November is National Gratitude Month! It’s the perfect time of year to remember as a family all of the wonderful things that you are thankful for. Showing gratitude can help shift our focus from the negative to the positive factors in our lives. It can also help decrease the stress we feel, improve our happiness, strengthen our patience and encourage us to become more giving. Gratitude also reminds us that we are all part of several different teams and that we must all work together to succeed. These teams bring us together and help us develop sincere respect for each other. Finding ways to encourage scholars, and ourselves, to develop a deeper sense of gratitude will only benefit us all in the long run.
In honor of National Gratitude Month, here are a few tips that parents can consider to inspire their children to show gratitude:
Gratitude Jar
Invite your scholars to decorate a medium to large size glass jar, this will be your official gratitude jar. Then, help your scholars cut several pieces of paper and leave a small stack next to the jar. Once the materials are prepared, invite all members of the family to think about some of the things they are thankful for. Ask them to write what they are thankful for on the pieces of paper and put the paper inside of the jar. Inspire your scholars to be mindful of the people, things, and experiences that they are thankful for throughout their daily schedules. Encourage them to write down the things they are thankful for as it comes to mind. They can choose to share with their parents, while they write or they can choose to keep it anonymous. At the end of November, consider taking time as a family to read aloud all of the notes inside of your gratitude jar to learn about all of the wonderful things your family is thankful for.
Read Books About Giving Thanks
As we previously shared, reading aloud with your scholars is an important part of helping them build language and literacy. There are countless children’s books that parents can read aloud with their scholars to help them learn about being thankful. Reading books as a family about being grateful can spark conversation and give parents the perfect opportunity to share the importance of being thankful, with their children. Listed below are a few popular children’s books that focus on giving thanks:
- Thanks a Million, poems by Nikki Grimes
- The Blankful Heart, by Mr. Meus
- The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein
- The Thankful Book, by Todd Parr
- I’m Thankful Each Day, by P.K. Hallinan
Create a Donation Jar
Invite your scholars to choose a jar or maybe even their piggy bank to be used as a donation jar. Then, encourage your children to show gratitude through a variety of kind actions, words, and deeds. Each time your children demonstrate gratitude, parents can put money in the designated donation jar. Perhaps they held a door for someone, or they offered to help cook because they are thankful for their food. At the end of the month, consider counting all of the money inside of the donation jar as a family, then donate all of the money in the jar to the charity of your choice to help others who are in need. Parents can use this activity to inspire their children to show thanks for what they have by giving to others who may be less fortunate.
Volunteer
Giving back to your local community through volunteering is a great way to inspire children to show gratitude. Consider spending time as a family giving back to your community by joining a local organization or creating your own volunteer projects. Parents can encourage their children to clean up a local park, help serve food at a shelter, donate clothes that they have outgrown to other children and many other volunteer initiatives. Volunteering can inspire children to take action and improve the quality of life in their local communities. Parents can use volunteering to inspire their children to work hard and be grateful for all that they have in their lives.
Write in Gratitude Journals
Just like reading, writing is another critical skill that children learn as they grow. During National Gratitude Month, invite your scholars to choose a special notebook to write in. They can choose to decorate their notebook and even choose a special pen to write with. Once the materials are prepared, encourage your scholars to write in their journals once a day to reflect on all of the things and people that they are thankful for. They can write about something new in their journal each day. This activity is a great way for parents to help their children practice their writing, spelling, grammar and reading skills. But most importantly, it’s a great way for children to reflect and give thanks for all the great friends, family and materials that they have in their lives.
Write Thank-You Notes
Another great way for children to practice their writing skills is through thank-you notes. This activity is a good way for children to express gratitude for others. Consider inviting your scholars to write a thank-you note to their family members, or neighbors to express gratitude for their kind actions, words or deeds. Parents can even use this activity to help their younger scholars learn how to write and send letters. Scholars will have the opportunity to practice their writing and reflect on the people that they are thankful for. Children who are able to express gratitude are often more likely to feel confident, happy and content.
Decorate a Thanksgiving Tree
This is a great hands-on activity for scholars of all ages to do with their families. Invite your children to show gratitude by creating a 3-D Thanksgiving Tree. You will need to gather the following supplies:
- Colored paper
- Colored pencils or crayons
- Scissors
- 4-6 skinny tree branches or sticks
- A tall vase
- Glue or tape
Then, once all of the materials have been prepared, place the tree sticks into the tall vase and set it aside for later. Then, ask your scholars to use the scissors and cut the colored paper into several leaf shapes. (Tip: Consider helping your scholars by tracing the shape of leaves before they begin to cut.) Next, invite your scholars to use the colored pencils or crayons to write on each leaf something that they are thankful for. This is a great opportunity to talk with your scholars about the meaning of gratitude and the importance of being thankful. Now, help your scholars place a small drop of glue on the back of each leaf. Before the glue starts to dry, ask your scholars to stick the leaf onto one of the tree branches sitting in the vase until all of the leaves have been stuck onto the branches. Once all of the leaves are on you and your scholar will have fully decorated Thanksgiving tree that can be used as a table centerpiece or displayed as decoration to help remind your scholar of all the wonderful things that they are thankful for.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Compass Charter Schools (CCS) is a WASC-accredited virtual charter school that serves families throughout California. Interested in learning more about CCS’ flexible academic programs? Visit our website, or contact our enrollment team at enrollment@compasscharters.org or (877) 506-8631.