Happy New Year!
January is the perfect time to reset and renew, especially in our classrooms. If the end of last year felt tough, don’t worry—this is your opportunity to have a fresh restart. One way to embrace the new year and create a positive classroom community is by revisiting the hopes and dreams you set with your students in the fall. Whether your class ended last year with a smooth ending or on a more challenging note, now is the perfect time to reflect, refresh, and create new goals for the remainder of the school year.
Reflecting on Hopes and Dreams from Fall
I’ve always found it powerful to take a moment and reflect on the hopes and dreams students set at the beginning of the year. It’s a chance for everyone to look back and see how much progress we’ve made, and I bet you’ll be amazed at how far your students have come too. Take down those hopes and dreams you posted back in the fall and ask your students to reflect on them.
- Did you reach your hopes and dreams?
- What helped you achieve them?
- If not, what got in your way?
These are such important questions to ask because sometimes things don’t go as planned—and that’s okay. I love reminding my students (and myself) that the new year offers a chance to try again. It’s a fresh start!
A New Year Means New Hopes and Dreams
If your students have achieved their hopes and dreams, it’s time to celebrate! I always find that students are so proud of their progress when they see how far they’ve come, and this is a great moment to set new hopes and dreams for the rest of the school year. It’s exciting to help them create fresh goals for the next few months!
But if your students haven’t reached their goals, don’t worry. I know from experience that this happens. What’s important is that we help them reflect on why they didn’t meet their goals. Maybe their hopes and dreams were too big or perhaps they faced obstacles along the way. Help them think about what they can do differently to achieve their goals. Maybe they want to keep working on the same hopes and dreams—and that’s perfectly fine too. Either way, it’s time for a reset.
Here are the steps:
Revisit the Hopes and Dreams: Take a moment to look at the hopes and dreams your students set in the fall. I always remind my students that even if they haven’t reached their goals yet, they can start fresh in the new year. It’s a great way to teach them that growth is a journey!
Reflect on Achievements: If your students have achieved their hopes and dreams, celebrate their accomplishments together! Then, encourage them to think about new hopes and dreams for the rest of the school year. What do they want to accomplish in these last few months?
Rewriting Hopes and Dreams: If students haven’t reached their goals yet, have them reflect on why they didn’t meet them. Was the goal too big? Did they face challenges they didn’t expect? Whether they decide to stick with the same hopes and dreams or create new ones, I always have them rewrite them on a new template. It’s a great way to keep their goals feeling fresh!
Share and Celebrate: Once your students have their new hopes and dreams, encourage them to share them with a partner or small group. Then, hang them up in the classroom. Decorate around the hopes and dreams or create a super fun and exciting bulletin board for them—because we want students to know that it’s a big deal, and having them up will be a visual reminder for everyone to keep working hard.
5. Review the Essential Agreements: I think it’s important to review your classroom’s essential agreements as a group. Do they still support your students in reaching their hopes and dreams? Are there any that need to be revised? This is a great opportunity to have an open discussion with your students about what works and what doesn’t.
As you guide your students through this reflection, I encourage you to make it personal. Share your own hopes and dreams with your students, and let them know that you’re on this journey with them. For me, this activity is always a chance to connect with my students on a deeper level and to let them know that their goals matter to me too.
Whether your students are achieving their hopes and dreams or starting fresh, this activity will help them feel motivated, empowered, and ready to take on the rest of the year.
