Before the 2020-2021 school year ended, the Louisa Family Resource Center Directors contacted the Lawrence County Extension Office to participate in their Summer School program at Louisa West Elementary. They asked our staff to discuss topics such as 4H, nutrition, and horticulture. The Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Extension agent, the summer intern, the 4H and Agriculture and Natural Resource (ANR) program assistant, and the Agriculture and Natural Resource (ANR) Extension Agent got together and planned their programs out. The FCS agent taught 2 lessons on healthy eating habits and the importance of washing your hands and teeth, the summer intern and 4H/ANR assistant taught lessons on what animals eat and how animals hear, the ANR agent taught 2 lessons on the importance of pollinators and pollination as well as the basics of beekeeping. 

During the first lesson the ANR Extension Agent brought flowers for the kids to plant and take home. They discussed pollen and how important pollination was because that is how we get food and clothing. The students were very excited to take their flowers home and learned how we needed to take care of bees and butterflies. The second lesson focused on honey bees. The ANR agent took teaching frames to show the kids what the inside of a beehive looked liked, the different types of bees and their jobs, how the bees made honey, and the parts of a bee hive. The students enjoyed seeing pictures of honey bees and learning how a beehive worked. 

During the 2 weeks of summer school, the Lawrence County Extension Office saw around 100 students each day. The students ranged from preschool to 2nd grade. The Principal at Louisa West Elementary School wrote the Lawrence County Extension Office a thank you letter and stated "Each aspect of your program brought smiles to our students' faces.We are so thankful for all you have done for our school." During Summer School at Louisa West Elementary the Extension Staff was able to provide programming that was benefical and fun to the students. They learned about subjects that they do not normally get to discuss and had fun while doing it.