Easy Ways to Practice Gratitude with Kids at Home

Thanksgiving is right around the corner! During this season of gratitude and giving, My Tutoring Partners wants to share fun and meaningful ways you can practice gratitude with your children at home.

A thought on the importance of gratitude in a child’s life:

The practice of gratitude not only improves your mood, but benefits your mental and physical health. Practicing gratitude leads to better sleep, improved focus, higher self-esteem, reduced stress and increased patience. Helpguide.org says, “Grateful people are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors, such as exercising regularly and following a healthy diet.”

The physical and mental benefits of gratitude can help a child build resilience in the face of adversity, develop a healthier outlook on life, and enhance optimism. It even positively affects their social relationships by fostering empathy and kindness, enhancing communications, and creating meaningful and supportive friendships. 

With all of this being said, why wouldn’t we want to teach our children the practice of gratitude? 

Here are some ideas to practice gratitude at home that kids of all ages will enjoy:

Gratitude Tree

Create a tree from paper or branches and have everyone add leaves each day with something they’re thankful for.

Thankful Jar

Write down daily gratitude notes and read them aloud on Thanksgiving Day.

“I’m Thankful For” Dinner Game

Go around the table sharing one thing you’re thankful for that starts with each letter of the alphabet.

Family Gratitude Journal

Keep a shared notebook where everyone adds an entry about what went well that week or something kind they noticed.

Gratitude Circle

Start homeschool days by letting each family member say one thing they appreciate about someone else in the room.

Gratitude Poetry or Acrostic

Write acrostic poems using the word “THANKFUL” or “GRATITUDE.”

Thank You Letter Writing

Have kids write letters to someone who helped them this year: a teacher, grandparent, or friend.

Kindness Countdown to Thanksgiving

Each day in November, do one act of kindness — like baking cookies for a neighbor or leaving a thank-you note.

Read Books About Gratitude 

Read a book about gratitude and discuss what gratitude looks like in everyday life.

Children’s books on gratitude:

• All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon

• We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell

• The Biggest House in the World by Leo Lionni

• Gracias/Thanks by Pat Mora

• The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns

• No One But You by Douglas Wood

• The Secret of Saying Thanks by Douglas Wood

• Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

• The Table Where Rich People Sit by Bryd Baylor 

YA/Teen-appropriate books on gratitude:

• Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour

• We Are Inevitable by Gayle Forman

• If I Stay by Gayle Gorman

• Lovely War by Julie Berry

• Far from the Tree by Robin Benway

• The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

• Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

• Mindfulness and Meditation: Handling Life with a Calm and Focused Mind by Whitney Stewart