The best part of January is the idea of new beginnings. From time to time, we all need a fresh start. The problem comes when cold weather, flu outbreaks, and responsibilities collide.

Getting back to routine and schoolwork after winter break can feel like culture shock for you and the kids.

My suggestion is to ease into the new semester with goal setting, GRIT workshops, cleaning & organizing, and a little fun.

Goal Setting

After a long break, it is nice to reconnect to the why. You might need to remind yourself why you took on this responsibility.

The kids can think about their goals. This is a great time to start cultivating a growth mindset.

Some kids are extremely visual and enjoy making vision boards. Check out these vision board resources.

Once the kids have a vision, they can start creating goals to reach their vision. I like SMART goals.

SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. A goal without a deadline is a dream. I like to talk about what the kids want to accomplish in school, home, community, etc over the course of the semester (around 16 weeks).

Looking for goal setting printables?

Kid’s Book of Goals

GRIT

I’m not talking about the kind southerners eat for breakfast. Grit refers to a set of character traits.

This is a great definition from A Fine Parent, ” Grit is a distinct combination of passion, resilience, determination, and focus that allows a person to maintain the discipline and optimism to persevere in their goals even in the face of discomfort, rejection, and a lack of visible progress for years, or even decades.”

Grit has gotten a lot of exposure lately as the topic in Ted Talks and teacher meetings. I think we all can agree that grit definitely sounds like a quality we want our kids to develop.

According to Psychology Today, there are 12 things we can start doing immediately to help kids develop grit. The first three are:

to stop controlling and start coaching
remember that perfection is not the goal
let kids do things for themselves as early as possible.

You can grab the full list at the link above.

If you are looking for ideas, check out the growth mindset materials from The Superhero Teacher.

Cleaning & Organizing

I’m not an organized person by nature so I like to take a few days at the beginning of a new semester (or following any break) to refresh our learning spaces.

Some of this includes goal setting, but the physical space also needs attention. This is a great time to get the kids to pull the books off the bookshelves and wipe everything down.

My biggest pet peeve is that I need some clean space to set my books while teaching.

Getting your learning spaces clean helps to ease into the semester and it also helps instill pride in the kids about their contribution to the space.

This is a great time to consider moving furniture around, ask the kids about changes in lighting, make it a space where you and the kids want to be every day.

Need to declutter?

100 Ways to Get Organized in 5 Minutes or Less

How 3 lists can save your homeschool sanity.

Fun

Now you have some goals in mind, starting to help the kids develop GRIT, and you are clean and organized. It is time for fun.

I suggest that you focus on a fun theme for the first few days of school. Consider a show & tell, or a historical salon where great thinkers are present, a mad scientist lab or science fair prep day, a prep day for DEAR day in March, or a snowball fight.

This isn’t a movie day, but a day to get kids back primed for learning by doing something fun and educational.