New Years Eve is coming up and before we know it we’ll all be heading back to our classrooms! New Years is a wonderful time for everyone to take a moment and reflect on the past year and how one can continue to improve and move forward. Maybe it’s shedding a few pounds, finishing that book you started last summer, or learn a new language. Everyone’s goals are different but they’re all there to help us focus on making this next year count.
Student’s goals and resolutions are just as important!
This time of year we, as teachers, can help our students understand the importance of goal setting and helping them make a plan to meet those goals. I mean, I wish 10 lbs could just drop off of me in my sleep but it’s the work I put into it that’ll get me those results. It’s vital that students understand this concept. Plus January is a great mid-point for reviewing this concept of goal setting if you’ve begun discussing it at the beginning of the year when setting up your reading and writing workshops.
The activity that I have for you today is equal parts fun and equal parts educational. Let's take a peek at this fun NYE Craftivity!
Let's Party!
I’ve paired a couple writing prompts with a cute New Years display! I’ve included both boy and girl templates, which students will color and cut out. Have students color, or if you’re brave, use glitter to make their year glasses pop! Students can decorate their party hats any which way you want or feel free to use patterns. Add colorful pom-poms or ribbons to the top for a fun touch. Put it all together and it really brightens your room or hallways!
Goal Setting
The purpose of this activity is to kickstart kids back into doing ‘school’ and these prompts will help them get those writing gears working again. I’ve included 2 basic goal/resolution writing templates and the Countdown to a New Year gives them 5 different writing prompts to build a paragraph. Feel free to use your own lined paper or use the primary paper included in this download.
Reflecting on our goals
Another great way to introduce or review goal setting is by reflecting on the goals we've had in the past. Whether intentionally set or more on-the-fly, these pages help students see where they're going with our goals by reflection on how we achieved, or didn't achieve, our last ones.
As a teacher, have you set a goal and didn't reach it? This is important to share with your kiddos and reflect on how you could improve this year!
Happy New Year to all of my teacher blogger friends!!
