This time of year can be a time to reflect on what we are grateful for….something we should do every day….but something that we often neglect to teach to our children. Thanksgiving in the United States has a complicated history, but what better time to look for an opportunity to express gratitude for all that we have in life? Here and now is a beautiful place to be. Here are some books and activities that sparked discussion in our home this Thanksgiving…and may we all have awareness of just how amazing our lives are every day.

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Books:

Thanks for Thanksgiving-

A look inside the book:

For the youngest of the bunch, we read Julie Markes’ Thanks for Thanksgiving. It follows kids through what they are thankful for in their own lives. It was useful in inspiring thankful thoughts and the idea of gratitude for the everyday. 

Bear Says Thanks-

A look inside the book – 

Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson assures us that it is not necessary to have something of material value to give to the world…friendship and caring are gifts in themselves, and we all have something within us to share. 

One is a Feast for a Mouse-

The last story we read this Thanksgiving was One is a Feast for Mouse by Judy Cox. Mouse goes out looking for morsels after Thanksgiving dinner and finds a pea, which he says would be a feast for him. He starts to take the pea back to his hole when he is sidetracked by other foods along the way. 

A look inside the book –

He tries to carry too much back to his home and catches the attention of the cat! This is a cute story that teaches us to be grateful for what we have and to take only what we need. This story was really fun as the kids got excited when Mouse doesn’t notice Cat. 

Activities:

A Piece of Gratitude Pie-

This is an easy, cheap, and fun activity to do that can start a lot of conversations. We created these pie wheels using only a paper plate, photos of family that we printed, paint, construction paper, glue, and a paper fastener. Get the breakdown below.

Print out some tiny photos and cut them out (I let my kids pick which photos to use to show who & what they are grateful for)

Paint a paper plate along the edges for the “crust”

Paste pictures down

Cut a “PacMan” out to be the pie filling

Use a paper fastener to attach your pie filling to your pie crust

Voila! Your own gratitude wheel!

Thankful Turkeys

Finger-paint, paper, glue and googly eyes make this an easy Thanksgiving project. It was fun to see the difference in what my boys were grateful for. I think I will do some type of gratitude turkeys every year!

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Let me know of any projects that you think we should try out next year!

Happy homeschooling!

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