Creative ways to help your children think about and act on thankfulness.

Creative ways to help your children think about and act on thankfulness. 

Give thanks in all circumstances;

 for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thess 5:18

1. Thankful Cards/Activities
Here is a cute activity I found on the internet. It has little cards you can print out.  Each card has something to be  thankful for & an action to do as a result of being thankful. There is a verse with each card too. It could be fun to do some of them between now and Thanksgiving.  Thank you Hubbards Cupboard for the great resource. 


http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/Thanksgiving_Countdown_Activity_Cards-_activities_without_numerals.pdf

2. Thankful Turkeys
My girls and I made Thanksgiving turkeys for grandparents.  We brainstormed reasons why we were thankful for each person.  Each household gets a turkey.  We wrote on one feather who we were thankful for and on the other feathers, they wrote (or will write) the reasons they are thankful.  It is still not complete because we have been sick this week, but here is a picture so you can get an idea.  (The sticky notes are what the girls said.  I wrote the words for each feather so they could know what to write.  We use this for our copy work/handwriting in school.)

 

3.  Thankful books
Each morning as we start our day, the girls add one thing to their thankful book that they are thankful for.  They write it and illustrate it.  I made the book and would be happy to share the word document, but I don't have a way to upload it here.  (Or at least I don't see one.)  If you would like to have the document to print a book, comment on the link and I will email you the document.  (As long as I can figure out how!)

 

 

4. Good books

 We are reading Little House In the Big Woods by Laura Ingles Wilder.  It is amazing to hear that the children got only a pair of mittens and a candy cane for Christmas.  My children have been made aware that not all people live in homes with many toys.  It has brought on some interesting discussions about what we have, and how we can bless others.  In preparation for Thanksgiving, we have also read Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life or a Pilgrim Girl, Samuel Eaton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy, Tapenum's Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times all written by Kate Waters.  It has helped my children gain a little perspective on other types of lifestyles out there and how many luxuries we take for granted.