2026-2027 Fillmore County School Enrichment Programs
Printable PDF 2026-2027 School Enrichment Program
Content
PreK Programs
Shapes in Agriculture
Description — What is agriculture? Do you know there are many shapes in
agriculture we see everyday? Youth will use basic geometric shapes to
represent agriculture.
Content areas — English Language Arts, Math, Fine Arts
Farm to Cart
Description — Thanks to farmers and ranchers, we enjoy an abundance of
food, clothing and shelter. But where does it come from? Many of these
items are grown in the soil, raised on land or grown on trees. Youth engage
in a “Farm to Cart” game and learn where their food comes from!
Standards addressed — FDN-5 Production Awareness and EC-1a
Ag Literacy Focused: K-6th Grade
How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? (Grades K–1)
Description — Introduce healthy choices and a balanced meal and understand how
their food is produced.
Nebraska Science Standards addressed — SC.K.7.2.A, SC.K.12.3.B, SC.K.12.3.C
Pumpkin Life Cycle (Grade K–2)
Description — Students will learn the concept of a life cycle by recreating the various
stages of growth and development of a pumpkin through a hands-on activity.
Learning about life cycles will help in understanding the many elements of
agriculture.
Nebraska Science Standards addressed — SC.K.7.2.A, SC.K.12.3.B, SC.K.12.3.C,
SC.1.6.2, SC.2.7.2
Positively Popcorn (Grade 2)
Description — Learning about solid, liquid, and gas stages with a tasty product.
Students will explore and describe the physical properties of matter and its changes
through a hands-on activity of how popcorn pops.
How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? (Grades 2–3)
Description — Introduce the concept of sequence or story order to youth by learning how their food is produced.
National Learning Standards — NL-ENG.K-12.1-4 (Reading for Perspective, Reading for Understanding, Evaluation Strategies, Communication Skills) & NS.K-4.1 Science as Inquiry
Nebraska Science Standards addressed — SC.2.7.2
The Plant Parts We Eat (Grades 1–2)
Description — Apply knowledge of seeds, soil and sun to the larger concept of agriculture and understand the process of photosynthesis; identify plant parts humans & animals use for food.
Nebraska Science Standards addressed — SC.K.7.2, SC.1.6.2, SC2.1.1, SC.2.7.2
Embryology (Grades 2–3) — SPRING ONLY (First-come, fi rst-serve basis)
Description — Is there a better way to learn about the life cycle than by hatching classroom chicks? We don’t think so! This series of four lessons will walk students through the process of hatching chicks while incubating eggs. Please contact
Brandy as soon as possible to allow time for eggs to get here.
Nebraska Science Standards addressed — 1.1.3, 1.4.1, 1.4.2, 4.4.1, 4.4.2, 4.4.3, 8.4.1
Tops & Bottoms (Grades K–2)
Description — Learn about how different plants can grow above or below the soil through a story where
Bear’s lack of awareness and laziness leaves him with no food, as clever Hare tricks him by knowing the important parts of a plant.
Animals Inside and Out (6th Grade) — Stay tuned for dates of this Spring Event!
Location — Thayer County Fairgrounds
Description — Students will gain an understanding of the livestock industry inside and out through hands-on activities in respiratory, digestion, reproduction, muscular, skeletal, by-products, and much more.
Details — Look for an email during 2nd semester from Rachel Adam about this event.
Healthy Lifestyle K-12 Grade Offerings
Bacteriology (Kindergarten)
Description — Keep those germs away! Kindergarten bacteriology teaches students the importance of washing their hands through a visit from Germy to see how many germs are on their hands.
Fight Bac/Bacteriology (Grades 5–6)
Description — Upper-level students learn about the spread of germs, grow, and observe cultures of bacteria common in our lives. This can also tie in safe food handling and personal hygiene.
Nebraska Science Standards addressed — SC5.2.1, SC.5.3
Health Rocks (Grades 4-6)
Description — A healthy living curriculum aimed to bring families and communities across the US together to reduce tobacco, alcohol, and drug use by youth.
Beginning Level highlights —
Chapter 1:
All About Me — Trust Me! — Trustworthy, positive relationships are key when encouraging or reinforcing healthy behaviors, including the avoidance of drugs and alcohol.
Chapter 2:
Keeping Healthy — Take a Deep Breath — When faced with the choice of using or not using drugs, younger youth tend to disregard future cost of consequences. This lesson gives youth a glimpse of lung damage short and long term from using tobacco, alcohol, and drugs.
Chapter 3:
You Choose — Don't Get Dragged Down — Youth learn that consequences exist, and practice identifying whether consequences are positive or negative and how likely each consequence is to happen.
Chapter 4:
Dealing with Diffi cult Situations — Stress Weighing you Down? — Youth identify healthier stress-reducing strategies instead of turning to substances for comfort.
Chapter 5:
Oh, The Pressure! — Circle of Friends — Focuses on creating a community around youth that supports positive choices and actions.
Chapter 6:
Technology and Media Messages — Messages in our Community — Youth become aware of media infl uences and how to limit exposure.
Chapter 7:
Commitment to Caring — The Best I Can Be — Helps youth focus on values in a positive direction as they become more aware of differences in values.
Health Rocks (7th–12th)
Description — A healthy living curriculum aimed to bring families and communities
across the US together to reduce tobacco, alcohol, and drug use by youth.
Intermediate Level highlights —
Chapter 1: Building Healthy Relationships — Trust Me! — Identify actions of
trustworthy individuals and learn about gaining trust for teachers, peers, and
community members.
Chapter 2: Keeping Healthy — Mixed Up Messages — Learn effects of drug use
focusing on the brain; simulate how drugs can alter messages to the brain;
identify potential consequences.
Chapter 3: Self-Confidence and Stress — All Stressed Out! — Identify sources of
stress and learn ways to manage stress positively.
Chapter 4: It's My Choice — Being SMART about Goals — Choose healthy options
when making decisions and use decision-making skills.
Chapter 5: Who Says It's Normal — What do I Believe? — Understand how values
and beliefs influence choices.
Chapter 6: Learning the Skills — That's How I Feel — Explore influences of family
and peers; connect emotions to decision making.
Chapter 7: Media and Technology Messages — Who's in Control? — Identify ways
media influences healthy behaviors and thoughts/feelings/choices.
Chapter 8: Watch for the Signs — What do I Do? — Practice skills to help someone
who might be using tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs.
Chapter 9: Communicating Healthy Messages — Sharing what I know — Promote
healthy choices and influence others with a positive message.
Leadership & Personal Development K-12 Grade Offerings
Purple Ribbon Kid Lessons (Grades 2–4) — Social-Emotional Learning & Leadership
There are four lessons which can be selected, focusing on:
Belonging — Define belonging in their own words and demonstrate what it means to
belong to a group or team.
Generosity — Define generosity; test principles of equity and abundance; discuss and
apply an abundance mindset to future scenarios.
Inclusion — Identify what it means to be included; identify similarities and differences
between themselves and others.
Mastery — Understand how repetition and practice creates mastery of a skill.
Nebraska Standards addressed — SS 2.1.2, SS 2.4.3, SS 3.1.2, SS 3.4.2, SS 4.3.3
Middle School Leadership Summit (5–8th)
Description — 5th–8th graders will see the world from a new perspective and learn to
be more effective leaders and team members during a day-long event.
Includes — Leadership Discovery and Personality Trait Assessment sessions;
interactive leadership development activities; interpersonal and teamwork skillbuilding.
Financial Literacy (Grades 5–12th)
Description — Introduce concepts related to financial health such as establishing
good savings habits and responsible spending. Sessions can focus on one finance
topic or include several sessions on mindful money habits. Includes career
preparation/entrepreneurship skills.
Standards — Addresses many Personal Finance Standards including BMM.HS.8.8
STEM-BASED
Blasting Off with Rockets (Grade 1)
Description — Buckle up: an adventure to space (not really)! Students create their own
rocket while learning how astronauts can make it to space.
Soil is Not a Dirty Word (Grades 2–3)
Description — Compare different land management practices designed to slow or prevent
wind or water from changing the shape of the land.
Nebraska Science Standards addressed — SC 2.1.1, SC 5.1.1, SC.2.7.2, SC 2.13.3, SC 3.7.2
Snap Circuits (Grades 1–4) These can be checked out.
Description — A safe way to introduce electrical engineering and understand open/closed
circuits. Thanks to a donation from Nebraska Nitrogen, students can see firsthand how
open and closed circuits work.
Spheros (Grades 2–8)
Variety of lessons available and can be developed in conjunction with the classroom teacher.
Description — Draw paths or use blocks that represent code. Utilizing Sphero educational
tools, this weaves hardware, software, and community engagement to promote 21st century
skills.
Nebraska Science Standards that can be addressed — SC.6.4.1, SC 8.1.1, SC 8.4.3
Paper Circuits (Grade 3)
Description — Learn about electrical circuits with a low-voltage circuit using copper tape, a
3V coin battery, LEDs, and paper.
Nebraska Science Standards addressed — SC.3.1.1
Magnetism (Grades 3–4)
Description — Learn what electric charges are and how they move; how magnets attract and
repel; and which objects allow a magnetic force to pass through them.
Nebraska Science Standards addressed — SC.3.1.1
Latitude and Longitude (6th Grade)
Description — Hands-on learning with handheld Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Great to
review or recap a unit through a scavenger hunt using coordinates.
College & Career Readiness 5-12 Grade Offerings
College & Career Readiness (5–8th)
Description — Nebraska Extension’s goal is to prepare each student for postsecondary
success, regardless of the path chosen. This curriculum helps youth
develop skills and knowledge in career exploration.
Alignment — Aligns with Nebraska Standards for Career Ready Practice
Next Chapter (7–9th grades)
Description — College and career readiness delivered one chapter at a time,
focusing on creating SMART goals, discovering careers, developing an elevator
speech, and learning the difference between community service and service
learning.
Next Chapter (Grades 11–12)
Description — Focuses on postsecondary opportunities, resume & job applications,
interview skills, reading & note taking, writing a personal statement, scholarships,
money management, professionalism, and connecting to your future.
NEBRASKA CLASSROOM CONNECTION OFFERINGS
With a wide variety of program offerings for both in-school or out-of-school
delivery, by searching the 4-H Classroom Connection catalog, you will find an
experience that is most relevant to the needs of your learners and their
environment. All opportunities are supported by a statewide network of
Nebraska Extension 4-H Youth Development faculty/staff, bringing the
education of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln straight to your classroom.
You will find a variety of programs (some free and some with a cost) that
can fit into your curriculum.
This listing includes virtual field trips.