Web work...Lots!

Check out the Nutrition Page for.....

o Letters from Your Unborn Baby. I posted this in response to an expectant mom's questions about folic acid food sources.

o New news releases...1)Winter Warmers; 2) Pizza with Veggies; 3) Using Herbs; 4) Healthy Eating

o "Major New Food Ways Exhibit Planned at the McLean County Museum of History"

o New FAQ's in Food and Nutrition

o Program updates for Pat and Judy's programs

Check out the Children, Families and Seniors Page for...

o Strengthening Families and Connecting with Kids articles

o Save the Date Feature for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren conference

o KIOSK ...Calendar of Events for Families with Young Children

o Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Save the Date in Several places on our site.

Check out the Front page...Today's Features for...

o Developing Emotionally Skilled Children

o interactive game for Food Labeling

o Posted a Today's Feature for WebEx in-service for dietitians.

Newsletters for February...Rosemarie sent out these FCS newsletters (2,614 copies ) to subscribing customers.

• Connecting with Kids...Topic: Developing Emotionally Skilled Children; Diabetes Lifelines; Parenting Again...Grandparents Raising Grandchildren; Strengthening Families; Wellness Ways... Healthy Meal Ideas on a Budget; Your Health and You... newsletter for senior citizens

Professional Development

• Feb. 1...Pardon, Expungement & Sealed Seminar...at Mt. Pisgah...assistant Defender, Christie Fischer spoke on options for clearing a criminal record, petitioning for clemency, and understanding the standards for sealed records.
• Feb 15... WebEx Nutrition in service Telenet on "the Role of the Food Industry in Overweight Obesity Issues"

Volunteer Development

Intern Lauren Rusk...

o Wrote an article on her Skill-a-thon teaching experience.

o She has also been instructed to contact Judy Rollins to shadow a program and teach one as well.

o She will also work on a Summer Picnic Safety program

Committee Meetings...

1. Feb. 13...Baby Steps Steering Committee... going to a clearing house idea
2. Jan. 26 and Feb. 9...GRG–Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Coordinating...

• Judy going to Chicago for training (by train) in July.
• Programs, schedules and meetings!
• Working on long range planning sheet for council.
• Seems as though the fact sheets, "Connecting with Kids Developing Emotionally Skilled Kids", I promoted are a hot topic... People keep calling about them.
• Starting to coordinate Young at Heart 2007
• Coordinating the set up for Feb 15... WebEx Nutrition in service Telenet on "the Role of the Food Industry in Overweight Obesity Issues"

Web work...Lots! Check out the Nutrition Page for.....

• Posted the Kiosk...Calendar of Events for Families with Young Children
• Letters from Your Unborn Baby. I posted this in response to an expectant mom's questions about folic acid food sources.
• New news releases...1)Winter Warmers; 2) Pizza with Veggies; 3) Using Herbs; 4) Healthy Eating
• "Major New Food Ways Exhibit Planned at the McLean County Museum of History"
• New FAQ's in Food and Nutrition
• Program updates for Pat and Judy's programs

Check out the Children, Families and Seniors Page for...

• Strengthening Families and Connecting with Kids articles
• Save the Date Feature for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren conference
• KIOSK ...Calendar of Events for Families with Young Children
• Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Save the Date in Several places on our site.
• Parenting in the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd year

Check out the Front page...Today's Features for...

• Developing Emotionally Skilled Children
• Interactive game for Food Labeling
• Posted a Today's Feature for WebEx in-service for dietitians.
• Didn't reach a caller in person about a food safety/ power outage issue...left message that I had moved the FAQ on our web page to the top listing so it would be easy for her to find! Good way to get people to our site, aye?

Inquiries

• Q: What to you think of the silicone bake ware?
• Q: How do I melt Butterscotch Chips? Is it different than Chocolate Chips?
• Q: How do I fix chocolate that has seized or hardened while trying to melt it?
• Q: Do you know a contact for the FHA in schools?
• Q: Do you know of any shuttle tatting teachers? I want to learn.
• Q: Is it safe to use Olive Oil to cook popcorn?

Newsletters for February...Rosemarie sent out these FCS newsletters (2,614 copies )to subscribing customers. I have started distribution lists for e-mail as well.

• Connecting with Kids...Topic: Developing Emotionally Skilled Children
• Diabetes Lifelines
• Parenting Again...Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
• Strengthening Families
• Wellness Ways... Healthy Meal Ideas on a Budget
• Your Health and You... newsletter for senior citizens

Professional Development

• Jan. 18...Health Literacy...Nutrition Telenet for professionals
• Jan. 16....Nutrition Team Telenet
• Jan. 18 ...Brittany...ISU dietetics intern on rotation.
• Jan. 29...4-H Leader picked up fat tubes, fat glob and muscle for a program
• Feb. 1...FCRC...Pardon, Expungement & Sealed Seminar...at Mt. Pisgah...assistant Defender, Christie Fischer spoke on options for clearing a criminal record, petitioning for clemency, and understanding the standards for sealed records.
• Jan. 30...Staff meeting with Kathy Reiser, Amy Zilco, and Rick Atterbery
• Feb. 7...NFCS dept. meeting... worked on "Council Futuring"
• Feb 15... WebEx Nutrition in service Telenet on "the Role of the Food Industry in Overweight Obesity Issues"

Volunteer Development...Intern Lauren Rusk...

• Will write an article on her Skill-a-thon Teaching experience.
• She has also been instructed to contact Judy Rollins to shadow a program and teach one as well. I invited her to attend a program at Mt. Pisgah.
• She will also work on a Summer Picnic Safety program

Council Develoment...

• NFCS... met to plan Council Development for 02/22

Committees...

• Jan. 17...Children's Discovery Museum... Revising Children's Supermarket and Pizza Café.
• Jan. 19...NEAFCS... Welcome Event Telenet
• Jan. 26...Grandparents Raising Grandchildren planning committee
• Feb. 13...Baby Steps Steering Committee... going to a clearing house idea
• Jan. 26 and Feb. 9...GRG.

Upcoming .....

• Nutrition Telenet... Feb 15
• Nutrition Team Telenet...Feb 20
• Meet with Brianne, dietetics rotation graduate student...Feb. 27
• School Wellness Policy update...Springfield...Feb. 28
• Pat & Judy at School Wellness Policy update...Mar 1
• CHD (IPLAN...Heart Disease Task Force) meets...Mar 2
• Insight TV taping...Mar 6
• Nutrition Telenet... Mar 15
• State Nutrition Team meets...Mar 20 & 21
• Expanding Your Horizons...Mar 24
• Summertime Grilling Safety... Apr 9
• Nutrition Telenet... Apr 19
• Nutrition Telenet... May 17
• Grandparents Raising Grandchildren conference ...June 30
• One of 3 host states for NEAFCS (National Extension Association for Family & Consumer Sciences)...Sept. 17-20

"Let's Stir Things Up" is an introductory cooking class for a 4-H project titled Skill-a-Thon. During a recent workshop U of I Extension's spring dietetics intern, Lauren Rusk, taught children between the ages eight and ten to practice basic cooking skills, learn how to use basic kitchen tools, and review some cooking vocabulary while making no-bake chocolate cookies.

The cookies were made without eggs so that no baking was involved and most importantly, the 4-Her's could safely lick the cookie dough off their spoons! With this activity they learned the importance of a clean work space, how to read a recipe, and how to measure using dry and liquid measuring cups. Another activity was Lingo and it incorporated kitchen terminology. Lingo stemmed off the word bingo. Instead of having numbers we had kitchen terms on the Lingo sheets. A definition was read and the participants had to put a marker on the term that corresponded to the definition. It became a group activity with this particular game. The children worked as a team to figure out the definitions which proved to be enjoyable and exciting for them. The final activity was Jeopardy which had a kitchen safety twist. This involved principle knowledge about knife safety, food poisoning prevention, stove top protocol, and other kitchen safety trivia. Two teams of ten were formed and a "captain" was designated for each team who was responsible for saying their teams answer after consulting with their fellow members. This activity incorporated team work as well as kitchen safety knowledge. The question that proved to be the most difficult was, "How long is it okay to leave food out on a table after cooking?" Two hours is the maximum time food should be left out because of bacterial growth. When food sits at room temperature bacteria is at optimal growth potential. Keep food out of the temperature danger zone, 40°F-140°F.

At the end of the workshop the 4-Hers walked out with a kitchen education foundation that will help prepare them for future workshops and skill-a-thons as well as cooking at home. Leaving with chocolate cookies sure helped too!

There are five skill-a-thon station competitions at the 4-H fair.

1. Let's Start cooking
2. Learn to Bake
3. Dairy Foods
4. Meat & Other Protein Sources
5. Preservation of Foods