CYFAR 2009 Pre-Conference – A Learning Bonus

Building a playground in the host city is a CYFAR tradition. This one was built in San Antonio in 2008.

CYFAR’s Preconference events on Monday, May 18 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront will address issues of critical importance to CYFAR programming through in-depth half-day or full-day trainings. There is no additional charge for the Pre-conference, but pre-registration is required.

Please note there are both full-day and half-day sessions. If you register for more than one pre-conference, please make sure the sessions you select do not conflict. Registration for individual sessions will close when the Capacity is reached.

Don’t forget to register for the Pre-conference full-day, afternoon or morning activities when you register for the conference.When registering, check the boxes before each session title to pre-register. Do not register for sessions that conflict.

ALL-DAY SESSIONS

CYFAR/KaBOOM! Playground Build

Manami Brown, University of Maryland Cooperative Extension-Baltimore City; Eddy Mentzer, National 4-H Headquarters, CSREES/USDA
8 am―4 pm (Off-site)

Join other CYFAR conference attendees, University of Maryland & Baltimore City Extension staff, KaBOOM! and community volunteers at the 2009 CYFAR Conference Playground Build. More than 100 conference attendees will cooperate with community members and Maryland Extension professionals to leave a piece of CYFAR in this year’s host city. This community-built, child-designed playground will provide children with a place to play and community members to come together. This traditional pre-conference event has become a high point for CYFAR conference attendees. Transportation to and from the build site and the conference hotel will be provided. Food and drinks will be provided to all volunteers throughout the day. No building experience is necessary and there are a variety of roles for volunteers. More information will be provided when the site is chosen.

4-H National Learning Priorities: Strengthening Your Facilitation Skills

Ellen Rowe, University of Vermont Extension; Jane Haskell, University of Maine Extension
8:30 am―5:30 pm, National 4-H Headquarters

CYFAR projects are involved in building community collaborations to address tough issues and produce results. Strong facilitation skills help staff be catalytic leaders that empower community members to work effectively and efficiently toward mutual goals. Develop an understanding of facilitation core competencies through experiential learning with multiple opportunities for practicing skills. Learn to model productive meeting facilitation where citizens feel and know it is their meeting and that they, in turn, can become community facilitators.

Tools of the Trade II: Inspiring Young Minds to be SET Ready for Life!

Sue Manglallan and Sharon Junge, University of California; Jackie Reilly and Eric Killian, University of Nevada
9 am―4 pm, CYFERnet Program

Tool up on the latest research and cutting edge activities to incorporate science, engineering and technology (SET) content into afterschool programming. Through this interactive workshop, attendees will experience a15-hour afterschool staff training curriculum. Come fill your tool box with hands-on…minds-on methods to inspire young minds and to help them learn the SET abilities they need for the 21st century!

Maryland Cooperative Extension Nutrition and Physical Activity Curricula: Reaching out to Underserved and At-risk Youth through Fun, Effective and Interactive Resources (Host State Pre-conference)

Chrissa Carlson, Sandy Corridon, Rebecca Davis, Lisa Lachenmayr, and Mira Mehta, University of Maryland Cooperative Extension
9 am―4 pm

Maryland Cooperative Extension has a strong commitment to developing effective and engaging nutrition and health-related curricula to meet the needs of youth in afterschool venues. This session will feature programs developed by the Maryland Food Stamp program for after-school audiences including Nutrition Nuggets, and a gardening and nutrition curriculum called Growing Healthy Habits. Also featured are an EFNEP nutrition resource, 7-3-3-1: Healthy Families Having Fun; and a nutrition and physical activity curriculum, Up for the Challenge: Lifetime Fitness, Healthy Decisions. The workshop will consist of a brief overview of each curriculum, as well as hands-on activities taken from each resource to model effective nutrition education techniques. A site visit to a school using Growing Healthy Habits is planned. Transport will be provided.

MORNING SESSION

Building Community Capacity: Sustaining CYFAR Programs

Lydia I. Marek and Jay A. Mancini, Virginia Tech
9 am―12 noon, CYFERnet Evaluation 1

This three-hour session will focus on the seven sustainability factors (leadership competence, effective collaboration, understanding the community, demonstrating program results, strategic funding, staff involvement and integration, and program responsivity) and an interactive process that will allow participants to begin developing their own program sustainability plan.

AFTERNOON SESSIONS

Online Collaboration Tools and Communities (CYFERnet Technology computer lab 2)

eXtension and CYFERnet Technology Teams including Vishal Singh, Roger Terry and Ray Kimsey
12:30―5 pm

Set up and learn how to work in an online community! After demonstration of the core tool, we'll pick one and help you put together the basic structure of your online community, help you invite others and populate it with resources to get you started. Bring a team of 2-3 people to work together on this effort. Leave with a site you can share and the tools to train your team.

Assuring Quality When Using Qualitative Methods in Evaluation (CYFERnet Evaluation 2)

Lynne Borden and Dan A. McDonald, University of Arizona
1―4 pm

Focus groups and interviews are two commonly used qualitative methods for assessing needs and evaluating programs. Participants at this workshop will learn when and how to conduct focus groups and interviews, then analyze the data and use and share the results. Tips and tricks for success will be shared.

EVENING SESSION

4-H Military Partnerships Pre-conference: Chart Your Main Course

CYFAR 2009 4-H Military Partnerships Committee co-chairs Marlene Glasscock, Kansas State University and Matthew Mundy, University of Maryland
5―6:30 pm

“Chart Your Main Course" for the Baltimore CYFAR 2009 4-H Military Partnerships track. Meet other participants, share best practices, ask questions, learn about 4-H Military workshops, program showcases, interact sessions, and the post-conference. Connect with other attendees before navigating through the 4-H Military Partnerships conference selections.