I love the excitement of New Year’s Eve, although as a parent, it’s been a minute since I’ve watched the ball drop at midnight!
That said, I especially love the feeling of starting fresh on January 1 in a new year.
Goals and resolutions can make a great topic of discussion with school-aged children and teens.
Below are some books about New Year’s Resolutions:
Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution, by Pat Miller
Happy New Year, Everywhere, by Arlene Erlbach
The Night Before New Year’s, by Natasha Wing
For older children and teens, it can be fun to discuss some popular traditions around the world, such as:
Eating 12 grapes consecutively at midnight in Spain (I’ve tried this–it’s pretty tough!)
Smashing plates in Denmark
Displaying round shapes for future prosperity in the Philippines
Eating lentils in Mexico
After this discussion, the students can be asked if they have any fun New Year’s traditions in their families and/or cultures, as well as which of these traditions they’d most like to try. Then, students can share New Year’s resolutions if they would like.
Readers: What are your favorite New Year’s traditions? Do you make any resolutions?
About the Author: Melissa Goff, M.S, CCC-SLP, is the owner of Sunflower Speech & Myo Therapy, PLLC, in Charlotte, NC.
Comments