Save 5 Hours per Week With Start Ups: Template Inside

You can picture exactly what you are looking forward to this summer.

Waking up without an alarm clock
Not hearing a bell a dozen times a day
Eating (and using the bathroom) when you want
You favorite FFA events
Your family's go to vaca stop
the list can go ON and ON

I get it, I also love a good relaxing summer.

But, if I'm being honest I get a little stir crazy after a week or two.

One of my favorite things to work on (other than prepping for Germinate) is to brainstorm ideas that can help save me time ⏱ in the year.

I just listened to this awesome podcast this morning that talked about strategies to save time and basically the morale of the story is SYSTEMS create TIME freedom.

One of the BIGGEST time savers I created a few summers ago when I was feeling stir crazy was creating yearlong Start Ups. Which you can find some on my TPT if you want to "delegate" that task to me.

But, if you want to make your own...I made a blank template to get you started! When you invest your time this summer to make 180 start ups, you will save an estimated 15 HOURS per prep per year! That is WORTH the time investment in my opinion.

Something else worth your investment...attending Germinate.

Instead of spending your summer browsing Pinterest for the prefect activity, trying to find teachers who specialist in a certain events, attempting to create community without knowing where to start, attend Germinate and the hard work is already done for you.

Ag Teacher Book Recommendations

"I am an avid reader"
This is something I write on my daily deposit everyday.

At the beginning of 2021, I made a commitment to read more.

And so far so good.

And you asked what I am reading. Ask and you shall receive. Here is a list of my recommended books for up leveling as a teacher and leader.

GRIT by Angela Duckworth

EXTREME OWENERSHIP by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin

ATOMIC HABITS by James Clear

MINDSET by Carol Dweck Ph.D.

START WITH WHY by Simon SINEK

WHY ARE ALL THE BLACK KIDS SITTING TOGETHER IN THE CAFETERIA by BEVERLY DANIEL TATUM Ph.D.

THE POWER OF POSITIVE LEADERSHIP by Jon Gordon

More suggestions from YOU...

TEACH LIKE A PIRATE by Dave Burgess (suggested by Heather Brown)

TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION by Doug Lemov (suggested by Briana Guillory)

WHAT GREAT TEACHERS DO DIFFERENTLY by Todd Whitaker (suggested by Laura Crosby)

CLOSING THE ATTITUDE GAP by Baruti Kafele (suggested by Nicole Hopkins)

Jump Into Serving by Applying to Be a Germinate Conference Speaker

Germinate only exists because of AG TEACHERS like YOU who believe in sharing their expertise abundantly. And now we are ready to continue this tradition at the FIFTH Germinate Conference this July 7-11, 2021.

HERE ARE 3️⃣ ways to get involved with Germinate this summer.

 1️⃣ GERMINATE SPEAKER APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN 🎉🎉🎉

Now you may be thinking…"what do I need to be a speaker?"

Here is the GERMINATE speaker check-list ✅

1. To be a current agriculture teacher

2. Have a heart for serving other teachers

3. Tries new things

4. Has an appetite for learning

5. Believes true success is growth

Want to talk it out? Join us for the GERMINATE Speaker Interest meeting on Monday, March 8 at 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST, 6 p.m MST, 5 p.m. PST). 

2️⃣ GERMINATE Conference INTERN applications open 🎉

Are you a pre-service teacher who wants to connect with agriculture teachers before becoming one yourself? You may be a good fit for the GERMINATE INTERN program.

Here is what a GERMINATE Intern needs to have to succeed...

1. Organization and strong communication skills are critical

2. An intrinsic motivation to improve will make the successful candidate(s) a compliment to the hardworking Green & Growing Education team. 

3. Must be proficient in INSTAGRAM (posts, stories, comments, hashtags) and FACEBOOK (groups, comments)

4. Must be a college student. 

3️⃣ GERMINATE Scholarship Application 🎉

Are you eager to gain quality professional development from fellow agriculture teachers? Is the department budget tight on your PD oppurtunities. Apply for a GERMINATE Scholarship TODAY!

ALL APPLICATIONS ARE DUE MARCH 31

Don't miss this opportunity to share, connect and grow with GERMINATE through the speaker, intern and scholarship programs!

Start With Inquiry Based Learning Using FFA Wonder Week: Downloadable Inside

If you have been around the G&G block for a bit, you know Sarah loves the Wonder Week activity created by John Spencer.

And she loves to add her own spice to that idea of adding more inquiry in simple ways to her classes.

Ready to see the newest wonder week creation?

Simple, short and sweet FFA Wonder Week!

Here is how to use this assignment

1️⃣ Download template (copy of Google Slide)

2️⃣ Provide an editable copy to your whole class (duplicate slide 3 for students, maybe even write their names on their given slide) OR post on LMS and provide each student their own copy of the slides deck

3️⃣ Allow students about 1 class period (high school) to wonder about something in FFA (ex. I wonder what the AET is? I wonder what scholarships FFA offers? I wonder how they came up with the emblem design etc.) Example from 🙋‍♀️ below ⬇

4️⃣ Have students present to class LIVE or via Flipgrid or your favorite tech tool

5️⃣ Enjoy the student led learning 👊

What to Do When Your FFA Officer Meetings Aren't Productive

Have you even been in a meeting (or lead a meeting *no judgement*) that

🤦🏿‍♀️Could have been an email
🤦🏽‍♂️Nothing got accomplished
🤦‍♀️Went longer than they told you
🤦🏻‍♂️You just got talked to the entire time

What kind of emotions does that spark for you ?

There is a better way!

You can take charge of the meetings you lead with this simple meeting template.

Here is how to use it so you can have a smooth and effective meeting...

1️⃣ Consistency

Use the SAME template, SAME flow, SAME time, SAME length, every time. Consistency in meetings allows you to show respect to your team members and the real value is they will come ready and prepared for what will come during the meeting!

2️⃣DECIDE

Have a section of the meeting to JUST DECIDE (preferably at the beginning). Making decisions takes energy and when you focus in on those decisions you will make them quicker and make sure you get the MOST important things done first.

3️⃣ TACKLES

Take time to review every member of the teams tackles. Tackles are something that one team members has ownership over (ex. FFA Secretary's tackle are Meeting Minutes). Give them space to rank themselves and tell the group why. This allows you to see where they need support and you can cheer them on as they complete their tackles.

Take a chance and try it out. Serve your team members with consistency this week.