New Beginnings – examples Think privately of 3 recent occasions when you began something new, such as a meal, or a holiday, or a task. B. Continue thinking about: Whether you realised at the time, ‘this is a new beginning’ Whether it felt good to be beginning those new things Whether how you feel at the start of events makes a difference to how they go, and to how you feel at the end of them Then, share your thoughts about 1, 2 and 3 with a talking partner, and discuss whether it would be good to think more about new beginnings and how to make the best of them.

New Beginnings – common? As a whole group, discuss: Was it a new beginning when you started thinking about new beginnings? Are there new beginnings happening right now in your room that you have not thought about? If so, begin making a list of them on the board. When you stopped making the list, was that a new beginning? Were there new beginnings between when you started making the list and when you finished making it? How common are new beginnings in the world, and in your own lives?

New Beginnings – small and big A. In pairs, think of 2 ‘small’ beginnings and 2 ‘big’ ones, then Write the small ones on one side of paper, labelled ‘small’, and the big ones on the other, labelled ‘big’ (Use single words or short phrases.) Write your names on the paper, and put it into the ‘ideas’ box. While you wait for everyone to finish, discuss what makes a beginning a small one and what makes it a big one. B. As a whole group, consider examples drawn out of the box at random (by chance) and see if you all agree whether they are small or big, and why.

New Beginnings – making (1) As a whole group, discuss: Isn’t every beginning new? (Find examples and reasons for what you think.) If you begin something, then stop it, then begin it again, is that a new beginning or an ‘old’ beginning? If you begin something badly, how easy is it to ‘start over’ and make a better job of it? (Find examples and reasons for what you think.) 3. How can you make beginnings better? Does it help to think better? Does it help to feel better?

New Beginnings – making (2) In pairs, discuss, decide and write on 1 piece of paper: 2 ways in which you could make a good beginning of term for yourselves, and on another piece of paper 2 ways in which the whole group could make a good beginning of term. Put your second piece of paper into the ideas box. Some of the ideas could be drawn out of the box for discussion now, and the other ideas could be discussed later.