New Skills in the New Year for Kids

As we start a new year, it's a great time to empower kids to build new skills, whether hands-on or in the social-emotional realm. Perhaps your child wants to start computer coding or learn to cook, or they might want to try all sorts of different activities. Check out these "how to" books for some ideas.

My First Coding Book introduces basic concepts of coding that don't even need a computer. 

For a clear and simple intro to making tasty food in the kitchen, try 1, 2, 3 Cook! This kids' cookbook includes great tips for learning beginning cooking skills that will last a lifetime.

Try a variety of new activities as a family. The Ultimate At-Home Activity Guide includes more than 100 ideas covering topics such as "make stuff," "play with your food" and "get silly" that will keep everyone entertained.

Or maybe you want to help your child develop new abilities to overcome social-emotional obstacles. Try some of these titles if you want to help them increase their resilience, improve problem-solving skills and build confidence.

In Not Yet, Yeti, there are so many new things to try, and Yeti might not be great at everything... yet. With some extra support from friends or family, Yeti learns to keep trying and develops a positive outlook on new challenges.

But what about when those challenges get too frustrating? In Jabari Tries, a young boy wants to build a new invention but gets angry when it doesn't work. Trying a new way to calm himself down and remembering people who inspire him helps Jabari realize that he can ask for help to achieve his goal.

In How to Be a Lion, Leonard (a gentle lion) and Marianne (a poetic duck) become best friends. When a group of fierce lions bullies them for being different, it takes quiet confidence and self-awareness for the pair to confront the expectations that there is only one way to be a lion. On the contrary, Leonard and Marianne make a compelling case for independent thinking and being just who you are.

What new skills will you and your kids build this new year?