Winter solstice falls on a different day each year but is normally around the 21st – 23rd December. Being here in Scotland I really notice the long winters nights. Come the solstice, I will have around six hours and 58 minutes of daylight, with the sun rising at 8.42am and setting at 3.40pm. This generally means starting and ending my work day in darkness. So, embracing the darker days and the return of the sun really is something to celebrate!
Activity
Take the children outside at the start of the school day and ask how they feel. The dark can make some children, and adults uncomfortable. Explore why it is darker. Do your children understand? When do they think days will be longer again.
As you talk about longer days, this is a wonderful time to start looking towards what is coming. With the coming of light we can also celebrate the coming of the new year, our hopes and our dreams.
Encourage children to think of what their wish for the new year could be. You can have a think as well. Write the wish down. Once wishes are written, fold them up, ask the children to write their name on the outside (you may even pop it into an envelope) then put them away. Come Midsummer, in June, you can then reopen your wishes to see what progress has been made before the end of the academic year.
Older and Younger Children
Writing rules which are appropriate for your children should be used. They may be presentation, grammar, spelling or punctuation. This is a writing exercise and should be treated as such with the current aims and targets you are working on.