Looking for a new, multi use activity to add to your POA?
The Leadership Trail was an activity my FFA officers initiated in 2018 and was a Premier Chapter Models of Innovation activity the following year at national convention.
The semester-long activity allowed FFA officers and upperclassmen FFA members to teach first year members about communication and leadership through a series of team-building workshops constructed along the wooded trails on our school’s campus. Here are a few of the workshops we included:
Balancing Leading and Following - Students were required to use communication and teamwork to balance and distribute their weight on the platform which moved in all directions due to a cemented ball under its base.
Stepping Up As a Leader - Students worked in pairs with one student blindfolded to successfully walk on the pavers without stepping on the ground.
Bridging the Communication Gap - Students worked in small groups to cross a series of cinder blocks using 2x6 boards. Students had to strategically place students on the blocks and pass the boards back and forth to get everyone across the obstacle.
All Hands on Deck - Students were all assigned a string attached to pulleys and a 5-gallon bucket. Students had to work together to move the bucket from one stump to the next.
Our officers applied for a Living to Serve Semester Long Grant to cover the cost of supplies…read tips and tricks to these grant programs that helped my chapter receive over $10,000 in Living to Serve Grant funding in the blog post, Paying for the POA.
After receiving the grant, the officers provided the Mechanical Principles class with their plans and they constructed and installed the workshops along the Leadership Trail.
FFA officers then facilitated these team building workshops throughout the year to continue to develop leadership skills within the chapter.
A few years later the chapter officers expanded this activity by facilitating the Leadership Trail to the newly elected Elementary Student Council members, and conducted a mini officer retreat for their officers to assist them in setting goals, brainstorming activities and creating a plan of action for their POA.
This activity was extremely simple to implement and was able to be used and modified multiple times throughout the school year. Reach out to The Owl’s Nest at info@owlsnestresources.com with any questions and good luck in implementing this activity into your POA.