Grateful Hearts Jar

 


Say please and thank you!

One of the first things we teach children in school and at home is manners. "Say please and thank you" is something children in early childhood hear quite often. Its important they learn to use these fundamentals words that will be apparent for all their lives. But did you know there is a way your family can express gratitude in a detailed, creative manner that also allows your child to practice reading and oral reading?

The Grateful Hearts Jar

This activity is quick, simple and (yes you guessed it) can be done with items you find around your home. Simply put, the "Grateful Hearts Jar" is a jar full of little notes where both parents and children write on tiny pieces of paper why they are grateful for a specific person in their family. Then as a family you can go around reading aloud the notes of gratitude and sharing the loving (and sometimes very funny) things that everyone is grateful for!

How-to:

For this activity you will need sticky notes, a writing utensil, and a jar. Thats it! Parents and kids will each write a few things they are grateful for on separate sticky notes. You will then fold the sticky notes and fill the jar. Pro tip: emphasize the folding of the sticky notes and the lines the folding creates to add a little math element to it! After everyone fills out their notes and fills the jar, everyone can pull from the jar and read what was written on the note. Not only this activity showing how to express gratitude, but it also involves children writing their thoughts down with a give prompt and then reading aloud and sharing! Hope you enjoy this quick and simple activity. 
Have fun creating!
Ms. Areizaga

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