Teaching kids to be grateful isn’t always easy. These three activities give them a very visual and fun way to understand what gratitude is, and to share what they are grateful for. You don’t need to save these for Thanksgiving time.
Gratitude Tree Materials
So first we made this awesome gratitude tree that I saw on Pinterest. You just put branches in a vase, cut out leaves from card stock, punch a hole and loop around the twine — then you’re ready to ask your kids what they are thankful for. Write down their responses and then have the kids hang their leaves up on the branches. I loved the answers I got that ranged from silly to honest to really sweet. You can fill up the tree all at once, or easily add a couple leaves each day until your tree is full. If you’re doing this at Thanksgiving time it can be nice to keep this tree up over the holidays.
Charitable Drive
One way for kids to feel more grateful is to help those who are less fortunate; our project was to collect cans for the food bank, though clothes or toys are other options. The key thing is that the kids come with you to make the drop-off. The food bank we went to encouraged us to take a tour, and it was just a great reminder — for all of us — not to take things for granted.
Gratitude Scavenger Hunt
This is my favorite. Start with a list of things for which you’re thankful, then set out to find them and snap a photo of each. This is such a tangible way to help kids appreciate and take stock of all they have!
