While He Was Napping

momma gets stuff done

  • Home
  • About
  • Archive
  • Do It Yourself
    • Crafts
      • No Sew
      • Painting
      • Paper Crafts
      • Repurpose Projects
      • Vinyl
      • Washi Tape
      • Kid’s Crafts
      • Fonts
    • Sewing
    • Decorate
      • Home Decor
      • Holiday Decor
    • Celebrate
      • DIY Gifts
      • DIY Your Party
  • Recipes
    • Beverages
    • Appetizer
      • Bread
      • Other Appetizers
    • Snacks
    • Main Dish
      • Meat
        • Chicken
        • Beef
        • Pork
        • Seafood
      • Vegetarian
      • Slow Cooker
      • 30 Minute Meals
    • Dips & Sauces
    • Salads
    • Pasta
    • Soup
    • Dessert
      • Cookies
      • Brownies
      • Cupcakes and Cake
      • Box Mix Recipes
      • Other Sweet Treats
    • Breakfast Food
      • Pancakes
      • Waffles
      • Muffins
      • Other Breakfast Food
  • Family
    • Babies
      • Pregnancy
      • Newborns
      • The 1st Year
    • Toddlers
    • Preschoolers
    • Kindergartners
    • 6-8 Year Olds
    • The Grown Ups
      • Date Night
      • Romantic Gifts
    • Self Care
  • For the Home
    • Cleaning
    • Organizing
    • Emergency Preparedness
  • Travel
    • Travel Tricks & Tips
    • Traveling with Kids
  • Tech & Gadgets
    • Must-Have Apps
    • Techy Home Appliances
    • Gadgets & Electronics
    • Blogging Tips
  • Printables
    • Posters
      • Quote Printables
      • Subway Art Printables
    • Printable Organizers
    • Printable Journals
    • Learning Printables & Worksheets
    • LDS Printables
  • Holidays
    • New Year’s
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • Cinco de Mayo
    • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • 4th of July
    • Back to School
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • Holiday & Seasonal Printables
You are here: Home / Holiday / 10 Activities that will encourage gratitude in your kids

November 7, 2017 by Krista

10 Activities that will encourage gratitude in your kids

I always have grand ideas for November. What about you? You know, things like getting Christmas planned, reminding my children to be thankful with our Gratitude Jar, and maybe even decorating our home a little.

Sometimes, I get some of it done and a lot of the time, I don’t. I hope what they say about good intentions isn’t true. I hope, in this case, it really is the thought that counts.

There are some traditions that I really try to make sure don’t get overlooked in the chaos that leads up to the holidays. One of those is our Thankful Tree and I try to have a toy purge before we’re invaded by gifts from relatives and that jolly old Santa Claus.

But, most of all, I try to find ways to encourage gratitude and get my kids to think about others. While we try to do those things all year long, it seems to be a little easier and more natural when November comes around.

The Gratitude Jar encourages service and gratitude in your family with 10 fun activities that focus on helping others and saying thank you

ENCOURAGE GRATITUDE IN YOUR KIDS BY MAKING IT A GAME

I want to help my kids focus on what we have, not what they want. With Christmas coming, the inevitable “I want, I want” is about to get stuck in high gear.

I want to encourage them to do things for others; but, when you’re little, it can be hard to think about others before yourself. I want to offer my kids the opportunity to learn to put others ahead of themselves. But, it always works out better when they think it’s their idea or that it’s a game. So, a few years ago, I introduced them to The Gratitude Jar.

Encourage Thankfulness with the Gratitude Jar and it's 10 fun activities

A big part of gratitude, to me, is being willing to help others. And to say thank you when others help you. That’s what The Gratitude Jar is all about.

 

HOW TO ENCOURAGE GRATITUDE WITH THE GRATITUDE JAR

The best part about The Gratitude Jar is that you can use it however it best fits into your home.

We have used it as a boredom jar in the past. This year, though, we are making it into a game.

When my kids have a free minute, they choose a slip from the jar and do the activity. What has made this successful so far is that The Gratitude Jar is constructive, it’s a privilege. And it’s individual. Sometimes, they do the same activities at the same time. But, if one of them doesn’t want to do the activity that was drawn, or has already done it, they can choose their a different one.

Encourage Thankfulness with the Gratitude Jar and it's 10 fun activities

We’re keeping track of how many good deeds each of them do. At the end of the month, they can choose a reward based on how many activities they complete. There’s 10 activities included that will encourage gratitude and serving others. My kids helped come up with rewards.

  • When they complete 1-3 activities, they get to choose a special treat or candy.
  • When 4-6 activities get completed, they can stay up an extra 30 minutes.
  • If they do 7-9 activities, they can get out of one chore.
  • If all 10 activities get done, we’ll have a family movie night and they get to choose the movie and the snacks.

The competition is against themselves, not each other. They are trying to do their best, not better than their brothers.

Gratitude Good Deeds Jar

 

READY TO ENCOURAGE GRATITUDE IN YOUR OWN FAMILY?

If you’re ready to encourage gratitude in your family this holiday season, download your own high-resolution copy so you can create your own Gratitude Jar.

All you need is

  • a printer
  • a pair of scissors or a paper cutter
  • and a clean container to store the slips in

A dozen snips to more grateful children…?  Can’t hurt to try, right?

 

DOWNLOAD YOURS HERE!

Get your gratitude growing!

 

 

WM-Always-be-Thankful

Like this chalkboard print? You’re in luck, it’s a free printable! Click here to get this print!

I'm Krista. Ringleader here on While He Was Napping, wife to my handsome Mr. Right & momma to my THREE energetic boys, Big J (9), Little J (6) & Little N (4). We FINALLY added a beautiful little girl to our family last December.

I’m knee-deep in Tonka trucks & Thomas trains. I survive our crazy days with Vanilla Coke, Sonic slushies, sweet snuggles and little giggles. When I tuck them in tight & kiss them good night, I get a little time to create & just be me.


It all happened
while (s)he was napping
Want More of My Story?

Privacy Policy

While He Was Napping respects your privacy and is committed to keeping any personal information collected on this website confidential. To find out what information we collect and how it is used or what options you have regarding your information, see our full privacy policy here. Creative Commons License The website found at whilehewasnapping.com and all subdomainsauthored and published by Krista is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Pretty Chic Theme By: Pretty Darn Cute Design