Project Outcomes

Growing from the Inside Out

Notice the titles of the three youth activity guides in the Kids on the Grow! curriculum:

• Step 1, Growing On My Own
• Step 2, Growing With Others
• Step 3, Growing in Communities.

The titles show the type of growth expected in each guide. Kids on the Grow! encourages youth to "grow from the inside out." In other words, youth start by understanding how they grow and develop personally (Step 1), move on to a better understanding of how their family and friends grow (Step 2), and then on to a better understanding of the larger community (Step 3).

What is Child Development?

Child development is the study of the growth and development of young people. There are four general areas of growth and development that form the organizing framework for Kids on the Grow!: cognitive, emotional, physical and social. Subject matter is one reason why youth participate in youth programs — they are curious and interested in learning new information about a topic that is of interest to them.

Four Areas of Growth and Development are:

Cognitive

Mental growth, including thinking, solving problems and learning.

Emotional

Growth in the part of the consciousness that involves feelings, including excitement, happiness, love, anger, fear and grief.

Physical

Growth of the human body, including large and small muscles, bones, teeth, and areas of health.

Social

Growth in the ability to interact and relate to others, including friendships and relationships.

Learning Skills for Life

Kids on the Grow! helps youth develop important life skills by involving them in fun and challenging child development-related, learn-by-doing experiences. Life skills enable youth to:

• Be self-directive and productive
• Recognize and respond to significant life events in a changing world
• Lead satisfying lives and contribute to an interdependent society
• Develop an appreciation of the differences in customs and cultures.
  

Nine Life Skills

Although youth may gain other skills, the Kids on the Grow! series focuses on these nine life skills. Following are definitions for these life skills and a chart that points out the life skill focus of each of the 45 activities in the four guides.

• Accepting differences - Able to recognize and welcome factors that make each of us unique.
• Concern for others - Able to show concern for the well-being of others.
• Critical thinking - Able to observe, analyze, reason and compare information when making decisions.
• Leadership - Able to assist a group in setting direction and reaching a goal. In this curriculum leadership focuses on identifying roles, mentoring and setting boundaries.
• Personal safety - Able to avoid danger, risks or harm, including physical and emotional harm.
• Planning and organizing - Able to do something by setting a goal and putting the parts together to reach that goal.
• Self-motivation - Able to make the needed effort to carry out a task or a plan.
• Self-responsibility - Able to care for oneself, including choosing between right and wrong and being accountable for one's behavior.
• Teamwork - Able to work with others to complete a task, including understanding roles, contributing to the group and appreciating what others can do.

Child Development Project Skills

These project skills relate to the child development content area we expect youth to gain cognitively, emotionally, physically and socially as a result of being involved in the Kids on the Grow! project. Specifically, this Kids on the Grow! project is intended to improve youth's:

1. Knowledge and understanding of human growth and development (Steps 1, 2 and 3, Grades 3-10)
2. Self-care, sibling care and babysitting skill development (Step 2, Grades 5-6)
3. Exposure to child development careers (Step 3, Grades 7-10)
4. Understanding of critical issues related to developing healthy relationships and parenting skills (Step 3, Grades 7-10).

Using the Youth Development Outcomes Grid

The following "Youth Development Outcomes Grid" connects the expected youth development outcomes with child development areas of growth and life skills, then identifies specific activities where youth can practice the targeted life skill as well as focus on a particular area of growth and development. It also provides 4-H program participants with a familiar link to the four "H's" of Head, Heart, Hands and Health.

Using the Child Development Content and Life Skill Grid

The Child Development Content and Life Skill Grid gives you a summary of the many child development project skills introduced, as well as the life skills integrated into Kids on the Grow! Key concepts include:

• Activity titles are listed in the second column on the grid. Activities are numbered from 1-45 in the series. This helps you to see the entire scope and sequence of the activities and lets you quickly select a specific activity most suitable for your project meeting or event.
• Expected life skills are listed in the next column after the activity title. This helps you select a series of activities focused on strengthening a particular life skill.
• Child development project skills are listed in the next column. This helps you select a series of activities building on a particular child development topic.

Quick Reference Guide

The Child Development Content and Life Skill Grid will help you quickly:

• Find favorite activities by name.
• Target life skills to practice.
• Identify and sequence related child development topics.
• Provide options for focusing on specific child development outcomes that will help you design evaluation tools to collect impact data.
• Identify activities for potential county fair projects.

Aligning with National U.S. Academic Standards

Several national and educational organizations have taken on the voluntary challenge of creating educational standards or guidelines to be used on a national level. Aimed at educators, the Education World web site at http://educationworld.com presents the objectives of the voluntary National Education Standards. Although there are many other standards that could be aligned with activities found in Kids on the Grow!, the authors have selected one standard that best links with the primary purpose of the activity. Please encourage educators to use this as a guideline to connect these activities to their own state and local academic standards.