Happy New Year!

Wishing, Being, and Dreaming Into the New Year

Happy New Year! I hope the year ahead brings joy, safety, and plenty of opportunities for your family to learn and grow together. The past few days I’ve been reflecting on memories — photos, keepsakes, and small moments from the year gone by. Today, thanks to a thoughtful comment from by a friend, I’m turning my focus forward.

It suggested to think about New Year Resolutions in a different way. Instead of the usual “to do” lists, it encourages us to write “to be” lists, focusing on who we want to become rather than just what we want to accomplish.

Inspired by that I started my list: be grateful, be joyful, be patient, be kind, and so on. And then I thought, maybe I should be more intentional, name the ways in which I can be grateful, kind, joyful and so on.

• Be grateful for the wonderful life I have here with my beloved Robin.

• Be joyful when I wake up, blessed to be well enough to enjoy another day.

• Be patient with myself, with my writing, with my tasks each day.

• Be kind to myself, others, all living creatures.

• Be thankful we are able to buy and eat wholesome nutritious food.

• Be excited to be around my awesome grandchildren.

• Be loving and attentive to my body.

I love this idea because it ties beautifully into another New Year tradition we used to do when homeschooling our children: the Wish Poster (or Wish Box). Far from whimsical, creating a wish poster or box is a powerful way to set the tone for the year ahead.

Every year, we took time to name our hopes and dreams, reflect on what might be holding us back, and consider small changes in our habits or behaviours that could help those wishes come true. We usually made a colourful poster on a large piece of paper, each of us adding words or drawings. We allowed any wish at all, even the most ridiculous.

I remember writing out a very ambitious list early in our homeschooling adventure and a decade or so later finding it in one of our old scrapbooks. Imagine my surprise when I noticed that most of our wishes had actually come true! I should add a caveat here — only the realistic ones. Winning the lotto, albeit a possibility more than a probability, never did. Some had taken years to eventuate. I honestly believe that the simple act of recording our wishes, naming our goals in this way, helped to shape our behaviour towards ensuring we’d achieve them.

When we first began making our wish posters I soon learned which wishes were most important to me, and worked out why. There were many things I did in life that actually got in the way of those wishes coming true. From recording and talking about my wishes I was able to recognise and then act to discard distracting behaviours and activities.

If you make a wish box, you’ll need a shoe box or similar, some wrapping paper, markers, stickers, ribbon, and other decorations. Wrap the box and lid separately so it can be opened easily. Fill it with things you’ve collected over the past year, and photos and notes letters, tickets, stamps, photos — alongside images or notes representing your wishes for the coming year. I often include pictures from magazines to inspire ideas for my garden, turning the box into both a wish and an “ideas” box.

Individual family members can create their own boxes, or you can make it a family project. Allow any wish at all — even the most outrageous! The real magic comes from naming and reflecting on your wishes: it helps clarify what matters most and guides you in gently discarding habits or distractions that might stand in the way.

Another idea to help keep resolutions visible and achievable is a resolution journal. Use paper, card, or index cards to create a simple flip book — one page for each week of the year. Decorate the cover, date the pages, and write down your main resolution and why it matters to you. Throughout the year, use the journal to record successes, obstacles, ideas, or tips from friends. Seeing your resolution every day keeps it front of mind and makes small, consistent progress easier to achieve.

For homeschooling families, these activities offer even more opportunities to combine creativity with reflection and learning:

• Family brainstorming session: Discuss hopes and dreams for the year and make a collective “family wish map” on a large sheet of paper.

• Art and collage: Create visual representations of resolutions, dreams, and “to be” qualities using magazines, drawings, or photos.

• Storytelling activity: Invite each child to write or tell a short story imagining their wishes coming true.

• Goal trackers: Make charts or journals for individual goals — for reading, nature walks, creative projects, or kindness challenges.

• Mindfulness exercises: Include a weekly reflection on gratitude or personal growth as part of your homeschool routine.

Place your wish boxes, journals, and creations somewhere prominent and revisit them often. The goal isn’t perfection — it’s awareness, reflection, and gentle, ongoing progress. By combining wishes, resolutions, and “to be” intentions, we can guide our children and ourselves toward a year of thoughtful growth, creativity, and connection.

Here’s to wishing, being, and dreaming into the New Year — together!

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That’s all for now! Until next time, Beverley