New Year

Happy New Year! Time to look back over the last year and make resolutions for the new year. Last year was a time of change for my family. We spent the first part of last year preparing our house to sell. We painted every room in the house, except the master bathroom. We had countertops fixed or replaced. We replaced the carpet with hardwood. We cleaned all the grout of tile floors and showers. Plus, a whole lot more! It took 6 months. In July we moved (see my post about moving to Midland). It was stressful and exciting. Three of my four young adult children also moved to different places on new adventures of their own. I’d have to say if I had to summarize the year into one word, it would be “change.” Every member of my family encountered a new living arrangement, new friends, and new jobs or schools. While it was a difficult year, the change that came about was good. So, as I look forward to this next year, the word I’m focusing on is “challenge.” I want to challenge myself to keep learning new things, meeting new people, and challenge the way I think: try to see others’ point of view, as well as how I think about myself. I can be my own worst enemy. I remember a song when I was younger by Helen Reddy called, “I am Woman,” and the lyrics that I want to embrace this year, “I am strong; I am invincible; I am woman.”

Ask your students to look back over last year. Was it a good year? What things would they change if they could? How will they make the new year different? Elementary students have a hard time with introspection as it can be too abstract, so keeping the questions more concrete like the previous examples, can be helpful. If you’d like worksheets that help lead them to think about the previous year and resolutions for the New Year, see my New Year Worksheets below. Click on the link under the image to go to my TpT page and purchase this great product.

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