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Publication #CIR1437

 

Rhythm of the Seasons: Planting Seeds of Safety, Harvesting Grains of Hope — A Lesson Plan for Farm Safety Audiences1

Carol J. Lehtola and Charles M. Brown2

Abstract -- Circular 1437

This fact sheet contains an abstract of a 60-page lesson plan, which is one a set of materials that can be used to develop and present the "Rhythm of the Seasons" safety workshop.

To view the entire publication, see the accompanying PDF on EDIS:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/AE/AE25400.pdf

You may also view the lesson plan at the Florida AgSafe Web site:

http://www.flagsafe.ufl.edu

Follow the "“ROS/IMBY"” link.

Related Materials

The lesson plan circular is one component of a set materials that can be used to develop and present the "Rhythm of the Seasons" workshop.

The five primary components of the workshop materials are:

  • Toolkit for Implementing a Community-Based "IMBY" Safety Event (UF/IFAS Circular 1438)

  • Rhythm of the Seasons: Planting Seeds of Safety, Harvesting Grains of Hope -- A Lesson Plan for Farm Safety Audiences (UF/IFAS Circular 1437)

  • Rhythm of the Seasons: A Journey beyond Loss (UF/IFAS Video SV125; available from the IFAS Extension Bookstore -- 1-800-226-1764)

  • In My Back Yard (IMBY) Workbook (available at the Florida AgSafe Web site)

  • Rhythm of the Seasons PowerPoint Slide Set (available at the Florida AgSafe Web site)

In the workshop, participants view the video, Rhythm of the Seasons: A Journey beyond Loss, and complete the In My Backyard (IMBY) workbook. The companion lesson plan gives complete instructions on conducting the workshop. The PowerPoint slide set is keyed to the lesson plan.

Additional support materials for the workshop are available at the Florida AgSafe Web site.

Introduction

The Rhythm of the Seasons/IMBY lesson plan is designed as the basis for the IMBY Farm and Home Hazard Workshop. IMBY stands for “In My Back Yard” — that is where safety should begin. The lesson plan gives direction for the educational part of the workshop. The mechanics of planning, organizing and publicizing the workshop are covered in a companion publication, “Toolkit for Implementing a Community-Based 'IMBY' Safety Event” (CIR 1438). The major activity of the event is the IMBY Farm and Home Hazard Hunt, in which participants develop a personalized action plan to eliminate hazards in their work or home environment.

This lesson is built around the video, "Rhythm of the Seasons: A Journey beyond Loss" (UF/IFAS Video SV125). In the video, Marilyn Adams tells the true story of the loss of her 11-year-old son in a farm-related incident. Viewers are introduced to the son, the circumstances of his death, and the mother's first year of recovery. In this way, the audience learns about the grief and other experiences that accompanied this tragedy, and they also share in the inner world of the mother's healing as she finds a sense of purpose through this sad situation.

The video fosters interest and receptivity about this very serious topic, creating a “teachable moment” which provides an opportunity for general discussion by attendees or for use of the lesson plan described in this publication. Either way, the program should be planned such that attendees can take home with them an IMBY action plan that they can implement at their own farm or place of residence.

A set of PowerPoint slides has been created to use with this lesson plan. This presentation can be found at the Florida AgSafe Web site.

Two hours should be allocated for a program in which the video is shown and participant's action plans developed. This could be a part of a Safety Day Camp, where children go to the various stations while parents attend the "Rhythm of the Seasons" session. The video would not be appropriate for children younger than middle school.

Background

The video “Rhythm of the Seasons: A Journey beyond Loss” is based on the book of the same name by Marilyn Adams and Mary Kay Shanley. In the video, Marilyn reads from the book and certain scenes are dramatized.

In Marilyn's book, she tells about the impact of losing Keith and her first year of recovery. At the end of that first year, she decided to start an organization, Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, in order to alert farm parents to the hazard that had killed Keith and the many other agricultural hazards that lead to the death and injury of children on farms.

Farm Safety 4 Just Kids is now an international organization with over 140 chapters in the United States and Canada. Marilyn travels widely to give talks and presentations, and has been invited to several foreign countries to collaborate with farm safety programs.

Marilyn published “Rhythm of the Seasons” in 1997, and in 1999, Carol Lehtola of Florida AgSafe, the Florida Agricultural Safety Program, proposed turning a reading of the book into a dramatic presentation on video. This would allow the story to be shown to a wide variety of audiences and reach many more people.

The statistics of agricultural death and injury tell a powerful story, but it is a story in numbers. One of the most important aspects of the book and the video is that they put faces on the statistics. It is easy to dismiss talk about percentages and trends, but to look into a mother's eyes as she tells the story of her child's death is impossible to ignore.

Though the kind of incident that led to Keith's death might be unlikely in some areas, each area of the country has its own agricultural dangers. The presenter should emphasize to the audience that this video is presented as a reminder of the hazards on a farm or in the home and the importance of taking the time to practice safety. When someone is killed or injured — whether child or adult — the entire family and community are affected.

Session Outline

The lesson plan provides details for the educational portion of the IMBY safety event as well as many support materials. The following outline includes the various segments of a typical 2-hour IMBY workshop.

  • Part 1 — Beginning the Workshop (5 - 10 minutes)

  • Part 2 — Introduction to Agricultural Safety (5 - 10 minutes)

  • Part 3 — Discuss hazards in the local community (10 - 15 minutes)

  • Part 4 — ROS video (25 minutes)

  • Part 5 — Discussion of video (10 - 15 minutes)

  • Part 6 — Development of an IMBY take-home action plan (30 - 40 minutes)

  • Part 7 — Highlight resources (5 minutes)

  • Part 8 — Summary and wrap-up (include plans for follow-up, if any) (5 - 10 minutes)

Footnotes

1.

This document is AE254, one of a series of the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First published May 2003. Reviewed January 2009. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Carol J. Lehtola, Associate Professor and State Extension Agricultural Safety Specialist, and Charles M. Brown, Coordinator - Information/Publication Services, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.