New Year's Activities for School

Some students are reluctant to resume their academic duties at school. Here are some New Year activities for school that can help to get students excited during their return to the classroom.

Foreign Language "Happy New Year" Phrase Activity
The New Year is a great opportunity for students to learn foreign languages. Assign a different language to students in the class. One language can be used by several students if there are more students than languages appropriate for your curriculum level. Instruct students to learn how to say the phrase "Happy New Year" in their assigned foreign languages. This is one of many New Year activities for school that can be turned into a fun multicultural lesson.

Spend a week or the entire month of January helping students learn how to say months of the year, seasons and days of the week in selected foreign languages. These commonly used words can also be turned into an oral presentation. Allow students to combine their foreign language phrases and words into a song. They can also create a short story to present that combines the English and Foreign language. Instruct students to bring visual aides or costumes to reflect the country where their foreign language is widely used. Schedule all presentations to take place during the last week of January, completing your New Year activities for school.

2010 Monthly Photo Albums
Help students bring in the New Year with a means to document moments that last a lifetime. Give out blank scrapbook albums for students to decorate using markers, crayons, stickers, embellishments and other art supplies. Teach students how to add photos to these scrapbooks by helping them start with a January photo. One page in these scrapbook albums should be dedicated to a specific month. While students can add their own unique cover design, their results should reflect the current year using numbers in some way, shape or form.

Blank scrapbook albums can be found at party supply stores, craft stores and even some camera stores. Ritz Camera, Hancock Fabrics and Oriental Trading stores sell blank scrapbook albums such as the 7Gypsies Naked Spiral Board Book for under $5. Similar albums can also be found at some discount stores including Target and Wal-Mart. Instruct students to leave room on each page for not only photos but special sections for journaling or souvenir that they collect throughout the year. A monthly photo album is one of selected New Year activities for school that require expenses for supplies. This scrapbooking activity costs around $100 for albums and embellishments that cover a class of 30 students.