It’s been a post-holiday whirlwind of Wii, Legos, and new games around here, so our Winter Break has literally flown by. With my husband’s early-week knee surgery keeping us pretty much under our own roof, it’s unbelievable to me that the week has already passed, not to mention all of 2010.
We rocked New Year’s Eve here at our house, with a family fondue dinner and sparkling cider, and today we completed year #2 of our New Year’s Family Interviews.
It seems like we did our first New Year’s Family Interviews just yesterday, but it was–to be exact–356 days ago.
New Year’s Family Interviews:
The concept is really simple, but it’s one that–I really believe–is worth the teeny bit of time it takes.
The New Year’s Family Interview is just an interview that each person in the family completes on New Year’s Day (or as close to it as possible).
And the idea is that each person answers the questions and then reads through last year’s answers to see how his or her tastes and ideas have changed over time.
To try for yourself, the New Year’s Family Interview is here to download as a pdf. I have included six blank spaces for family members, with two people to a sheet.
Maddy works on her interview questions. . .
The questions are the same as last year (which is the point, I suppose!), and they include a spot for everyone to write their own name because I love how signatures change over time.
Questions about the year–Who is your teacher? How old are you?–are mixed with questions about favorites, friends, and memories.
. . . and Owen works on his.
The New Year’s Family Interview includes questions like:
- What is your favorite toy?
- What is your favorite food?
- How do you like to spend your time?
- What is your favorite book?
- Who is your best friend?
The last two questions, What did you love about last year? and What do you look forward to this year?, are the only ones that require a bit more thought. I wanted this to be low-stress and quick with basic questions that would just give us a snapshot of each person.
This year was the year of Maddy being able to read the questions and write all of the answers by herself (wow!), Owen writing some of his, and just a silly, silly Cora. Owen’s answers again were quick, without a whole lot of thought, while Maddy pined over hers. Cora answered whatever she thought would make Maddy and Owen laugh, with a bunch of them focusing on boogies or bananas.
Next year, we’ll try to do the interviews separately and then compare answers. . .
Truth be told, I cannot–for the life of me!–find last year’s completed New Year’ s Family Interviews, and I’m (grrrr) totally and completely frustrated at my own over-organization. I’m sure they’re somewhere safe, where they’d never be lost, where we’d be sure to find them every. single. year.
I just cannot find that place.
So rather than stew on it–I’m really not stewing –I picked up a binder especially for the New Year’s Family Interviews. And the binder’s staying right on our bookshelf near the kids’ (unfinished) baby books. It’s bright. It’s blue. The interviews are punched and are happily resting in their permanent home. Never to be lost.
So that’s it–goodbye to one year and hello to a new year, a New Year filled with tons of exciting adventures to be had, lessons to be learned, and memories to be made. Let’s make it a great one!
Here’s to a happy, healthy, peaceful year filled with love, laughter, and time together!
Do you want to buy the New Year’s Family Interview:
Need some more fun New Year’s ideas?
Check out:
- New Year’s Bingo Bonanza
- New Year’s 20 Questions
- Easy, Affordable New Year’s Traditions
- New Year’s Shakers
- Scratch Off Tickets
- New Year’s Pinterest board
Please feel free to pin this post for later!
mastering math facts with mini flash cards