Gratitude Activites to do with Your Children

As the New Year begins, I have found myself thinking about all the wondrous events of 2010 and am thankful for those experiences! In this spirit of gratitude, I offer a few activities that you can do with your children to teach them a bit more about being grateful.

• Create a Gratitude Photo Scavenger Hunt. Set the kitchen timer for 10-20 minutes and give each participant a camera. Tell them to find and take pictures of people, places or things, in the house, that they are most thankful for. When the timer rings, collect the camera(s) and print out the pictures. As you look through the pictures together, ask about each image and find out what they are thankful for. Then encourage them to make a collage with the pictures to hang in their room as a reminder of their gratitude.

• Send Random Thank You Notes. Ask your child to name 2-5 people who are important to them. Together, write Thank You notes to the VIPs in your child’s life. Some may be as simple as “Thank you for walking to the bus stop with me every morning.” or “I really had fun playing with you, yesterday.” Also encourage your child to think of people who are good role models like teachers, older siblings or cousins, aunts or uncles who, often may be overlooked. Just think, you could send Little Hands Artwork note cards featuring your child’s artwork!

• “I am Thankful for Me” Activity. Ask your child to lay down a large piece of paper so that you can trace the outline of his/her body. Next, while looking at your child’s shape, ask what he or she is most thankful for about him/herself. Perhaps, your son loves his curly red hair and your daughter is grateful for her fast running legs. With crayons, markers, or other materials, encourage them to decorate each part of themselves that they are grateful for. When completed, hang up your “I am Thankful for Me” son or daughter as a visual reminder. Or, better yet, use an image of this masterpiece and order Little Hands Artwork notepads to use for thank you notes, to do list, or as gifts.

Happy Creating!
~Kim

Taken from Little Hands Newsletter.  To subscribe to Little Hands News, go to http://www.littlehandsartwork.com/