How to organize your calendar for 2023?

A new year and new ideas! Even the greatest ideas are nothing if they are not well organized and marked down.

• Brainstorm with the team

When thinking of activities and events for the coming year, it would be nice if every member of staff had something to look forward to. A good system is to brainstorm together with your team and think of what everyone would like to include for the coming term.

It would be great if everyone said their own ideas out loud, this way every staff member gets a chance to participate equally and bring out their individual interests and strengths.

Maybe one teacher loves puppet theater and wants to organize a puppet show for children on Valentine's day? Or one is eager to bake with the children and would like to organize a cake buffet at the kindergarten for all the families to enjoy? Whatever the teacher's personal passion, it can surely be adjusted to your early education center's plan!

Kindiedays Lesson Plans support all learning areas!

• Ask from families

It is also nice to ask for ideas from the families, about what would they like to see during spring term 2023. Perhaps they would be eager to join a theme week of professions? Some parents could prepare a short presentation and tell about their own work for the children.

• Find out children's wishes

And of course, also children's wishes need to be included! Organize for example a "children's meeting" where you go through the agenda for 2023 and write down ideas that come from children. Or have a crafting session so that every group makes their "dream board" full of activities and things they would love to have in their preschool or kindergarten.

Perhaps children would love to have a pajama day? Or go to see a concert? Disco party? Children surely are full of ideas once they get to share them.

• Mark down yearly celebrations

Every season brings also yearly celebrations along, which can be included in your preschool's calendar. Depending on traditions, seasons, and cultures, the traditions may vary between schools a lot. It is a smart idea to combine celebrations from different cultures into your preschool's calendar so that children learn about diversity.

Here are some examples of celebrations during the first months of 2023:

January

• Three Kings Day / Epiphany (6.1.)
• Orthodox Christmas (7.1.)
• Lunar New Year, year of the rabbit (22.1.)
• Vasant Panchami (26.1.)

February

• Maghi-Purnima (5.2.)
• St. Valentine's Day (14.2.)
• Shrove Tuesday / Mardi Gras (21.2.)

March

• St. Patrick's Day (17.3.)
• Ramadan begins (23.3.)

April

• Easter (9.4.)
• Eid al-Fitr (21.4.)
• International Earth Day (22.4.)

May

• May Day (1.5.)
• Mother's Day (14.5.)

How to improve your preschool in a smart way?

Once you have all the lovely ideas and eager spirit to get to work, do not forget to set the dates! Take a calendar and mark down every event you have agreed on organizing with your staff, families, and children. You can agree on every event's date already until the end of term so that you make sure all the activities will be included and also so that families know about them well before.

Families surely appreciate it if you share a calendar of events with them, so everyone can mark down if something special is happening at the preschool or preparations are needed.

This way creating a calendar for 2023 is a fun project that the entire school community can be included in! It is great that as well as children and staff, but also families know a bit beforehand what is going to happen and children are eager to see when is the event that they proposed on having.

Happy planning!

And Happy New Year 2023!