Tag Archives: Gratitude Project

Thankfulness-The Gratitude Project

In Swooper Citizens today, we discussed Thankfulness , which means to appreciate what you have or what someone does for you. We asked students to share things for which they are thankful. We then asked how different their lives would be if they did not have those things. What if you didn’t have an iPad or a pet? What if you didn’t have a bed or food? How would your life be different without books or your family? What things can you live without?

We then read the book The Most Thankful Thing by Lisa McCourt. The students had fun guessing for what the mom is most thankful.

“When a little girl asks her mom what her “most thankful thing ever” is, Mom turns the question into a fun trip down memory lane. Turning the pages of Mom’s photo album, they discover many wonderful moments in Mom’s life, from summer camp to winning a trophy in a soccer tournament, from singing onstage to her wedding day. But one event in Mom’s whole life is the very best ever — the birth of her precious little girl.” (Amazon)

As a way to follow up on the theme of Thankfulness, we introduced The Gratitude Project to the students. Over the course of the next week and a half, we challenge the students to show gratitude to three different people. Here are some quick and easy ideas:

 

Once your child completes an act of gratitude, please comment on this blog post. Tell us what your child did and perhaps what the person’s response was. We can’t wait to hear and see the students showing gratitude!

Gratitude Project- Part 2

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We are in the middle of our Gratitude Project. Students have been writing down notes of gratitude and placing them in our classroom Gratitude Jar. On Friday, students made their own Gratitude Jars that they will be taking home today.

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During Swooper Citizens today, students listened to a wonderful book called Those Shoes:

All Jeremy wants is a pair of those shoes, the ones everyone at school seems to be wearing. Though Jeremy’s grandma says they don’t have room for “want,” just “need,” when his old shoes fall apart at school, he is more determined than ever to have those shoes, even a thrift-shop pair that are much too small. But sore feet aren’t much fun, and Jeremy soon sees that the things he has — warm boots, a loving grandma, and the chance to help a friend — are worth more than the things he wants.

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We reviewed the Gratitude Project video as a quick reminder of the different was in which we can show gratitude or thankfulness:

Next we helped the students complete one of the gratitude tasks by students writing letters of gratitude for people working at Lower School. The students were very engaged in this activity and really worked hard to write their notes.

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Here are some of the notes:

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You have a few weeks left to participate in our class Gratitude Challenge! Have fun!

The Gratitude Project

The Swooper Citizens theme of the month is Thankfulness. This topic is so important, we decided to spend three weeks on it!

I had so much fun planning the lesson for this week.  We started by asking the students to tell us about a time someone did something nice for them and then asked, “How did you show that you were thankful?” Students mentioned that they hugged the person, said “Thank you,” or even made a card.

The definition of thankfulness is to appreciate what you have or what someone else does for you. We asked the students for some examples of things for which they are thankful. Then, to illustrate of how different our life would be if we didn’t have certain items, we played the “How Would You Feel Without It” Game. I had dozens of picture cards in a jar…pictures of iPhone, blankets, books, shoes, televisions, toys, fruit etc. Students chose a card and said how they would feel without these items. They came to realize that while some items are not necessary, there are other items with which we could not live without.

Next I read aloud The Most Thankful Thing, by Lisa McCourt.

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When a little girl asks her mom what her “most thankful thing ever” is, Mom turns the question into a fun trip down memory lane. Turning the pages of Mom’s photo album, they discover many wonderful moments in Mom’s life, from summer camp to winning a trophy in a soccer tournament, from singing onstage to her wedding day. But one event in Mom’s whole life is the very best ever — the birth of her precious little girl.

We discussed things for which we are thankful a bit more and then shifted the conversation to showing thankfulness. How can we show gratitude? How can we show that we appreciate someone or something? Join us in the Gratitude Project Challenge! Click on the link below to learn more.

Over the course of the next few weeks, we are encouraging students to perform three acts of gratitude, either from our list or using an idea of their own. We brainstormed who we could appreciate. Ideas included family members, pets, teachers, and friends. Keep me posted on how the Gratitude Project is progressing in your house by commenting on this blog post. I can’t wait to hear your creative ideas on showing thankfulness.