Homeschool Planning Ideas for January
Looking for some fun learning ideas for January? I have a list for you! Here you’ll find a collection of resources to help you plan your homeschool activities and learning in January.
I’ve included links to articles containing unit study ideas, fun holidays, and famous January birthdays. You’ll also discover bucket list ideas, journal prompts, and art prompts, and more.
In addition, you’ll see links to helpful articles related to new year planning.
Bookmark this page for reference and come back each year for new ideas!
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January Unit Study Ideas: Fun Holidays
Each month has designated awareness holidays, and these can be a great way to introduce your kids to a new experience or get them to try something new. They can also be used to spend additional time focused on a particular area of interest.
Here’s my list of unit study ideas to incorporate in your homeschool in January.
What Can I Learn Today: January Homeschool Ideas
This article offers suggestions for learning topics related to that month. Use the specific suggestions given, or research additional people or topics in a particular category.
You can expose your kids to books, music, poetry, people, and careers they might not otherwise encounter, just through choosing a few to read about or watch a quick video on each month.
The learning suggestions are grouped in the following categories:
- Read Aloud Book Suggestions
- Movie/Book Combos
- Poetry
- Classical Music
- Quotes
- Artists (birthdays in January)
- Athletes (birthdays in January)
- Authors (birthdays in January)
- Composers (birthdays in January)
- Engineers (birthdays in January)
- Inventors (birthdays in January)
- Presidents (birthdays in January)
- Scientists (birthdays in January)
- Interesting People (birthdays in January)
- Unusual Occupations (cold weather related)
- Animals (cold weather related)
- Plants (seasonal related)
- World Landmarks
- Games
- Crafts
- Study Skills
January Fun Learning Ideas
Each category can open up discussion of history, science, art, entrepreneurship, relationships, and the list goes on. The categories I chose to use this year are as follows.
- birthday of the month
- invention of the month
- country of the month
- life skill of the month
- character trait of the month
January Country Study – France
These mini-unit studies covering 12 different countries are a great way to expose your kids to the beauty and culture of countries around the world.
Using video, engaging books, games, and maps, kids of all ages can get a taste of the uniqueness of different cultures, along with understanding our fundamental similarities as humans.
Try out a sample of France from my free resource library. You can purchase the full pack of 12 countries from my Etsy shop.
January Bucket Lists
Bucket lists are one of my favorite lists to make. I also love to read what’s on other people’s bucket lists! Here is a list of ideas for your January Bucket List.
January Prompts for Three Things Thursday
If you use a Three Things Thursday prompt in your classroom or homeschool as part of a morning meeting discussion or individual writing activity, here is a list of prompts to consider for January.
January Motivation for Kids
Each month’s quote comes from a famous historical person who was born in that month. I’ve included resources for further learning, and conversation ideas around that person’s life or ideas.
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.”
Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader and activist (Born January 15, 1929)
Resources to learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.? by Bonnie Bader
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Facts & Worksheets from KidsKonnect
- I Have a Dream Speech (YouTube – Rare Facts)
Conversation about Martin Luther King, Jr.
What do you think Dr. King meant by this? (Don’t be discouraged if you haven’t accomplished a big goal, or feel that your contributions aren’t significant. Every small step toward a positive outcome is great. Sometimes it takes years of small steps to accomplish the great thing.)
January Fun Journal Prompts
Each day prompts for a list of three things. The first prompt of each month is “3 things you’re thankful for.” This is a gratitude exercise to get them in a mindset of remembering to be thankful. Then at the end of each month is a prompt for “3 favorite things about this month.” The purpose of this is to urge them to reflect upon what brings them joy or delight.
January Art Prompts
These simple drawing prompts are a low-key way to encourage students to create a habit of sketching and drawing.
How to Use the Prompts
First, decide on how frequently you want to use them. Daily, weekly, or even monthly if you prefer.
Next, decide on the size you will recommend. My favorite way to do this is in small 1-1/2 inch square boxes, requiring students to keep their drawing simple. You may wish to limit the size to 3 inch squares or a 5.5″x 8.5″ half-letter page size.
Finally, decide on the allowed art supplies. The simplest form is to allow only pencil sketches. My preference is to allow colored pencils so kids who love color can let their creativity shine.
Suggestions for using these simple drawing prompts:
- bell-ringer activity
- daily or weekly sketch practice
- year-long creative project to save as a keepsake
- activity during read-aloud times
- early finish activity
15 Simple Art Prompts for January
- snowflake
- mug
- sled
- hat
- cat
- clock
- yarn
- mountain
- pinecone
- sweater
- snowman
- scarf
- steps
- fir tree
- bread
You can also download a full school year’s worth of 180 prompts to make this a daily activity or choose your favorites and make this a weekly activity.
January Activity and Daily Checklist
January is the perfect month to think about goal-setting. You’ll find a download in my resource library for a Happy New Year printable your kids can use to think about the upcoming year.
In my Etsy shop, I also have a complete set of monthly themed checklists with an activity for each month. The January activity is this Happy New Year page. For even more goal setting, check out my set of goal setting pages to help your kids break down their big goals for the year.
January 30-Day Challenge
30-day challenges are highly popular in the health and fitness arena. You can pick pretty much any exercise and make a 30-day challenge of it. In the healthy eating realm, cutting out junk food, sugar, or soda is common.
Beyond the physical challenges, though, you can find challenges inspiring you to spend time cultivating a hobby, decluttering your home, or learning something new.
Try one of these 30-Day Challenges in January:
no added sugar challenge OR no declutter challenge
For a list of 25 challenge ideas, read 30-Day Challenges to Try This Year.
January Character Trait Study
Given the tendency for many to make resolutions and work on healthy habits in January, it seems an appropriate month to focus on self-discipline.
Find suggestions for books, movies, video content, activities and more to encourage self-discipline this month in my Character Counts series.
Character Counts: Encouraging Self-Discipline
January Fruit of the Spirit Study
January’s fruit of the spirit character lesson focus is on kindness. Encourage your teen to discover what the Bible has to say about kindness with scripture references and questions for reflection.
January Encouraging Proverb
January is often a time of reflection. This verse reveals the truth about what we see in our life, good or bad. Spend a little time feeding your heart truth from the word of God about his deep love and care for our children, his power to work in their lives, and his ultimate good plan for them.
As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.
Proverbs 27:19
Download a free list of proverbs to cover the whole school year from my resource library.
January Pray Around the World Country List
To pray for every country in one year, you’ll need to pray for 16-17 countries each month. I’ve assigned the countries alphabetically to each month of the year. However, by praying for one country every weekday you can actually cover every country over the course of a school year if your summers are hectic and you prefer to organize it that way.
You can download my free calendar for January to pray for countries of the world, along with a few questions for your kids to learn a little bit more about a country of their choice.
January Focus Word
Perfect to use on a bulletin board or other display board, my set of monthly focus words provides one word to reflect on and prioritize each month of the year. Visit the free resource library to download your free printable pack of 12 words.
January Scripture Card
If one of your goals is to memorize more scripture this year, try using my monthly scripture cards to memorize twelve Bible verses over the course of the year. The scripture word of the month for January is “acceptable,” and the verse comes from Psalm 19:14.
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
At the beginning of the year, it seems appropriate to reflect on whether our words and heart thoughts are acceptable in the sight of our God. That doesn’t mean we try to hide our thoughts from God—that’s impossible—but rather that we confess and ask for his help in controlling our words and directing our deepest thoughts and desires to align with his will for us.
You can download a set of twelve scripture cards from my free resource library and begin to memorize Psalm 19:14 this month.
Additional January Resources for Homeschool Moms
Encourage Your Kids in January
Write them a note describing what they mean to you and how proud you are of them.
You may want to start a special notebook or journal just for writing down encouraging notes to your child. Whenever you see them do a kind deed or observe a positive character trait, write it down. Ask grandparents or other friends and family members to write special notes to include in the journal as well.
Another option is to delight your kids with impromptu, everyday notes. Post a sticky note on their desk, on a mirror, or tucked in a book they’re reading.
JANUARY ENCOURAGEMENT FOR YOUR KIDS: Written words of encouragement
If you’d rather choose a different way of encouraging your kids in January, read this article: 10 Practical Ways to Encourage Your Kids This Year
Fun Online Games for January
If your kids love games, there are a lot of opportunities for them to learn while they play! Choose a game of the month for them to try out—or have the whole family play either collaboratively or competitively.
JANUARY ONLINE GAME: Oh h1
Pick your own game for January from my list of 50 Fun Online Games for Students.
Life Skills Focus for January
Every so often, I encounter something that I thought my kids knew how to do…but they definitely do not. To make sure we’re covering a variety of life skills, I like to focus on one or two things each month.
JANUARY LIFE SKILLS FOCUS: Time management
Under time management skills, I would include things like knowing how to use a calendar, working on estimating how long a task will take, and making sure to be ready to leave the house on time for appointments, practices, classes.
You can read my extensive list of life skills to teach your kids if you want ideas of more specific tasks to tackle in January: 140 Essential Life Skills to Prepare Your Teen for Adulthood.
Helpful Blog Posts to Read in January
January Homeschool Planning & Routines
The possibilities really are endless. If your kids are interested in nature, plan to incorporate a mini-unit study of one plant or tree each month. Try listening to a specific type of music each month, trying out a new game, recipe or podcast every month of the year.
This collection of ideas is intended to provide inspiration only. Obviously, there are far more activities and learning opportunities than you could fit into one month. Pick and choose a few things that sound fun to you or your kids and see what sparks interest in them.
Visit my homeschool resources page for monthly unit study ideas, projects, and homeschool planning help!
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How to Homeschool in January
