We obviously wouldn’t have Thanksgiving without gratitude, and I love to place extra emphasis on gratitude throughout November. Even if you haven’t started gratitude activities yet, it isn’t too late to prepare one or more gratitude activities for home or school. Many of these activities are designed for any time during the year.
Montessori-Inspired Gratitude Activities
I have a post with a Montessori gratitude jar for year-round gratitude.
You can always have a Thanksgiving display, nature tray, or nature table with a gratitude theme.
Along with Thanksgiving activities, To the Lesson! has a lovely gratitude-focused Thanksgiving display in the classroom.
Inner Child Fun combines gratitude and activities with a gratitude activity jar.
Jodie from Growing Book By Book has simple steps to help your child start a gratitude journal at Let’s Lasso the Moon. Kids Activities Blog has another gratitude journal.
Mama’s Happy Hive extends Montessori table setting with gratitude placemats. Mama’s Happy Hive also has a thankfulness book for toddlers.
Crafting Connections has a gratitude practice for kids focused on mealtimes: making napkin rings.
Kids Yoga Stories has gratitude yoga.
Teach Beside Me has a game that features gratitude and fine-motor coordination: gratitude pick-up sticks.
Katie from Live Craft Eat combines a sewing activity and gratitude with thankful hearts at Let’s Lasso the Moon.
NAMC has a post on teaching gratitude – a look at Montessori values during the holidays.
Age of Montessori has a post on gratitude and appreciation.
For Small Hands has ideas for giving thanks and making gifts.
The Little Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery Program: Gratitude
The Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery Program was designed for 4-8 year olds in Montessori schools. The curriculum is being offered as a free download from Dream a World! One of the lessons is about gratitude. (The lessons are about Secrets of the Heart: friendship, imagination, gratitude, courage, creativity and love.)
Here’s a post about the program: What is The Hidden Treasure? Montessori kids find out at New Jersey Montessori School.
Here are some videos from the program:
Young Masters Appreciation Video (game/song)
Young Masters Hidden Treasure Video (“Everyday is a Gift” song)
“Secrets of the Heart” Used in an Elementary School
“Thank You Song” from Dream a World
Here’s a great song from the friendship lesson:
“Little Seeds of Kindness” (just LOVE this video!)
You could always include that in your gratitude activities … showing acts of kindness as a way to express our gratitude for all we’ve been given.
More Gratitude Activities
I have a number of resources for encouraging gratitude at Bits of Positivity:
How to Help Your Kids Have an Attitude of Gratitude
How to Help Your Kids Have an Attitude of Gratitude, Part 2
Activities for Kids and Adults on International Day of Peace and World Gratitude Day
November Family Gratitude Activities
20+ Family Gratitude Activities
Free Gratitude Songs and Rhymes for Home or School
30+ Free Thanksgiving Gratitude Printables for Kids
20+ Free Year-Round Gratitude Printables for Kids
Free Guided Gratitude Meditations for Kids {Mindfulness Resources}
Thanksgiving Pinterest Board
I have a Kids’ Thanksgiving Activities Pinterest board that I use for pinning Thanksgiving activities of all types and for many levels. I add gratitude activities to the board as well. There are many ideas for thankful trees and other gratitude activities. Just choose an activity that you feel drawn to and that looks like it would be fun and meaningful for your unique family.
What are your favorite family gratitude activities?
Montessori Monday Link-Up
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Learn more about Montessori at Home or School: How to Teach Grace and Courtesy!
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May be linked to Practical Mondays Link Up, Hip Homeschool Hop, The Mommy Club Resources and Solutions, A Little Bird Told Me Linky Party, Link-ups at Squishable Baby, Preschool Corner, Sharing Saturday, Tot School Gathering Place.
Below is another Montessori Monday linky (now closed) from a previous year with many more Montessori-inspired activities.
Hi Deb, Thanks so much for the photo feature and link! I just love this time of year and feel it is so important to have opportunities for the children to understand ‘gratitide.’ Thank you for sharing this information and I love your Pinterest Thanksgiving board!
Sasha
My pleasure, Sasha – and thanks for your kind comment! I love that there are so many gratitude ideas online, and it was fun to have a Pinterest board to pin them to!
I love this post. I think gratitude is such an important quality to teach children.
Thanks so much! I’m a true believer in placing a lot of emphasis on gratitude. 🙂
Oh I have bookmarked this for future with my boys {both a little young right now. Plus we don`t celebreate thanksgiving but that doesn`t mean we don`t have a lot to be grateful for and will definitely be something I want to instill in the kids}
Have linked up again with our Tot School fortnight!
Thanks for bookmarking my post, Lulu! Yes, gratitude activities are definitely great year-round, whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not! 🙂
I adored that Secrets of the Heart video!!!! The expression on that little girls face when the lady placed something in her hand is just precious! WONDERFUL!
Thanks, Sheila! Isn’t that awesome?! I’ve had songs from the videos going through my head since I first saw them. Great inspirations for kids! 🙂
Wonderfully inspiring ideas to share with our children during this season of thoughtful thankfulness.
Thanks so much! I love your term “thoughtful thankfulness.” 🙂
Loved the video. Nice examples to follow. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks! I love the videos and free curriculum download, too! 🙂
Another wonderful collection of ideas. Thank you!
Thanks for your kind comment, Martianne! I hope you found some activities that are perfect for your family! 🙂
These are great ideas! My daughter’s theme at school this week is all about gratitude, so this is perfect timing! Thanks for linking up with the Afterschool Blog Hop!
Thanks, Julie! I’m glad the timing is right … and how great that your daughter’s school has a gratitude theme! 🙂
I love your Thanksgiving display.
Thanks for your comment, Cascia! I love that display, too, although it isn’t mine. If you mean the photo at the top of the post, it’s from a beautiful school shown in To the Lesson! 🙂
I love the idea of using November as an opportunity to nurture a sense of gratitude. I know that when I take time to focus on the things I’m grateful for, it makes a huge difference in how I feel. I can only imagine it would be similar for children. Thanks, as always, for the inspiration!
Thanks, Melissa! Focusing on gratitude definitely helps me as well. My adult daughter still tries to keep a gratitude journal, so I know that it’s meant a lot to her. 🙂
The “Little Acts of Kindness” video was beautiful. I remember the time when we used the stone soup video to teach youngsters!
Thanks, Roth! I just love that video … the song keeps going through my head! Stone Soup is great, too! 🙂
What a great resource you blog is!!! I am so excited to have found you through The Mommy club link up at Crystal&Comp. I am now following via GFC, Twitter and Pinterest! I am also excited to link up with your Montessori Monday! Looks like you have tons of great ideas!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Robyn! Thanks for following – and I’m so happy you’ve joined us at Montessori Monday! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing these resources with Afterschool! I wish these curriculum was taught in my daughter school!
Thanks, Natalie! It looks like you’re doing lots of wonderful things at home, though! 🙂
I love the card stand that the GIVE THANKS cards are displayed on……Where in the world can I find those. I have been looking everywhere. Thanks!!
That is a wonderful card stand, isn’t it?! If you go to this post http://tothelesson.blogspot.com/2011/11/on-shelves-november.html and ask, Sasha should be able to tell you. It’s in Sasha’s classroom. She always has lovely materials and displays! 🙂
It was my pleasure linking up! And thanks so much for featuring my fun with numbers on the Facebook page!
My pleasure, Robyn! I’ll look forward to getting to know you better! Happy 11-11-11! 🙂
Deb, I love all your Thanksgiving ideas on your pintrest board!! What did we do before pinterest =-) Thanks for linking up to TGIF.
Beth
Thanks, Beth! I totally agree about Pinterest! It’s really hard to imagine being without it now. 🙂
Gratitude – What has worked for us is every evening before tea we all take turns to share something or things we are grateful for today. It makes us look for things, people, events and moments all day so we have something different to share in the evening. A simple 5 minutes when we are sitting at the table but a powerful time in changing the atmosphere in our home sometimes.
Thanks so much for your comment, Corinna! That is definitely a beautiful and powerful gratitude activity. It’s wonderful that you have family meals – and that you make the most of that special time together! 🙂
You always share such great ideas and resources. This post was one of the top clicked solutions from last week. Check out your feature here: http://www.crystalandcomp.com/2011/11/the-mommy-club-share-your-resources-and-solutions-18/
Thanks so much, Crystal! How exciting that my post was one of the most clicked posts! There are always so many awesome resources in your link-up! 🙂
Gratitude – What has worked for us is every evening before tea we all take turns to share something or things we are grateful for today. It makes us look for things, people, events and moments all day so we have something different to share in the evening. A simple 5 minutes when we are sitting at the table but a powerful time in changing the atmosphere in our home sometimes.
I love this post. I think gratitude is such an important quality to teach children.
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