BEING THANKFUL

BEING THANKFUL Being thankful is an abstract term and many children may not totally understand it’s meaning. At Thanksgiving and other times, it is best to ask children things like – “What do you like” “What makes you happy” “What are you most glad to have” When the child responds to your question, then you can broaden their vocabulary by taking their answer and including it in a sentence using the word “thankful”. “Mary is thankful for _____ and _____.”   You can also model this emotion by expressing things you yourself are thankful for everyday.   “I’m so thankful it is sunny today, so we can go outside and play”.

THANKFUL BOOKS Have your children make small books showing things they are “Happy to Have”. Give each child four half-size pieces of paper. Have children draw a picture on each paper of something they are happy to have. Help children add covers and staple the pages together. Write “I Am Thankful for……” on the cover of each book. Children can decorate the covers of their books if they wish.

THANKFUL FEATHERS Cut out some colorful paper feathers. Have each child come up and tell something (he/she) is glad to have.Write the child’s response on the feather along with their name. Let your children glue their feathers on a large wall mounted paper turkey.

THANK YOU CARDS Model for your child by writing “Thank You” cards to others. Tell your child how thankful you are for something the person did or gave to you. When your child receives something from someone else, encourage them to make and send a “Thank you Note” to the person.  Teachers can have their whole class participate in a class “thank you card” to a persons who has helped their class in some way.