11 Gratitude Activities for Kids
We often say “thank you” or “I owe you one” without any feeling behind it. These have become words to use so that we don’t appear rude. But genuinely expressing gratitude has a whole lot of benefits. It changes you and improves your health. It helps you connect with others and build great relations. It increases your happiness and sense of wellbeing. It leads to a fulfilling and long life. With gratitude activities for kids, if you teach your children ways to express gratitude early on, they will reap all these benefits and then some more. They will do well in school and life. Let’s look at the benefits in detail.
Benefits of Gratitude for Your Children
1. Helps your children make more friends and relations that are long-lasting.
2. Improve their mind and body health. Your children are less stressed, not depressed, and happier.
3. Increase empathy in your children and reduce their anger.
4. Your children sleep better.
5. Their self-esteem increases.
So, these are some of the benefits of expressing gratitude for your children. Let’s look at some of the ways you can make it an essential part of your children’ life with gratitude activities for kids.
Gratitude Activities for Kids
There are so many ways to teach gratitude to children. They can show gratitude to others, themselves, and nature all around. Let’s look at some proven and practical ideas below.
1. Teach Your children Good Manners
Teaching your children good manners is where to start this journey. “Please” and “thank you” are the first step in expressing gratitude. These simple manners teach them to move out of the entitled and rude zone. Discuss the values and benefits of good manners. You should also return the favor. If your children do small chores for you, thank them too. Explain why you are thanking them. Ask them why they are thanking you or others when it is their turn to say thank you. With time, they will learn the essence behind these little gestures.
2. Write it Down
Get a journal or a diary for your children. Ensure it’s a kid-friendly one with lots of pics and wide borders. Your children should enjoy writing in it. Make it a daily as well as a weekly task. Ask your children to write down one thing they are grateful for before bedtime. This should be a short sentence that is quickly done. At weekends, ask them to write down 4-5 other things they are grateful for. These could be things, people, and even some experience. Allot at least 30 minutes for it. Ask your children to think first and then start writing. They can also draw related pics and color them besides writing in the journal. They will remember wonderful things that happened to them. Your children will relive the joy and become happier in the process. A simpler form for smaller children can be writing short notes for things your children are grateful for. Then they can put it in a jar. Open it once a week or month and read the notes together.
3. Find Something to Admire Every Day
This is a bit different from the previous task. Ask your children to look for amazing moments in daily life. It could be a beautiful morning Sun or a delicious breakfast or meal. It can be beautiful weather of the day or an equally beautiful sunset. It can be the praise from their favorite teacher or winning a game. Teach your children to be thankful for these moments. These are the simple ways to express gratitude that are easy to instill in your children.
4. Gratitude Marbles
This is on of the easy-to-do and fun gratitude activities for kids. It also teaches your children to take care of their things. Get some colorful marbles for your children. Ask them to keep it in their pocket or school bag all day. Whenever your children look at it, they should think about one thing they are grateful for. As above, it can be a thing, a person, or a feeling. At the end of the day, before storing it, ask your children to recall everything they were grateful for. Repeat the next day.
Also Read : How Can You Build Your Child’s Character
5. Teach Your Children to Look at the Bright Side
It’s all about a positive mindset. Teach your children to shift their mindset from negative to positive. If your children hate veggies, tell them veggies make their bodies strong. With strong bodies, they become healthy. It helps them play and win more. If due to rain, your children can’t go outside to play, they can have fun inside too. They can play awesome board games and enjoy themselves. With time your children will learn to see all sides of a situation. They will see good in any situation and get a positive mindset.
6. Gratitude Flower
This is one of the fun and creative gratitude activities for kids. Ask your children to create a flower. They have to write what they are grateful for on its petals. Let’s look at its steps below.
Step 1. Get some sheets of colored paper for your children.
Step 2. Next, ask them to draw a large circle on the paper.
Step 3. Then let them draw petals on it.
Step 4. Next, ask your children to cut these petals out.
Step 5. In each petal, they have to write about things they are grateful for. As stated above, these could be about things, feelings, or persons.
Step 6. After writing it down, help them pin or paste them on a board or wall to create a beautiful flower.
Step 7. View it with them every day. Remember what you all are grateful for.
Step 8. Add new flowers every once in a while.
7. Thank the Food
This task is about mindful eating. It is also about being grateful for the food we eat. Let’s look at its steps below.
Step 1. Get some fruits for your children.
Step 2. Then taste the fruits together.
Step 3. Ask your children to describe the taste. Ask them why they enjoyed it.
Step 4. Tell your children about the benefits of these fruits.
Step 5. Discuss with your children where these fruits were grown. How did these reach you?
Step 6. Tell them about the role of farmers, sellers, storage, and delivery persons involved in the process.
Step 7. In the end, ask them to be grateful and thank all the persons involved in it.
Step 8. Repeat the process. Change fruits every week. This should be a mix of exotic and seasonal fruits.
Also Read : Character Traits Kids Can Learn from Nature
8. Complete the Sentence
This is a simple task under gratitude activities for kids. Ask your children to fill in after “ I am grateful”. You can think of as many prompts to use as ways to express gratitude. Some of the prompts are as below.
I am grateful for three things I see.
I am grateful for my body.
I am grateful for three things I hear.
I am grateful to my family and caregivers.
I am grateful to my siblings and friends.
I am grateful for three things I can touch.
I am grateful to my teachers.
And you can carry on with whatever comes into your mind.
9. Gratitude Letter
Ask your children to write letters to the people they are thankful for. These people could be you or other family members. Others may include their teachers or friends. These may also include support people like cleaners, maids, security guards, or delivery persons. Ask your children to write a simple letter with a thank you note. Ask your children to write down what exactly they are thankful for. It would be great if your children could deliver the letter in person. Then listen to what the receiver has to say. Variation of this task can be passing sticky notes. The sticky notes are similar to letters and easier to work on for smaller children.
10. Meditate and Reflect
Teach your children how to reflect and meditate. Ask them to reflect on what and who they are thankful for. Ask your children to think about all those things and people while they meditate. Ask your children to imagine these people or things are in front of them. Ask your children to thank them in their thoughts. They can recite a specific word too, e.g. “ For this, I am grateful”. Make this a regular habit for your children.
11. ABC Game
This is a fun learning game for your children. Ask your children to list things they are grateful for. These should start from the letter A and finish till Z. These could be anything. E.g., A can be the tasty apple your children ate or their favorite aunt. Z can be their toy Zebra and so on. Things may get silly, but that’s the purpose of this game. Both you and your children will enjoy this and at the same time practice gratitude.
Gratitude Activities for Kids – Conclusion
So, these are some of the gratitude activities for kids. Help your children with these tasks and games. It is just like a sport, once your children start doing it, they will get better at it. Gratitude makes your children happier. Their health will improve. They have a healthy mind and body. They will make good friends and be well-adjusted. Start them on their journey of gratitude and happiness today.
11 Gratitude Activities for Kids
We often say “thank you” or “I owe you one” without any feeling behind it. These have become words to use so that we don’t appear rude. But genuinely expressing gratitude has a whole lot of benefits. It changes you and improves your health. It helps you connect with others and build great relations. It increases your happiness and sense of wellbeing. It leads to a fulfilling and long life. With gratitude activities for kids, if you teach your children ways to express gratitude early on, they will reap all these benefits and then some more. They will do well in school and life. Let’s look at the benefits in detail.
Benefits of Gratitude for Your Children
1. Helps your children make more friends and relations that are long-lasting.
2. Improve their mind and body health. Your children are less stressed, not depressed, and happier.
3. Increase empathy in your children and reduce their anger.
4. Your children sleep better.
5. Their self-esteem increases.
So, these are some of the benefits of expressing gratitude for your children. Let’s look at some of the ways you can make it an essential part of your children’ life with gratitude activities for kids.
Gratitude Activities for Kids
There are so many ways to teach gratitude to children. They can show gratitude to others, themselves, and nature all around. Let’s look at some proven and practical ideas below.
1. Teach Your children Good Manners
Teaching your children good manners is where to start this journey. “Please” and “thank you” are the first step in expressing gratitude. These simple manners teach them to move out of the entitled and rude zone. Discuss the values and benefits of good manners. You should also return the favor. If your children do small chores for you, thank them too. Explain why you are thanking them. Ask them why they are thanking you or others when it is their turn to say thank you. With time, they will learn the essence behind these little gestures.
2. Write it Down
Get a journal or a diary for your children. Ensure it’s a kid-friendly one with lots of pics and wide borders. Your children should enjoy writing in it. Make it a daily as well as a weekly task. Ask your children to write down one thing they are grateful for before bedtime. This should be a short sentence that is quickly done. At weekends, ask them to write down 4-5 other things they are grateful for. These could be things, people, and even some experience. Allot at least 30 minutes for it. Ask your children to think first and then start writing. They can also draw related pics and color them besides writing in the journal. They will remember wonderful things that happened to them. Your children will relive the joy and become happier in the process. A simpler form for smaller children can be writing short notes for things your children are grateful for. Then they can put it in a jar. Open it once a week or month and read the notes together.
3. Find Something to Admire Every Day
This is a bit different from the previous task. Ask your children to look for amazing moments in daily life. It could be a beautiful morning Sun or a delicious breakfast or meal. It can be beautiful weather of the day or an equally beautiful sunset. It can be the praise from their favorite teacher or winning a game. Teach your children to be thankful for these moments. These are the simple ways to express gratitude that are easy to instill in your children.
4. Gratitude Marbles
This is on of the easy-to-do and fun gratitude activities for kids. It also teaches your children to take care of their things. Get some colorful marbles for your children. Ask them to keep it in their pocket or school bag all day. Whenever your children look at it, they should think about one thing they are grateful for. As above, it can be a thing, a person, or a feeling. At the end of the day, before storing it, ask your children to recall everything they were grateful for. Repeat the next day.
Also Read : How Can You Build Your Child’s Character
5. Teach Your Children to Look at the Bright Side
It’s all about a positive mindset. Teach your children to shift their mindset from negative to positive. If your children hate veggies, tell them veggies make their bodies strong. With strong bodies, they become healthy. It helps them play and win more. If due to rain, your children can’t go outside to play, they can have fun inside too. They can play awesome board games and enjoy themselves. With time your children will learn to see all sides of a situation. They will see good in any situation and get a positive mindset.
6. Gratitude Flower
This is one of the fun and creative gratitude activities for kids. Ask your children to create a flower. They have to write what they are grateful for on its petals. Let’s look at its steps below.
Step 1. Get some sheets of colored paper for your children.
Step 2. Next, ask them to draw a large circle on the paper.
Step 3. Then let them draw petals on it.
Step 4. Next, ask your children to cut these petals out.
Step 5. In each petal, they have to write about things they are grateful for. As stated above, these could be about things, feelings, or persons.
Step 6. After writing it down, help them pin or paste them on a board or wall to create a beautiful flower.
Step 7. View it with them every day. Remember what you all are grateful for.
Step 8. Add new flowers every once in a while.
7. Thank the Food
This task is about mindful eating. It is also about being grateful for the food we eat. Let’s look at its steps below.
Step 1. Get some fruits for your children.
Step 2. Then taste the fruits together.
Step 3. Ask your children to describe the taste. Ask them why they enjoyed it.
Step 4. Tell your children about the benefits of these fruits.
Step 5. Discuss with your children where these fruits were grown. How did these reach you?
Step 6. Tell them about the role of farmers, sellers, storage, and delivery persons involved in the process.
Step 7. In the end, ask them to be grateful and thank all the persons involved in it.
Step 8. Repeat the process. Change fruits every week. This should be a mix of exotic and seasonal fruits.
Also Read : Character Traits Kids Can Learn from Nature
8. Complete the Sentence
This is a simple task under gratitude activities for kids. Ask your children to fill in after “ I am grateful”. You can think of as many prompts to use as ways to express gratitude. Some of the prompts are as below.
I am grateful for three things I see.
I am grateful for my body.
I am grateful for three things I hear.
I am grateful to my family and caregivers.
I am grateful to my siblings and friends.
I am grateful for three things I can touch.
I am grateful to my teachers.
And you can carry on with whatever comes into your mind.
9. Gratitude Letter
Ask your children to write letters to the people they are thankful for. These people could be you or other family members. Others may include their teachers or friends. These may also include support people like cleaners, maids, security guards, or delivery persons. Ask your children to write a simple letter with a thank you note. Ask your children to write down what exactly they are thankful for. It would be great if your children could deliver the letter in person. Then listen to what the receiver has to say. Variation of this task can be passing sticky notes. The sticky notes are similar to letters and easier to work on for smaller children.
10. Meditate and Reflect
Teach your children how to reflect and meditate. Ask them to reflect on what and who they are thankful for. Ask your children to think about all those things and people while they meditate. Ask your children to imagine these people or things are in front of them. Ask your children to thank them in their thoughts. They can recite a specific word too, e.g. “ For this, I am grateful”. Make this a regular habit for your children.
11. ABC Game
This is a fun learning game for your children. Ask your children to list things they are grateful for. These should start from the letter A and finish till Z. These could be anything. E.g., A can be the tasty apple your children ate or their favorite aunt. Z can be their toy Zebra and so on. Things may get silly, but that’s the purpose of this game. Both you and your children will enjoy this and at the same time practice gratitude.
Gratitude Activities for Kids – Conclusion
So, these are some of the gratitude activities for kids. Help your children with these tasks and games. It is just like a sport, once your children start doing it, they will get better at it. Gratitude makes your children happier. Their health will improve. They have a healthy mind and body. They will make good friends and be well-adjusted. Start them on their journey of gratitude and happiness today.
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