In many Kentucky counties, limited resources or the environment may serve as barriers for healthy lifestyle choices related to early childhood development and physical activity.  As an innovative strategy to improve early childhood development and increase movement with Metcalfe County residents, the Family and Consumer Sciences Agent partnered with The Metcalfe County Head Start Child Development Center, to implement Stories, Songs, and Stretches. 

Program demographics: Of 28 families enrolled, 5 are grandparents raising grandchildren, 1 is great grandparent raising great grandchild, 4 are foster care families, 7 are single mother headed, 1 is single father headed, 2 enrolled children have IEP's and all 28 enrolled families, have income at or below the poverty line. 

Through this program, participants work on improving early childhood development and increase physical activity. Six adult teacher and assistant teaching staff members and 37 children, participated in this program. As a result of this program, according to classroom staff reports and observations, 82% of the youth improved gross motor skills and all staff noted improvement in children’s group social skills.  Classroom teachers, noticed children implementing movement practices from Stories, Songs and Stretches into their play activities.  Most noticeably, the day of and the days following monthly Stories, Songs and Stretches sessions.  

All of the classroom teachers reported offering similar activities, learned from Stories, Songs, and Stretches independent of the FCS Agent presenting these sessions once monthly.   All of the teachers reported increased child attention and enthusiasm for daily classroom group story times, after incorporating more movement and participatory elements.

As a result of this program partnership, the Metcalfe County Head Start Support Staff are now utilizing the Metcalfe County Extension office meeting space, for parent group meetings.  These occur bi-monthly, during the end of the school day while Head Start classroom staff are still providing child care for the children.

This partnership has allowed for a comfortable, learning friendly adult meeting space for this group.  Parent group participation was previously low as they were meeting in the entry way to the Head Start facility without chairs, tables or any learning friendly infrastructure. Family participation in these meetings has more than tripled, since this program partnership began, September 2019.  

Metcalfe County SNAP – Ed, has enrolled the Head Start parents as a new adult group and the Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent has presented child development and positive parenting information, with the Head Start Parent Group this year.