Following on from last week’s blog about teaching children the skill of gratitude, I then went down a gratitude rabbit hole looking at all the fantastic games and activities that have been shared online. Therefore, today I’m going to share some of my personal favourites, which you may want to use with your little people!
Thankful Tree
This is an activity both perfect to complete as a family, but also in forest school or the classroom! All you need is to make the tree trunk and branches, this can be painted, made out of paper, or made out of sticks and children will then create their own leaves pop on to the tree. On this leaf, they will write what they are thankful for. Save the picture or take a photo and keep this visual reminder.
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/individual-gratitude-tree-t-p-1230
Gratitude Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts provide the perfect opportunity for children to go out and explore, and gratitude scavenger hunts also help to build on mindfulness, they get children to notice the things they may be oblivious to usually, it helps them to focus on what their positives are and the things that appeal to their emotions. Below are some examples of scavenger hunts you could use.
https://leapoffaithcrafting.com/free-gratitude-scavenger-hunt-printable/
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/633670610073513840/
Alphabet Gratitude Game
There are a few ways this game can be played, but the concept is to use each letter of the alphabet and say what you are thankful for that begins with that letter. A bonus to this activity too, is that it helps children to practise their letters! Below are some examples of how this game can be played.
https://medium.com/@happysciencemom/play-the-alphabet-gratitude-game-6d640af295a3
Create a Gratitude Jar
For this, you will need a mason jar and post-its or small slips of paper. This can be an activity that runs throughout the year and can be done as a family too using different colours. Once the jar is full, share together all the lovely things that have been shared. Use the link below for different gratitude jar ideas:
Gratitude Walk
Another brilliant way to combine mindfulness and the outdoors is by going on gratitude walks. You don’t need to go far for this walk, your local area will be fine, but as you are out and about, ask children to say what they can see, smell, hear, taste and touch and talk about why we appreciate these things.
As I said previously, there are many different activities you can find online, but these are my personal favourites as they can be incorporated with the outdoors too and aren’t overly complicated to plan!
