10 Fun Ways To Celebrate The New Year At Preschool

As the New Year approaches, it’s the perfect time to celebrate with preschool children in fun and creative ways. Nothing beats a set of age-appropriate activities that will get them excited and stimulate their learning too.

Any activity at such a young age is not complete without some sensory play, singing songs, doing some crafts, and even spending time in the kitchen! All of which help them to develop and learn at the same time as having childlike fun.

1. Make a New Year’s Countdown Chain:

Teach preschoolers the concept of a countdown by creating a colorful paper chain. This helps them to visualize the idea of a countdown, while adding a playful element of color and crafting while developing fine motor skills, as well as introducing the idea of sequencing or patterns. Each link could represent either a day or an hour, counting down to the big celebration.

How to:

• Give each child a strip of paper in different colors.
• Encourage children to decorate their strips using crayons, stamps or stickers.
• Assist them in gluing the strips into loops that interlock, which will form a chain.

2. DIY Party Hats

This activity is super fun for preschool children, not only does it bring out the creative side in them, but it also teaches hand-eye coordination. No party is complete without festive hats!

Make sure you have the following materials available: Paper plates or cardboard, glue, glitter and markers, elastic bands or ribbons.

How To:

• Cut the cardboard into a cone shape or fold the paper plates into a crown shape for hats.
• Children can then use the variety of decorations to personalize their hats.
• Add elastic or ribbon to secure the hats around the chin.

3. Host a Noon Year’s Eve Party

Midnight is a little too late for a preschooler to celebrate the New Year, that’s why a “Noon Year’s Eve” is the perfect way to celebrate with your children!

How to:

• Set your clocks to strike at “noon” during the school day.
• Prepare the countdown and use confetti to celebrate.
• Add a fun touch by celebrating with a toast of juice or milk, just to make the moment extra special.

This activity is the perfect way to maintain your preschoolers’ healthy schedule, whilst also including them in the New Year fun.

4. Firework Art

Fireworks are an integral part of a New Year’s celebration. Using art, and your child’s creative mind, you can bring to life the magic of fireworks through art.

Make sure you have black or dark blue construction paper, washable paint, and toilet paper rolls cut into strips.

How to:

• Dip the ends of the cut toilet roll into the paint, then press this onto paper to create firework patterns.
• Add glitter and sparkles to bring the firework art to life.

5. Sing and Dance along to New Year’s Music

Preschoolers love to sing and move their tiny bodies, and music is the universal language of celebration. Put together a fun playlist of celebratory songs that are age-appropriate, that capture the essence of New Year’s or a countdown.

Developing motor skills has never been easier than some feel-good music and moving bodies around the room.

Some song ideas:

• Play the song “if You’re Happy and You Know It” with New Year’s-themed movements, such as clapping, stomping, or cheering.
• Use the tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” but adapt the words for New Year’s. For example, “Happy, Happy, New Year’s Day”.

6. Introduce a New Year’s Resolution Board

Teach your children early on about what the concept of a resolution is by introducing it in a fun and educational way by focusing on achievable goals, or everyday activities. It is a wonderful way of helping children to understand positive thinking and self-expression.

How to:

• Use a large poster or bulletin board
• Ask each child to share one thing they would like to learn about in the new year.
• Write each idea on a colorful piece of paper, using their own personal decorative input, and display them for the class to go through.

7. Throw a Balloon Drop Party

Similar to the idea of “waiting for the ball to drop” at New Year’s time, children can experience the same build-up of excitement by recreating the idea with actual balloons. For added fun, you can add little surprises to the balloons.

How to:

• Fill a large tablecloth with balloons and tape it up to the ceiling.
• At the designated New Year’s moment, release the balloons for children to catch and play with.
• Use a variety of different colors and patterns to stimulate their creative minds and encourage their imaginations!

8. Read New Year Themed Books

Use this interactive activity to wind down your child’s New Year’s day, while highlighting the excitement of the celebration in a calm and relaxing way.

• Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution by Pat Miller
• The Night Before New Year’s By Natasha Wing
• Happy New Year, Spot! By Eric Hill

Reading books is perfect for language development, comprehension skills, and encouraging communication.

9. Create Amazing Time Capsules

What is a more wonderful way to celebrate, than for parents to preserve their child’s memories? This activity is not only fun for preschoolers but is also the perfect keepsake for moms and dads. Teach your kids about the concept of time and the value of special things.

You could try to explain to your children that they are precious to you through this activity too.

How to:

• Provide decorative bags that children can customize with glitter and stickers.
• Encourage children to include drawings, photos, or even a handwritten note about their favorite memories.
• Store away in a sealed container to open the next New Year’s celebration.

10. Cook a New Year’s Dinner

Cooking and baking are an excellent way of developing motor skills, learning math concepts such as measurements, and experiencing bonding time with parents and other family members. With preschoolers, you will need to grab them a stool or something to stand on so that they can see what’s going on.

Make sure you keep them far enough away from hot stoves or ovens to avoid burning hands!

How To:

Ask children to help with measuring ingredients, stirring and mixing, and dishing into trays.

• Provide edible decorative sprinkles and sparkles for children to use on their baked goodies.
• Encourage tasting of the ingredients to ignite their taste buds.

Once completing these creative treats, you can celebrate with your family and friends with a lovely New Year’s dinner. End off the day talking about your favorite parts, and what you’d like to do again next year!

Commitment To Early Childhood Development At Coconut Creek Preschool

At Providence Children’s Academy, we strike the perfect balance between structure and the necessity of free play for early childhood development.

Give us a call today at 954-570-6914 to learn more or take our virtual tour here!