New Year’s Resolutions For Students

The new year represents a fresh start, a clean slate, and the perfect opportunity to finish the school year strong.

That said, here are some resolutions that even your youngest learner can achieve:

3 New Year’s Resolutions for School-Aged Children

1. Be mentally and physically healthy

Health and fitness goals always tend to land a top spot in almost all the resolutions lists — and for good reason. Being physically fit helps prevent a myriad of health conditions and improves respiratory, cardiovascular, and overall health and wellness. However, mental fitness is just as important, as it keeps a person’s cognitive skills sharp and emotional wellbeing in tip-top shape.

Furthermore, students can also reap the benefits of being mentally and physically fit with these simple changes to their daily routines:

• Get enough sleep each night: According to the National Sleep Foundation, that means 10-13 hours for preschoolers and 9-11 hours for school-aged children. Try to establish a bedtime and wake up routine for your family; that may include putting down all electronics by a certain time to start winding down or waking up each morning at the same time (weekends included).
• Eat balanced meals and snacks: This may mean avoiding excess sugar and hydrating with water more than other beverages. In fact, poor hydration and too much sugar can also precipitate or mimic symptoms of anxiety (Harvard Health).
• Read for fun: It’s easy for students to see reading as a chore (something they’re required to do in school), but it is so great for one’s brain — plus, it can be a good relaxation technique! If your child is reluctant to pick up a love for reading, a simple genre change could do the trick. Even comics could be a good start to help your child gain interest. From there, they can move onto other genres that interest them (i.e., fiction and sci-fi).
• Be more active: Sporting activities are an easy way to get kids moving. And for those that are not interested in team sports, solo activities like swimming, rock climbing, or even just dancing around your home all count as well!

2. Be more organized and stop procrastinating

Does this situation sound familiar: we know what we need to complete, but we’ll find ten other things to get done so we don’t have to do it; procrastination at its finest! At work, in school, or around the home, it’s easy to put off our least favorite tasks until the last minute. If your child falls victim to late-night science projects, help them find ways to get more organized and limit their procrastination.

Ideally, if your child needs to defeat the “procrastination monster,” have them create SMART (Simple, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Tangible) goals. For example, instead of a vague “I’ll study for math tonight” goal, change it to, “I’ll study chapter three tonight” to give a more measurable and tangible goal. Another great tip to help aid the process? Keeping a planner or calendar can help keep deadlines front of mind and assist in prioritizing assignments.

3. Try something new

Whether it’s a new sport your child has been interested in, a musical instrument, or an afterschool activity — help your child find something they love and enjoy, in every subject. In fact, when kids are encouraged to explore specific areas of interest, learning will become less of a chore and more of a fun, fascinating activity.

And for students who love math, science, technology, engineering, we have just the solution. Enter: Engineering For Kids — offering Cognia Certified STEM Programs to children ages 4 to 14, through exciting camps, after-school activities, parties, classes and more!

We’re proud to help kids across the world establish a variety of important social and physical skills at an early age and meet others who share the same passions as them. Contact your local EFK to learn more about what we have to offer, today!