I like to start my kids out with some reflective but creative writing at this time of year, the annual stepping through the gate from one year to another. Here are some of the things we've done through the years.
Since the year that just ended was 2014, the writing assignment would be "Fourteen Things I Learned in 2014." We started this several years ago and it gets harder every year as the numbers go up, even though everyone learned way more things than they're required to list. I love reading my children's lists. There is everything from "Silk comes from silkworms" to "Roman gods and goddesses" to "It's hard to beat my dad at any game" to "The times table" to "Trampolines can fly" to "The earth curves every eight miles" to "How to throw a knuckleball."
One year we turned this idea into an art project. Here is what one of the kids did.
We've also made lists like "Twelve things I Want to Learn in 2012." I loved that my then 7-year-old listed things like "How to pack my own suitcase," "How to put my own earrings in," and "How to sweep." It was a good litmus of what mattered to her.
Another writing assignment we've done is to break the year into two lists: "The Top 20 Things I Want to Do This Year" and "The Bottom 15 Things I Do Not Want to Do This Year" (for 2015). This is meant to take some thought and be both a goal and a wish list. There should be some serious and specific goals, like "Get my Eagle," but also hopes for spending time, like "Go swimming more." The "not to do" lists are usually good for some laughs. I've seen anything from "Don't lose to ______" (meaning don't lose a baseball game to a specific team) to "Don't get married" (from a 12 year old!) to "Don't play with Barbies" (from a boy) to a list of specific items someone refused to eat.
One of the trickiest New Year's writing assignments was to turn the new year into an acrostic poem. I'll share mine to show you what I mean:
2 decades of marriage to appreciate and celebrate
0 irritations I don’t try to patiently abate
1 marathon...maybe...can I run 26 miles?
3 times more snuggles, hugs, kisses, and smiles
Ring in the new year with reflective writing!
What great ideas! I don't think our family has any academic family New Year traditions (unless putting together big puzzles around the kitchen table counts). The first week of January finds me in such holiday/vacation mode it has never really crossed my mind. But, I would like to see all the things your family has done over the years. It makes a lot of sense to use the new year as a reflective time to put something on paper. I bet your New Year's creative writings are like journal entries. Treasures!
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