Practicing Gratitude in the Classroom
Gratitude creates the best attitude, especially when you teach students to be appreciative at an early age. Being thankful for the little things in life can not only be practiced at home but also in the classroom and gratitude activities have great benefits. Here are three exercises you can implement in your classroom to help your students practice thankfulness.
Start a gratitude journal.
Make it a morning ritual to sit down with your students for five minutes and write five to ten things they are thankful for. This writing routine will create a positive habit that some will even carry outside the classroom! Not to mention it is great writing practice.
Write thank you cards to veterans or service workers.
When your students are new to practicing gratitude, writing thank you cards is a great place to start! Have them write cards to service workers and/or veterans so they can deeply appreciate the adults who help to make the world a better place. Encourage them to draw some pictures inside the cards as well!
Teach them to say ‘Thank you!’ to cafeteria workers and custodial staff.
Gratitude can be practiced in the simplest ways, such as saying thank you when receiving food in the lunch line! The more you remind the children to use their manners, the more likely they will appreciate the food on their plates.
Whether it is writing a note or saying thank you at lunch, there are multiple ways for your students to learn how to express gratitude in their everyday lives.
