Gobble up a little gratitude with these fun printables!
Set Up Time: Under 5 min Activity Time: 10-15 min Mess Level: Medium
It’s that time again; time for cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes and watching (last year’s) parade on TV. It’s ALSO when we take stock of all the people and things we’re thankful for.
With everything going on, it’s easy for us (and our kids) to get caught up in what’s missing, what we don’t have, what we can’t do, and the ways our lives have changed in the past several months. It’s easy to let fear, anxiety, or sadness overshadow the good things in our lives.
But practicing gratitude actually helps us stop these negative thoughts in their tracks; in fact, science shows us that practicing gratitude helps kids (and grown-ups) become more resilient, reduce anxiety, and even increase happiness!
Use these printables to help your child identify and share what they’re thankful for. You can jump in and get creative, too. After all, there’s plenty of gratitude to go around!
Activity #1: Gobblin’ Gratitude Turkey
What you need:
- This printable
- Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
- Scissors
- Paper
- Glue or Tape
Instructions:
- Print out this page.
- Cut out and color in your turkey.
- Cut out pieces of construction paper to create feathers (or get creative and use painted handprints!)
- Glue or tape the feathers to the back of your turkey.
- Together, write the things you are grateful for on the feathers.
Activity #2:
Thanksgiving Thoughts Scavenger Hunt
What you need:
- This gratitude thought-starter printable
- Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
- Paper
Instructions:
- Print out this page.
- Think about things you are grateful for.
- Write or draw your thoughts in the boxes.
- Talk about these things as you write. This a great time to connect and show gratitude for one another, too!
