Success StoryNew Homeschool Cooperative Programming



New Homeschool Cooperative Programming

Author: Lindsey Dunn

Planning Unit: Daviess County CES

Major Program: 4-H Youth Development Programming

Plan of Work: Unrelated to a specified County Plan of Work

Outcome: Initial Outcome

In August of 2019, the coordinator working with Daviess County’s Homeschool Cooperative group reached out to the 4-H agent looking for activities to offer to their youth.  Six sessions were scheduled with the 4-H agent to have the youth attend programming in the curriculum areas of Communications and Expressive Arts and Natural Resources at the Daviess County Cooperative Extension Office.

Youth first attended a communications workshop to become familiar with how to properly prepare a speech and demonstration, and what parts are important to include in each.   Youth observed a practice demonstration given by the 4-H agent and then implemented what they learned as they addressed the areas of the demonstration that were done well and the areas that could have been improved.  The youth also took this opportunity to begin brainstorming topics they could use for their speech or demonstration, finding a topic that they were passionate about and how to meet the guidelines of the Kentucky 4-H Communications Contest.   Individuals then prepared their speech and demonstrations at home until returning the next month to present their speech and demonstration in small groups to provide feedback and critique from their peers and the 4-H agent.  Outside of the three hours spent within the Extension Office for this communications workshop, these eleven individuals put in the work to complete the remaining three hours as they prepared their speech and demonstrations materials and practiced at home as seven returned to prepared to present for the second meeting.

Following the communications workshops, the group scheduled four, one and a half hour sessions focusing on the Science, Engineering, Technology, and Math 4-H curriculum area covering natural sciences, biological sciences including observation, robotics, and energy with as many as 33 in attendance at a single session.  Since the conclusion of these six sessions, multiple families have chosen to stay involved in the 4-H program by joining the Allied Homeschool 4-H Club and Homeschool Cloverbuds Club the Daviess County 4-H program offers.