How to Celebrate New Year in the Elementary Classroom
The new year is a time for celebration and new beginnings. We've all heard the traditional suggestions of making new years resolutions as a class and while that can be a fun and valuable activity, it's time for something fresh! Here are some ideas for how to celebrate New Year in the elementary classroom.
Decorate your digital classroom
Decorate your physical classroom
Learn about different countries and cultures
Decorate your Digital Classroom
One way to celebrate New Year in the elementary classroom is by decorating your digital space. This can be done by using themed Google slide backgrounds that help to enhance the learning experience. For example, you could use a background with a winter theme to get students excited for the colder months ahead. Or, if you're studying countries and cultures during the month of January, you could use a background related to one of the countries or cultures that you're studying. The possibilities are endless!
A great place to start is using Google slide backgrounds themed specifically to New Year or to Winter, follow the links to grab yours!
Decorate your physical classroom
In order to celebrate the New Year in a fun and interactive way, many teachers like to decorate their classrooms with festive bulletin board borders. This is a great way to add some extra excitement to the room while also enhancing learning. There are many different themes that you can choose from, depending on what you're studying in class. Firework themed New Year bulletin board trim is a great option for when students first come back to the classroom after winter break (it's a great one to have in your stash for future celebrations too)!
Learn about different countries and cultures
Different countries and cultures have their own unique way of celebrating the new year. For example, in Spain, people often eat twelve grapes at midnight to bring good luck for the coming year. In Japan, people celebrate by cleaning their homes and eating traditional food like mochi. And in the United States, many people gather together to watch televised fireworks displays.
Learning about how different countries and cultures traditionally celebrate the New Year can be a great activity for students. Taking an Adventure with Aly to look at New Year Around the World can also be a great starting point for writing, research and craft activities!
What traditions do you have? Let us know in the comments!
