Happy new year!
Ok, yes, it’s only December and I haven’t even finished my Christmas shopping yet. But I’m already thinking about ringing in the new year with my students.
In between all of my shopping and thinking-about-shopping, I finished putting together a set of my favorite classroom activities for celebrating the new year with the children. It’s a collection of ideas we do on the first day when we return back to school in January.
We spend the whole day celebrating the theme of HAPPY NEW YEAR! There’s an activity for each subject area (reading, writing, math, science, and social studies). Plus, I head over to Pinterest and fill in the rest of the day with one or two art projects, like DIY noise makers.
THREE, TWO, ONE…!
You can schedule the day in any way that suits your needs best, but I recommend starting by making this Countdown Clock and Ball Drop because you’ll need to use it throughout the day. It’s a fun way to count down to dismissal, just like you count down to midnight on New Year’s Eve.
(The templates and directions for the countdown clock are provided in the set.)
I’ve also included some really fun holiday themed brain breaks for your class to do each hour as you continue to move the hands on your clocks. It culminates in a ball drop near the end o the day… just before dismissal… with everyone shouting, “HAPPY NEW YEAR!”
Don’t forget to do a brain break each hour when you move your clock hands. It really helps the students to stay aware of the time and they learn to gauge how long an hour is. You can do your favorite brain breaks or try some of the holiday ideas in this set:
- Rock Around the Clock
- BE Baby New Year
- The NOT YET Ball Drop
- Hoppin’ Johns
- Boom Sizzle Fireworks (Our Favorite)
- Kickin’ It with Auld Lang Syne
NEW YEAR FLIP BOOK
There are also opportunities to read and write as children learn vocabulary words like resolution, traditions, symbols, and goals while thinking critically about their own plans for the new year.
CHEERS!
You know how much I love science, so the day wouldn’t be complete without an investigation of some kind. We make Cotton Candy Punch to observe how matter can change states and then use the punch to make a toast to the goals we wrote earlier in the day. All you need for this experiment is a little cotton candy and some clear soda. The kids can’t believe how quickly a full cup of cotton candy dissolves in the liquid!
If you’re looking for some fresh ideas for the first week of January, you can check out the resource👉 HERE. (Grades 1-2)
We also love this👇 new joke book full of kid-friendly jokes for ringing in the new year. Need a teaser?
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Radio.
Radio who?
Radio not, it’s a new year!
Happy teaching!
And happy new year!
MORE HOLIDAY SCIENCE
