Time for a holiday rerun–with a few extras added in! In light of the release of Permanent Markers: Spiritual Life Skills to Write On Your Kids’ Hearts, here’s a list of ways to encourage your kids toward thankfulness this month.
1. The running list.
At dinner each night of November, see if your family can collectively think of 10 more things you’re thankful for. Keep a running list.
2. Turkey day decor.
Display a vase filled with your list written on slips of paper. Alternatively, scrawl gratitude items on kraft paper doubling as a Thanksgiving tablecloth—complete with markers or crayons prompting guests to add their own.
3. The classic: Thank you notes.
Set a small, doable goal for yourself to send out a certain number of thank-you notes to people who might be a little clueless as to just how much you appreciate them. You might also consider enclosing a small gift card (think Starbucks, Amazon, iTunes) to add an exclamation point to your gratitude.
Polka-dot thank you notes: Print them here.
Print this polka-dot thank you note here.
Airmail thank you notes: Print these here.
Print airmail thank you notes here.
Print this fill-in-the-blank thank you note here.
This fill-in-the-blank thank you note can be printed here.
4. Stick it.
Drop a small note in your son, daughter, or husband’s lunch—or put a sticky note where they’ll find it at just the right time. When I think of what I’m thankful for, you always come to mind. I love you. Or, Thanks for the ways you __. I love you so much.
5. 5 minutes. Go.
Tip the focus of your prayer life in November toward giving thanks. Consider a word study on “thanks” in the Bible, and set a goal of 5 minutes each day focused solely on gratitude.
6. Can you see me now?
Train your eyes to “see” this month. Seek to genuinely thank every person you’re able to, looking them in the eye: the gas station attendant, the cashier, the waitress, the janitor in the restroom, the Sunday School teacher, your children for the giddy joy they bring you and your house.
6. Send it with class.
Help kids tape a video “greeting card” for relatives far away, describing their appreciation for that person’s influence in their lives. (Let ’em get creative with the props.) Or roll out the butcher-paper to design a banner you’ll send in the mail for a special surprise.
7. Post it.
On the back of an interior door, post a piece of tagboard and keep a pen attached with adhesive Velcro. Make it a family goal to fill the posterboard by Thanksgiving with the objects of your gratitude. Alternatively, utilize Ann Voskamp’s idea of covering a window with sticky notes of gratitude in this timeless, yes-yes-yes post, 15 Happy Ways to Teach Kids to be Grateful.
8. The thankfulenss that saves us.
Is your family going through a tough, heartwrenching season? In the midst of my son’s cancer scare, his thankfulness inspired us to a neon-yellow index card–a running list of all the little reminders God was walking with us, all the small graces he was handing us mixed up in this sorrow. I still keep it tucked in a journal. Try keeping a list of your own, for all of you to share, remembering that God’s for you (see Romans 8:31).
You might also like How Can I Be Thankful When My World is a Wreck?
9. Get a clue.
Attempt to comb through your days, using visual cues to help you think in new ways about gratitude. A tube of toothpaste might prompt a quick prayer of thanks for good dental care; pulling out of the driveway, for a peaceful street and quality roads; the receipt at a restaurant, for a wholesome meal and washed dishes, with the finances to pay for it.
10. Thankfulness mash-up.
Create a gratitude collage, either as individuals or the whole fam. Help kids print photographs, cut up magazines, paste on movie tickets or dog treats–whatever reminds them of how full God’s made their lives. Get creative.
11. The Gratitude Project.
I helped develop FamilyLife’s free Gratitude Project download–and I’m excited about how it develops thankfulness in kids. Along with other goodies, it’s got
- 3 weeks of twice-weekly, hands-on activities
- thoughtful articles and prayers to internalize
- our gratitude scavenger hunt
- conversation starters
- A fall family bucket-list
- prompts to create a Thanksgiving advent paper chain together
- Thanksgiving BINGO
- Scripture art to post or frame around the house
Your turn. What are some practical steps that help you
steer your kids toward thankfulness?
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