New Year’s Day is one of my daughter’s favorite holidays.
The New Year’s Eve day is the one celebration where our daughter is permitted to stay up past midnight, eat plenty of snacks and watch fireworks which are her absolute favorite. She get’s pretty excited about the celebration to mark the new year that takes place in our home so taking some time to focus on it is alright with her.
All the New Year’s traditions, songs, foods, and history are quite interesting so I’ve gathered together some resources on the New Year’s day past and present for you that can make for some fun learning as we get ready for the big day.
Wishing You a Happy New Year!
- Start off by learning the History of when it’s actually New Year’s in less than 5 minutes. From the History Channel.
- On the Mango Languages Blog you can learn to say Happy New Year! in 22 different languages.
- Sign Savvy is an online Sign Language Resource. They’ve made a video to help you say Happy New Year! in American Sign Language or ASL.
- Time and Date helps you to figure out exactly when it’s New Years Day all around the world.
Music and Song
- Carol of the Bells (Shchedryk) is another song traditionally heard around New Year’s time. It’s beautiful sound can be heard in this example in Ukranian (on Youtube) and the Lyrics and History.
- Levy-Dew (A New Year Carol) is another choral song that is familiar to some around New Year’s time. I myself associated with period movies depicting New Year’s celebrations. Apparently it is a British folk song : Lyrics, and then a Youtube Example
Foods, Crafts, And Activities
- Hoppin John is a traditional Southern dish. Read the history and find a basic recipe here.
- Italians like to eat lentils for New Years. Mangia Bene Pasta has a yummy lentils and sausage recipe. called Capo d’Anno which means New Year in Italian.
- Make some cute New Year’s Countdown Bags courtesy of Hoosier Homemade. (I may make these this year).
- A Victorian New Year’s Day meant visiting and receiving visitors. This detailed description at Victorian Aid Society takes you back to that time of etiquette and genteel manners.
New Year’s Homeschool Printables and Unit Studies
What’s New Years without printables to keep your kids busy during the cold days indoors? Here’s a round up of a few printables you can find online and a unit study for good measure.
- New Year’s Resolutions printable for kids by Free Homeschool Deals
- New Year’s Mini Worksheet Pack for Kids. This is from 2011 but still applicable today. For early elementary ages. Click the image to access the pack.
- New Years Around the World Unit Study
- Free New Year’s Bible Crafts and Printables from Christian Preschool Printables. I used a lot of these when my daughter was younger.
- New Years Day Interview from a Teaching Mommy. Think back on what made 2014 special. Again click the image to access the pack.
Kemi homeschools her inquisitive 9 year old daughter and blogs at Homemaking Organized.
Great ideas! I throw a Happy Noon Year’s Party for my kids and their cousins every year on 12/31 – so they don’t have to stay up too late since they are little. It’s a ton of fun, and I’m going to be adding some of these ideas to our party activities!!! Woo-hoo!!