5 School Program New Year Resolution Ideas

The New Year is a great time to think about your hopes and goals for the upcoming year. While making personal goals is also important, don’t count out making New Year Resolutions for your program or classroom as well. Making your goal attainable is the secret to making it a success. Here are 5 cool (and attainable) resolutions for you to consider for the New Year.

1. Start a Student Group

Empowering students and teaching them leadership and management skills is priceless. Although we are not the experts in doing this, we know someone who has had great success, and we were lucky enough to have her share her experience, tips and struggles in her Guide to Leading Enthusiastic Student Groups.

school program ideas

2. Adopt a Community Cause

Whether it is visiting with a local nursing home, sprucing up an area of your local park, or raising money for a shelter. Find something that students are excited to help with and work together as a team to support that cause. Work with other classrooms and programs to get them on board as well.

3. Bring Brain Breaks & Activity into Your Program/Classroom

There are many studies and even national programs like Let’s Move! Active Schools that stand behind the notion that Active Kids Do Better! So adding small doses of planned exercise into the day will not only benefit the children in your class, but also you in the long run. If you are a teacher, include a brain break every hour. Run an after school program? Start the afternoon off with a 15 minute active exercise, then include brain breaks every 25-30 minutes.

Here are some great ways to get started bringing activity into your classroom:

·  Let’s Move! Active Schools rewards schools for enrolling (it’s free) and actively participating in their program as champions at your school.

·  Get going with these awesome PE Central Cooperative Skills 

4. Create an Edible Garden

There are so many reasons why you should start a garden if you can at your school, center or after school program. Start small so that it’s not overwhelming and get parents and children involved to create a sense of ownership. You can make the garden a part of

your lessons, and even send home some of the fruits of your labor with families and staff. Live in a cold area and don’t want to wait until Spring? Start your seedlings inside before the ground softens with a garden kit like this. Consider adding herbs to your garden as well or keep them separate in a potted area.

Tip: An after school program that we have worked with would have the students set up a farmer’s market on Fridays for parents and community members to collect activity fees for field trips in the summer.

starting a school garden

5. Develop Your Professional Skills

Commit to developing your skills and learning new lessons, methods or ideas on a monthly basis. Most teachers are required to get a certain number of credits to maintain their certifications anyways, but in this case try new things. An example is this article on Using Twitter for Professional Development, it focuses on PE teachers, but can be used for any type of classroom or program.

Find blogs or influencers that inspire you and follow them using a free RSS feed on your phone or engage with them on social media. Then you just have to commit to making time each month to focus on the things you’ve discovered.

Have any other New Year Resolution ideas to add to this list?  If you are looking for inspiration on school year resolutions, head to the comment section of our New School Year Resolution page for real teacher goals and resolutions from the 2018-2019 school year.

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