By Tanni Haas, Ph.D.
Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to get the kids thinking about the things in their lives that they should be grateful for. Here’s a list of 14 ways to do just that.
Ask the kids to write about something that happened over the past year for which they are especially thankful. What was it? Who was responsible for it? What made it so special? Let them read out what they wrote so you can talk about it as a family.
Have the kids write down every letter of the alphabet, from A to Z, on different lines on a sheet of paper. The challenges is to come up with as many things they’re grateful for that start with each letter. Prepare a little reward for whoever comes up with the most things.
Encourage the kids to write an acrostic poem about Thanksgiving. An acrostic poem is a poem where the first letter of each line spells out a word when read vertically. Possible words include: “Grateful,” “Gratitude,” “Thankful,” “Thanks,” or any other word that they can think of.
If you have some small stones in the yard or perhaps from last summer’s visit to the beach, get the kids to write positive, inspirational messages on them. Spread the stones across the Thanksgiving dinner table for everyone to enjoy.
Create a collage with cut-out images from magazines and newspapers that visually depict all the things that the kids are grateful for. Hopefully, you have enough materials lying around the house. If necessary, have the kids download and print images from the internet.
Have the kids write and illustrate thank-you cards to all the people in their lives that they’re thankful for, including family, friends, and teachers. Encourage them to personalize their cards instead of writing the same, generic message to everyone.
Alternatively, put blank thank-you cards in front of each place setting at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Encourage your guests to write thank-you card to the people on their right and left. This way, everyone will receive two personalized thank-you cards.
Have the kids write thank-you cards to service members stationed overseas. There are many organizations that collect and distribute such cards, including A Million Thanks, Operation Gratitude, Packages From Home, Soldiers Angels, and Support Our Troops.
Instead of celebrating Thanksgiving at home, head to the nearest community center, homeless shelter, or place of worship that’s serving Thanksgiving dinner to the poor and needy. Alternatively, have the kids donate part of their allowance to a worthy cause.
If you have guests over for Thanksgiving dinner, have the kids collect a bunch of inspirational quotes about gratitude that they can put in front of each place setting. The goal is to inspire everyone at the dinner table to think about what they’re thankful for this year.
Have the kids ask each guest to write down on a piece of paper the two or three things they’re most grateful for this year. Place a bowl in the middle of the table where the guests can put their notes. Once everyone is done, take turns reading the notes, trying to guess who wrote what.
Ask each guest write down one thing they’re thankful for on a piece of paper which they don’t show to anyone. Then, they get to act it out, and everyone guesses what it is. For some extra, lighthearted competition, divide yourselves up into multiple teams.
If you or the kids have noticed someone in the community who often keeps to themselves, like an older neighbor with few visitors, have the kids invite them over for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s one of the best ways to teach the kids the true spirit of generosity.
Take out your phones and look up how to say thank you in as many languages as possible. Find out how those expressions are supposed to be pronounced and try your best to teach each other the correct pronunciation. Believe me, it’s a lot of fun!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tanni Haas, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Communication Arts, Sciences, and Disorders at the City University of New York – Brooklyn College.
