Just stopping by in a flash to talk about student New year’s resolutions.  Do you do them with your students or no?

I love the new year.

There is just something about starting off with a clean slate with the promise of endless possibilities for the next 365 days.

I’m guessing some of your students might feel the same way too.

While I personally don’t do NYs resolutions for myself (because who are we kidding here, I never keep them up), I do like the idea of goal-setting for kids.

There is a statistic that says you are 42% more likely to achieve a goal if you write it down.

While that isn’t a guaranteed super high percentage, for some students, this might be the first time ever they have written down goals – or even thought about them.

And that in itself is a good reason to at least talk about resolutions and goal-setting for the new year.

To help you out, I created a quick little handout that might at least get their wheels turning when they are trying to think of their personal goals.

You might want to check out:

Need some new ideas for hosting successful classroom celebrations?  This 416 page digital book has you covered! Includes 61 ad-free articles from Organized Classroom, including holidays such as:

• Groundhog Day
• Winter
• Black History
• Valentines Day
• St. Patricks Day
• Earth Day
• Spring
• Mothers Day
• Memorial Day
• Summer
• Independence Day
• Fall
• Halloween
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas

…and even more!

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See it HERE.

It is short and sweet. And it can be customized with the current year!

Simply edit in either Google Slides or Powerpoint and use the Google font Patrick Hand to match what’s already there.

Plus it includes basic information like their name, age, and 3 favorite things.  This could be a really fun long-term project to see how the information changes from year to year.

Some ideas to help them get thinking:

Health Goals:

• eat breakfast everyday
• do at least 10 push ups daily
• have 3 less sodas a week
• go to bed by 9:30 pm on school nights
• no electronics after 8 pm at night
• brush and floss teeth every day
• try one new fruit or vegetable once per week

Home Goals:

• take out the trash weekly
• pick up bedroom every day
• offer to help clean up after pets
• give a parent or guardian a hug every day
• eat dinner as a family nightly
• play a board game once per week
• tell someone at home what good things happened at school every day

Friends Goals:

• Smile at 3 new people per day
• Ask one person a week how many siblings they have
• Approach someone who needs a friend to come sit together at lunch or recess
• Help a classmate if they get stuck
• Tell one friend per week how much they mean to you
• Allow someone else to “be right” at least once per day

School Goals:

• Get homework done every day
• Study spelling words for 10 minutes every night
• Practice math facts while waiting for the bus after school
• Challenge yourself to read a book just above your reading level every week
• Try and be the quietest person in the hallway for a month
• Have the cleanest desk in the classroom

Of course, these are just a few ideas that won’t work for every student or situation.  It’s really just to get them thinking about examples that might spark the perfect goals for them.

What others would you add to this list?  We would love to see them in the comments below!

And don’t forget to grab your freebie Students New Year’s Resolutions worksheet!

Happy New Year!

~Charity

The post Student New Year’s Resolutions appeared first on Organized Classroom.

While in the midst of self-awareness session, I started thinking about how The Golden Rule could really change the world if more people followed it.  Spreading love and kindness to all can be contagious.

So how could I help in that cause?  I mean, I am just a teacher blogger who typically shares about classroom organizational ideas.  But, what if I shared something that was a vehicle for spreading kindness to teachers, who them shared with their students?  Could that make an impact, even if it were a small ripple?  I’d like to think if this small activity makes even one child smile, then it truly has served it’s purpose.

Student Practice in Spreading Kindness

I’d like to believe everyone is born with kindness in their hearts, but as we get older, some are not exposed to it as much as others.   Having kindness in acts and words modeled for a child will be a key factor in whether that child continues to be kind to others when no one is watching.  When the student is not seeing those acts of kindness or hearing words of encouragement, it becomes hard for that child to know how to spread kindness to others.  Just like watching a caregiver cooking a traditional meal – there is no recipe needed – you just know how to do it.

In this case, the child hasn’t been exposed to the “recipe” for spreading kindness enough to have it ingrained.  Maybe he or she just needs he practice.

Here is a fun classroom game which doesn’t require fancy equipment or a ton of time.

You might want to check out:

Need some new ideas for classroom management? This 105 page digital book has you covered!

Includes 16 articles from Organized Classroom, including topics such as:
-Tattling
-Using Peer Pressure to Solve Behavior Issues
-Utilizing a Simple Plastic Cup for Your Mgmt Plan
-Creating a Simple Token Economy
-A Character Building Game
-Group Work Mgmt Tips
…and even more!

Now available in our Shop!  And the second copy to share with a friend is half price!  

See it HERE.

The Nice Dice Game

This game is appropriate for students grades 2 and up.  It could still be played with younger students if you did it as a class activity where you rolled the die and explained what students should be sharing with their partners.

Supplies needed include 1 die and one paper for each student pairing.   Personally, I would save on paper and print enough sheets and laminate them for repeated use over and over.

How to group your students?

I prefer something simple like having students tiptoe around the room while I play music.  When the music stops, their partner is the person closest to them.  Pair up any outliers and they can begin.  The game can be played as long as you like.  If a student gets the same question, they can provide a different answer than the first time.

Pay-It-Forward Kindness just may set off a chain reaction with your students.  Or it may make one student in the room smile.  I would be tickled to hear about either!   Please make sure to leave me a comment to let me know.

Enjoy the free game download below!

~Charity

The post Nice Dice Game for Students! appeared first on Organized Classroom.