If you missed my Facebook Live with activities for November you can watch it here:
It's November, and the perfect time of year to nurture a GRATITUDE ATTITUDE in our students - and ourselves! In studies of successful people, gratitude is frequently a characteristic that comes up. Gratitude is an emotion of expressing appreciation for what you have, rather than what you don’t have. Psychology Today reports that gratitude can be cultivated and it can increase levels of happiness when you do. Energy, optimism, and empathy are by-products of gratitude.
Model Gratitude
Make it a habit to include
things you appreciate into daily conversations.
Brainstorm
What does it mean to be
thankful? Write children’s
responses on the board. What are
some synonyms for thankful?
Gratitude Journal
Make a special journal for
each child to use during the month of November. Several times a week ask them to draw, list, or write
sentences about things they are grateful for.
*I used copy paper and
wallpaper cut in 9” x 12” rectangles to make my journal. Take five sheets of paper and fold in
half. Center on the wallpaper and
sew down the middle. (You can do
this by hand, or maybe there is a parent or grandparent with a machine who
would do this for you.) It makes a
lovely book.
Thankful Board
Designate a bulletin board
or poster in the hall as your “thankful board.” Children can attach sticky notes or draw pictures of things
they are thankful for throughout the month.
Gratitude Box
Cut a hole in the top of a
shoebox and decorate. Place on a
shelf along with paper and pencils.
Children write things they are thankful for and place them in the
box. When you have a few extra
minutes, select notes and read them to the class.
Tell Me Something GOOD
Start the day by going
around the room and asking each child to say something they are thankful for.
End with Something GOOD
Clap and slap thighs as
you say this chant to end your day:
Hey, hey, what do you say?
What happened good at
school today?
Hot Potato Pass
Children sit or
stand in a circle and begin passing the hot potato (ball or other small object) around. When the music stops or when the
teacher blows a whistle the child holding the potato must say one thing they
are thankful for.
Charity
Find a project in your
community that your class can do to help others.
You’ll have a happier November with our NOVEMBER HAPPIES!
