As Christmas decorations are packed away and the last of the eggnog is consumed, families will gather together to ring in a new year once again. A new year holds the promise of new beginnings and a fresh start. While it’s common for adults to set New Year’s resolutions, kids can get in on the action and set their own resolutions, too! Resolutions for kids need not be boring or related to schoolwork. Rather, New Year’s resolutions for outdoorsy kids should be fun and creative, especially if you want them to stick. Today, Creative Team member Michelle Garrett, California mom, and creator of Wonder Club Explorers, is here with six ideas for New Year’s resolutions for outdoorsy kids that love nature, exploration, and adventure.
New Year’s resolutions for kids
A New Year’s resolution is really just a goal. It can involve any number of things. Maybe it’s something to achieve, something to do more of, or an opportunity to try something new. With so many traditions disrupted this year on account of the pandemic, a New Year’s resolution can be a welcome distraction and a way to keep spirits up as children start a new year.
When you’re ready to start a conversation with your kids about resolution setting, start by asking them what they’d like to do this year. If a child is interested in making things with their hands, then offer them ideas for hobbies that involve tools that result in a finished product. Or, maybe your child has a budding interest in writing (lucky you!) and journaling might be their cup of tea. Regardless, help your child hone in on their potential interest and use that as the basis for a resolution.
Once your child has identified a resolution (or two), help them go about making a plan to follow through with their goal. Here’s where you’ll want to guide them to make the resolution both attainable and timely. While lofty goals are the stuff that dreams are made of, a new year’s resolution should be achievable. If not, kids will miss out on the intrinsic reward of personal growth and the sense of accomplishment associated with following through with something. In that regard, it could be helpful to establish incremental steps to help your child tackle a larger goal.
Outdoor-based resolutions
There’s no shortage of options for New Year’s resolutions for kids who love the outdoors. Maybe just getting outdoors more this year is resolution enough! There is also any number of hobbies and activities to inspire a child to try something new. When you are ready to broach the conversation of resolution setting, it’s helpful to have a few activities in mind to start the conversation. Activities that spark curiosity and capture a child’s imagination and creativity. Here are six ideas for New Year’s resolutions for outdoorsy kids that are tickled by the notion of exploration and adventure.
Plein Air painting
The art of painting outside is called Plein Air painting. If your child likes to express themselves through art and also loves to be outside, then leave the four walls of a room behind and try painting outdoors. Give your child a prompt like “paint what you see” or paint a specific item in nature. Then, let their creativity take hold as they sketch and paint an outdoor landscape. This is a wonderful New Year’s resolution for outdoorsy kids because it allows them to express themselves creatively while breathing in the fresh air and stimulating all the senses. Plus, painting is messy. Taking this activity outside gives them a little extra room to be as messy as they want without the dreaded clean-up of an indoor paint session.
Photography
Fun fact! Ansel Adams got his first camera when he was 12 years old. Could you imagine a world without the iconic and awe-inspiring landscape photographs snapped by Ansel Adams? A fantastic New Year’s resolution for an outdoorsy kid is to learn about photography. Learning outdoor photography can be immediately rewarding. Teaching kids at an early age how to operate a camera, compose a photo, and actually develop or print a photograph is a fun way to explore a new hobby. Not to mention, it gives kids a chance to create their own artwork to hang on a wall or gift to a friend.
If your child is interested in learning more about photography, our friend Nichole teaches a Photography 101 for Little Creatives workshop. In the workshop, Nicole shares basic photography techniques and knowledge about light, composition, and proper camera handling. She also includes 6 photography projects, such as creating a stop-motion video, completing a scavenger hunt, making a family tree, a pinhole camera, and a food photography challenge.
Journaling
Putting pencil to paper is an excellent way for kids to express themselves. Journaling need not be a diary, per se, but could be any number of things. A journal could have it’s very own theme, like gratitude or random thoughts. Or maybe a child’s journal is a place to silence an inner critic. It could serve as a place to talk about adventures taken or dream about adventures to be had. It can be for stories, drawings, observations, jokes, or funny things that happened each day. As far as New Year’s resolutions for kids go, journaling can pay off dividends given how important written communication is in school and life.
Knitting
A little known fact about knitting- it keeps your brain sharp! It helps to redirect one’s focus and exercises both sides of the brain. Besides all of those good-for-you benefits, knitting is a fun hobby for kids to pursue as a New Year’s resolution. Why? Kids will get excited about individualizing their own knitted creations. They get to make choices about the color of yarn to the length and fit of their knitted pieces. They could even make their own stuffies and blankets to decorate their rooms. These may become cherished items that comfort them throughout childhood.
If you want to combine knitting with learning about the weather and temperature outside, consider knitting (or crocheting) a temperature blanket! These are hand-made blankets where each row (or two) in the blanket is a different color, based on the temperature outside that day! It’s such a brilliant idea and really fun and colorful for those that live in areas where the temperature varies a lot. Most people follow a temperature blanket chart which tells them which colors to use, but you can also make your own chart depending on the weather/temperature in your location.
Whittling
Whittling is a cool hobby and past time that translates well beyond childhood. Carving or whittling wood doesn’t require a lot of equipment. A good Swiss Army Knife and safety gloves are really all that one needs to have fun learning the basics of whittling wood. Whittling is also a great motivator to get kids outdoors. Kids can collect twigs and tree branches while on hikes and nature walks for future whittling practice and projects. With the right safety precautions, whittling is a fun hobby to try as part of a New Year’s resolution for outdoorsy kids.
Here are a few whittling tips:
- Start with easy tasks, such as stripping bark off a stick. This stick can then be used to toast marshmallows over the campfire. Or feathering a stick that can then be used for kindling on the campfire.
- Making something comes secondary to learning how to use the knife safely and properly, so make sure you start with the basics of proper handling and care.
- Start with softer easier woods such as silver birch, alder, or sycamore.
- Use young wood that is not so dried out…but never take it off the bush or tree. Always use what you can find lying around you on the ground.
Exploring
Regardless of age, the spirit of adventure should be cultivated! If your wee ones want to get in on some fun adventuring, my son and I created Wonder Club Explorers to instill wonder and curiosity through easy and approachable character-building activities. Becoming a member of an outdoor-based activity club is a great way to stay accountable through the year for taking adventures and getting outside. This is a great new year’s resolution for outdoorsy kids that gives them lots of fun activities and adventures. Nature-loving kids can even earn patches for their adventures without the burden of fundraising and meetings. As far as New Year’s resolutions go, exploring and adventures are the stuff of which memories are made!
Making resolutions fun
The most important thing to remember about New Year’s resolutions for outdoor kids is that they should be fun! Resolutions are an opportunity to try something new, to pick up a new skill, to learn and grown. And to have fun! To help kids with their resolutions, consider finding them an accountability buddy to keep their resolution top of mind, lest it is forgotten. As this year draws to a close and we feel hopeful about better days to come, resolution setting can reap big rewards and draw outdoor-loving families even closer together. To that end and from our house to yours…
Happy New Year!
About the author
Michelle spends her days working on projects to improve the quality of life for the citizens of her community and her nights reading books to her 6 year-old about every kind of dinosaur there ever was (there are 900 validated species, in case you’re wondering). Together with her son, Michelle created Wonder Club Explorers, a company to inspire wonder and curiosity in kids. She carves out time for herself on the weekends as an early morning exerciser and metalsmith of fine jewelry. She resides in Altadena with her husband and son amongst California Oak trees and a stone’s throw of the San Gabriel Mountains.
You can find Michelle online in the following locations:
Instagram: @wonderclubexplorers
Website: www.wonderclubexplorers.co
RWMC posts: Michelle Garrett