Getting in better shape, improving finances, de-cluttering, moving up career wise- we all have resolutions that we repeat every year. Determined to be successful, we put pressure on ourselves to achieve more, do better, and work harder.
This year, my resolutions are re-focused. Yes, I’m going to try a few more triathlons, and de-cluttering is never leaving my list! But in addition to these personal goals, I aspire to spend more quality time with my kids, in activities that we love: cooking, exploring nature, field trips, art projects, playing games. Of course I have always done these activities with them, but with more writing and teaching commitments, an upcoming book to be published, and too many volunteering responsibilities to name, my primary New Year’s resolution is to say “yes” to my kids and “no thank you” to added jobs and responsibilities more often.
A secondary resolution is to continue exploring cultures and geography with my kids. I truly believe that in order for our children’s generation to be successful in the 21st century, they must be able to understand different perspectives, communicate effectively across cultures, and collaborate with others. Investigating beyond our local community challenges critical thinking and opens our kids’ eyes to how interconnected our world is. These are the simple goals I will use with my kids to continue our learning journey:
- Participate monthly in the “Around the World in 12 Dishes” project, making a dish together and learning a bit about each country chosen
- Globalize our movie night once a month with foreign films the whole family can enjoy
- Participate in some type of global collaboration project: possibly the Worldwide Culture Swap, or maybe one of the amazing global science projects I’ve come across recently (post coming soon!)
- Start an 8 week Geography Stars program at our school, run by International Club parents. (post coming soon!)
- Attend more cultural celebrations in our community; learn about the holidays beforehand through books, and seeking out the festivals through friends and on-line.
- Include more biographies in our reading lists. The lives of Jane Goodall, Matsuo Basho, Wangari Maathai, the Dalai Lama, and Nelson Mandela have astounded us and we can’t wait to investigate more global leaders.
Have you decided on any New Year’s resolutions for 2013? Do you have any educational goals or special experiences you’d like to accomplish this year? How will you be exploring cultures in the new year? Please share them in the comments- I love getting new ideas from other parents and teachers!
My daughter so enjoys exploring other cultures and other times in history so she’s always asking to learn something new. Last year, I mentioned her having an international pen-pal, so that’s one of our goals this year (finding one). We also take many field trips and are starting to integrate ones that introduce different cultures and parts of the world – it’s amazing what you can find in your own city!
I agree- local field trips can be an incredible window to other cultures!!! There are so many opportunities in cultural/community centers, libraries, universities, etc. I love the idea of a pen-pal- here are some resource for you and your daughter: https://kidworldcitizen.org/2011/11/11/pen-pal-programs/
I love the idea of going to more cultural celebrations… the more I look into it, the more we find to explore right here. Happy New Year!
I have a very similar resolution! The girls and I are embarking on a year-long trip around the world – virtually, of course. I’m hoping to include folktales, traditional arts & crafts, food, animals, etc. Should be fun!
Oh cool!!! Please share your posts on our facebook page and I will share with the readers on fb, twitter, and pinterest!:)
I love all the ideas everyone posted! There are so many places to look right in your neighborhood. The library is a great resource to find multicultural books, DVDs and events that may be found on their bulletin boards. Local colleges also have different cultural events throughout the year. I found a cool opportunity for a concert at the college in my town posted on the Starbucks bulletin board! Check the churches websites too!
What fantastic resolutions to bring more cultural education to your children’s lives! I am really interested in the Worldwide Culture Swap. Is that still going on?
It is on-going!! We did it this summer and received a wonderful package from Norway. I am also expecting a package from Finland any day! It was really fun to gather typical kids things from Texas to share with our swap family. My kids were even fascinated by all of the stamps on the envelopes:).
Oh, how have I missed the culture swap before. Will definitely link up now!
I wouldn’t call it a resolution, as culture is something we value strongly. We are ALWAYS exploring cultures and geography with our five-year-old, through international cuisine, attending cultural events, discussing our travels (I’ve lived and worked abroad, and my husband has also traveled extensively), reading books about cultures (both current and historic), introduction to different languages and writing forms, making friends with people from other countries, and playing map games and puzzles. Right now, my son (in kindergarten, but a program that combines K-5 students together) is working on a heritage report for school by creating his family tree (for him, Italian, Austro-Hungarian, Finnish, Croatian, and Scottish), and will also be learning about the ancestors of his classmates through the sharing of traditional foods and crafts to learn about and explain their ancestry. I’ll check out the “Around the World in 12 Dishes” project!
That is so great!!! We are kindred spirits:)- I love all of the activities you are doing with your son. One thing I have NOT done yet is the family tree- I absolutely love genealogy, and I think it would be great to get the kids involved. How exciting for your son to learn about cultures from a young age!
Great goals. We also plan to continue our journey into history and geography with Story of the World and myths around the world. I’ll be sharing tomorrow on my blog the tales from ancient India that we read recently.
Excellent! I will check it out and look for more posts about myths of the world!
No big comment, I just liked this post 🙂
Seeing the picture of you and the children really makes me smile! Godwilling, perhaps I’ll have a family that looks like yours one day. Good luck for the new year 🙂
Thank you so much Kapila:). I hope you have a wonderful new year!
I love all the ways your family is exploring world culture together!
Thank you MaryAnne!!! 🙂
Beautifully written: “in order for our children’s generation to be successful in the 21st century, they must be able to understand different perspectives, communicate effectively across cultures, and collaborate with others.” So glad to have found your blog! Exploring other cultures is just as important as our own family traditions. SO important!
Thank you! I totally agree!!!
Beautiful post and a wonderful resolutions. I’m looking forward to the upcoming posts you mentioned!
I’ll try to comment this time and hope it stays!
What a great post, as usually Becky. It’s so nice how you bring together the world under one small roof!
Thanks for sharing your resolutions, from spending more time with your kids to continuing to explore other cultures! Love all of these and will check out some of the links. This year I’m trying to share 1+ blog posts on each country we “travel to” as part of our homeschooling in a new series on our blog: Tender Sapling Travelers (http://blog.tendersapling.com/2013/02/07/introducing-tender-sapling-travelers/). Would love your comments anytime to enrich the ideas we share there. Happy virtual globe-trotting!