“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”
–Willie Nelson
Gratitude is a skill that must be taught to children and developed over time. We have a bunch of activities on this page to help your child to develop their understanding of gratitude while having a lot of fun.
Gratitude Sticky Notes--We do this in the winter and spring but you could do it anytime of year. Grab some fun sticky notes (they have many shapes and colors now) and each night have everyone at the table write one thing they are thankful for. You can invite guests to your house to do the same when they come over. We stick our notes all over the dining room window and it is fun to see the windows get COVERED in blessings and thanksgivings.
Gratitude Walk--Take a walk as a family and as you walk you can each think about what you are grateful for. Have you and your children observe things in nature to be grateful for. You can all call them out as you notice them or save them to share with a snack at the end of your walk or at a half way point.
Gratitude Scavenger Hunt–This great activity is from Let’s Get Together. My kids and I are planning to do it as a photo scavenger hunt but you do not have to. This simple activity encourages EVERYONE in the family to look closely for the blessings all around them. Click Here to head to their site so you can print out your own Scavenger Hunt.
Learning Through Stories--Reading stories is a WONDERFUL way to teach children about gratitude. We have a bunch of great books that help children to learn the importance of gratitude and thanksgiving. Click on the photo above to check out our list of books for teaching gratitude.
The Gratitude Game--We played this fun Gratitude Game from Teach Beside Me, last year at our Kids in Service meetings. I made our game out of colored popsicle sticks and it was a lot of fun to play with the seniors at the nursing home. You could keep this game by your dining room table and play during family meal times.
Gratitude Conversation Starters--These FREE Gratitude Conversation Starters by Creative Family Fun will be perfect for family meal times. I just printed out a set and cut them up and put the papers in a glass mason jar. I am so excited to use these as conversation starters to help continue to develop my children’s gratitude practice. There are twenty conversation starters in all and can be used again and again throughout the year.
Kids in Service 