3 New Year Activities to Get the Year Started With a BANG
You walk into your classroom after two glorious weeks of sleeping in, using the bathroom when you want, and binging Emily in Paris (or Jack Ryan).
You totally thought you had all your lessons ready to go before you shut the classroom door way back in 2022!
But, alas. You were a little too eager to get out of the classroom with your armful of holiday treats and gift cards. No worries! Below you can find THREE simple new years activities you can print and have ready for the kids knocking on your door quicker than you can say “Welcome Back.”
1. New Year-One Word
These simple tartants have graced the walls of Sarah’s classroom since 2019. A quick 30 minute activity for students to brainstorm words they want to emulate in the new year, pick one, explain why they want to embody that word this year, then creatively decorate the tartant.
You can grab this takeaway from the takeaway library and check out a past blog with more details.
2. Vision Boards
Did you know January 14 is National Vision Board Day? Based on the concept that “seeing is believing” allow your students some time to create their own vision board for the new year.
Use choice to have students express their vision boards in ways they feel comfortable. Maybe they draw it, or cut out magazine pictures or even hop on Canva and create it digitally.
If you are wondering how to include categories for these vision board to make them more holistic than just “school goals,” try these categories: Health/Wellness, School, Home/Family/Friends, Financial, and Personal Growth.
3. FFA Emblems from Cam Frazier
Past Germinate Speaker, Cam Frazier started the Personal FFA Emblem Craze two years ago. He suggests using it when you are teaching your FFA unit to help review the parts of the emblem (you know the ear of corn and plow right?).
Now, the personal FFA emblem is created using symbols that represent what means the most to that student. Imagine a soccer ball for your sports lover, a deer for the hunters in the crowd, and paintbrushes for those who love to create visual art.
You can check out some examples on Cam’s Instagram and you might even be able to snag his template if you say “pretty please” in his DMs.
So, take a moment to think about which of the three activities would be best for your kiddos. That might be based on their age, maturity level or even the class prep (Emblems may work better in a Basic Ag class and maybe Vision Boards for your Seniors).
These 3 New Years Activities can help you start the day with some fun and time to reflect on what the student really wants out of the new year. That reflection can help the students look into the future and envision who they can be not who people tell them they are.
And that my friend is the power of taking a moment to reflect and set some personal goals. You have the power to provide that time to your students this month!
We’d love to hear which one you’re going to try out - let us know in the DM’s!
The Green & Growing Fam 💚
Holiday Hazards for Your Pets: Downloadable Inside
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… but did you know it can be the most hazardous time of the year for your pets?
Holidays always allow for fun classroom activities and give your students the chance to do something that matches their energy versus forcing them to sit and listen to a 30 minute lesson when they’re hyped up on chocolate and the excitement of the upcoming winter break..
I mean let’s face it - holidays as teachers can be challenging, but we must remember that it isn't our students' fault!
Kids are naturally excited 🤪 about holidays (regardless of their age and regardless if it’s Valentine’s Day, Christmas or Groundhogs Day 😂), so instead of wasting your time and energy on trying to correct their behavior, you can lean into it by planning for fun activities that relate to the holiday at hand!
This activity goes hand in hand with the holidays, so it creates the perfect opportunity for you to still teach something on this day while relating it back to what’s actually going on in their life!
For this Holiday Hazards activity, your students will research hazards that are common around the season. From the beautiful (and toxic) poinsettias to the tantalizing (and shocking) twinkling lights, students find those hazards that might cause our furry (and not so furry) friends stress on the holidays.
To add an extra layer to this activity, you can assign one hazard per group, have them research in groups, present their findings to the whole class. Another extension activity is to have student create informational posters to hang around school!
Holiday Hazards is quick activity (approx. one 45 minute class) that will keep those students occupied despite their distractions on the holiday!
You can grab this activity for FREE by clicking HERE.
Happy Holidays!
The Green & Growing Fam 💚
One Way to Present Student SAE Projects
So, your students have SAEs.
Great! That is a huge win.
But, you are wanting a way to have the students share about their experiences. Why? Because Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs) are done outside of school time. So, unless you provide a way for students to share, they may never get to see what a wide variety of skills, passions and activities other classmates are doing. And of course, the side benefit of showing off your awesome students to stakeholders like you administration.
Why don’t you try an SAE Expo?
Term and strategy coined by our very own Sarah Nerswick. Sarah found a missing link in her program when it came to SAEs. She loved seeing the end cumulation of an Agriscience Fair and wondered if there was a way to have that kind of event for SAEs.
And the SAE Expo was born! The SAE Expo is a large public exhibition of knowledge and skills gained through SAE’s. Students get to choose how they will present their SAEs (speech, demonstration, display board), spend time in class preparing, practice their presentations with classmates and then the BIG EVENT. Students share their skills, successes and plans for their SAE at the SAE Expo.
Sarah created a one-page to include student instructions and a rubric. Grab your copy here!
You can find out more about the SAE Expo on Episode 139 of the Green & Growing Education Podcast.
Donate To Help Florida Better Relief Fund
You have probably seen the devastation that Hurricane Ian had upon Florida. Watching in disbelief the lives that have been lost and changed forever. You also may be wondering how you can help.
Green & Growing Education is following the Florida FFA Associations suggestion and if you feel led to donate to the cause here is all the information.
The Florida FFA Disaster Relief Fund was been created to help Florida FFA chapters rebuild following natural disasters, such as Hurricane Ian. Donations to this fund will be dispersed directly to agricultural education programs and FFA chapters affected by catastrophic events.
You can donate directly to think link: https://donorbox.org/betterdaysfund
Or send checks to:
Florida FFA Foundation
Attn: Better Days Fund
5000 Firetower Rd.
Haines City, FL 33844
Green & Growing Education is donating the profits from all Starter Pack sales from Monday 10/3-Friday 10/7 to this relief fund.
How You Can Raise Funds for Your Chapter Without Fundraising
We all know the *typical* FFA fundraisers…
Boston Butts
Plant Sales
Poinsettias
Meat Sticks
Donuts
Cookie Dough
And the list goes on.
What if there was a way for you to earn money for your chapter without the constant management of a typical fundraiser?!
There are a few ways that G&G community members have found success in some not so typical fundraisers! Hear from these successful teachers on the latest episode of the G&G Podcast!
Business sponsorships
Learn how Allison Heald from Alabama got her students National Convention trip paid for by local businesses on the G&G Podcast Episode 132.
Donors choose
Amber Nead from North Carolina has received over $4800 from Donors Choose to fund 7 projects!. Need some tips? Check out her Germinate session from Summer 2020.
Community partners
Your community could be just waiting for the opportunity to help your chapter reach it’s fundraising goals. Check out Cara Parlato-Butler’s Summer 2022 Germinate session on building community partnerships.
Letter writing
What if a simple letter could bring in thousands of dollars for your chapter. Learn how on Episode 18 of the G&G Podcast
School Based Enterprises
Fundraising could be your day to day happenings. Doggy daycare, farmers market, floral shop, the sky is the limit. Check out Abbey Brown from Georgia’s Germinate 2022 Summer session on implementing School Based Enterprises
Ps... wanna raise some funds for your personal development? G&G's inangual PD scholarship application is OPEN. Check it out here!