New Year’s Activities for Elementary Students
The start of a new year can also be a fresh start in your classroom! And sometimes after break, a fresh start is just what we need! Whether you’re easing back into the school routine after the winter break or looking for fun ways to celebrate the season, I’ll share a few New Year’s activities for elementary students that will make your classroom feel festive while reinforcing important skills.
These are some of my favorite New Year’s-themed activities that will help your students reflect, set goals, and learn with a little extra fun. Plus, I’ve included a few of my go-to New Year’s resources to make your planning easier—because let’s face it, we could all use a little extra help at this time of year!
1. Goal Setting With Students for the New Year
One of the best ways to start the year is by helping students set goals for themselves. This can be a great opportunity to discuss the importance of New Year’s resolutions, and it’s a wonderful way for students to reflect on their personal growth and achievements throughout the year.
Goal Setting Activities for Kids
- My New Year’s Resolution: Have your students brainstorm and write about their goals for the new year. I like to have students make goals for the different subjects and then a few “big goals” for their personal lives. You can have students jot this down in a pretty simple way or use thisGoal Setting Flip Book found in my TPT shop!
- Reflection: I’ll also have them reflect on what went well with each subject during the previous year. What were their successes? What would they like to improve or try in the coming year?
For a goal setting writing activity, I created this New Year’s Resolution writing prompt. This prompt encourages students to think about three resolutions and three actionable ways that they can work towards making each one happen. You can find this inside of the New Year’s No-Prep Pack.
After students are all done with their goals, it’s important to not just forget about the resolutions they made. I like to collect their papers and store in a folder and then set a reminder to pull them back out every four weeks or so. Students enjoy looking back on the goals they set and seeing how they are working towards them.
2. New Year’s-Themed Reading Activities
The New Year is also a great time to introduce some themed reading passages. You can spark curiosity and discussion around New Year traditions from different cultures while also helping students practice important reading comprehension skills.
Ideas for New Year’s Reading Comprehension Activities:
- New Year Traditions Around the World: Teach students about how different cultures celebrate the New Year. Share a few read alouds You can use these passages as a springboard for discussions or compare and contrast activities
You can find both fiction and non fiction passages as well as comprehension questions with a New Year’s theme, all inside of my New Year’s Activities No Prep Pack.
3. New Years Read Alouds
Looking for some fun, New Years read alouds to share with your students? In another blogpost, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite books to celebrate the New Year! Just click the image below to read a bit more about each story.
4. Math Activities for the New Year
While you might be thinking of New Year’s activities as mostly focused on reading or writing, with a little creativity, you put a New Year’s spin on your math activities too!
- New Year’s-Themed Math Activities: There’s something about turning ordinary math practice into a themed activity that makes learning a bit more exciting for students. With the new year just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to give your math lessons with a New Year’s twist! Instead of simply practicing addition or subtraction, give students word problems to solve that are related to New Year’s Eve celebrations. My favorite way to incorporate holidays into math practice, is by using color-by-number activities, where students solve problems to reveal fun New Year’s images.
- Color by Number: The holidays are the perfect time to combine coloring with math practice! Students can complete 2 or 3 digit addition and subtraction or multiplication (basic facts) problems all while coloring cute New Years images.
You can grab addition and subtraction New Years Color By Number by clicking below.
New Year 2-Digit Addition and Subtraction Color By Number
New Year 3-Digit Addition and Subtraction Color By Number
- New Year’s Word Problems: New Year’s-related word problems to practice addition, subtraction, and even money skills. For example, how much money might someone spend on a New Year’s Eve party if they bought specific items?
As you prepare for the first days back in the classroom, I hope these New Year’s activities help you set the stage for an exciting and productive year ahead! Whether you’re helping students reflect on their past year, set goals for the future, or just have a little fun with themed writing and math, there are plenty of ways to make the start of the new year a memorable one in your classroom!
If you’re looking for a no-prep, all-in-one solution for your classroom this January, my New Year’s No-Prep Pack has everything you need, from reading comprehension and writing prompts to fun math challenges and activities. And best of all—you’ll get updated versions each year for FREE!
Happy New Year, and happy teaching!
