpkin Days. The results of the evaluations found that of the children: 100% can sort items by color and/or shape; 97% can name at least 5 colors; 100% can count at least 5 objects; 86% can count from 1 to 10 in the correct order; 86% eat a balanced diet; 66% Eat 5 fruits and/or vegetables each day; 86% can follow simple directions; 97% speak in complete sentences; 80% tell others his/her first and last name; 82% persists in activities; and 86% share with others. 

As a result of the program, one family boasted about taking their pumpkins home and through the education and confidence provided, made their very first homemade pumpkin pie with great success. It is through community programs like “Preschool Pumpkin Days,” our families grow.