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    • beginning sounds
    • phonics
    • phonological awareness
    • read-aloud learning
    • rhyming
    • sight words
  • reading
    • books
    • comprehension
      • activating schema
      • connecting
      • inferring
      • predicting
      • questioning
      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
    • concepts of print
    • environmental print
    • fluency
    • non-fiction
    • spelling
    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
  • writing
    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
  • Activities
    • birthdays
    • cooking
      • new for us foods
    • crafts
    • foundations
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      • critical thinking
      • fine arts
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      • st. patrick’s day
      • april fool’s day
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      • teacher appreciation
      • father’s day
      • july 4th
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new year’s family interview 2.0

home / Activities / holidays / new year’s family interview 2.0
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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.ย  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 nameย  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.ย  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.ย  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.ย ย  And the binder’s staying right on our bookshelf near the kids’ (unfinished) baby books.ย  It’s bright. It’s blue. The interviews are punched and are happily resting in their permanent home.ย  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.ย ย  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:

buy now button


child writing answers to interview


buy now button



Need some more fun New Yearโ€™s ideas?

Check out:

  • New Year’s Bingo Bonanza
  • New Year’s 20 Questions
  • Easy, Affordableย New Yearโ€™s Traditions
  • New Yearโ€™s Shakers
  • Scratch Off Ticketsย 
  • New Yearโ€™s Pinterest board

Please feel free to pin this post for later!

new years interview | teachmama.com

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About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro ยท http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

Previous Post:mastering math with mini math fact cardsmastering math facts with mini flash cards
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(Itโ€™s what Rusty the ๐ŸฆŠ is currently reading.) 

Find it at your favorite bookstore or order here: https://amzn.to/3Pu3tWs

(This is my affiliate link, so when you use it, I will earn a small percentage of the sale, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using my link and supporting my small business!)

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What questions do you have about dyslexia? 

For the next few weeks leading up to my own start to the school year I am sharing a new series called โ€œDe-Mystifying Dyslexiaโ€ and I would love for you to join me! 

Follow in my stories or on the highlight above!

#dyslexia #teading  #readingteacher #raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia
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(Part 2) 

The series will be shared on IG stories, on tiktok, on the teachmama facebook page, and in the Take 5 newsletter. 

Look for the logo on social, and if you want to receive the whole thing via email, then sign up for Take5 on the link below. 

Iโ€™m really excited about this. Itโ€™s taken a long, long time to create, and the only thing I ask is that you, once viewing it all, could take 2 minutes to give me some feedback. There will be a google form on the last of the slides, at the end of the series. I thank you, I appreciate you, and I look forward to learning along with you.

Join the Take 5 list if you want this series to land in your inbox: 
https://take5.teachmama.com/

#raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia #readingteacher teachersofIG dyslexia teachreading
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Hi and thank you for your interest in watching my โ€˜de-mystifying dyslexiaโ€™ series. 

My name is Amy Mascott, and Iโ€™m a reading specialist and former high school English teacher. Iโ€™m also the creator of teachmama.com  where since 2008, Iโ€™ve helped families make meaningful connections with their kids and build bridges between home and school. 

As an educator, Iโ€™m always trying to share important informationโ€”bc I really think that when we know better, we do better. This series is part of my final project for a course Iโ€™m taking through Advancement Courses called โ€˜understanding dyslexiaโ€™. 

And as a reading teacher, I need to know all I can about this condition. What I realized is that I had a lot to learnโ€”maybe you, as a parent or teacher yourself, can also stand to learn a little bit. 

Maybe, like me, youโ€™ve grown up thinking that dyslexia was a condition where people read letters backwardsโ€”b for d or p for g? Maybe you thought, like I did, that if a person was dyslexic, they saw all of the letters jumbled together on the page? Iโ€™m here to tell you that both of those things are untrue. 

So if you would like to learn a little about dyslexiaโ€”if you would like for me to โ€˜de-mystify dyslexiaโ€™ for you, then follow along! 

(Continued on next VIDEO)

#readingteacher #teachersofIG #demystifyingdyslexia

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Oh HEEEEEYYY, @luvvie โ€” did you see that @littletroublemaker made our hallway bulletin board? ๐Ÿ˜‰โ™ฅ๏ธ

(Itโ€™s what Rusty the ๐ŸฆŠ is currently reading.) 

Find it at your favorite bookstore or order here: https://amzn.to/3Pu3tWs

(This is my affiliate link, so when you use it, I will earn a small percentage of the sale, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using my link and supporting my small business!)

#readingteacher #raiseareader #kidlit #bestbooks #linkinbio
View
Open
How can people with dyslexia learn to read? ๐Ÿค”

Here are the 3๏ธโƒฃ elements that reading instruction should contain in order to be most effective for students with dyslexiaโ€”

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #readingteacher #teachreading #dyslexiaawareness
View
Open
Lately when I find four leaf clovers, Iโ€™ve been leaving them. ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿคท๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ

So if youโ€™re in Maryland, and you happen upon a lonely, little 4-leafer with very little grass, weeds, or leaves around it, I donโ€™t know WHO tried to set you up for success.

#yougotthis #keepyoureyesopen #itsthelittlethings #kilpattyluck
View
Open
Okayโ€”how do we know if someone has dyslexia? 

Which professionas are able to make that important determination? 

โ–ถ๏ธ Watch to find out. 

Hit me with the questions you still have about dyslexiaโ€”and know we have a few more posts to go!

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #teachreading #readingteachersofig
View
Open
What are some of the common signs of dyslexia?

Watch to learn and find out!

#demystifyingdyslexia #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading #dyslexia
View
Open
True โœ… or false โŒ?

#demystifyingdyslexia #dyslexiaeducation #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading
View
Open
What do you know about dyslexia? 

What questions do you have about dyslexia? 

For the next few weeks leading up to my own start to the school year I am sharing a new series called โ€œDe-Mystifying Dyslexiaโ€ and I would love for you to join me! 

Follow in my stories or on the highlight above!

#dyslexia #teading  #readingteacher #raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia
View
Open
(Part 2) 

The series will be shared on IG stories, on tiktok, on the teachmama facebook page, and in the Take 5 newsletter. 

Look for the logo on social, and if you want to receive the whole thing via email, then sign up for Take5 on the link below. 

Iโ€™m really excited about this. Itโ€™s taken a long, long time to create, and the only thing I ask is that you, once viewing it all, could take 2 minutes to give me some feedback. There will be a google form on the last of the slides, at the end of the series. I thank you, I appreciate you, and I look forward to learning along with you.

Join the Take 5 list if you want this series to land in your inbox: 
https://take5.teachmama.com/

#raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia #readingteacher teachersofIG dyslexia teachreading
View
Open
Hi and thank you for your interest in watching my โ€˜de-mystifying dyslexiaโ€™ series. 

My name is Amy Mascott, and Iโ€™m a reading specialist and former high school English teacher. Iโ€™m also the creator of teachmama.com  where since 2008, Iโ€™ve helped families make meaningful connections with their kids and build bridges between home and school. 

As an educator, Iโ€™m always trying to share important informationโ€”bc I really think that when we know better, we do better. This series is part of my final project for a course Iโ€™m taking through Advancement Courses called โ€˜understanding dyslexiaโ€™. 

And as a reading teacher, I need to know all I can about this condition. What I realized is that I had a lot to learnโ€”maybe you, as a parent or teacher yourself, can also stand to learn a little bit. 

Maybe, like me, youโ€™ve grown up thinking that dyslexia was a condition where people read letters backwardsโ€”b for d or p for g? Maybe you thought, like I did, that if a person was dyslexic, they saw all of the letters jumbled together on the page? Iโ€™m here to tell you that both of those things are untrue. 

So if you would like to learn a little about dyslexiaโ€”if you would like for me to โ€˜de-mystify dyslexiaโ€™ for you, then follow along! 

(Continued on next VIDEO)

#readingteacher #teachersofIG #demystifyingdyslexia

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