County Home Page
All About FCS
FCS Programs
Web Connections
Family and Consumer Sciences Program
Sharon Alexander
Extension
Educator
Family
and Consumer Sciences
All About Family & Consumer Sciences
The Family & Consumer Sciences program is an extensive program that assists our community in the following areas:
- Families At Promise - parent education and support
- Budgeting and Money Management
- Stress Management
- Food and Nutrition
- Food Preservation
- Building Strong Families
- Family Storytelling and Preservation
- Empowering Older Citizens
* Food
Safety
* Understanding and
use
of the Food Guide Pyramid
* Preparation of
nutritious,
economical meals
* Nutrition for
healthier
lives
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS - PORTAGE COUNTY
September 2003 - September 2004
A pilot project was conducted in 2004 in a team effort with
a Kent State University (KSU) Department of Family and
Consumer Studies (FCS) professor, a Family and Consumer
Sciences Educator (FCS) in Franklin County, a screenwriter,
and the Portage County Family and Consumer Sciences
Educator. The project is called “Finding Your Soul mate” and
focuses on using defined colors as metaphors for personality
attributes, in order to achieve better self-understanding
and to improve interpersonal relationships. Questionnaires
were distributed at OAFCS, both Even Start Family Literacy
Program sites in Portage County, the Portage County Fair, and at several other teaching locations in the county. Approximately 1/2 of those questionnaires distributed were returned for processing and feedback. Over 100 questionnaires have been distributed to Kent State University students to date, and that data is being collected and analyzed. Students are given extra course credit for completing the questionnaire. Future plans for the Portage County Educator include co-writing a journal article with the KSU professor regarding this project and the research. The FCS Educators expect the research generated to be involved in a film production work provided by the screenwriter as a part of a cost recovery initiative for OSU Extension.
147 Portage County parents participated in Stress Management workshops where they gained new knowledge concerning the nature and causes of stress, how to use normative stress in beneficial ways, and how to manage daily stress in a positive manner. All of the participants plan to use at least two of their new skills on a regular basis, and 43 of the
participants stated that they were consistently using at least
one stress management skill regularly that they had learned in
a previous Portage County Extension workshop.
Family Stories and Memories
classes were presented to
116 adults and youth in Portage
County. Interactive activities
provided opportunities for the
participants to enjoy and share
their own stories and memories,
as well as to practice useful
techniques for recalling and
recording. All of the participants
stated that they planned to
talk with family members to
collect for family information
and to use it for strengthening
family communication and
relationships.
Connections to Web Sites
The
following are some family and consumer sciences as well as some other
interesting
web sites you may find helpful. When you are on-line, just point and
click
on the link you want to visit.
- Senior Series Fact sheet Index
- Extension Work Life Project
- Managing Your Money
- Ohio line - OSU Information
- AAFCS Home Page
- United States Postal Service Home Page
- State of Ohio Front Page
- The National Agricultural Library
- Library of Congress World Wide Web Home Page
- Nutrient Data Laboratory Food Composition Data
- Welcome to The American Dietetic Association on the Net!
- Food and Nutrition Information Center
- Food and Drug Administration Home Page
All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam era veteran status.
Issued in
furtherance of
Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in
cooperation
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Keith L. Smith, Director, Ohio
State University Extension.
TDD # 1 (800)
589-8292 (Ohio
only) or (614) 292-1868