In the United States, November is a time for us to focus on the things we’re thankful for, and honestly, it’s a useful thing for all of us to do. A practice of gratitude is beneficial personally, as part of your classroom culture, and for your personal health.
You don’t need to wait for a holiday to kick start a Classroom of Gratitude, though. Get started with your students using any of these five practices, and you’ll see the benefits in your students and their outlook at throughout the year!
One very simple way to get started is by having students keep a gratitude journal. It’s a daily – or weekly – place to keep track of the positives in life. Each time you add to it, it’s a small act. In time, looking back on your journal – after a month or a year – is very powerful!
This next creation is ideal as a Thanksgiving-centered activity. Students pick a group of people, whether it’s their family, or a group of friends, or their classmates and create a multipage Thanks Book on Buncee to share their feelings of gratitude for them. This works well both if students send this home by email, or if they print off the PDF of their Thanks Book. Printed, this makes a nice addition for students to bring home to Thanksgiving dinner. Include a QR code for parents to access the digital version!
I’d like to thank my pal Linda Edwards for introducing me to Gratitude Snaps. Her students created Gratitude Snap Buncees in preparation for Canadian Thanksgiving last month. If you clip your students’ work, and stitch them together, it makes for a great class Gratitude Book!
A very simple way for students to show their thanks to the people in their lives is the simple act of writing a note. Again, whether your students send them by email, or they print them off, it’s never a bad thing to show appreciation to the people who add value to your life. I’ve collected a few of them here on a Buncee Board because it’s a good idea for students to use the commenting function to help each other proofread their work before sending!
Click here to see the Buncee Board
For another take on expressing your thanks, skip the notes and make awards for the people who add to your life! It doesn’t have to be winning a great contest, make awards for people who help you out, or because they’re nice people. You can take this a step farther by inviting recipients to your class for an award ceremony!
Click here to see the Buncee Board
As a closer, I’d just like to say, I’m grateful to you for taking the time to read this! You’re pretty fantastic.
