What is FFA? Future Farmers of America_ Get Involved

Get Involved with National FFA

This is a sponsored post for Mom it Forward. All opinions are my own.

What is FFA? Growing up in the Midwest, I was very familiar with the corduroy navy blue FFA jackets. Not a lot of kids at my school wore them, but attend an event at a rural school and everyone seemed to have one. What did they mean? How was I not a member of this elite club? I felt left out. Flash forward thirty years later, and head to downtown Indianapolis during the National FFA convention and you'll wonder what you're missing too!

FFA Jacket from FFA.org

Every fall, the Indiana Convention Center is filled to the brim with navy jacket wearing youth from all over the country. So, what is FFA? FFA stands for Future Farmers of America. You might already know that, but do you know what they do?

The letters “FFA”  are a part of their heritage that will never change. But FFA is not just for students who want to be production farmers; FFA also welcomes members who aspire to careers as teachers, doctors, scientists, business owners and more. For this reason, the name of the organization was updated in 1988 after a vote of national convention delegates to reflect the growing diversity and new opportunities in the industry of agriculture.

The National FFA Organization remains committed to the individual student, providing a path to achievement in premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. National FFA Convention is held at the Indiana Convention Center.

Farmland, a leading brand of bacon, sausage, and ham, is proud to partner with the National FFA Organization, formerly known as Future Farmers of America, to support the future of agriculture by donating $0.10 to FFA for every Farmland item purchased now through September 30, 2017, up to $75,000.

These donations will help FFA continue to further its mission of making a positive difference in the lives of students and shine a light on the agricultural industry.

In addition to the donation, Farmland will provide grants to select Midwestern FFA chapters later this year, providing financial support to high school students working on animal care projects.

Participating Farmland products include everything from Farmland bacon and breakfast sausage to boneless ham and lunch meats.

FarmlandFoods.com, Facebook.com/FarmlandFoods or @FarmlandFoods on Twitter.

Support the Future Farmers of America by going to Kroger and
purchasing Farmland products now through Sept. 30, 2017.


With every Farmland item purchased now through September 30, Farmland will donate $0.10 to FFA, up to $75,000.

Since 1959, Farmland has been passionate about making high-quality foods, working alongside American farm families to offer the best quality products such as bacon, ham, and sausage. So, it makes sense that they support FFA.

More than 50 years later, Farmland’s unsurpassed passion and pride are stronger than ever, serving retail and foodservice customers across the United States. Farmland’s great tasting products – bacon, sausage, specialty cut ham, and more – are tender, flavorful, and made with quality ingredients. All Farmland products are products of the USA and are free of hormones and MSG.

For more product information or recipe inspiration, visit FarmlandFoods.

As hobby farmers, my kids have been active members of 4H and now, as they move into middle school and high school, they are interested in the FFA. So, we've been looking into options for homeschoolers. Want to join? Find out more here: How to join FFA.



Recommended:

Indiana 4H

Gardening with Kids

Chickens

Summer Camp at Home Themes, Schedules, and Tips

Themes and Activities for Summer Camp at Home

Want to give kids the experience of a great summer camp? Whether you do summer camp for your neighborhood, for a church youth group, or your local community, these summer camp at home themes, schedules, and tips will help you create the best, most fun summer camp for kids from six to sixteen! 

Post contains affiliate links.

Work in a retirement village or nursing home? Activity directors can adapt the activities for any age group. The objective is fun! Our website is full of fun, free camp activities, circle time activities, and group games. If you want everything at your fingertips (or on your clipboard) grab a copy of any of the books in our companion book series. These books are designed to help you organize and create an amazing youth group program or a simple, summer camp at home. 

Each books stands alone or get all 3 books for an organized summer camp, after-school program, or extra activities for vacation bible school. 

Our latest book, "Summer Camp at Home Handbook" has a total of five weeks of camp themes and activities. Each week includes: songs to sing, science experiments, group games, art activities, and fun themed snacks. It also includes a welcome pledge, icebreaker game, filler activities, planning calendars, printable today's birthday poster, activity schedule, daily menu poster, registration forms with allergy and photo permission features, and sample letters and forms to create a professional, organized camp program. If you want to do a full-on community summer camp, the only thing you'll need to add is insurance. Some small programs forego insurance for waivers and good luck. It's a good idea to get a short-term summer insurance policy if you plan to include your neighborhood or others outside of your close circle of friends and family.

Do you need a license to operate summer camp? That depends on your city and state. Check with your local government agencies, especially the board of health. Many churches (depending on state laws) are exempt and do not require visits from board of health or other agencies. Often, if the campers are participating in the prep of food it falls under different rules than if you are providing snacks. This is why the Summer Camp at Home Handbook includes theme snack activities and edible art. An easy way to avoid any trouble is to only provide prepackaged snacks and beverages (stay away from milk.) At the least, always have parents sign waivers, waivers, waivers. They won't completely protect you if someone decides to sue, but they do give everyone a heads up and let everyone know you are thinking ahead. Always have parents sign field trip waivers (you can make one for the entirety of camp and list out all pre-planned activities.) Also, be sure you have records of food allergies, immunizations, and authorized pick up persons. Finally, be aware of your state's childcare laws which vary based on the age of children in your care. To play it safe (when doing summer camp at home,) don't have more than five children that are not related to you in each camp session and always have another adult or camp counselor 18+ at your side.

Another thing to consider is first aid and safety training. Staff should be trained to recognize child predators in all childcare, summer camp, youth group, and school settings. In today's world, you can never be too safe or too prepared. That being said, if you are simply doing summer camp at home for your family, close friends, or homeschool group, not all of these steps may be required. However, it's better to be safe than sorry. Make sure you run background checks on anyone that will be regularly helping with your program. That includes your parents, aunts, and older children! This is a safety precaution designed to protect you in case something comes up. In your letter to parents, mention that all adults working with children have undergone a background check. Your local government probably has a background check option on their website.

A big safety consideration is water. Children may find pools and nearby bodies of water enticing. Always, always, keep count of the children in your immediate care. A good rule of thumb is to count kids every 20 minutes. If you are on a field trip or involved in a hectic group game, count them every 15 minutes. If you plan to include swimming in your camp activities or have a pool in your backyard, be aware that special precautions are needed and insurance rates will be higher.

Are you ready to get started hosting your own summer camp at home? Great! You'll want to start with our book, Summer Camp Handbook. This book is full of everything you need for five weeks of awesome summer camp.

Summer Camp Weekly Themes:

• It's all Rainbows: Rainbow Trails Song, Rainbow Snacks, Leprechaun Rainbow Skit, Rainbow Science Activities (Color and Prisms), and Get Moving Games.

• Silly Spaghetti: On Top of Spaghetti Song, Crunchy Spaghetti Recipe, Spaghetti Strength Science, Spaghetti Relays, and lots more.

• Eat Worms: Herman the Worm Song, Worm Theme Snacks, Snakes vs. Worms Game, How to Build a Worm Farm, Slurpin' for Worms, and lots more Worm Theme Games and Activities.

• Do Monkey Around: The Monkey Song, Banana Snacks, Banana Experiments, and Get Moving Games for Monkeys.

• Sharks vs Chickens: Baby Shark Song, Chicken Feed Snack, Egg Science Experiments, Shark and Chicken Hats, and lots of Games to Play as Sharks and Chickens.

With a blank, printable monthly calendar included in each weekly camp theme chapter and extra filler activities in case of a time emergency, the Summer Camp at Home Handbook is an essential tool whether it's your very first summer camp program or you are a seasoned camp director. Don't wait any longer, get on your way to the best summer camp ever today!

Our companion books are also available on Amazon in 8 x 10 paperback book format. These books give you extra credit as a camp director or activities director. Get organized with our 365 Planner. This handbook includes printable planning calendars, daily journal space with shareable quote of the day for note taking and planning, printable lesson/activity planning sheets, birthday logs, printable today's birthday poster, menu and activity schedules, and more. 

The 365 Activity Planner Journal, is a great companion handbook to Summer Camp at Home. It's also a great classroom resource planning tool for teachers. Whether you make copies of the printables to reuse again and again, or cuddle up on the sofa with the book to journal your activities, this handbook will help keep all of your thoughts and ideas organized with the added benefit of motivational quotes to keep you going strong. Get your 365 Activity Planner Journal now by clicking on the image.

And, if you are looking for fun games to play in a circle setting check out our Circle Time Handbook. This book includes 39 of the best ever games kids love. Tried and true, we played all of these games in our camp and after-school programs. This book is ideal for teachers who need to fill in some transitional time, afterschoolers who want to have a daily group rap sessions, preschool programs who realize the importance of circle time group activities, and summer camp programs who need filler material for rest breaks and other down time.

Ready, Get Set, Go! You can get all 3 books for under $40 on Amazon. 

Recommended:

Circle Time Activities on the Blog

Games for Kids

Homeschool Lessons and Activities

Free on the Blog, 50 Group Games for Preschool

Caregivers and Educators, check out Lora's Recommendations on Amazon 

and Follow us on Instagram for more fun ideas for children.

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Blogger Perks: Chick-fil-a Backyard Barbecue Celebration

How will you do a Backyard Barbecue? Consider Chick-fil-a Some of the perks of blogging include getting FREE stuff or special treatment. Chick-fil-a invited us to have a backyard barbecue inside their Avon, Indiana restaurant. Despite the recent controversy, I love Chick-fil-a. I respect their rights, just as I respect the rights of all others. So, Enjoy! Chick-fil-a is a great place to dine with the kids, especially preschoolers. It gives Mommy (me) a few moments to relax while the kids play. The staff pampers you, always clearing your table, bringing you refills, and smiling. So, it is my pleasure to share the latest, new menu items with all of you. You know you like the food. Our Chick-fil-a Backyard Barbecue and a rare look at me. I'm in the blue. My blogging buddies and local friends joined me at the backyard barbecue. The Avon staff is truly lovely. Though I live closer to another restaurant now, this one is my favorite. Everyone loved the service and the food. Thank you so much to Ashley and the staff.  :) My favorite new menu items are the grilled chicken nuggets. If you read this blog, you might recall, I'm somewhat of a poultry-tarian. Well... I was until we got chickens and ducks. That makes it difficult for me to prepare or eat chicken sometimes. I never eat duck. I try to stick to turkey when possible. But... these nuggets are too good to pass up. Right? There's a whole 'nother controversy there. So, please let's just think about the cows. This is what they want. Eat Mor Chickn! So, what was on the menu? They call it Grilled Love. I've listed some menu items below and tidbits from the Press Release. On April 14, the Atlanta-based restaurant chain will officially roll-out three new entrees – the Chick-fil-A® Grilled, Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-A® Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich and Chick-fil-A® Grilled Nuggets – in an ongoing effort to provide more flavorful and “craveable” grilled options for its nutrition-minded customers.    Chick-fil-A’s new recipe features an unmatched backyard grilled taste. Each grilled chicken breast is freshly marinated with a blend of sea salt, lemon, garlic and savory herbs, and cooked on a state-of-the-art, proprietary grill developed by Chick-fil-A. The technique creates a tender, juicy filet with just the right amount of smoky flavor.    To make this menu enhancement possible, Chick-fil-A invested seven years of testing and more than $50 million to reinvent its grilled chicken recipe. The largest portion of the investment came as the company worked with Garland Grills to create a proprietary grill. This grill sears chicken perfectly on cast-iron grates like it was cooked on a backyard grill, only faster.  The sandwiches were a big hit, and so were the condiments. My favorite condiment is the Avocado Lime Dressing. Apple Cider Vinaigrette is yummy too. If you like a little spice, try the Polynesian Sauce! The Chick-fil-a Cows want you to eat more chicken! I can help. I am giving away 4 Backyard Barbecue Cards! What does that mean? You will get a free sandwich in June and July so you can try out the new Backyard Barbecue Menu for Free. Just leave a comment here (if you don't use Google+ find the post about this on our Facebook Page) and Voila! You are entered in the drawing.

Recommended Reading:

Chick-fil-a New Menu 2013

Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe

Chicken Art

Chicken Jokes

The Chicken Encyclopedia*

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