January activity ideas, week by week

January gives you a clean calendar, snow at the window, and a handful of small, friendly days to build around: National Hot Tea Month, National Pie Day, National Puzzle Day, and Activity Professionals Week. Below is the month week by week, with one coloring page and its Story Starter for each week, two or three low-cost ideas to go with it, and a seated version of every idea.

Each coloring hour works the same way. Print the drawing in both versions, Regular and Bold. Hand out a page or two. Read the Story Starter aloud once, to the whole table, and go back to your own page. Then wait.

The month at a glance

The holidays:

• New Year's Day: Friday, January 1
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Monday, January 18
• Activity Professionals Week begins Monday, January 25. That one is yours. Week 4 has an idea for it.

Small days that work at a table:

• All month: National Hot Tea Month
• January 5: National Bird Day
• January 19: National Popcorn Day
• Thursday, January 21: Squirrel Appreciation Day
• January 23: National Handwriting Day and National Pie Day
• January 25: Burns Night, the birthday of the Scottish poet Robert Burns
• January 29: National Puzzle Day

Everything for the season is on the winter page.

Week by week

Week 1: A fresh start

Start the year with Snowflakes and butterflies, from the First Snow pack. It's a light, open page, a good one for the first week back after the holidays. Read its Story Starter: "Do you like the hush after a fresh snowfall?" To go with it, pass around a cold pack wrapped in a soft towel, so everyone can feel a little winter.

• A hot tea tasting. January is National Hot Tea Month. Brew three teas, such as black, mint, and a fruit tea, on a cart by the door. Let people walk up, taste, and vote for a favorite with a bean in a cup. Seated: bring the cart to each place, and pass the dry tea in small dishes to smell before you pour. Check diets first.
• Bird Day at the window. National Bird Day is January 5. Take a short walk to the window with a bird book and see who comes to the feeder. Seated: turn the chairs toward the window, and pass the bird book from hand to hand.
• Taking down the holidays. Make putting the decorations away a job for the group. Walk the hall together and let each person carry one ornament or bow back to the box. Seated: pass the ornaments around the table, wrap each one in tissue, and fill the box together.

Week 2: Snow days

Snowy cottage is the drawing pair at the top of this page. Print it in Regular and Bold and let each person pick. Bold has thicker lines and fewer tiny details, easier to see and easier to finish. Its Story Starter: "Did you like snow days, or were you glad when it melted?" If a story starts, the library's follow-ups keep it going: "What did you like to do when it snowed?" and "Who were you out there with?" Pass around a pair of wool mittens or a knitted scarf while you color.

If the table wants a second page, Cup of cocoa fits the week. Its Story Starter: "What belongs on top of hot cocoa: marshmallows or whipped cream?" Carry a mug of warm cocoa around the table, so everyone gets a good smell of it before the pages are done.

• Sock snowballs. Roll pairs of white socks into balls. Set a laundry basket a few steps away and take turns tossing. Count the ones that land. Seated: put the basket on a chair in the middle of the circle and toss from where you sit.
• A winter sing-along. Play a few winter songs that most people know, like "Jingle Bells," and sing the choruses together. Anyone who likes can march in place. Seated: tap the beat on the table, or shake a jingle bell tied to a ribbon.

Week 3: Popcorn, squirrels, and a day to reflect

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday, January 18. A short reading and a few songs make a simple, respectful way to mark it. Let people share what they wish.

Squirrel Appreciation Day comes on Thursday, January 21, so color Squirrel and acorns, from the Under the Oak pack. Its Story Starter: "What did you save up for, and did you get it?" A squirrel holding on to its acorns makes the question easy to ask.

• A popcorn stand and an old movie. National Popcorn Day is January 19. Set up a popcorn stand by the door, so everyone walks up for a scoop on the way in. Then dim the lights and show an old comedy. Seated: carry the scoop around and fill paper cups at each place.
• An acorn hunt. Hide a dozen acorns or wrapped candies around the room, the way a squirrel would. Send a few walkers to find them. Seated: bury them in a basket of shredded paper on the table, and search by feel.

Week 4: Handwriting, pie, a poet, and your week

National Handwriting Day is January 23. Color Swirls and a butterfly, from the Mandalas and Patterns pack. Its loops look like a page of penmanship drills. Its Story Starter: "In school, did you like practicing cursive, or was it a chore?" The follow-ups: "Was your handwriting loopy and neat, or quick and hard to read?" and "What did you write most by hand: letters, lists, or cards?" When the pages are done, ask everyone to sign theirs in their best hand.

Activity Professionals Week begins Monday, January 25. Let the table give something back. Ask anyone who'd like to color one extra page for the activity team, and pin them up in the staff room.

• Pie for Pie Day. National Pie Day is January 23, too. Set two pies on a side table and let people walk up and choose. Seated: carry both pies around and serve a slice at each place. Check diets first.
• Auld Lang Syne for Burns Night. January 25 is Robert Burns's birthday. At a Burns supper, everyone stands, joins hands, and sings "Auld Lang Syne." Sing it once more for the season. Seated: join hands from your chairs and sing.
• A puzzle that stays out. National Puzzle Day is January 29. Set a big-piece jigsaw on a side table all week, so anyone can stop by and add a piece. Seated: put a handful of pieces in a shallow tray and pass it around the table.

Ten questions for the month

Ask about, not whether. Each of these has an answer that can't be wrong. Use one a day, at lunch or at the coloring table. Read it once, then wait a little longer than feels comfortable. Most stories start after the pause.

1. What did your family do to welcome the new year?
2. Who made the best soup in your house on a cold day?
3. What did you wear to go out in the snow?
4. Which birds came to the window where you grew up?
5. What's the best way to spend a snowy afternoon?
6. Who taught you to write your name?
7. Tell me about a letter you were glad to get.
8. What pie would you bake for someone you like?
9. Tea, coffee, or cocoa: what's the best thing to sip on a cold morning?
10. What game or puzzle came out on long winter nights?

New in the library this month

First Snow is the January pack: snowflakes, a cottage, a quiet mountain. Mountain in the snow and Snowflake mandala are in it too, each with its own Story Starter. See the whole set on the First Snow pack page.