Something to Celebrate in January

Happy New Year, friends! I am super-duper excited to begin a new year! Not because I think our current situation will magically go away at the turn of a new year – quite the contrary. I have no idea what 2021 will bring, but I think we may be entering the new year as “it’s gonna get worse before it gets better” stage. Putting the world aside, a new year brings new beginnings, a fresh start, a clean slate. That’s what always excites me, especially coming off a busy, somewhat stressful holiday season.

In the past few years, I’ve come up with a phrase or word for the year. Last year, I had an acronym of the year. As I reflect on my “resolutions”, I see failure and success. To be honest, there’s no excuse as to why I didn’t knock last year’s acronym out of the park. Looking back, I’m thinking, “Wow, why didn’t I get more of those things done – I had the time and opportunity”. Well, 2020 threw a curve ball for sure! Rather than make a new set of resolutions, I’ll just do a do-over of last year’s goals. I do have just one addition. I will celebrate every day.

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The inspiration

I purchased a little calendar for Christmas with the intention of using it as inspiration for my blog. I got some inspiration alright! Did you know there are literally hundreds of special days to celebrate? Yes, hundreds! I’ve never been one to take many traditional holidays as a big deal, except for birthdays, but things have changed. One change is that 2020 took many of our celebrations, festivals, and parades away. The other change is that I have two teenagers that are growing up at warp speed! Who knows how long things will remain closed, or open with restrictions, so I will create our own fun! I am especially looking forward to combining the fun days as educational opportunities in our last few homeschooling years.

Flipping through the calendar, I had many ideas as to how to use these quirky days to celebrate in our homeschool. While my original plan was to post them all with links to Pinterest ideas, fellow blogger posts, and a few of my own, I realized that was just too much of an undertaking – especially for someone like myself who is usually planning things the day before, or the morning of. I chose from several suggested days my favorites to share. Then I decided it would be best to let the creativity of kids and moms or dads alike to come up with their own way of celebrating the days that interest them. I also thought to add in a few famous birthdays of names that may prompt some celebrating, or at least an honorable mention.

How to use the list

After you’ve printed out the free printable from the free resource library, it’s up to the imagination as to how to celebrate it. For instance, on drinking straw day, you could find STEM activities that require drinking straws. For Bird Day, a hike would be fun, or if it’s cold or wet, keep the fun inside. Either do an art project, or learn about bird beaks by setting out different materials to see which beak is best suited for the food the bird eats. For some of the notable birthdays, biographies are great, as well as listening to the works of some of the musicians. Your kids may find they like the guitar riffs of Eddie Van Halen, or the melodies of Mozart. It really is up to the imagination, and can be adjusted to the ages and interests of your kids.

I look forward to sharing these quirky holidays with you each month this year. Be sure to keep an eye on my Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages, as that is where I will post links and activities on some of the days for something to celebrate. Maybe I’ll work on a big compilation for next year! Check out my other site, for book ideas to compliment the days to celebrate. We have everything from The Physics of Popcorn, trivia, handwriting helps, and the best sticker books around!